February 24, 2019 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – Jealousy and Grace

-            The

 Jealousy and Grace

1 Samuel 7:3-12 - New International Version (NIV)

³ So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.” ⁶ When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Now Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. ⁸ They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁹ Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.

¹⁰ While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. ¹¹ The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.

¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

What did Samuel tell the Israelites they needed to get rid of if they were “returning to the Lord with all your hearts” (verse 3)?

Who were the Israelites to serve (verse 3)?

What did the Israelites do with their Baals and Ashtoreths (verse 4)?

Where were the Israelites to assemble (verse 5)?

What did the Israelites do before confessing “we have sinned against the Lord” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did the Philistines come to attack the Israelites (verse 7)?

Why did the Israelites want Samuel to keep crying out to the Lord (verse 8)?

How did the Lord respond to Samuel’s crying out (verse 9)?

How did the Philistines respond to the Lord’s loud thunder (verse 10)?

What did the men of Israel do (verse 11)?

Why did Samuel name the stone Ebenezer (verse 12)?

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

Zechariah 8:1-17 - New International Version (NIV)           

¹ The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.

² This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

³ This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”

⁴ This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. ⁵ The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”

⁶ This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?” declares the Lord Almighty.

⁷ This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. ⁸ I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”

⁹ This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. ¹⁰ Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. ¹¹ But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the Lord Almighty.

¹² “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. ¹³ Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”

¹⁴ This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, ¹⁵ “so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. ¹⁶ These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; ¹⁷ do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.

How did the Lord feel about Zion (verse 2)?

What does the Lord say He will do (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what is significant about the promise that “men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem” (verse 4)?

Who will fill the city streets (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why would something seem marvelous to the people but not to God (verse 6)?

Who will the Lord Almighty save (verse 7)?

Who said “let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built” (verse 9)?

Why could no one “go about their business safely” (verse 10)?

Who will the Lord not deal with as He did in the past (verse 11)?

What will the Lord give “as an inheritance to the remnant of this people” (verse 12)?

How are Judah and Israel to respond to the salvation and blessing of the Lord (verse 13)?

When did the Lord determine to “bring disaster on you and showed no pity” (verse 14)?

What has the Lord determined to do (verse 15)?

What are the Israelites do do (verse 16)?

What does the Lord hate (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what did the Israelites that Samuel was speaking to in 1 Samuel 7:3-12 and the Israelites that Zechariah was speaking to in Zechariah 8:1-17 have in common?

John 1:9-18 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵ (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Who was coming into the world (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why could the world that was made through Him not recognize Him (verse 10)?

How did “his own” respond to Him (verse 11)?

Who did He give the “right to become children of God” (verse 12)?

How were these children born (verse 13)?

Who “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (verse 14)?

Who “came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (verse 14)?

Why had John said “He who comes after me has surpassed me” (verse 15)?

From where have we “all received grace in place of grace already given” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what is the “grace already given” (verse 16)?

Where do “grace and truth” come through (verse 17)?

Who has made God known (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how does the Israelites returning to God with all their hearts and getting rid “of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths” in 1 Samuel 7:3-12 help us understand what the people did “to become children of God” in John 1:9-18?

In your opinion, how do we reconcile the promise of Zechariah 8:1-17 that God will “return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem” with John 1:9-18’s statement that “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him”?

James 4:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

“What causes fights and quarrels among you” (verse 1)?

Why do people “quarrel and fight” (verse 2)?

What wrong motives do people have when they ask God (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why does “friendship with the world” mean “enmity against God” (verse 4)?

What does God jealously long for  (verse 5)?

What does God give us (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does God oppose the proud and “show favor to the humble” (verse 6)?

When does the devil flee (verse 7)?

When will God come near to us (verse 8)?

In your opinion, how can the double-minded purify their hearts (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why should laughter change to mourning and joy to gloom (verse 9)?

When will the Lord lift us up (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how is the action that Samuel ask the Israelites to take in 1 Samuel 7:3-12 similar to the action that James instructs us to take in James 4:1-10?

In your opinion, how are the jealousy that the Lord Almighty had for Zion in Zechariah 8:1-17 and the jealous longing the Spirit has to dwell in us according to James 4:1-10 similar?

