Tuesday, December 25, 2018

January 6, 2019 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – Cursed or Equipped


-            The



Cursed or Equipped

Joshua 1:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

When did the Lord talk to Joshua (verse 1)?

What are Joshua and “all these people” to get ready to do (verse 2)?

Who did God promise to “give you every place where you set your foot” (verse 3)?

What will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates-all the Hittite country-to the Mediterranean Sea in the west (verse 4)?

How will the Lord be with Joshua (verse 5)?

Why did Joshua need to “be strong and courageous” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does the command to “be strong and very courageous” appear right before the instruction to “be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you” (verse 7)?

Where was the Book of the Law always to be (verse 8)?

What was Joshua to “be careful to do” (verse 8)?

Why should Joshua not be afraid or discouraged (verse 9)?

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

Zechariah 5:1-4 - New International Version (NIV)             

1 I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.

He asked me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.”

And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’”

What was before Zechariah (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why is it important to know that the scroll was “twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide” (verse 2)?

Where is the curse going (verse 3)?

What will happen to “every thief” and “everyone who swears falsely” (verse 3)?

What will happen to the houses of every theif and everyone who swears falsely by God’s name (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, how is God’s promise regarding the Book of the Law in Joshua 1:1-9 related to the curse from Zechariah 5:1-4?

John 12:44-50 – New International Version (NIV)

44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

Who cried out “whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me” (verse 44)?

Who sees the One who sent Jesus (verse 45)?

Why did Jesus come into the world as a light (verse 46)?

What won’t Jesus do to the person who “hears my words but does not keep them” (verse 47)?

Why did Jesus come into the world (verse 47)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean by saying “the very words I have spoken” will condemn those who don’t accept them (verse 48)?

Who commanded Jesus to speak (verse 49)?

What leads to eternal life (verse 50)?

What does Jesus say (verse 50)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the Book of the Law that Joshua was commanded to follow in Joshua 1:1-9 and the Words of Jesus that will condemn those who reject Jesus in John 12:44-50?

In your opinion, how are the ones who are cursed for swearing falsely by God’s name by the scoll in Zechariah 5:1-4 and those who are condemned by the Words of Jesus for rejecting Him in John 12:44-50 similar?

2 Timothy 3:12-17 – New International Version (NIV)

12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Who will be persecuted (verse 12)?

What will “evildoers and impostors” do (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he instructs Timothy to “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of” (verse 14)?

How long has Timothy “known the Holy Scriptures” (verse 15)?

What are the “Holy Scriptures” able to do for Timothy (verse 15)?

What is “God-breathed” (verse 16)?

How is the “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” provided by Scripture beneficial to the “servant of God” (verses 16 and 17)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the promise to Joshua in Joshua 1:1-9 to  Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” and Paul’s instruction to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12-17 that All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”?

In your opinion, how are the people who are recipients of the curse that goes out in Zechariah 5:1-4 and those who are blessed by the “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training” of the Scripture in 2 Timothy 3:12-17 similar?  How are they different?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12-17 that Scripture is “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” but Jesus in John 12:44-50 said they are the judge for those who reject Him and “will condemn them at the last day”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Zechariah, John and 2 Timothy teach us about the Holy Scriptures?

In your opinion, how can we move from a fear of being cursed because of what is in the Scriptures to utilizing the Scriptures to become “thoroughly equipped for every good work”?



(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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