The passage

2Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there.’ 8In Tahpanhes the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 9“While the Jews are watching, take some large stones with you and bury them in clay in the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes.

Also referenced today

The shape of the message

1. Fear, uncertainty, and the temptation to choose what feels safe
2. Seeking endorsement instead of guidance and rejecting God’s word
3. Broken promises and forced flight to Egypt
4. Jeremiah’s long faithfulness and God’s measure of success
5. God’s word reaching them in Egypt and the sign of the buried stones
6. Judgment following them to Egypt and the call to stop running

Questions to hold while you listen

• Where do you see the difference between asking God for direction and asking God to approve what you already want?
• What are the “results” you tend to use to measure success, and how does the call to faithfulness challenge that?
• What is a practical example of “Egypt looking safer than obedience” in your own decision-making?
• How does the idea that God’s word still came to Jeremiah in Egypt confront the way people try to outrun obedience?
• What would it look like for you to obey promptly and fully in one area where you have been delaying or offering partial obedience?

Notes

This week

Watch for the impulse to run toward what feels familiar and controllable, and choose surrender instead of escape. Stop running, trust God, and obey where he has already made his direction clear.