In your opinion, what does James 4:1-10 help us understand about those who received the one who “came from the Father, full of grace and truth” and “believed in his name” in John 1:9-18?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Samuel, Zechariah, John and James teach us about the choice that every person has to make?

In your opinion, how can we, who have our own idols, put them aside and welcome God’s jealousy and grace today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

February 17, 2019 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – Hardened or Sincere

-            The

Hardened or Sincere

Leviticus 23:26-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸ Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. ²⁹ Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people. ³⁰ I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. ³¹ You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³² It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”

Who spoke to Moses (verse 26)?

What are the Isralites to do on the “Day of Atonement” (verse 27)?

What is supposed to happen instead of work on the “Day of Atonement” (verse 28)?

Who will be “cut off from their people” (verse 29)?

In your opinion, why will God “destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day” (verse 30)?

How long is this ordinance supposed to last (verse 31)?

What kind of rest is this supposed to be (verse 32)?

When is this sabbath to be observed (verse 33)?

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

Zechariah 7:1-14 - New International Version (NIV)           

¹ In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. ² The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord ³ by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: ⁵ “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? ⁶ And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? ⁷ Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’”

⁸ And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: ⁹ “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. ¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’

¹¹ “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. ¹² They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.

¹³ “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. ¹⁴ ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’”

When did the “word of the Lord” come to Zechariah (verse 1)?

Who “sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek” to “entreat the Lord” (verse 2)?

What question was ask of the “priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets” (verse 3)?

How did the Lord respond to the question (verses 4 and 5)?

In your opinion, what did God want to people to realize when He ask “was it really for me that you fasted” (verse 5)?

Who did the Lord accuse the people of feasting for (verse 6)?

When were “the words of the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets” (verse 7)?

Who said “administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another” (verses 8 and 9)?

What was not to be ploted “against each other” (verse 10)?

How did the people respond to the word of the Lord (verse 11)?

What did the people do to their hearts when they “would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit” (verse 12)?

Why did God not listen “when they called” (verse 13)?

Who “made the pleasant land desolate” verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the reason for the Day of Atonement that the Lord commands the Israelites to observe in Leviticus 23:26-32 and the days of mourning that the Israelites had been observing for seventy years in Zechariah 7:1-14?

John 16:16-24 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

¹⁷ At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

¹⁹ Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? ²⁰ Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹ A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²² So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. ²³ In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴ Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Who will the Disciples see “no more” and then see again (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what does “in a little while you will see me no more” mean (verse 17)?

What did Jesus ask the disciples (verse 19)?

Who will rejoice while the disciples “weep and mourn” (verse 20)?

Why does the woman giving birth forget “the anguish” (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why will no one take away the disciples joy (verse 22)?

What will the disciples no longer do (verse 23)?

When will the disciples’ joy be complete (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, what part of the grief to joy process that Jesus tells the disciples about in John 16:16-24 does the Day of Atonement mentioned in Leviticus 23:26-32 most resemble?

In your opinion, how are the people who Zechariah was responding to in Zechariah 7:1-14 different from the disciples Jesus was talking to in John 16:16-32?

Hebrews 10:19-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Why do Christians “have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place” (verse 19)?

What is the “new and living way opened for us through the curtain” (verse 20)?

Who do we have (verse 21)?

How should we draw near to God (verse 22)?

How are we cleansed “from a guilty conscience”  (verse 22)?

What should we “hold unswervingly to” (verse 23)?

What are we to “spur one another on toward” (verse 24)?

In your opinion, why should we “not give up meeting together” (verse 25)?

What is approaching (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how is the assembly that God commands the Israelite people to have in Leviticus 23:26-32 different from the meetings that Paul is encouraging in Hebrews 10:19-25?

In your opinion, what does the fasting and feasting in Zechariah 7:1-14 reveal about the diffences between the people of Bethel and the people Paul is addressing in Hebrews 10:19-25?

In your opinion, how is the confidence that Paul claims for Christians entering the “Most Holy Place” in Hebrews 10:19-25 related to the joy that Jesus tells the disciples they will have after their grief in John 16:16-24?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Leviticus, Zechariah, John and Hebrews help us understand about the dangers of a hardened heart and to approach God with sincerity?

