Lesson #10 of NDC's Worshipping Series on Jeremiah, Prime Time Study on "The Upside Down Gospel of Jeremiah"
Teaching Backrgound for Pages on: "The Upside Down Gospel of Jeremiah"
sub-title: "Getting Crushed or Beautifully Shaped is Our Choice"
theme: Recognizing the beautiful intentions of God is Hope's Promise"
Text: Jeremiah 32
Video: Background on Lesson # 10 "The Upside Down Gospel of Jeremiah," Jeremiah 32
Video: God Risking Everything- Week #10 of NDC's Worshipping Series on Jeremiah
Link: Investing when All Seems Lost
For: Worshiping Series #10 of Next Door Church (NDC), Prime Time Background Material for Lesson #10
Intro: The Back Story sets the Whole Stage
Back Story to Explore: ““Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Babylonians but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed' ”” (Jeremiah 32:3-5 NIV).
Walking a tight political line Zedekiah had imprisoned Jeremiah under house arrest in his own security detail within the palace complex hoping to finally shut him up. What he discovered was that it was he who was now under the captive oracles & soundings of this prophet who could, at will, preach loudly in the courtyard of the palace guard, his voice filtering through the cold hollow corridors of the palace campus.The Emerging Promise of Jeremiah's rather Pessimistic Prophetic Voice
from Jeremiah 30-31
Jeremiah 30: 4-22
1) Awakening Judah from its fears, releasing Judah's daughters and sons from their long captivity, and;
2) Removing all their enemies whose oppression has purified their hearts until their minds could grasp they could not heal themselves, forgive their sins, nor restore their fortunes, and;
3) In David's son remove their accumlated fears, restoring their lives as they follow the One Sent, David's son, and;
4) Healing their incurable wounds, removing the yellow stars of shame, and;
5) Rebuilding Jerusalem as the eternal capital of a renewed Israel, restoring the palace and Temple, and;
6) Filling the mountains, crevices, and hills from Egypt to the Golan heights with the grasses. foliage, plants , waterways, and agricultural crops that declared abundance, and;
Jeremiah 31: 2-14
7) Calling all the nations of the earth to give up Israel and to release the exiles of Judah so they may come home, and;
8) The songs of Zion will once again be heard, the daughters dancing to its rhythms, as the flocks on the hills of Samaria pasture in safety, and
Jeremiah 31: 15-26
9) For a long moment, perhaps several, from Ramah Benjamin's sons will raise their voices in anguish, Rachel refusing to be comforted among the hills surrounding Bethlehem, and;
10) In an eternal love I will comfort Judah and bring every one home, weeping and rejoicing, and;
11) Streams will flow in the Negev, as Judah and Israel's fortunes are restored, and;
12) The four winds carry my chosen home where I will give them peace, and;
13) I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint, and;
Jeremiah 31: 28-40
14) In those days (as per Ezekiels vision in the valley of dead bones) I will breath in them My Spirit, so that Israel, now whole, will repent from all their idolatries, never to return again to Egypts ways, and
15) I will create a new reality wherein the sins of the Fathers will no longer fall upon their pos terity, but only upon themselves, as I remove the cup of shame over all peoples, and allow restored Israel to draw near and see my face, and;
16) I will give my people a new mind, and heart of flesh instead of stone, so that all peoples will know that I AM, Israel' God and the God of the nations, for;
17) "No longer will they teach their neighbor,or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31: 34), and;
18) My city, Jerusalem will spread out over the hills of Zion, a city where God Most High, The LORD of Hosts, dwells, a city without walls and to whom all will come and seek my face, as a friend, just as Moses, and Abraham, and David did in ages past, for;
19) Rest assurred, as the Stars of the Heavens are beyond number so shall my glory and love ever be.
This is why Jeremiah 32 is the Iconic moment, standing as it does between:
- Approaching destruction, and;
- A Promised and guarenteed Restoration for Judah, then Judah and Israel and all peoples, and;
- Zedekiah and Jeremiah in an intertwined captivity, their souls more open; Zedekiah seeking to appeal to Jeremiah for a change in God's heart and Jeremiah the spacious house arrest allowing him to hear the Word of Hope that lies underneath, around and within his 40 year message of darkness approaching.
For each it was a respite, for at least Jeremiah it was an expanding vision of hope and a command to place his faith, his finances, his honor, his whole life in a long term investment.
Part I & II The Ironic Moment
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Watch Visual:
Background on Lesson # 10 "The Upside Down Gospel of Jeremiah," Jeremiah 32
Have Read Jeremiah 32: 6-24
Part I
Wine Only Emerges From Crushing
1) Obedience Isn't Always Logical
Part II
2) God's Promises Outlast our Circumstances
God Reminds Jeremiah he is to live a life devoted, an iconic and living sign of Jesus in the earth. He is to do what will appear illogical; whose reason can only be seen when God's promises are fully realized.
