Session 8 | Jeremiah 31:23-34

RESTORATION (JER. 31:27-30)

evidence of both God’s justice and His redemption.

27 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the LORD’s declaration—“
when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of people and the seed of animals.”

28 “Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down,
to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster,
so will I watch over them to build and to plant them”—this is the LORD’s declaration.

29 In those days, it will never again be said,
“The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
30 Rather, each will die for his own iniquity. Anyone who eats sour grapes—his own teeth will be set on edge.

HIGHLIGHT:

“the days are coming”
anticipated exciting news. God would repopulate Israel
God would restore what had been lost.

“I watch over them”
must not be understood to mean that the Lord stood back and watched
The idea is that God was the cause of their disaster.
describes the extreme destruction God brought against Judah.

DISCUSS:

• What difference does it make that God’s watching over His people is not passive but active?
• How have you experienced God’s watching over you? (p. 71)

EXPLAIN:

It’s not my fault!

Note that sometimes when people get caught doing something wrong they want to deny personal responsibility.
the proverb in verse 29 expressed that idea.

Say:

Some people in Jeremiah’s day believed that God was unjustly punishing them
for the sins of earlier generations.
Jeremiah refuted that wrong thinking,
affirming that this generation was responsible for its own suffering
because of its own sin.

DISCUSS:

• How does knowing God watches over His people bring security and comfort? (p. 71)

TRANSITION:

We can know that God’s timing is good and that He is at work in every situation.
His close attention to us strengthens our hope.