In your opinion, how can we spur ourselves and others “on toward love and good deeds”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

February 10, 2019 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – Living Stones in the House of the Lord

Living Stones in the House of the Lord

I Chronicles 17:3-15 - New International Version (NIV)

³ But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:

⁴ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. ⁵ I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to another. ⁶ Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders whom I commanded to shepherd my people, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

⁷ “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men on earth. ⁹ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹⁰ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.

“‘I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you: ¹¹ When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. ¹⁴ I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.’”

¹⁵ Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

When did the “word of God” come to Nathan (verse 3)?

Who was Nathan to tell “you are not the one to build me a house to dwell in” (verse 4)?

What has God not done “from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why do you think God asks if He had ever said to any of the leaders “whom I commanded to shepherd my people” to build Him a house (verse 6)?

What had God appointed David to be (verse 7)?

Whose name will David’s name be like (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does God mean when He says “I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed”” (verse 9)?

What will the Lord do for David (verse 10)?

Who will the Lord “raise up” (verse 11)?

Whose throne will be established forever (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why is the quote “I will be his father, and he will be my son” so important to identifying who the Son is (verse 13)?

What will this son of David, and of the Lord, be set over (verse 14)?

Who did Nathan report this revelation to (verse 15)?

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

Zechariah 6:9-15 - New International Version (NIV)           

⁹ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁰ “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak.  ¹² Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. ¹³ It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ ¹⁴ The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. ¹⁵ Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.”

Whose word came to Zechariah (verse 9)?

What is Zechariah to take from the exiles “Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon” (verse 10)?

Where is Zechariah to place the crown he makes (verse 11?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the name “Branch” (verse 12)?

What will the one named “Branch” do (verse 12)?

How will the one named Branch” be clothed (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that He will “rule on his throne” and also “be a priest on his throne” (verse 14)?

What will “those who are far away” do (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, how are the descendant of David who the Lord promises to establish a throne for forever in 1 Chronicles 17:3-15 and the “priest on his throne” that Zechariah sees in Zechariah 6:9-15 related?

John 17:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)

¹  After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Where did Jesus look as He prayed (verse 1)?

What does Jesus ask for (verse 1)?

Why had the Father granted authority to the Son (verse 2)?

What is eternal life (verse 3)?

How has Jesus brought God “glory on earth” (verse 4)?

How does Jesus ask to glorified (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, how does 1 Chronicles 17:3-15 and John 17:1-5 help us identify the son of David that was promised to David through Nathan?

In your opinion, what does John 17:1-5 help us understand about how the “Branch” promised in Zechariah 6:9-15 will “build the temple of the Lord”?

1 Peter 2:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. ² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

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.

What did Peter instruct Christians to do with “all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind” (verse 1)?

Why does Peter tell Christians to “crave pure spiritual milk” (verse 2)?

What does Peter says that Christians have tasted (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why does Peter call Jesus “the living Stone” (verse 4)?

How have humans reacted to “the living Stone” (verse 4)?

How does God feel about “the living Stone” (verse 4)?

What does Peter say that Christians are being built into (verse 5)?

What is the “holy priesthood” of Christians to offer to God (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, how does 1 Peter 2:1-5 help us understand how the house that David’s offspring was to build to God in Chronicles 17:3-15 will be constructed?

In your opinion, how does 1 Peter 2:1-5 help us understand how the temple that the Branch is going to build in Zechariah 6:9-15 will be built?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 2:1-5 reveal about our next steps to “grow up” in our salvation to we who have received the blessing of eternal life, knowing the “only true God” and Jesus Christ as described in John 17:1-15?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Chronicles, Zechariah, John and 1 Peter teach us about the the roles and purposes of Jesus?

In your opinion, what is our place as Christians in the House of the Lord?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 20, 2019 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – Resting in Jesus

Resting in Jesus

Exodus 33:12-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ ¹³ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴ The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

¹⁹ And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. ²⁰ But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

What Has the Lord been telling Moses (verse 12)?

Why did the Moses want to be taught the Lord’s ways (verse 13)?

How does the Lord promise to bless Moses (verse 14)?

Where does Moses want to go “if your Presence does not go with us” (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what else will distinguish Moses and the Israelit people “from all the other people on the face of the earth” (verse 16)?

How does the Lord know Moses (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why does Moses say “now show me your glory” (verse 18)?

What will the Lord proclaim in Moses’s presence (verse 19)?

Who will the Lord have mercy and compassion on (verse 19)?

Why can’t Moses see God’s face (verse 20)?