Jeremiah acts, against his own interest and buys a worthless field, to communicate in his own life his faith in God's good purposes. He becomes, ironically enough, the living sign, the iconic testimony that God is good, faithful and committed to bring Judah (and eventually Israel) into a physical and eventually a spiritual restoration.
Q: Do you remember a time when God asked you to do/be something or someone that made no sense? How'd it turn out?
[We shared a story or two where following God had a cost; didn't make much sense..]
Image Bearers
T: All the promises listed above, in chapters 30-31 were dependent upon Judah and Israel's Gethsemanes, the apparent abandonment of Israel to Assyria and Judah to Babylon, later Rome and to the present time. How Israel responded to promises that appear to be broken is the scale upon which everything turns.
Q: What are some promises from God that you have seen outlast difficult circumstances? ..or, perhaps: What are some promises from God that you are relying on in your current and difficult circumstances?
[There was some discussion and sharing around the experience of growing older, the changes that take place around us, in our cultural and inter-national world and the sense of assurance upon which we depend.]
While going into this Babylonian exile kicking and screaming this 70 year period did exactly what God promised. Upon their return Judah never again committed idolatry by worshipping false gods. They put it away and with the destruction of the Temple began the synagogue movement led by Ezra ith the nurturing help of Nehemiah.
A Lesson Learned Too Well
In verse 33, 37-39a (above), Jeremiah images: 
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Have John 15: 9-17a Read:
Prayer: Please pray for one another and each for our selves, families, Faith Community.Remember Naomi (Surgury), Pastor Jamie, Shirley, Mary, Jon's Son-Dalvid, and those who continue to mourn those who are with the Lord.
Israel learned, in the exilic experience of Babylon the most important of lessons, "Cant please everyone, so ya gotta please YHWH". Niver again would Judah go back to the gods. The only problem, as they learned it so well that they didn't see or recognize the esiah when he came.
Even so in this exile and the 2000 years that followed Israel has emerged a people, a culture in tact but without land and literally scattered across the whole world.
For Jeremiah, his understanding of what God was revealing grew. Inside those last years just before Jerusalem's fall he is writing through Baruch the incredible revelations of Chapters 30-31. (Chek it out again, above).
Inside these amazing promises was the awareness of Israel's (including Judah) re-birth as a national presence int he world and spiritually in the Messiah.
Q: In your lifetime, what have you noiced about Israel?
Note: Given our age as Prime Timers, we reviewed our consciousness about israel from our childhood having witnessed in our life time, of within a decade of it:
- 1948 Birth of a nation, and;
- 1967 Jerusalem again beomes the eternal capital of this new Israel, and;
- 1973 Expansion of Israel into the Negev on the South, Samaria on the east and the Golan Heights on the north, and;
- 1973-Present The desert blossoms,and;
- De-stalinization of Salt water into fresh, and'
- Technical prowess, and;
- Econnomic wealth even amidst the current and former wars, and;Israel's rise as a major regional power, and
- The beginnings of reconciliation with its neighbors, and
- The evident joy of its people in its Jewish celebraion of its festivals, and;
- The openess to the Christian witness, vibrant and growing in the last five or six years.
Inspite of Israel's failings, just like we in the Church, God has done exactly what God promised; moving Israel ever closer to the day of Final Restoration.
A Deeper Dive: The Face of God
In verse 33, 37-39a (above), Jeremiah images:
- The very center of Israel's hunger for God, and;
- Need of God, and;
- Israel's faithlessness (incurable wound), and;
- Israel and Our ultimate salvation.
In verse 33 (above) Jeremiah looks back to Moses, to Exodus, chapters 32--33 and to The God & Moses Two Step Dance
In chapter 32 of the Exodus the people of Israel have created an image of the Egyptian god whose very spirit they had just escaped from. In the conversation between God and Moses, God is playing 'devil's advocate' and Moses, as a result becomes a type of Christ. It goes like this:
Exodus 32
God: I'm done with these people of yours. I'm going to remove them all and start over with you and create a renewed community.
Moses: Now that's a bad idea. It doesn't look good. Everyone will say follow YHWH is the worst of ideas.
God: Well they'd be right. If I go with these self-indulgent people my very goodness will end up being their destruction.
Moses: God of my fathers, please turn your anger away and place it on me. I'm their leader. Blot my name from Your heart, but not Israel. Forgive them, Lord.
God: Moses, thats why I chose you and trust you. Here's what we'll do. I'll send my angel with you for protection and stand back a distance so that their sin doesn't touch my goodness and my passionate love destroy them all. As for their sin. We're eventualy going to do a new thing. Every persons sin will be forgiven or the guilt and shame allowed to destroy as each person deserves, according to which way their face turns.
Exodus 33
Moses: I've thought about it. Not a good plan. In fact, I'm not going to lead these people without Your Presence, which is the source of all that is good in me. Don't forget I have my own anger issues.
God: K, got it. Because i love you. Because you seek my heart, I will go with Israel. Eventually, maybe they will become my people.
