May 3, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Chosen People

Chosen People

Genesis 17:9-14 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. ¹⁰ This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. ¹³ Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Who was to keep God’s covenant (verse 9)?

What is the covenant they are to keep (verse 10)?

Who is the covenant between (verse 11)?

What instruction is given for those “bought with your money” (verse 12)?

How long is the covenant to last (verse 13)?

What will happen to the uncircumcised male (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage help us understand about Jews and Gentiles?

Matthew 15:21-28 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

²⁵ The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁷ “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Where did Jesus withdraw to (verse 21)?

Who cried out “Lord, Son of David” (verse 22)?

Who was “demon-possessed and suffering terribly” (verse 22)?

How did Jesus respond (verse 23)?

What did the disciples urge Jesus to do (verse 23)?

How did Jesus answer them (verse 24)?

What did the woman tell Jesus when she knelt before Him (verse 25)?

What did Jesus reply to the woman (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why can the woman accept the comparison to dogs (verse 27)?

What does Jesus recognize about the woman’s faith (verse 28)?

What happened to the daughter (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage help us understand about Jews and Gentiles?

In your opinion, how does Genesis 17:9-14 help us understand the rejection of the woman by the disciples in Matthew 15:21-28?

Ephesians 2:11-22 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 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.

What were the Gentiles by birth called “by those who call themselves “the circumcision”” (verse 11)?

What were the Gentiles “without” (verse 12)?

How have those “who once were far away” been brough near (verse 13)?

What have the two groups been made into (verse 14)?

How was “the law with its commands and regulations” set aside (verse 15)?

How were the two groups reconciled “to God” (verse 16)?

What was preached “to you who were far away” and “to those who were near” (verse 17)?

Who do both groups have access to (verse 18)?

What have the foreigners and strangers become (verse 19)?

Who is the “chief cornerstone” (verse 20)?

What does the “whole building” rise to become (verse 21)?

Where does God live “by his Spirit” (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage help us understand about Jews and Gentiles?

In your opinion, how does what is revealed in Ephesians 2:11-22 change the covenant made in Genesis 17:9-14?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s interaction with the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 help prepare for the revelations of Ephesians 2:11-22?

1 Peter 2:4-10 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Who has chosen “the living Stone” (verse 4)?

What are those like “living stones” being built into (verse 5)?

Who will “never be put to shame” (verse 6)?

What is the Stone “to those who do not believe” (verses 7 and 8)?

Why do people stumble (verse 8)?

What are the “chosen people” to declare (verse 9)?

Who are the ones who once “were not a people” (verse 10)

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

In your opinion, what does this passage help us understand about Jews and Gentiles?

In your opinion, how does Peter’s statement in 1 Peter 2:1-10 (10) “once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God” apply to the descendants of Abraham who are part of the covenant of Genesis 17:9-14?

In your opinion, what does the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 help us understand about the “spiritual sacrificies” that 1 Peter 2:1-10 (5) says we are to offer?

In your opinion, what do 1 Peter 2:1-10 and Ephesians 2:11-22 help us understand about the building being built on the cornerstone of Christ?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, Matthew, Ephesians and 1 Peter teach us about Jews and Gentiles in God’s eyes?

In your opinion, how can the chosen faithfully declare God’s praises today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 1, 2024 – A Study of Matthew – Becoming God’s Dwelling Place

Becoming God’s Dwelling Place

Deuteronomy 23:3-6 – New International Version (NIV)

³ No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation. ⁴ For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse on you. ⁵ However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. ⁶ Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live.

Where can “no Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants” enter (verse 3)?

How long does that prohibition last (verse 3)?

Why was this prohibition in place (verse 4)?

What did “the Lord your God” do to Balaam’s curse (verse 5)?

How long was the “treaty of friendship” with the Ammonites or Moabites forbidden (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, how can we see the transition of a curse to a blessing in the passage?

