Throwing a Party for the Recabites
I. God WORKS in MYSTERIOUS ways. (v.1-11)
A. Jeremiah THROWS a PARTY. (v.1-5)
B. The IMPORTANCE of LOCATION. (v.2,4)
C. A TRAP or a DEMONSTRATION? (v.5)
D. The FAITHFULNESS within a FAMILY. (v.6-11)
There are a lot of unusual stories in the Bible, but this one, especially the first 11 verses seems a little weird. Why would God tell Jeremiah do this, to throw a wine (was their cheese?) party for a family that hadn’t drank wine for more than 5 generations? Well… sometimes God does unusual things…but he does them with a purpose.
1. Kid’s Question: What is the weirdest story in the Bible in your opinion?
2. Who do you admire because of their character and commitment to what they believe? (Who is a Recabite that you know?)
II. God’s METHOD underneath the MYSTERY. (V.12-19)
A. A visible COMPARISON and CONTRAST. (v.12-14)
B. A REMINDER of their HISTORY. (v.15-16)
C. A repeated FAILURE to LISTEN… (v.17)
D. …to the GOD who longs to WELCOME. (v.18-19)
In verses 12-19 we begin to see what God is up to. He’s using the faithfulness of a family to challenge the lack of faithfulness that he sees in His own. The Recabites have held to the teaching of their ancestor for over 5 generations. Yet despite repeated warnings, the nation of Israel has refused to listen to God.
3. God has spoken repeatedly to Israel through Jeremiah. How do you hear what God is saying today? How can you know that it’s God?
4. When have you sensed God telling you something in the past? How did you respond?
5. What does God’s words to the Recabites tell you about the type of God that He is?
III. LENT is for LISTENING. (Jer. 33:2-3)
A. DISRUPTION: Adopt a listening POSTURE. (v.1-2; Mk 1:36-38; Mk 8:33)
B. SENSES: Learn to listen HOLISTICALLY. (v.13; 2 Tim. 3:15-16; Ps. 19:1-4; Rom. 1:20)
C. RESPONSE: Listening is more than HEARING. (v.15; James 1:22)
D. TRANSFORMATION: Listening makes a STATEMENT. (v.14; Jn 13:35; Acts 4:13)
The theme for our season of Lent is that “Lent is for Listening.” The message of Jeremiah keeps falling on deaf ears. The people aren’t willing to hear the message and respond to it by changing their direction. Every year the season of Lent is a time when we spend listening to God about the state of our own lives…and choosing to respond.
6. Are you embracing disruption in any way through this Lenten Season? If so how? What are your hopes for this time?
7. What are some of the ways that you think you might have been missing out in your “listening holistically”?
8. How does the contrast of a church following Jesus stand out in our current culture? What are the points of conflict when we live that way? How do we navigate those?