Session 2 | Jeremiah 2:1-13

JUDGES

ENGAGE

BEGIN:

I should have listened.

recall a time when someone gave good advice,
but you refused to listen or accept it.

name a time they “should have listened.”

READ:

The introductory paragraph on page 21.

Ask:

• Why do believers sometimes choose to ignore God’s Word?
• What are some possible consequences of doing so? (p. 21).

TRANSITION:

In today’s study, we find Jeremiah calling the people
to repentance because of their disobedience toward God.

Judgment was coming because of the people’s unfaithfulness.
Jeremiah offered a simple solution for them: Turn back to God.
But they refused to listen to his godly advice.

EXPLORE THE TEXT>

INTRODUCE:

the people of Israel had turned away from God
and turned toward idol worship.

Point out that this wasn’t a new thing for God’s people
because they had a long history of turning their backs on Him.

Still, God sent His prophet to warn the people of judgment.

EXPLAIN:

Remind the group that Israel’s Northern Kingdom (Samaria)
had fallen to the Assyrians around 721 BC,
but the Babylonians had since conquered the Assyrians
and become the world’s primary military power.

TRANSITION:

For many years, the people of Israel had been drifting away from God.
The question was whether or not they would avoid God’s judgment
by listening to Jeremiah’s message and turning back to Him.

In the past, they had refused to listen to the people He had sent,
but He sent Jeremiah because of His love and compassion
for His people.