Weekly Teaching Reflection
January 25th Reflection
Sermon Notes and Discussion Questions
Return to Me: The Prophecy of Jeremiah
The Anguish of God
Jeremiah 3:12
12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north:
“‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord,
‘I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord,
‘I will not be angry forever.
Jeremiah 3:13-14
13 Only acknowledge your guilt—
you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods
under every spreading tree,
and have not obeyed me,’”
declares the Lord.
14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.
Turn:
Turn to something from something, or a return to a place you just left.
Jeremiah 3:22
22 “Return, faithless people;
I will cure you of backsliding.”
“Yes, we will come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
Jeremiah 4:1-2
“If you, Israel, will return,
then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
and no longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
then the nations will invoke blessings by him
and in him they will boast.”
Jeremiah 4:3-4
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Break up your unplowed ground
and do not sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
circumcise your hearts,
you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
The Heart: the place where you decide to obey God or not obey God.
Jeremiah 4:4
or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.
Jeremiah 4:5-6
“Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say:
‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
‘Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities!’
6 Raise the signal to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster from the north,
even terrible destruction.”
Jeremiah 4:7-9
7 A lion has come out of his lair;
a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his place
to lay waste your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins
without inhabitant.
8 So put on sackcloth,
lament and wail,
for the fierce anger of the Lord
has not turned away from us.
9 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“the king and the officials will lose heart,
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets will be appalled.”
Jeremiah 4:10
10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!”
Jeremiah 4:11-14
11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them.”
13 Look! He advances like the clouds,
his chariots come like a whirlwind,
his horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us! We are ruined!
14 Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.
How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?
Jeremiah 4:15-18
15 A voice is announcing from Dan,
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16 “Tell this to the nations,
proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,
raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
17 They surround her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled against me,’”
declares the Lord.
18 “Your own conduct and actions
have brought this on you.
This is your punishment.
How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart!”
Jeremiah 4:19
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
I writhe in pain.
Oh, the agony of my heart!
My heart pounds within me,
I cannot keep silent.
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;
I have heard the battle cry.
Jeremiah 4:20-22
20 Disaster follows disaster;
the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “My people are fools;
they do not know me.
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil;
they know not how to do good.”
“I looked”
Jeremiah 4:23-26
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens,
and their light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
all its towns lay in ruins
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.
Jeremiah 4:27-28
27 This is what the Lord says:
“The whole land will be ruined,
though I will not destroy it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn
and the heavens above grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not relent,
I have decided and will not turn back.”
Jeremiah 4:29-31
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers
every town takes to flight.
Some go into the thickets;
some climb up among the rocks.
All the towns are deserted;
no one lives in them.
30 What are you doing, you devastated one?
Why dress yourself in scarlet
and put on jewels of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?
You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers despise you;
they want to kill you.
31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,
a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
my life is given over to murderers.”
We encounter a God who relentlessly invites His people to return.
This is a God who is in anguish.
God’s judgment must always be heard through the anguish of God’s love.
Jesus carries Jeremiah’s story forward
Luke 19:41-44
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
So why does Jeremiah matter?
Jeremiah reveals the heart of Christ before Christ arrives
Some of us are caught in patterns of self-destruction.
Some of us desperately want to be Jeremiahs in our world.
And some of us are simply tired and sad.
The God who begs, and the God who weeps is also the God who makes all things new.
Discussion Questions
What does repentance (turning/returning) look like in this text? How is it different from simply feeling bad or trying harder?
God repeatedly invites Israel back despite decades of refusal. What does this reveal about God’s character? Where do you personally struggle to believe that God’s invitation really is “always yes”?
Jeremiah portrays judgment as God allowing the consequences of Israel’s choices. How does this challenge or reshape common ideas about God as angry or eager to punish?
The text shows God in anguish, not indifference. How does the image of a grieving God affect the way you read difficult or violent passages in Scripture?
Jeremiah uses “uncreation” language from Genesis 1 to describe Jerusalem’s fall. Why do you think the Bible uses such intense imagery? What does it communicate about the seriousness of sin and the loss of shalom?
Jesus echoes Jeremiah (warning, weeping, and inviting repentance). How does seeing Jesus as the fulfillment of Jeremiah help unify the Old and New Testaments for you?
The teaching suggests we are not called to imitate Jeremiah directly, but Christ.
What is the difference between being “prophetic” in a Christlike way versus a confrontational or self-righteous way?
Key Scripture Verses for Reflection
You may want to read these slowly together and sit with one or two in silence:
Jeremiah 3:12
“Return, faithless Israel… for I am faithful… I will not be angry forever.”Jeremiah 3:22
“Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.”Jeremiah 4:1–2
“If you will return… then return to me… in truth, justice, and righteousness.”Jeremiah 4:14
“Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.”Jeremiah 4:19
“Oh, my anguish, my anguish!… I cannot keep silent.”Jeremiah 4:18
“Your own conduct and actions have brought this on you.”Luke 19:41–42
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it…”
For Practice This Week: Turning Without Fear
Sometime this week, set aside 10–15 minutes for quiet reflection and prayer.
Name one area of your life where you sense distance, resistance, or self-destructive patterns (something you’ve maybe brought to God before).
Resist the urge to explain or justify. Simply acknowledge it honestly, as Jeremiah invites: “Only acknowledge your guilt.”
Pray a simple prayer of return, such as:
“God, I am turning back to You here. I trust that You receive me.”Sit with the truth that God meets repentance with mercy, not exhaustion or disgust.
Optional extension:
Throughout the week, notice moments where you are tempted to respond to brokenness (your own or others’) with judgment, cynicism, or withdrawal. Ask instead: What would it look like to respond with Christlike anguish that moves toward love?