Thursday, September 18, 2014 - A New Future : Jeremiah 32:1-44;

AM Devotion

Exercise: Running with BGR
Lunch: Weights (Upper Body)

A New Future

 MAP OF JERUSALEM DURING THE DESTRUCTION

Jeremiah 32:1-44Amplified Bible (AMP)

32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of [a]Nebuchadrezzar.

2 For the king of Babylon’s army was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the house of the king of Judah.

3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had locked him up, saying, Why do you prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

4 And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hands of the Chaldeans but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye;

5 And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him [for evil], says the Lord; and though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper [why do you thus prophesy]?

6 And Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

7 Behold, Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle shall come to you and say, Buy my field that is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.

8 So Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard in accordance with the word of the Lord, and he said to me, I pray you, buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin, for the right of inheritance is yours and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself. Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

9 And I bought the field that was in Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son and weighed out for him the money—seventeen shekels of silver.

10 And I signed the deed and sealed it, called witnesses, and weighed out for him the money on the scales.

11 So I took the deed of the purchase—both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and the copy which was unsealed—

12 And I gave the purchase deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle’s son and the witnesses who signed the purchase deed, in the presence of all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard.

13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying,

14 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this unsealed deed, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last a long time.

15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall be purchased yet again in this land.

16 Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying:

17 Alas, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! There is nothing too hard or too wonderful for You—

18 You Who show loving-kindness to thousands but recompense the iniquity of the fathers into the bosoms of their children after them. The great, the mighty God; the Lord of hosts is His name—

19 Great [are You] in counsel and mighty in deeds, Whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to reward or repay each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings,

20 Who wrought signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day [continues to do so], both in Israel and among other men, and made for Yourself a name, as at this day.

21 And You brought forth Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm and with great terror;

22 And You gave them this land which You swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;

23 And they entered and took possession of it, but they obeyed not Your voice, nor walked in Your law; they have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do. Therefore You have caused all this evil to come upon them.

24 See the siege mounds [of earth which the foe has heaped against the walls]; they have come up to the city to take it. And the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because [the people are overcome] by the sword and the famine and the pestilence. What You have spoken has come to pass, and behold, You see it.

25 Yet, O Lord God, You said to me, Buy the field with money and get witnesses, even though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.

26 Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying,

27 Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for Me?

28 Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

29 And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come in and set this city on fire and burn it, along with the houses on whose roofs incense has been offered to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods to provoke Me to anger.

30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked Me to anger with the work of their hands [the idols], says the Lord.

31 For this city has been to Me a [such a] provocation of My anger and My wrath from the day that they [finished] building it [in the time of Solomon, who was the first Israelite king who turned to idolatry] even to this day that I must remove it from before My face—

32 Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

33 And they have turned their backs to Me and not their faces; though I taught them persistently, yet they would not listen and receive instruction.

34 But they set their abominations [of idol worship] in the house which is called by My[b]Name to defile it.

35 And they built the high places [for worship] of Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom [son of Hinnom] to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire [in worship also of and] to Molech—which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind or heart that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

36 And now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword and by famine and by pestilence:

37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries to which I drove them in My anger and in My wrath and in great indignation; I will bring them again to this place, and I will make them dwell safely.

38 And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

39 And I will give them one heart and one way, that they may [reverently] fear Me forever for the good of themselves and of their children after them.

40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will not turn away from following them to do them good, and I will put My [reverential] fear in their hearts, so that they will not depart from Me.

41 Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly and in truth with My whole heart and with My whole being.

42 For thus says the Lord: As I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

43 And fields shall be bought in this land of which you say, It is desolate, without man or beast; it is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.

44 Men shall buy fields for money and shall sign deeds, seal them, and call witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South (the Negeb), for I will cause them to be released from their exile, says the Lord.

**** Extra notes **

n 589 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II laid siege to Jerusalem, culminating in the destruction of the city and its temple in 587 BC.

Siege[edit]

Following the siege of 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar installed Zedekiah as tributary king of Judah at the age of twenty-one. However, Zedekiah revolted against Babylon, and entered into an alliance with Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar responded by invading Judah^[1] and began a siege of Jerusalem in January 589 BC. During this siege, which lasted about thirty months, "every worst woe befell the city, which drank the cup of God's fury to the dregs".^[2] In 587 BC, the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign, Nebuchadnezzar broke through Jerusalem's walls, conquering the city. Zedekiah and his followers attempted to escape, but were captured on the plains of Jericho and taken to Riblah. There, after seeing his sons killed, Zedekiah was blinded, bound, and taken captive to Babylon,^[3] where he remained a prisoner until his death.

