Jeremiah 20-37 Twenty Questions

1. Are you surprised that Jeremiah, a true prophet of the Lord, with even a book of the Bible named for him, was beaten and rejected?  Why or why not?

2. Jeremiah expresses his bitterness toward God in chapter 20.  Can you relate?  Have you ever felt angry with God?

3. What should people do when they are upset with God?  Did Jeremiah handle his feelings the right way?

4. What are the parallels between Jeremiah 20:14-18 and Job 3?

5. What was Jeremiah’s advice in chapter 21 concerning the attacking Babylonian army?

6. How does Israel fulfill her calling to be a witness for God to the nations, even in a passage like Jeremiah 22:8-9 (compare with Deuteronomy 28:9-10 and 29:22-28)?

7. Who are the “shepherds” described in Jeremiah 23:1-4?

8. What was the meaning of Jeremiah’s vision of the two baskets of figs in Jeremiah 24?

9. In Jeremiah 25, what noteworthy nations are made to drink the cup of the Lord’s wrath?  Are any kingdoms omitted?

10. What evidence do we have in Jeremiah 26 that the prophet’s life was truly in jeopardy?
11. Imagine a modern-day prophet giving our nation the message of Jeremiah in chapter 27.  What would you think of someone who prophesied our destruction unless we surrender to another power?

12. How would you feel to be a prophet like Jeremiah, and being called by God to proclaim a message of national disaster like he was?

13. Describe what the yoke of Jeremiah 27 and 28 represented, and what Jeremiah and Hananiah each had to say about it?

14. The exiles in Babylon had a choice – either resign themselves to their situation and make the best of it, or sullenly refuse to accept their lot, pine for their homeland, and work against  Babylon.  Which course of action does Jeremiah advise them to take?

15. In the midst of all the “bad news” Jeremiah was charged to deliver during his ministry, what is the “good news” of Jeremiah 29:10-14?

16. How do Christians believe Jeremiah 31:15 is fulfilled in the New Testament?

17. Describe the “new covenant” that Jeremiah foresees in chapter 31.

18. How is the act of Jeremiah buying a field in chapter 32, at the very moment the Babylonians are laying siege to the city, a sign of hope?

19. Who are the Rekabites of Jeremiah 35, and what is their lesson to Judah?

20. How did King Jehoiakim treat the scroll containing the prophetic words that the Lord had given to Jeremiah in chapter 36?