January 20, 2019 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – Resting in Jesus

Resting in Jesus

Exodus 33:12-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ ¹³ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴ The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

¹⁹ And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. ²⁰ But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

What Has the Lord been telling Moses (verse 12)?

Why did the Moses want to be taught the Lord’s ways (verse 13)?

How does the Lord promise to bless Moses (verse 14)?

Where does Moses want to go “if your Presence does not go with us” (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what else will distinguish Moses and the Israelit people “from all the other people on the face of the earth” (verse 16)?

How does the Lord know Moses (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why does Moses say “now show me your glory” (verse 18)?

What will the Lord proclaim in Moses’s presence (verse 19)?

Who will the Lord have mercy and compassion on (verse 19)?

Why can’t Moses see God’s face (verse 20)?

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

Zechariah 6:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)             

¹ I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. ² The first chariot had red horses, the second black, ³ the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. ⁴ I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵ The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world. ⁶ The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

⁷ When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.

⁸ Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit rest in the land of the north.”

Where were the four chariots “coming out from” (verse 1)?

How were the horses that pulled the chariots described (verses 2 and 3)?

Who did Zechariah ask “what are these” (verse 4)?

Who are the “four spirits of heaven” going out from (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what do the “four spirits of heaven” represent (verse 5)?

Where were the horses, that are the four spirits of heaven, “straining to go” (verse 7)?

What had the horse going to the north country accomplished (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, how is God’s Presence going with Moses and giving Moses rest in Exodus 33:12-20 different from the four chariots representing the four spirits of heaven going forth and giving God’s Spirit rest in Zechariah 6:1-8?

John 10:1-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹  “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.

Who does not “enter the sheep pen by the gate” (verse 1)?

How does the “shepherd of the sheep” enter (verse 2)?

How does the shepherd gather his sheep (verse 3)?

Why do the shepherd’s sheep follow the shepherd (verse 4)?

How do the sheep react to the stranger’s voice (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why did the Pharisees “not understand what he was telling them” (verse 6)?

What does Jesus say He is (verse 7)?

What are those who came before Jesus (verse 8)?

Who will be saved (verse 9)?

Why has Jesus come (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why does the good shepherd lay “down his life for the sheep” (verse 11)?

What does the hired hand do when he sees the wolf coming (verse 12)?

Who does the good shepherd know (verse 14)?

What does the good shepherd do (verse 15)?

How many flocks and shepherds will there be (verse 16)?

Why does the Father love Jesus (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s discussion about knowing the names of His sheep in John 10:1-17 enrich God telling Moses in Exodus 33:12-20 “I am very pleased with you and I know you by name”?

In your opinion, how is it better to be one of the sheep who hears Jesus voice and follows Him as Jesus described in John 10:1-17 than to be one of the people out in the world that the chariots with the powerful horses go out to see that Zechariah describes in Zechariah 6:1-8?

Hebrews 4:4-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” ⁵ And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

⁶ Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, ⁷ God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts.”

⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. ⁹ There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; ¹⁰ for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. ¹¹ Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

What did God do on the seventh day (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does the passage “they shall never enter my rest” mean (verse 5)?

What remains for “some” to do (verse 6)?

When should hearts not be hardened (verse 7)?

What would God not have done If “Joshua had given them rest” what would God not have done (verse 8)?

Who does a “Sabbath-rest” remain for (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean by “anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his” (verse 10)?

What does Paul tell us to “make every effort to” do (verse 11)?

What judges “the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (verse 12)?

How much is “uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does knowing that Moses heard the voice of the Lord and went forth with the Presence of the Lord in Exodus 33:12-20 but was not able to go into the promised land help us understand about the “rest” and the “Sabbath-rest” that Paul talks about in Hebrews 4:4-13?

In your opinion, how is the Spirit of the Lord resting in Zechariah 6:1-8 related to the rest and the Sabbath-rest that Paul is calling for people to enter in Hebrews 4:4-13?