After the fall of Jerusalem, the Babylonian general Nebuzaraddan was sent to complete its destruction. Jerusalem was plundered and Solomon's Temple was destroyed. Most of the elite were taken into captivity in Babylon. The city was razed to the ground. Only a small number of people were permitted to remain to tend to the land.^[4] Gedaliah was made governor of the remnant of Judah, the Yehud Province, with a Chaldean guard stationed at Mizpah.^[5] On hearing this news, the Jews who were in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and in other countries returned to Judah.^[6] Gedaliah was assassinated two months later, and the population that had remained and those who had returned then fled to Egypt for safety.^[7] In Egypt, they settled in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and Pathros.^[8]

Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - Daily Devotion - Revelation 18 (Review of Bible Class Notes)

AM Prayer
Exercise: Jogging

Yesterday: At Bible Class, we were reminded of the challenge she gave us to give God our First Fruit.  This has been something that I was convicted of many years ago and some years I succeeded and other years I didn't.  This is what I needed.. Before we get distracted with the world, facebook, children, job, exercising.. Give God our time first.

Its a sacrifice and will require discipline but it is something I see value in and your relationship will develop deeper with God by spending time with him.

3 But seek ([a]aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness ([b]His way of doing and being right), and then all these things [c]taken together will be given you besides.

****
Bible Class : Revelation 18:1-10

18 Then I saw another angel descending from heaven, possessing great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his radiance and splendor.

2 And he shouted with a mighty voice, She is fallen! Mighty Babylon is fallen! She has become a resort and dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every loathsome spirit, an abode for every filthy and detestable bird.

3 For all nations have drunk the wine of her passionate unchastity, and the rulers andleaders of the earth have joined with her in committing fornication (idolatry), and the businessmen of the earth have become rich with the wealth of her excessive luxury andwantonness.

4 I then heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out from her, my people, so that you may not share in her sins, neither participate in her plagues.

5 For her iniquities (her crimes and transgressions) are piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her wickedness and [her] crimes [and calls them up for settlement].

6 Repay to her what she herself has paid [to others] and double [her doom] in accordance with what she has done. Mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed [for others].

7 To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled in her wantonness [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that measure impose on her torment and anguish and tears andmourning. Since in her heart she boasts, I am not a widow; as a queen [on a throne] I sit, and I shall never see suffering or experience sorrow—

8 So shall her plagues (afflictions, calamities) come thick upon her in a single day, pestilence and anguish and sorrow and famine; and she shall be utterly consumed (burned up with fire), for mighty is the Lord God Who judges her.

9 And the rulers and leaders of the earth who joined her in her immorality (idolatry) and luxuriated with her will weep and beat their breasts and lament over her when they see the smoke of her conflagration.

10 They will stand a long way off, in terror of her torment, and they will cry, Woe and alas, the great city, the mighty city, Babylon! In one single hour how your doom (judgment) has overtaken you!

****

Babylon is Fallen

n the Hebrew Bible, the name appears as בָּבֶל (Bavel; Tiberian בָּבֶל Bāvel; Syriac ܒܒܠ Bāwēl), interpreted in the Book of Genesis (11:9) to mean "confusion" (viz. of languages), from the verb בלבל bilbél, "to confuse".

The Tower of Babel (Hebrew: מִגְדַּל בָּבֶל‎, Migdal Bavel) forms the focus of a story told in the Book of Genesis of the Bible.^[1] According to the story, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar (Hebrew: שנער‎). As the King James version of the Bible puts it:

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

In Bible Class we learned that Babylon is believe to be derived from "The Tower of Babel".. which means confusion.  God confused the people's language and that was the end of the building of the tower because they could not understand each other and the people were then scattered abroad.


Revelation 18:5-8  The reason Babylon the great wass remembered in the presence of God in regard to the seventh vial of wrath [16:19] is now explained.  Babylon may arrogantly sit as a queen, with a false sense of security, but the payback (Rom. 12:19) for her mountain of sins, including self-glorification and lavish living, is certain and will be strong and swift.

Rev 18:7 - How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously;

She - represent this society of False Doctrine and the whole system that represents it
Deliciously - meaning, this group of people this system of fasle teaching has done what ever they were big and bad enough to do.

Rev 18:9 - And the Kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her

Kings of the earth, represents the Political and Religious leaders
These leaders have fornicated -- meaning they participated in this sinful act with this system of False Teaching

Rev 18:9b, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning -- meaning these leaders will see this system literally destroyed and evaporated.. in a matter of minutes

Rev 18:11-14  The merchants of the earth grew wealthy [v3] from their relationship with Babylon the great.  They weep and mourn at her demise because of their loss of business.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - Daily Devotion - Dying to My Selfie

Dying to My Selfie LYNN COWELL

"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin ..." Romans 6:6 (NIV)

Girls' weekend was finally here! I was so excited to be going away with my two girls and their friends, that when someone hollered, "Selfie!" I nudged my way into the picture just in time.

