October 13, 2024 – A Study of Matthew – The Testing Test

The Testing Test

Deuteronomy 6:10-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

¹³ Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. ¹⁴ Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; ¹⁵ for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. ¹⁶ Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. ¹⁷ Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. ¹⁸ Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, ¹⁹ thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.

²⁰ In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” ²¹ tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²² Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. ²³ But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. ²⁴ The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. ²⁵ And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”

Who did the Lord swear to about the promised land (verse 10)?

Who are the Israelites to “be careful” not to forget when they “eat and are satisfied” (verses 11 and 12)?

How is the Lord described (verse 13)?

Who are the Israelites not to follow (verse 14)?

Where is the Lord (verse 15)?

What did the Israelites do at Massah that they’re not to do now (verse 16)? (if you are interested see Exodus 17:1-7 to read about Massah)

Why were the Israelites to “do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight” (verse 18)?

How are the Israelites to answer the question “what is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you” (verses 20 and 21)?

Where did the Lord send “signs and wonders” (verse 22)?

What did the Lord give the Israelites (verse 23)?

When would the Israelites “always prosper and be kept alive” (verse 24)?

What will be the Israelites “righteousness” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about testing?

Psalm 91:9-16 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

Why is the first word crucial to understanding everything that follows (verse 9)?

What is the Lord (verse 9)?

Where will disaster not come (verse 10)?

Who will the Lord command (verse 11)?

Why will the foot not strike the stone (verse 12)?

What will the foot tread on (verse 13)?

Why will the Lord rescue and protect (verse 14)?

Where will the Lord be “in trouble” (verse 15)?

What will the Lord “show him” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about testing?

In your opinion, what is the difference between putting “the Lord your God to the test” that we are warned not to do in Deuteronomy 6:10-25 and taking refuge in the Lord in Psalm 91:9-16?

Matthew 4:5-7 - New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Where did the devil take Jesus (verse 5)?

Where did the devil have Jesus stand (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why is the first word in verse 6 crucial to understanding everything that follows (verse 6)?

What was Jesus to do if He was God’s Son (verse 6)?

What was the devil’s point when he quoted “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that your will not strike your foot against a stone” (verse 6)?

How did Jesus answer the devil (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about testing?

In your opinion, how does Deuteronomy 6:10-25 give richness and strength to Jesus answer to the devil in Matthew 4:5-7? 

In your opinion, what can we learn about the devil’s deceit in quoting part of Psalm 91:9-16 to encourage Jesus to jump off the highest point of the temple in Matthew 4:5-7?

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. ² They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³ They all ate the same spiritual food ⁴ and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. ⁵ Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

⁶ Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. ⁷ Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” ⁸ We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. ⁹ We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. ¹⁰ And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

¹¹ These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. ¹² So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

What did “our ancestors” pass through (verse 1)?

What were they all “baptized into” (verse 2)?

What did they  all eat (verse 3)?

Who was the “spiritual rock” that they all drank from (verse 4)?

How did God feel about “most of them” (verse 5)?

Why did these things occur (verse 6)?

How did Paul demonstrate that some of the people were idolaters (verse 7)?

What happened to those who tested Christ (verse 9)?

Why were people killed “by the destroying angel” (verse 10)?

Why were these things written down (verse 11)?

When should we “be careful that” we don’t fall (verse 12)?

What kind of temptation has fallen on us (verse 13)?

What will God provide (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about testing?

In your opinion, what can we learn from Moses’s instructions in Deuteronomy 6:10-25 to those who were going to enter the promised land but were also descendants of those who 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 says are examples to us?

In your opinion, how is saying “the Lord is my Refuge” with the Psalmist in Psalm 91:9-16 a part of the “way out” that 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 says that the Lord will provide?

In your opinion, how is the command to not test God in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 made more difficult by the devil twisting Scripture as he did in Matthew 4:5-7?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Psalms, Matthew, and 1 Corinthians help us understand about “testing God”?

