Weekly Teaching Reflection
February 15th Reflection
Sermon Notes and Discussion Questions
Return to Me: The Prophecy of Jeremiah
Seeking the Good
Deportation Timeline:
605 BC – 1st Deportation (Daniel 1:1-6)
597 BC – 2nd Deportation (2 Kings 24:10-16)
593 BC – We Are Here (Jeremiah 27-29)
586 BC – Final Deportation and Destruction of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:1-21)
***Map from earlier in the series***
Jeremiah 28:1-4
In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: 2 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
Jeremiah 29:1
This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Jeremiah 29:4-6
4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.
Jeremiah 29:7
7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Psalm 137: 1-4, 8-9
1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land?
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.
Jeremiah 6:13-14
13 “From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.
14 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
when there is no peace.
Resistance Ethic vs. Shalom Ethic
Jeremiah 29:8-9
8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 29:10
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.
Jeremiah 29:11-14
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Seeking with all of your heart = a readiness to obey
14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Jeremiah 29:15-19
15 You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” 16 but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile—17 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse and an object of horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. 19 For they have not listened to my words,” declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 29:28
28 He has sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’”
Daniel 1:1-17
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.[b] 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.
6 Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
1 Peter 1:1
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,
1 Peter 1:17
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.
Foreigners=people who are settled here on a non-permanent -basis.
1 Peter 2:11
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
1 Peter 5:13-14
13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
1. Be Holy
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
2. Do Good
1 Peter 2:11-12
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
1 Peter 2:15
For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.
1 Peter 2:20
But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
1 Peter 3:17
For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
3. Honor Everyone
1 Peter 2:13-17
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
4. Be willing to suffer for doing good.
7 Distinctives of the Early Church
Integrity and business practices
Sexual discipline and restraint
Mutual siblingship between male and female children and elderly
Manifestations of divine power, exorcisms, and prayers for healing
Identification with, and care for the poor
Prohibition of retaliation and violence
The refusal to compel religious belief of anybody
Signs we have abandoned “exile” as our identity:
We carry a God is with us, and not them, impulse
We no longer see image bearers to be engaged, but enemies to be defeated
We believe we are fighting for the truth, so our hatred/contempt of others is justified
We believe political power is necessary to make the most of the gospel
Fear and threat are the primary lenses through which we see the world
The most eloquent testimony to the reality of the resurrection is not an empty tomb or a well-orchestrated pageant on Easter Sunday but rather a group of people whose life together is so radically different, so completely changed from the way the world builds a community, that there can be no explanation other than that something decisive has happened in history.
Will Willimon
Discussion Questions
What are the key differences between Hananiah’s “resistance ethic” and Jeremiah’s “shalom ethic”? Why do you think Jeremiah’s message would have been so difficult to accept?
After reading Psalm 137, how might the command in Jeremiah 29:7 have sounded to grieving exiles? What does this teach us about obedience when emotions run deep?
What does it practically mean to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city”? How is this different from withdrawal, revolt, or blind allegiance?
In Daniel 1 and Daniel 3, where do we see cooperation with Babylon and where do we see refusal? What principles can we draw about faithful non-participation?
How does understanding the larger context (judgment, 70 years, corporate promise) reshape how we interpret “For I know the plans I have for you”? What dangers arise when we isolate this verse?
Peter calls believers “foreigners and exiles.” In what ways does that description resonate (or not) with how Christians see themselves today?
Which of the listed warning signs (e.g., “enemies to be defeated,” “fear as primary lens,” “political power as necessary for gospel success”) feels most relevant or tempting in our cultural moment?
Peter calls believers to be holy (distinct) and to do good publicly. How can a community be clearly distinct without becoming hostile or withdrawn?
Key Scripture for Reflection
Encourage the group to slowly read and reflect on these passages:
Jeremiah 29:4–7
“Build houses and settle down… Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile… Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Jeremiah 29:10–14
“When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you… For I know the plans I have for you… Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
1 Peter 2:11–12, 17
“I urge you, as foreigners and exiles… Live such good lives among the pagans… Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”
Psalm 137:1–4 (to feel the emotional weight of exile)
For Practice This Week
Seek the Shalom of Your “Babylon.”
Choose one intentional act that reflects Jeremiah 29 and 1 Peter 2:
Pray: Each day this week, pray specifically for: Your city/community, Local leaders (even those you disagree with), The flourishing of institutions that serve the common good
Do Public Good: Engage in one visible act of community benefit: Support a local school, shelter, or civic initiative, Encourage or serve a neighbor, participate in something that contributes to the common good
Practice Faithful Distinction: Identify one area where cultural pressure subtly shapes you (speech, media habits, consumerism, anger, fear).
Examine Your Heart
Do I see others as image-bearers or enemies?
Is fear shaping my imagination?
Am I trusting political power more than the quiet faithfulness of exile?