Saturday, October 12, 2024

October 20, 2024 – A Study of Matthew – Serve Him Only

Serve Him Only

Deuteronomy 6:10-19 – New International Version (NIV)

10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

13 Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.

Who is going to bring the people into “the land he swore to your fathers” (verse 10)?

What do the houses, wells, vineyards, and olive groves have in common (verse 11)?

Who had brought the people “out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (verse 12)?

Who are the Israelites to serve (verse 13)?

Who are the Israelites to avoid (verse 14)?

Who is jealous (verse 15)?

Where did the Israelites put God to the test (verse 16)?

What are the Israelites to keep (verse 17)?

Who determines what is “right and good” (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what do we learn about worshipping God in this passage?

1 Chronicles 21:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

1 Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”

But Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.

But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him. This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”

Who “rose up against Israel” (verse 1)?

What did David tell Joab to do (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did Joab think this would “bring guilt on Israel” (verse 3)?

What “overruled Joab” (verse 4)?

How many fighting men did Joab report were in Israel (verse 5)?

Why did Joab not include “Levi and Benjamin” (verse 6)?

How did God view the command (verse 7)?

What did David say to God (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what do we learn about worshipping God in this passage?

In your opinion, how is David demanding a census of the Israelites in 1 Chronicles 21:1-8 a failure to be obedient to the commands of Moses given to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6:10-19?

Matthew 4:8-11 - New International Version (NIV)

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Where did the devil take Jesus (verse 8)?

What did the devil show Jesus (verse 8)?

What did the devil promise Jesus (verse 9)?

What did Jesus have to do to receive the promise (verse 9)?

Where did Jesus tell Satan to go (verse 10)?

Who did Jesus say was to be worshiped (verse 10)?

What happened after the devil left Jesus (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what do we learn about worshipping God in this passage?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s reply to Satan in Matthew 4:8-11 put into action the commands of Deuteronomy 6:10-19? 

In your opinion, how is Satan’s incitement of David to sin in 1 Chronicles 21:1-8 similar to his temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4:8-11?

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

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. 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.”

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

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.”

What did angel “flying in midair” have to “proclaim to those who live on the earth” (verse 6)?

How are “those who live on the earth” to respond to God (verse 7)?

Who does the second angel say has “fallen” (verse 8)?

Who says “if anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand” (verse 9)?

What will the people who receive “its mark on their forehead or on their hand” drink (verses 9 and 10)?

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

What is called for “on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus” (verse 12)?

Who is “blessed” (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what do we learn about worshipping God in this passage?

In your opinion, how do the warnings of worshipping gods other that the Lord that Moses gave the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6:10-19 show up as consequences in Revelation 14:6-13?

In your opinion, how is the futility of David relying on the numbers in 1 Chronicles 21:1-8 revealed in Revelation 14:6-13?

In your opinion, how does Revelation 14:6-13 warn us that the temptation Jesus received to worship Satan in Matthew 4:8-11 is still offered to people today?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, 1 Chronicles, Matthew, and Revelation teach us about what interferes with our worship of God?

In your opinion, how can we serve only God today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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