In your opinion, how can our relationship with God help us grow stronger when we are tested and also help us avoid the temptation to test God?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

October 6, 2024 – A Study of Matthew – Word of Life

Word of Life

Deuteronomy 8:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. ² Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴ Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. ⁵ Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

⁶ Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. ⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; ⁸ a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; ⁹ a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

What do the Israelite people need to do to “live and increase” (verse 1)?

Why did the Lord lead them into the “wilderness these forty years” (verse 2)?

Who caused the Israelites to hunger (verse 3)?

What does man “live on” (verse 3)?

How long did the Israelites clothes last (verse 4)?

Where are they to know that the Lord disciplines them (verse 5)?

Who were the Israelites to revere (verse 6)?

What kind of land is the Lord bringing them into (verse 7)?

What will the Israelites lack in the land (verse 9)?

What are the Israelites to do after they “have eaten and are satisfied” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what do we learn about God’s Word in this passage?

Matthew 4:1-4 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Who led Jesus “into the wilderness” (verse 1)?

What was going to happen to Jesus in the wilderness (verse 1)?

Why was Jesus hungry (verse 2)?

Who came to Jesus (verse 3)?

What was Jesus to do if He was “the Son of God” (verse 3)?

What was written (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what do we learn about God’s Word in this passage?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that Moses gave the Israelite people the instruction about living on “every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” as they were preparing to leave the forty years they had spent in the wilderness in Deuteronomy 8:1-10 and Jesus quoted it to the tempter after forty days of fasting in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1-4?

John 1:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

When “was the Word” (verse 1)?

Where was “the Word” (verse 1)?

What was “the Word” (verse 1)?

Who was the Word with “in the beginning” (verse 2)?

What was made through the Word (verse 3)?

What was made without the Word (verse 3)?

Where was the “life that was the light of all mankind” (verse 4)?

Where does the light shine (verse 5)?

What has not overcome the light (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what do we learn about God’s Word in this passage?

In your opinion, how is the word that Moses talks about in Deuteronomy 8:1-8 related to the Word that John introduces in John 1:1-5? 

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s answer to the tempter in Matthew 4:1-4 become more powerful when you consider that the Word is the creator, the life, and the light of humanity?

1 John 1:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ² The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We write this to make our joy complete.

What does John do with “that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched” (verse 1)?

What appeared (verse 2)?

What does John proclaim to (verse 2)?

Where was the life (verse 2)?

Why does John proclaim “what we have seen and heard” (verse 3)?

Who is in fellowship with John (verse 3)?

Why does John write (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what do we learn about God’s Word in this passage?

In your opinion, how are the commands of Moses to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 8:1-10 being fulfilled by John in 1 John 1:1-4 as he proclaims the Word of life?

In your opinion, how is the living “that comes from the mouth of God” in Matthew 4:1-4 more fully explained in 1 John 1:1-4?  How would you compare it to the life that comes from eating bread?

In your opinion, how is John’s theologically important discussion of the Word in John 1:1-5 made real by his testimony in 1 John 1:1-4?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Matthew, John and 1 John teach about what gives us life?

In your opinion, when is Jesus’s answer to the tempter appropriate for us to give today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 29, 2024 – A Study of Matthew – Transforming Love

Transforming Love

Psalm 2:1-12 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Why do the nations conspire
    and the peoples plot in vain?
² The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
³ “Let us break their chains
    and throw off their shackles.”

⁴ The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.
⁵ He rebukes them in his anger
    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
⁶ “I have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.”

⁷ I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have become your father.
⁸ Ask me,
    and I will make the nations your inheritance,
    the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹ You will break them with a rod of iron;
    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

¹⁰ Therefore, you kings, be wise;
    be warned, you rulers of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear
    and celebrate his rule with trembling.
¹² Kiss his son, or he will be angry
    and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
    Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Who conspires (verse 1)?

