Heart Conditions
Exodus
34:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)
1 The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two
stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that
were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be
ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to
me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come with
you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may
graze in front of the mountain.”
4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones
and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he
carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then
the Lord came down in
the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he
passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord,
the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining
love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet
he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and
their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 “Lord,”
he said, “if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with
us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness
and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”
What
words will the Lord write on the two tablets that Moses chisels out (verse 1)?
Where is Moses to present himself to the Lord (verse
2)?
Who is to come with Moses (verse 3)?
When did Moses go up Mount Sinai (verse 4)?
What
did the Lord proclaim (verse 5)?
What
is “the Lord, the Lord the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger” abounding
in (verse 6)?
Who
does the Lord not leave unpunished (verse 7)?
How
did Moses react to the Lord (verse 8)?
What
does Moses ask for the Lord to do for this “stiff-necked people” (verse
9)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
Mark 10:1-12 - New
International Version (NIV)
1 Jesus then
left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the
Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he
taught them.
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful
for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied.
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of
divorce and send her away.”
5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you
this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of
creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this
reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and
the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one
flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no
one separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about
this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife
and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And
if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
What did Jesus do when the crowds came to
Him (verse 1)?
How did the Pharisees test Jesus (verse 2)?
In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “what
did Moses command you” (verse 3)?
What did the Pharisees say that Moses
permitted (verse 4)?
Why did Jesus say that Moses wrote this
law (verse 5)?
How did God make “them” (verse 6)?
Who is a man united to (verse 7)?
What do the two become (verse 8)?
What should “no one separate”
(verse 9)?
When did the disciples ask Jesus about
this (verse 10)?
When does a husband commit adultery
(verse 11)?
When does a wife commit adultery (verse
12)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, how is being stiff-necked,
like Moses described the people as being in Exodus 34:1-9, and having hard
hearts, as Jesus described the people in Mark 10:1-12 similar? How are they different?
Acts
28:23-28 –
New International Version (NIV)
23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even
larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from
morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the
Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about
Jesus. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others
would not believe. 25 They disagreed among themselves and
began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke
the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:
26 “‘Go to this people and say,
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
27 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
28 “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been
sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
What did Paul do “from morning till evening” (verse
23)?
How did they react to what Paul said (verse 24)?
What did those who disagreed do (verse 25)?
Who
did Paul say spoke the truth (verse 25)?
In
your opinion, what does it mean to “be ever hearing but never understanding”
and “ever seeing but never perceiving” (verse 26)?
What
has happened to “this people’s heart” (verse 27)?
Who
will listen to “God’s salvation” (verse 28)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does the reaction of the Jewish people
to Paul in Acts 28:23-28 show the importance of the prayer of Moses in Exodus
34:1-9 for God to “forgive our wickedness and our
sin, and take us as your inheritance”?
In your opinion, how does Paul’s teaching in Acts 28:23-28
help us understand the process that causes a person’s heart to become hard
enough to reject both God and spouse like Jesus discusses in Mark 10:1-12?
Hebrews
3:12-19 –
New International Version (NIV)
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of
you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But
encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none
of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have
come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly
to the very end. 15 As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they
not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was
he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies
perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear
that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So
we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
What does Paul
warn the Hebrews not to have (verse 12)?
What does Paul
say to do “so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (verse
13)?
How long are
Christians to “hold our original conviction firmly” (verse 14)?
In your
opinion, how is hearing God’s voice linked to hardening of hearts (verse
15)?
What is the
hardening of hearts linked to (verse 15)?
Who “heard
and rebelled” (verse 16)?
What happened
to those that God was angry with for forty years (verse 17)?
Why were they
unable to enter God’s rest (verses 18 and 19)?
In your
opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does beginning a question with “is
it lawful”, like the Pharisee’s question in Mark 10:1-12, demonstrate that
the hardening of the heart “by sin’s deceitfulness, described in Hebrews
3:12-19 has already begun?
In your
opinion, how does Paul’s quote “if you hear his voice, do not harden your
hearts” in Hebrews 3:12-19 provide hope for all who might feel condemned by
his quote in Acts 28:23-28 when he said, “You will be ever hearing but never
understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For
this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and
they have closed their eyes.”?
In your
opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Mark, Acts and Hebrews help us
understand about how the condition of our heart effects our response to the
generosity of God?
In your
opinion, how can we “encourage one another daily” today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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