From
a Cave to Being a Dwelling for the Holy Spirit
1 Kings 19:9-18 - New International Version (NIV)
1 Kings 19:9-18 - New International Version (NIV)
9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing
here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have
rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death
with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me
too.”
11 The Lord said, “Go
out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord
is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful
wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an
earthquake, but the Lord was not
in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire,
but the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah
heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth
of the cave.
Then a voice said to him,
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have
rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death
with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me
too.”
15 The Lord said to him,
“Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get
there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint
Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel
Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to
death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who
escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven
thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths
have not kissed him.”
Who
ask Elijah “what are you doing here” (verse
9)?
Who had Elijah been zealous for (verse 10)?
What have the Israelites rejected (verse 10)?
Who was not in the powerful wind or in the earthquake (verse 11)?
In your opinion, what is the significance of the gentle whisper (verse 12)?
What did Elijah do when he heard the gentle whisper (verse 13)?
What had the Israelites done (verse 14)?
Who is trying to kill Elijah (verse 14)?
In your opinion, why is it important for Elijah to “go back the way you came” (verse 15)?
What was Elijah to anoint Jehu to be (verse 16)?
What was Elijah to anoint Elisha to do (verse 16)?
How many does the Lord have in reserve “whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him” (verse 18)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
1 Ask the Lord for rain
in the springtime;
it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain to all people,
and plants of the field to everyone.
2 The idols speak deceitfully,
diviners see visions that lie;
they tell dreams that are false,
they give comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain to all people,
and plants of the field to everyone.
2 The idols speak deceitfully,
diviners see visions that lie;
they tell dreams that are false,
they give comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
3 “My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;
for the Lord Almighty will care
for his flock, the people of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler.
5 Together they will be like warriors in battle
trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.
and I will punish the leaders;
for the Lord Almighty will care
for his flock, the people of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler.
5 Together they will be like warriors in battle
trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.
6 “I will strengthen Judah
and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
and I will answer them.
7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will signal for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous as before.
9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon,
and there will not be room enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
Assyria’s pride will be brought down
and Egypt’s scepter will pass away.
12 I will strengthen them in the Lord
and in his name they will live securely,”
declares the Lord.
and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
and I will answer them.
7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will signal for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous as before.
9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon,
and there will not be room enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
Assyria’s pride will be brought down
and Egypt’s scepter will pass away.
12 I will strengthen them in the Lord
and in his name they will live securely,”
declares the Lord.
Who gives “showers of rain
to all people” (verse 1)?
Why do “the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd” (verse 2)?
Who will “the Lord Almighty” care for (verse 3)?
What will come from Judah (verse 4)?
Why will the Lord restore the “tribes of Joseph” (verse 6)?
In your opinion, why is it significant that in this message the Lord uses the word “redeem” (verse 8)?
Where will the Lord be remembered (verse 9)?
What will the returning people pass through (verse 11)?
How will they be strengthened (verse 12)?
How will they live securely (verse 12)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how are the circumstances of the remnant that the Lord tells Elijah has been reserved in 1 Kings 10:9-18 and the people who will remember the Lord in distant lands in Zechariah 10:1-12 similar?
John 1:29-34 – New International Version (NIV)
29 The next day John saw
Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the
sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I
said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I
myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he
might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this
testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.
33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent
me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down
and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I
have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
Who does John
say is “the Lamb of God, who takes away
the sin of the world” (verse 29)?
In your opinion, what does John mean when
he says the “man who comes after me has
surpassed me because he was before me” (verse 30)?
Why did John come “baptizing with water” (verse 31)?
What did John see (verse 32)?
Who will “baptize with the Holy Spirit” (verse 33)?
Who does John say that Jesus is (verse
34)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does Zechariah speaking of the Lord redeeming those who were wandering “like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd” in Zechariah 10:1-12 begin to help us understand why John the Baptist said that Jesus came as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” in John 1:29-34?
Ephesians 2:13-22 – New International Version (NIV)
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been
brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and
has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by
setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His
purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making
peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to
God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He
came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were
near. 18 For through him we both have access to the
Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but
fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as
the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is
joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And
in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives
by his Spirit.
Who
has been “brought near by the blood of
Christ” (verse 13)?
What has Jesus destroyed (verse 14)?
How has Jesus set aside “the law with its commands and regulations” (verse 15)?
How did Jesus “reconcile both of them to God” (verse 16)?
Who did Jesus preach peace to (verse 17)?
How do we have “access to the Father by one Spirit” (verse 18)?
In your opinion, who are “no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” (verse 19)?
Who is the “chief cornerstone” (verse 20)?
What “is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (verse 21)?
Who is “being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (verse 22)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does God address Elijah’s loneliness as His follower in 1 Kings 19:9-18 and a Christians feeling of isolation in Ephesians 2:13-22?
In your opinion, what promise does God fulfill in Ephesians 2:13-22 that was made to those who “wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd” in Zechariah 10:1-12?
your opinion, how does Ephesians 2:13-22 help us understand what Jesus had to do to be able to “baptize with the Holy Spirit” as promised by John the Baptist in John 1:29-34?
In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Kings, Zechariah, John and Ephesians teach us about the provision of God?
In your opinion, how can we move from being isolated people to becoming part of the “holy temple in the Lord” and “a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit”?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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