The passage

1Then the word of the Lord came to me: 2“You must not marry and have sons or daughters in this place.” 3For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers: 4“They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like dung lying on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”

Also referenced today

The shape of the message

1. Jeremiah’s restricted life as a sign of coming disaster
2. Singleness, protection, and prophetic symbolism
3. No mourning and no feasting as judgement signals
4. Personal responsibility for sin and the problem of blaming the past
5. Restoration promised: a new deliverance story from Babylon
6. God’s all-seeing eyes, repentance, and witness to the nations

Questions to hold while you listen

• What parts of Jeremiah’s life (singleness, silence, absence from social rituals) were meant to communicate something to Judah, and why would God choose that kind of sign?
• Where do you find yourself tempted to blame the past for present disobedience, and how does Jeremiah 16:12 challenge that?
• If someone asked, “Tell me about how God is moving in your life today,” what would you say, and what does it expose about what you’re asking God for?
• What is one specific way you can make yourself more available and “interruptible” for God’s purposes this week?
• What present difficulty might God be using to deepen your relationship with Him and to show others the emptiness of idols?

Notes

This week

Pray daily, in plain words, for God to use you—“Here I am…send me”—and ask for opportunities to witness, serve, and encourage. Watch for one new “God story” this week that shows His mercy at work now.