Moses: If I may be so very bold. If I have found favor with you God. If the mercy i seek is really your mercy speaking through me, then please reveal Yourself to me as a friend. May I really know You? May I see Your face?
God: Oh, Moses my friend. What you ask can only be given in a measure. Abraham was my friend, as you are beoming. Moses, you don't know what your asking. My face you cannot see; at least not yet. You would melt into nothing if my true glory, my full Presence suddenly surrounded you.
But this i can and will do because I do delight in you and am pleased with your own face, ever looking my way. I will have you hide deep in this cavern and cause all my goodness to linger as I pass by, my back only, may you see.
So, when Jeremiah, some 600 + years later hears God whisper within his spirit, this story from Moses resonates. YHWH is telling Moses:
Jeremiah 32: 33
God: So great is Israel's arrogance that they refuse to speak with me even in the courtesy of humans; face to face. They have turned their back to me. There is no glory, not even a hint. Your people hae so lost their sense of being 'Image Bearers' that they sacrifice their children to Molek--something I had never imagined any human would do--yet Israel has welcomed it into its heart.
Even so Jeremiah, not only will I re-gather all Israel home fom ever nation their own ways have led them I will place within them new hearts oung and old, men and women, neighbor and stranger, Israel and the others: Gentiles from every tribe.
God has ever sought a people who will 'bear his image', to become within themselves a communion; a co-union wherein the several become One in the love of The Father, and The Son and The Spirit.
Part III & IV
The Iconic Moment
Part III
Wine Only Emerges From Crushing
1) Faith: A Long Term Investment
Part IV
2) Our Faith is Rooted in Jesus
Have Read Jeremiah 32: 40-44
Part III
Wine Only Emerges From Crushing
1) Faith: A Long Term Investment
Watch Visual: 1st Part to Discussion Questions
Worshipping Series on Jeremiah, Lesson # 10,
Pastoral Refelections from his Sermon 03/08/2026,"
on Jeremiah 32
Q: Stock Market Investing is long or short term; for short term gains or long term gains.
If God and you were to do a quick appraisal of your faith investment portfolio, what would it most look like?
A. I often sell short to capitalize on an immediate
investment, such as a new _________ (house, vacation,
hobby, addictive pattern) and for my own immediate
benefit, or;
B) My faith investment is all long term; a lot of grief a
lost opportunities down here for the return I get in
heaven, and/or;
C) Definitely for the long haul; but its mostly in a
'trust fund' called:
1. My kids or their kids, and/or;
2. A world where there is real social justice and/or;
3. The future when Jesus returns and we with him,
heal this planet so it is on the easrth as it is in
heaven.
Q: When you look upon your daily, weekly life experience how would you describe it:
A) God's investment in you?
B) Your investment in what God is doing?
Part IV
2) Our Faith is Rooted in Jesus
Watch Visual: 2nd Part to Discussion Questions
Worshipping Series on Jeremiah, Lesson # 10,
Pastoral Refelections from his Sermon 03/08/2026,"
on Jeremiah 32
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Jeremiah 32: 40-41
T: The heart and soul of the Christian Faith is that God has done and is doing what we cannot of ourselves do. The Bibe is an iconic, living book, because it is the narrative that clearly tells the story and transforms our faith from one where God is angry, like a child of tender age and into one that clearly sees God has ever calling and seeking; seeking for an authentic relation, even friendship among us, with us.
John's gospel is the only one that does not have a Eucharist or Holy Communion moment. I believe that is because the whole book is centered on the Incarnational idea of God becoming flesh and our becoming like God in terms of love, character and social justice. Bread, Water, Wine fills nearly every chapter. Where the Eucharistic moment is John ha highlighted the foot washing and teachings about putting others first. He then inserts this most ancient Jewish hunger--seeing God face to face, communing as friend with friend, as Adam and Eve did in the garden.
John's account of Jesus crucifixiojn reveals himself as the only male disciple who didn't abandon Jesus but was fully present. He alone records the Water pouring out from his side when the soldier pierced his side to confirm death.
And our response: Is to lay down our lives as he did; for our friends and enemies alike. Ours is an iconic life, Jesus living his own story out in us as we fully surrender and trust.
Q: Is your life a 'living story of Jesus'? How so? In what sense? How not?
Prayer: Please pray for one another and each for our selves, families, Faith Community.Remember Naomi (Surgury), Pastor Jamie, Shirley, Mary, Jon's Son-Dalvid, and those who continue to mourn those who are with the Lord.
Sources & Study Lesson
Lesson #10 of NDC's Worshipping Series on Jeremiah, Prime Time Study on "The Upside Down Gospel of Jeremiah"
Note: Some of the above pictures and information have been partially created with Google and Hexaagen associated AI servers.
Visual Sources
Background on Lesson # 10, for Time Primers on Jeremiah 32
Selections from Pastor Paul's Message on Jeremiah 32 (Parts 1 & 2)
A Total Contrast to Todays Lesson, but great rock song
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