September 21 2025, Sunday School Lesson

In Heaven and Earth

Lesson Text: Jeremiah 23:18-24

Related scriptures: Deuteronomy 31:24-29; Jeremiah 23:9-15; Isaiah 57:15-21; Ezekiel 13:1-16; Acts 17:24-31

TIME: probably between 597 and 586 B.C.

PLACE: Jerusalem

GOLDEN TEXT – “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? Saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:24)

Introduction

Jeremiah 23 wrestles with a theological question that pervades the whole book of Jeremiah: What is truth?

Truth is an attribute of God’s character (cf. Ex. 34:6). That is why living a life of obedience to God is called walking in truth (Ps. 86:11). It was because God is true that Abraham rightly trusted Him, even when all other objective evidence would make such an act illogical (Gen. 15:6). But faith is not baseless or unreasonable. It instead recognizes God as the only perfect truth and therefore as perfectly trustworthy. Any attempt to interpret reality apart from Him is fundamentally, irreparably flawed.

Prophets in Jeremiah’s day were not walking in or speaking God’s truth. How was Jeremiah to respond? One angle he took was to emphasize God’s omnipresence. No false prophet can hide from His presence, and that means no false prophet will ultimately succeed.

LESSON OUTLINE

I. COUNTERFIET CREDENTIALS - Jer. 23:18-20

II. PROFITLESS PROPHETS - Jer. 23:21-22

III. RADICAL REALITY – Jer. 23:233-24

QUESTIONS

1. What did Jeremiah say was wrong with the false prophets?

2. What was the divine council like according to the mythology of ancient nations outside of Israel?

3. How is the biblical idea of a divine council different?

4. What was the relationship between the divine council and Old Testament prophets?

5. What did Jeremiah understand about Israel’s future that none of the false prophets did?

6. What was the “whirlwind” Jeremiah prophesied about (Jer. 23:19)?

7. What false claims about God might have been made if He did not defend Himself against the false prophets?

8. that Jeremiah was a true prophet, and the others were not?

9. What misconception about His presence did God address in verse 23?

10. What was the false prophets’ fatal flaw?

ANSWERS

1. Rather, he claimed that the reason there was a conflict between him and the other prophets was that they had not actually heard from God.

2. The idea of a god as part of a collective was common in many ancient cultures. Even today, we are familiar with the gods of Greek or Norse mythology, such as Thor, Atena, Loki, or Aphrodite. Such pantheons were likewise found in the mythology of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and various Canaanite peoples. Every pantheon presented different gods who ruled over various aspects of the physical world, from the forces of nature to the inner workings of empires. Although the identities of those gods changed depending on the culture, the underlying principle remained the same: the universe was run by a team of divine beings, usually overseen by one being who had proven to be more worthy than the others.

3. The biblical concept of the divine council bears some similarities but is fundamentally different. Whereas in all other religions the gods would frequently challenge one another for rank and supremacy, in the Bible there is no question who the King of kings, Lord of lords, and God of “gods” is (Deu. 10:17; cf. Rev. 19:16).

4. Only those humans who are chosen and changed are capable of truly seeing the spiritual realm coexisting around them (cf. 2 Kgs. 6:17). That transformation is necessary so the prophet can clearly communicate what he sees and hears.

5. He could see what those other prophets could not. He had a clear view of the impending doom that was coming for God’s people.

6. As elaborated later in Jeremiah, the incoming storm was more than just a meteorological event. It was a metaphor for the impending invasion and conquest by the Babylonian Empire (cf. Jer. 25:15-32; Isa. 30:30).

7. The disastrous results of the false prophets’ message could open the door for people to point accusing fingers at God. Once the calamity did come on the people of Israel, people might claim that He had not told the people the truth about what was coming.

8. God’s evidence actually hearkened back to the prophetic criteria given in Deuteronomy 18:21-22. A prophet’s message was tested by comparing what they claimed would happen (the content) against what actually did happen (the outcome). God told Jeremiah that his message would not be well received (cf. Jer. 1:8, 18-19). He warned Jeremiah that the people would refuse to listen to him (7:27). Therefore, their negative reaction to Jeremiah’s message was, ironically, proof that his message was valid.

9. One reason people were confident that God would not send His people into exile was that the temple stood in Jerusalem. Why would He send them away from His temple, the place where His presence dwelled? Surely He wanted them close enough that He could keep an eye on them, speak to them, correct them, and bless them.

10. Ultimately, the prophets’ fatal flaw was that they had too small a view of God.