(Reading Aug 29-Sep 4)

36. The Exiled Nation

Key Point:
Jerusalem lies desolate and deserted.  God’s spokesmen, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, begin to focus their message on healing and restoration.  Meanwhile, Daniel’s three friends refuse to bow to an idol and are rescued from the fiery furnace.

Key Verses:
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king.  But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold that you have set up.”
    (the words of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – Daniel 3:17, 18 , DB page 1135)

Outline:
Jeremiah’s Lamentations
   This book, believed to have been written by Jeremiah, laments the fall of Jerusalem.
A Remnant Flees to Egypt (Jeremiah 40-44)
    The final remnant in Judah disobeys God and escapes to Egypt.
Ezekiel’s Restoration Prophecies (Ezekiel 32-39)
   Ezekiel speaks words of comfort to a scattered and defeated people.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3)
   Daniel’s friends remain faithful to God and are rewarded.
   

Thought Questions:

1.    To this day, Jews commemorate the assassination of Gedaliah with a day of fasting.  Why do you think this even was so significant?





2.    Jeremiah’s ministry ends with him in a foreign country surrounded by Hebrew idolaters.  Would you judge his life’s work a success?  How do you measure success?





3.    Read Ezk. 34 (DB pages 1122-23).  Write a job description for today’s shepherds (elders) based on the descriptions in this chapter.  (What does it mean to “bind up the wounded”?)





4.    Read Ezk. 37:1-14 (DB pages 1126-27).  What is the application of the “valley of dry bones” vision for the church in 1997?





5.    Ezekiel 38 and 39 predict a cataclysmic battle between good and evil.  How would we interpret this?





6.    Who or what was the fourth figure in the furnace in Daniel 3 (DB page 1135)?

7.  Why were all the details about the temple in Ezekiel’s vision never built?




8.   Why was it so important for Israel to know that there would be another temple?