Ruth 1:11-22 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? ¹² Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— ¹³ would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”

¹⁴ At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵ “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”

¹⁶ But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” ¹⁸ When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

¹⁹ So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

²⁰ “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

²² So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

Where did Naomi want her “daughters” (daughters-in-law) to go (verse 11)?

Why did Naomi believe it was more “bitter” for her that for her daughters-in-law (verse 13)?

Who “kissed her mother-in-law goodbye” (verse 14)?

What did Naomi tell Ruth her sister-in law was “going back to” (verse 15)?

What does Ruth’s response to Naomi show us about her faith (verse 16)?

When did Naomi stop urging Ruth to stay (verse 18)?

Where did the two women go (verse 19)?

Why did Naomi want to be called Mara (verse 20)?

Who did Naomi say “afflicted” her (verse 21)?

How is Ruth described (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, how can we see the transition of a curse to a blessing in the passage?

In your opinion, in Ruth 1:11-22 how is Ruth freed from the condemnation recorded in Deuteronomy 23:3-6 that Moabites received as a result of Moab’s decision to hire Balaam to put a curse on the Israelite people?

Matthew 1:5-6a – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

⁶ and Jesse the father of King David.

Who was the father and mother of Boaz (verse 5)?

Who was the father and mother of Obed (verse 5)?

Who was Obed the father of (verse 5)?

Who was the “father of King David” (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, how can we see the transition of a curse to a blessing in the passage?

In your opinion, what does the ban on even a treaty of friendship with Moab in Deuteronomy 23:3-6 help us understand about the unlikely listing of a Moabite woman in the ancestory of Jesus in Matthew 1:5-6a? 

In your opinion, what does listing Ruth as the great grandmother of David in Matthew 1:5-6a help us understand about the results of Ruth’s commitment to Naomi and her God in Ruth 1:11-22?

Ephesians 2:11-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 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 called the Gentiles by birth the “uncircumcised” (verse 11)?

Why were the Gentiles “separate from Christ” and “without hope and without God in the world” (verse 12)?

How were “you who once were far away” brought near (verse 13)?

What two things has the One who “is our peace” done (verse 14)?

What was “His purpose” (verse 15)?

How were both reconciled to God (verse 16)?

What did He preach (verse 17)?

Who do we both “have access to” (verse 18)?

What have the “foreigners and strangers” become (verse 19)?

What is the foundation of what the “foreigners and strangers” have become (verse 20)?

Who is the “chief cornerstone” (verse 20)?

What does the “whole building” rise to become (verse 21)?

What are believers being “built together” to become (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, how can we see the transition of a curse to a blessing in the passage?

In your opinion, how does the division that Deuteronomy 23:3-6 commands between Israelites and Moabites help us understand about the gulf between “uncircumcised” and “circumcised” that Paul claims that Jesus bridged in Ephesians 2:11-22?

In your opinion, how is Ruth in Ruth 1:11-22 an example to both the “uncircumcised” and the “circumcised” of Ephesians 2:11-22 about how to respond to Jesus?

In your opinion, what does Ephesians 2:11-22 help us understand about what Matthew intends for us to learn from his inclusion of Ruth in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:5-6a?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Ruth, Matthew, and Ephesians teach us about God’s ability and reconcile and join?

In your opinion, what can Ruth teach us about becoming God’s dwelling today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 15, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Dusting and Reconciling

Dusting and Reconciling


Nehemiah 5:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. ² Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”

³ Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”

⁴ Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. ⁵ Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”

⁶ When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. ⁷ I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them ⁸ and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.

⁹ So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? ¹⁰ I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! ¹¹ Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”

¹² “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”

Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. ¹³ I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!”

At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

Who did the “men and their wives”  raise a great outcry against (verse 1)?

What were they doing “to get grain during the famine” (verses 2 and 3)?

How were they paying “the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards” (verse 4)?

Why were they powerless over their sons and daughters slavery (verse 5)?

How did Nehemiah respond to the outcry and charges (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did Nehemiah “ponder them” in his mind before accusing the nobles and officials (verse 7)?