The selfie is a spontaneous picture taken to capture ...

To capture what?

Sometimes, like our road-trip shot, it's to capture a moment we're enjoying and people we're loving. Other times, I wonder if it's more than that.

"Mom, you always find a way to get in there!" one of my girls lovingly laughed from the back seat.

My daughter's tease got me thinking ...

Do I always find a way to get in on what is going on? If so, why?

Do I turn selfie moments into opportunities to make the moment about me? Shift the attention toward me?

Shouldn't I be past this?

Sometimes the young girl we once were, the one who wanted to be noticed, the one who sought after a boy's attention or longed for her parents' approval, is not completely gone.

Maybe there's a side of me still wanting acceptance and attention. This possibility makes me uncomfortable. I don't want to be an insecure woman.

I want to be a woman who reflects love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). I want to have selfless attributes of a heart that reflects Christ in me, the fruit of His Spirit on display. A lasting grace that isn't about getting attention, but about serving and loving others more than I love myself.

I want that kind of beauty for me, and for my daughters as well.

But to gain it, I have to give something up. I'm going to have to die first.

Die to the me who is all about me.

Die to my selfie.

Because, when I die to me, another woman can emerge. A woman whose character is found in the love she gives, the joy she lives and the peace when she forgives.

A woman who doesn't make her life about gaining attention, but giving it.

Today's key verse reminds me that Jesus' work on the cross makes it possible for me to become this kind of woman: "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin" (Romans 6:6).

Christ died so I don't have to struggle with the sin of self-centeredness, the pull to make life about me. Christ's new life in me means I no longer have to be a slave to needing attention. I can confidently put the spotlight on Him and others.

And here is the intriguing twist: A woman who possesses this type of beauty, who chooses others above herself is hard to find, yet she is easy to spot.

Jesus, I want to be beautiful the way You define beautiful. A woman whose life reflects Your life inside of me. Help me to die to myself so that You might daily live strong in me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Did you enjoy today's devotion? Click here to subscribe.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (NIV)

RELATED RESOURCES:
Do you know a girl who longs to grow in confidence and live in the fullness of her God-given potential? If so, Lynn Cowell's new book Magnetic: Becoming the Girl He Wants is for her.

Visit Lynn's blog where she is giving away over $50 worth of FREE downloadable resources including e-books, inspiring messages and printables. Plus she's hosting a series of giveaways that include pedicures, gift cards, an all-expense-paid girls' get-away weekend and more! Find out more, and enter to win here.

In celebration of the release of her new book, Magnetic: Becoming the Girl He Wants, Lynn's publisher is giving away 10 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment on our website, letting us know why you'd like a copy for yourself OR to whom you would give a book, if you won. {We'll randomly select 10 winners and send email notifications to each one on September 23.}

REFLECT AND RESPOND:
Reflect on the past 24 hours. Can you spot a moment when you needed to "die to your selfie"?

In that moment, were you able to recognize this difficult choice you were facing of choosing others over yourself?

Today, ask the Father to help you recognize when you need to choose others over yourself.

Saturday, September 13, 2014 - Restoration |Jeremiah 31:1-40

Restoration

Golden Text - "The days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31)

MSG vs

Jeremiah 31:1-40American Standard Version (ASV)

31  At that time, saith Jehovah, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

2 Thus saith Jehovah, The people that were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.

3 Jehovah appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

4 Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: again shalt thou be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

5 Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit thereof.

6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the hills of Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto Jehovah our God.

7 For thus saith Jehovah, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Jehovah, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall they return hither.

9 They shall come with weeping; and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.

10 Hear the word of Jehovah, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off; and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as shepherd doth his flock.

11 For Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.

12 And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow unto the goodness of Jehovah, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jehovah.

15 Thus saith Jehovah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuseth to be comforted for her children, because they are not.

16 Thus saith Jehovah: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith Jehovah; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

17 And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jehovah; and thy children shall come again to their own border.

18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God.

19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearneth for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah.

21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee guide-posts; set thy heart toward the highway, even the way by which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.

22 How long wilt thou go hither and thither, O thou backsliding daughter? for Jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man.

23 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity: Jehovah bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness.

24 And Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell therein together, the husbandmen, and they that go about with flocks.

25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and every sorrowful soul have I replenished.

26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

27 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.

28 And it shall come to pass that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith Jehovah.

29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.

30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

31 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah.

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people:

34 and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.

35 Thus saith Jehovah, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; Jehovah of hosts is his name:

36 If these ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

37 Thus saith Jehovah: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Jehovah.

38 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that the city shall be built to Jehovah from the tower of Hananel unto the gate of the corner.

