2 Kings 5:15-27 - New International Version (NIV)
15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He
stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world
except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”
16 The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And
even though Naaman urged him, he refused.
17 “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be
given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never
again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. 18 But may
the Lord forgive your servant for
this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he
is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple
of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive
your servant for this.”
19 “Go in peace,” Elisha said.
After Naaman had traveled
some distance, 20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man
of God, said to himself, “My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by
not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get
something from him.”
21 So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward
him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. “Is everything all right?” he
asked.
22 “Everything is all right,” Gehazi answered. “My master sent me to
say, ‘Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from
the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and
two sets of clothing.’”
23 “By all means, take two talents,” said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to
accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two
sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them
ahead of Gehazi. 24 When Gehazi came to the hill, he
took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the
men away and they left.
25 When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him,
“Where have you been, Gehazi?”
“Your servant didn’t go
anywhere,” Gehazi answered.
26 But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man
got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to
accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and
female slaves? 27 Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and
to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his
skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.
What
did Naaman know (verse 15)?
In
your opinion, why did Elisha say “as
surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will nat accept a thing” (verse 16)?
Who
will Naaman “make burnt offerings and
sacrifices” to (verse 17)?
What
did Naaman want the Lord to forgive him for (verse 18)?
How
did Elisha bless Naaman (verse 19)?
Who
thought Elisha was “too easy on Naaman” (verse
20)?
In
your opinion, why would Naaman ask “is
everything all right” (verse 21)?
What
lie did Gehazi tell to justify his request for “a talent of silver and two sets of clothing” (verse 22)?
Who
carried the two talents of silver and two sets of clothing back for Gehazi
(verse 23)?
When
did Gehazi take the things he had been given (verse 24)?
How
did Gehazi answer Elisha’s question “where
have you been” (verse 25)?
In
your opinion, why did Elisha add “olive
groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves” to
his question to Gehazi (verse 26)?
What
will cling to Gehazi and his descendants forever (verse 27)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
Luke 16:1-13 - New International
Version (NIV)
1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose
manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called
him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management,
because you cannot be manager any longer.’
3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is
taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I
know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into
their houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the
first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him,
‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels of
wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your
bill and make it eight hundred.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted
shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their
own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you,
use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you
will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with
much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with
much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling
worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And
if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give
you property of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and
love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve both God and money.”
What
was the manager accused of doing (verse 1)?
Who
ask for “an account of your management”
(verse 2)?
What
did the manager ask himself (verse 3)?
Where
did the manager want people to welcome him (verse 4)?
Who
did the manager call in (verse 5)?
What did the manager do (verses 6 and 7)?
How did the master react to what the dishonest manager did (verse 8)?
In your opinion, what does Jesus mean by saying “the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light” (verse 8)?
How should worldly wealth be used (verse 9)?
What can the person who can be trusted with little be trusted with (verse 10)?
In your opinion, what are the “true riches” that Jesus mentions (verse 11)?
Why can we only serve one master (verse 13)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, with the actions of Gehazi (2 Kings 5:15-27) and the dishonest manager (Luke 16:1-13) being so similar, why were the apparent outcomes very different?
Hebrews 1:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at
many times and in various ways, 2 but
in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of
all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact
representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After
he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty in heaven. 4 So
he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is
superior to theirs.
Who spoke “through the prophets at many times and in
various ways” (verse 1)?
Who is “heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe” (verse
2)?
In your opinion, what does Paul mean
by “the radiance of God’s glory and the
exact representation of his being” (verse 3)?
What did Jesus do after “he had provided purification for sins” (verse
4)?
Who did Jesus become superior to (verse
4)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does Paul show in Hebrews 1:1-4 that Jesus is different from the negative example of the dishonest manager of Luke 16:1-13?
James 5:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)
1 Now listen, you rich
people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has
rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your
gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat
your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you
failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The
cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on
earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of
slaughter. 6 You have
condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
Who
does James say should “weep and wail
because of the misery that is coming on you” (verse 1)?
What has rotted (verse 2)?
In your opinion, how will the corrosion of the gold and silver testify against the rich (verse 3)?
What cries out against the rich (verse 4)?
What have the rich fattened themselves for (verse 5)?
In your opinion, how could the rich have “condemned and murdered the innocent one” (verse 6)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does Naaman requesting “as much earth as a pair of mules may carry”, apparently for use in worshipping God, and Gehazi lying to obtain clothes and silver in 2 Kings 5:15-27 help us understand the contrast between the innocent and the rich in James 5:1-6?
In your opinion, as “people of the light” what should we learn from Jesus’ teaching about the dishonest manager in Luke 16:1-13 and James’ discussion about the corrosion of the rich people’s gold and silver in James 5:1-6?
In your opinion, how is Jesus, the “heir of all things” in Hebrews 1:1-4, who “provided purification for sins” an example for all those James 5:1-6 might consider “rich people” today?
In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Kings, Luke, Hebrews and James teach us about the consequence of our choice between “God and money”?
In your opinion, how can we be trustworthy with our little (money, time and talents) so that we may be trusted with much by the Father today and for eternity?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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