Who bands together “against the Lord and against his anointed” (verse 2)?

What do they want to “throw off” (verse 3)?

How does “the One enthroned in heaven” respond (verse 4)?

How do they react to “his wrath” (verse 5)?

Who has the Lord installed “on Zion, my holy mountain” (verse 6)?

What is the Lord’s decree (verse 7)?

When will the Lord make “the nations your inheritance” (verse 8)?

How will they be broken (verse 9)?

Who should “be warned” (verse 10)?

How should the Lord’s rule be celebrated (verse 11)?

Who is blessed (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the Son of God?

Isaiah 11:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
    and a little child will lead them.
⁷ The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. ¹¹ In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

Where will the shoot “come up from” (verse 1)?

What will “rest on him” (verse 2)?

What will He “delight in” (verse 3)?

How will He “strike the earth” (verse 4)?

What will “be his belt” (verse 5)?

Where will the lamb live (verse 6)?

What will the lion eat (verse 7)?

Where will the young child put its hand (verse 8)?

What will the earth be filled with “as the waters cover the sea” (verse 9)?

Who will “stand as a banner for the peoples” (verse 10)?

Who will the Lord “reach out his hand a second time to reclaim” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the Son of God?

In your opinion, why would the kings of the earth “band together against the Lord and against his anointed” in Psalm 2:1-12 when Isaiah 11:1-11 says that His Anointed will have “the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord” and will judge with righteousness?

Matthew 3:13-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

¹⁵ Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Where did Jesus come to (verse 13)?

What did Jesus come to do (verse 13)?

How did John react to Jesus’s purpose (verse 14)?

What did John think he needed (verse 14)?

How did John react when Jesus said, “Let it be so now, it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (verse 15)?

When was heaven opened (verse 16)?

What did Jesus see (verse 16)?

What did the voice from heaven say (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the Son of God?

In your opinion, how does Psalm 2:1-12 help us understand reluctance of John to baptize Jesus in Matthew 3:13-17? 

In your opinion, how is the shoot that “will come up from the stump of Jesse” in Isaiah 11:1-11 revealed to be so much more with the words from heaven in Matthew 3:13-17?

Ephesians 1:18-2:10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰ he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

2 ¹As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Which eyes did Paul pray “may be enlightened” (verse 18)?

What did Paul pray that the enlightenment would enable Christians to know (verses 18 and 19)?

What did God do when he exerted His “mighty strength” (verses 19 and 20)?

What is Christ seated far above (verse 21)?

Where is Christ appointed (verse 22)?

What is Christ’s body (verses 22 and 23)?

How had Christians been in their “transgressions and sins” (verse 1)?

What did Christians used to follow (verse 2)?

What were Christians “by nature deserving of” (verse 3)?

What did God, who has “great love for us” and is “rich in mercy” do “even when we were dead in transgressions” (verses 4 and 5)?

How have we been saved (verse 5)?

Where did God seat us after raising “us up with Christ” (verse 6)?

What will God show “in the coming ages” (verse 7)?

What “is the gift of God” (verse 8)?

Why can no one boast (verse 9)?

What has God “prepared in advance for us to do” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the Son of God?

In your opinion, how does Ephesian 1:18-2:10 help us understand the blessings received by those who follow the recommendation to “take refuge” in the Son in Psalm 2:1-12?

In your opinion, how is the transformation accomplished by the power of God as described in Ephesians 1:18-2:10 shown in Isaiah 11:1-11 to be only the beginning of the transformations that God’s power will accomplish?

In your opinion, how does the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:13-17 anticipate the mighty power of God raising Jesus from the dead and seating Him in the heavenly realms as described in Ephesians 1:18-2:10?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Psalms, Isaiah, Matthew, and Ephesians teach us about what the Son of God has and will accomplish?

In your opinion, how do our lives today show that the eyes of our hearts have been enlightened?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)