39 And the measuring line shall go out further straight onward unto the hill Gareb, and shall turn about unto Goah.

40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto Jehovah; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever

Questions:

1.  What is a covenant?  What was signified by the expression "cut a covenant"? A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties that delineates (describes) obligations they have to one another.

2.  What is signified by the inclusion (the state of being included) of both Israel and Judah in the new covenant?  The new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31 will be made with both Israel and Judah.  These were two separate kingdoms at that time, and Israel had already been forced into Assyrian captivity.  Judah remained but would soon be exiled to Babylon.  This promise proclaimed through Jeremiah guaranteed not only that both peoples would be preserved beyond captivity but also that in God's sight they were still one people.  Both are included in the covenant.

3.  When was the old covenant with Israel made? The old covenant was made when the Law of Moses was given at Sinai.

4.  What caused the failure of the covenant given at Sinai?  The children of Israel broke the first covenant, even as Moses was receiving the law, they were already breaking it by worshipping a golden calf (Exod. 32:1-6).  And from that day to Jeremiah's, they had transgressed it repeatedly.  They had violated every command in the Decalogue and ignored every prophetic call to repent.

Note:  The law revealed God's will, but it provided no power for sinners to carry it out (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:10-12).  So they fell short, and the broken covenant became the basis for their condemnation.

5.  What will ensure the success of the new covenant?  This condemnation will not occur under the new covenant, for by its terms the people will be transformed internally to desire God's will.  The Lord declared, "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts."  Under the old covenant, the law was set before Israel (Deut. 4:8; 11:32); under the new, it is placed within them by the Spirit.

6.  Why will human mediators be unnecessary under the new covenant?  Under the old covenant, human mediators were essential to communicate God's will to men and to secure HIs grace.  He generally did not speak to individuals directly, for His holy presence would have consumed them (Exod. 20:18-21;33:20).  Even devout persons were not permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  But now, through Christ, believers have direct access to God (Heb. 4:16; 10:19-22), and all are indwelt by the Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 4:30).

Note:  The remnant (the part of something that is left when the other parts are gone) of whom Jeremiah wrote will have this access to God and partake of spiritual understanding;  "They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord" (Jer. 31:34).  This knowledge will not be restricted to an intellectual elite, a spiritual inner circle, or a high social class.  All will enjoy the intimate knowledge of Him (cf. Isa. 11:9; 54:13; Joel 2:28-29).

7.  On what basis does God forgive sin under the new covenant?  The new covenant, however, provides not just that sin will be forgiven but that it will be blotted out from God's memory (Hew. 10:17).  The remnant will be cleansed to do God's will (Ezek. 36:25-27; Rom. 11:26-27).

8.  How did God use the sun, moon and stars to illustrate His preservation of Israel?  God singled out the unchangeable order He established for the earth as long as it lasts.  This includes the sun, which provides the light by day, and the moon and the stars, which provide it by night.  God created these in the beginning (Gen. 1:14-18), and He declared after the Flood that the order of nature over which they presided would last as long as the earth itself (8:22).

9.  At what point, theoretically, could God cast away Israel?  ONLY when humans fully understand this universe (which they never will) will the Lord "cast off all the seed of Israel for all they have done" (Jer. 31:37).."All that they have done" refers to their repeated sins.

Note:  There have been many Israelites who individually cannot enjoy the promised blessings because of sin.  But never will the whole nation be rejected.  A believing remnant will yet enjoy the new covenant. 

Ans:  It is thus impossible for Israel to cease being a people before God.  This is because His covenant promises are grounded in unchanging faithfulness, not Israel's obedience.

10.  Do Gentiles have any portion in the new covenant? Explain

Yes, while our text sees the new covenant applied to Israel and Judah, it is also the basis for Gentile salvation.  Jesus' death provided salvation for all peoples.  When Israel as a nation rejected it, God's offer of salvation went out to the Gentiles, many of whom welcomed it (cf. Acts 28:28; Rom. 9:30-31).  But when the full number of Gentiles has been gathered in, Israel will accept the new covenant (Rom. 11:25-27; cf. Zech. 12:10-13:1).

Sunday School REview

1.  The old covenant was written on a tablet (stone) ..given to Moses to give to the children Israel.

2. The issue with the old covenant is that It showed you God's will (what he wants you to do) but it doesn't give you the power to obey.

3.  Under the new covenant..God writes the law from the tablets to the peoples heart

4.  Also, God give you the power to Obey.  Who helps us Obey?  The Holy Spirit 

5.  So God gives us HIs Holy Spirit to Apply, God's word to our lives.  If we read God's word and obey, we will grow spiritually.