In your opinion, what do the words of Jesus recorded in John 10:1-17 help us understand about how we enter the rest and the Sabbath-rest as Paul instructs in Hebrews 4:4-13?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Zechariah, John and Hebrews teach us about finding rest?

In your opinion, what must we do to follow instead of hardening out hearts when we hear the voice of Jesus?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 13, 2019 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – Making a Name or Patiently Enduring

-            The

Making a Name or Patiently Enduring

 Genesis 11:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

What did the “whole world” have (verse 1)?

Where did people settle (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did they say “let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly” (verse 3)?

Why did the people want “a tower that reaches to the heavens” (verse 4)?

Who came “to see the city and the tower the people were building” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why would it be bad for the world to have one people for whom “nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (verse 6)?

How did the Lord propose to keep the world from being one people for whom “nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (verse 7)?

Where did the Lord scatter the people (verse 8)?

Why was the city called Babel (verse 9)?

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

Zechariah 5:5-11 - New International Version (NIV)           

⁵ Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”

⁶ I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.” And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.”

⁷ Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! ⁸ He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.

⁹ Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

¹⁰ “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

¹¹ He replied, “To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”

Who told Zechariah to “look up and see what is appearing” (verse 5)?

What is the basket (verse 6)?

Who was in the basket (verse 7)?

About whom did the angel say “this is wickedness” (verse 8)?

What did the two women with wings “like those of a stork” do (verse 9)?

What did Zechariah ask the angel (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why is the woman being taken to “the country of Babylonia” (verse 11)?

When will the basket be set “there in its place” (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, is there a connection between the city of Babel of Genesis 11:1-9 and the country of Babylonia of Zechariah 5:5-11, and if so what is the connection?

John 12:20-29 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Who “went up to worship at the festival” (verse 20)?

What did they request of Philip (verse 21)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (verse 23)?

What must happen for a single seed to produce many seeds (verse 24)?

Who will keep their life in the world “for eternal life” (verse 25)?

What must the one who serves Jesus do (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why had Jesus come (verse 27)?

Whose name did Jesus ask the Father to glorify (verse 28)?

Where did the voice come from that said “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again” (verse 28)?

What did the crowd say they heard (verse 29)?

What did the others hear (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the motivation of the people who plan to build and tower in Genesis 11:1-9 and Jesus in John 12:20-29?

In your opinion, why wasn’t taking wickedness to Babylonia in Zechariah 5:5-11 effective in removing all wickedness and how might the hour in which the Son of Man is glorfiedin John 12:20-29 lead to a different outcome?

Revelation 14:6-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸ A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

⁹ A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, ¹⁰ they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” ¹² This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

What did the angel have to proclaim “to every nation, tribe, language and people” (verse 6)?

Who does the angel say is to be worshiped (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say that Babylon the Great “made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries” (verse 8)?

What will anyone who “worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on the forehead or on their hand” drink (verses 9 and 10)?

How long will the “smoke of their torment” rise (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to have “patient endurance” (verse 12)?

Who does the voice from heaven say is blessed (verse 13)?

Why does the Spirit say they “will rest from their labor” (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does Babylon the Great’s “maddening wine of her adulteries” that is discussed in Revelation 14:6-13 have in common with the desire to “make a name for ourselves” that the people from Babel had in Genesis 11:1-9?

In your opinion, what is the significance that in Zechariah 5:5-11 we see “wickedness” being taken to the country of Babylonia where a house will be built for it and in that Revelation 14:6-13 we are told that “Babylon the Great” who had made the nations drink the “maddening wine of her adulteries” has fallen?

In your opinion, how is hour that Jesus came for, the hour in which the Son of Man was “to be glorified”, in John 12:20-29, related to the “eternal gospel” the angel was proclaiming to all who live on the earth in Revelation 14:6-13?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, Zechariah, John and Revelation teach us about the conflict that each of us have between making “a name for ourselves” and remaining faithful to Jesus?

In your opinion, how can we live in “patient endurance” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)