What did the nobles and officials have to say (verse 8)?

How does Nehemiah say the Israelites should walk (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why does Nehemiah say it is okay to lend but not to charge interest (verse 10)?

What were the nobles and officials to give back (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why did Nehemiah make the nobles and officials “take an oath to do what they had promised” (verse 12)?

What does Nehemiah want the people who do not keep their promise to be like (verse 13)?

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

Mark 6:6b-13 - New International Version (NIV)

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. ⁷ Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

¹² They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

What did Jesus do when He went “from village to village” (verse 6)?

Who did Jesus give the Twelve authority over when He sent them out “two by two” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why were the Twelve to “take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts” (verse 8)?

Where were the Twelve to stay when they entered a town (verse 10)?

Why were the Twelve to “shake the dust off” their feet if a place did not welcome them (verse 11)?

What did the Twelve preach (verse 12)?

How did the Twelve treat the sick people (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how is Nehemiah’s shaking out the folds of his robe in Nehemiah 5:1-13 different from the Twelve shaking the dust off their feet in Mark 6:6b-13?  How are they similar?

Acts 20:17-31 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. ¹⁸ When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. ¹⁹ I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. ²⁰ You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. ²¹ I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

²² “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³ I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

²⁵ “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. ²⁶ Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. ²⁷ For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. ²⁸ Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. ³⁰ Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. ³¹ So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

Who did Paul send for (verse 17)?

What was Paul in the midst of when he “served the Lord with great humility and with tears” (verse 19)?

Where did Paul teach them (verse 20)?

What was Paul’s declaration to “both the Jews and Greeks” (verse 21)?

Why is Paul going to Jerusalem (verse 22)?

What was Paul being warned of by the Holy Spirit “in every city” (verse 23)?

What task did the Lord Jesus give Paul (verse 24)?

In your opinion, how could Paul know that “none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again” (verse 25)?

Why does Paul declare that he is “innocent of the blood of any of you” (verses 26 and 27)?

How did God purchase the “church of God” (verse 28)?

Who will come in and “not spare the flock” when Paul leaves (verse 29)?

What will men of their own number do to draw away disciples (verse 30)?

How long had Paul been warning them (verse 31)?

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

In your opinion, how is Nehemiah’s shaking out his robe in Nehemiah 5:1-13 similar to Paul saying that he “is innocent of the blood” of any of them in Acts 20:17-31?

In your opinion, how is what the Twelve preached in Mark 6:6b-13 different from what Paul preached in Acts 20:17-30?

Ephesians 2:11-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 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.

In your opinion, why would “those who call themselves “the circumcision” call the Gentiles the uncircumcised (verse 11)?

What were the Gentiles without when they were “separate from Christ” (verse 12)?

How were they “brought near” (verse 13)?

Who has “destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (verse 14)?

What was Jesus’s purpose (verse 15)?

Who did Jesus want to reconcile “to God through the cross” (verse 16)?

What did Jesus preach to those who were far away and those who were near (verse 17)?

Who do “both” have access to (verse 18)?

What happened to the people who were “foreigners and strangers” (verse 19)?

What is Christ Jesus (verse 20)?

How is “the whole building” joined together (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 is the reconciliation between the circumcised and the uncircumcised in Ephesians 2:11-22 different from the reconciliation of the nobles and officials with the poorer Israelites in Nehemiah 5:1-13?

In your opinion, how is the repentance that Jesus sent the Twelve out to preach in Mark 6:6b-13 related to the reconciliation with God that Paul writes about in Ephesians 2:11-22?

In your opinion, what do you think that Paul, who declared in Acts 20:17-31 that “savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock”, knew that caused him to write Ephesians 2:11-22 to the Christians in Ephesus?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Nehemiah, Mark, Acts and Ephesians teach us about how to honor Paul’s instruction to be on guard against savage wolves, but still be reconciled to those who once were foreigners and strangers but are now fellow members of God’s household?

In your opinion, how do we know when to “shake the dust off” and when to reconcile?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)