gave me a good laugh

jeremiah's bitterness (wed.'s bible study notes)

These are my notes from bible study this past Wed night. We've been going through Jeremiah and it might be one of my favorite studies I've done. There's so much I'm learning, and I thought I'd share the few notes I jotted down. Sorry if they seem disjointed or scattered! (passage first, notes @ bottom)



Jeremiah 15:15-21 NKJV

15 O LORD, You know; Remember me and visit me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In Your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke. 16 Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. 17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, Nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, For You have filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain perpetual And my wound incurable, Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, As waters that fail?
19 Therefore thus says the LORD:
“ If you return, Then I will bring you back; You shall stand before Me; If you take out the precious from the vile, You shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, But you must not return to them. 20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; And they will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” says the LORD. 21 “ I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”

- Jeremiah's bitterness in v. 18: "Will you surely be to me like an unreliable stream?"
- Jeremiah's bitterness: he wanted to live long enough to be vindicated- to see the people judged, see them punished.
- He makes a case for himself in v. 17: "I did not sit in the assembly of the merry-makers."
- Bitterness stems from the expectation that we deserve better- that things should be different than how we are. (This is a gross misunderstanding of the person of God, His sovereignty)
- God keeps His promises. Jeremiah was expecting something that He had not promised.
- We need to be careful that our expectations of God are justified by Scripture. He will never fail to fulfill those.
- We cannot justify bitterness and a wrong attitude, no matter our circumstances. Sometimes we even expect compassion and think God is on our side.
- After all of this, God calls Jeremiah to repentance in verses 19-21.
- Jeremiah was confusing God's Word with his own desires. (Verse 19- take the precious with the vile)

peanut butter and jazz

here's my brother's piano solo at the john coltrane jazz workshop. enjoy!