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

Zechariah 6:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)             

¹ I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. ² The first chariot had red horses, the second black, ³ the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. ⁴ I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵ The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world. ⁶ The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

⁷ When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.

⁸ Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit rest in the land of the north.”

Where were the four chariots “coming out from” (verse 1)?

How were the horses that pulled the chariots described (verses 2 and 3)?

Who did Zechariah ask “what are these” (verse 4)?

Who are the “four spirits of heaven” going out from (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what do the “four spirits of heaven” represent (verse 5)?

Where were the horses, that are the four spirits of heaven, “straining to go” (verse 7)?

What had the horse going to the north country accomplished (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, how is God’s Presence going with Moses and giving Moses rest in Exodus 33:12-20 different from the four chariots representing the four spirits of heaven going forth and giving God’s Spirit rest in Zechariah 6:1-8?

John 10:1-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹  “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.

Who does not “enter the sheep pen by the gate” (verse 1)?

How does the “shepherd of the sheep” enter (verse 2)?

How does the shepherd gather his sheep (verse 3)?

Why do the shepherd’s sheep follow the shepherd (verse 4)?

How do the sheep react to the stranger’s voice (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why did the Pharisees “not understand what he was telling them” (verse 6)?

What does Jesus say He is (verse 7)?

What are those who came before Jesus (verse 8)?

Who will be saved (verse 9)?

Why has Jesus come (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why does the good shepherd lay “down his life for the sheep” (verse 11)?

What does the hired hand do when he sees the wolf coming (verse 12)?

Who does the good shepherd know (verse 14)?

What does the good shepherd do (verse 15)?

How many flocks and shepherds will there be (verse 16)?

Why does the Father love Jesus (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s discussion about knowing the names of His sheep in John 10:1-17 enrich God telling Moses in Exodus 33:12-20 “I am very pleased with you and I know you by name”?

In your opinion, how is it better to be one of the sheep who hears Jesus voice and follows Him as Jesus described in John 10:1-17 than to be one of the people out in the world that the chariots with the powerful horses go out to see that Zechariah describes in Zechariah 6:1-8?

Hebrews 4:4-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” ⁵ And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

⁶ Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, ⁷ God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts.”

⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. ⁹ There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; ¹⁰ for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. ¹¹ Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

What did God do on the seventh day (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does the passage “they shall never enter my rest” mean (verse 5)?

What remains for “some” to do (verse 6)?

When should hearts not be hardened (verse 7)?

What would God not have done If “Joshua had given them rest” what would God not have done (verse 8)?

Who does a “Sabbath-rest” remain for (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean by “anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his” (verse 10)?

What does Paul tell us to “make every effort to” do (verse 11)?

What judges “the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (verse 12)?

How much is “uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does knowing that Moses heard the voice of the Lord and went forth with the Presence of the Lord in Exodus 33:12-20 but was not able to go into the promised land help us understand about the “rest” and the “Sabbath-rest” that Paul talks about in Hebrews 4:4-13?

In your opinion, how is the Spirit of the Lord resting in Zechariah 6:1-8 related to the rest and the Sabbath-rest that Paul is calling for people to enter in Hebrews 4:4-13?

In your opinion, what do the words of Jesus recorded in John 10:1-17 help us understand about how we enter the rest and the Sabbath-rest as Paul instructs in Hebrews 4:4-13?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Zechariah, John and Hebrews teach us about finding rest?

In your opinion, what must we do to follow instead of hardening out hearts when we hear the voice of Jesus?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 13, 2019 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – Making a Name or Patiently Enduring

-            The

Making a Name or Patiently Enduring

 Genesis 11:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

What did the “whole world” have (verse 1)?

Where did people settle (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did they say “let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly” (verse 3)?

Why did the people want “a tower that reaches to the heavens” (verse 4)?

Who came “to see the city and the tower the people were building” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why would it be bad for the world to have one people for whom “nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (verse 6)?

How did the Lord propose to keep the world from being one people for whom “nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (verse 7)?

Where did the Lord scatter the people (verse 8)?

Why was the city called Babel (verse 9)?

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

Zechariah 5:5-11 - New International Version (NIV)           

⁵ Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”

⁶ I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.” And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.”

⁷ Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! ⁸ He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.

⁹ Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

¹⁰ “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

¹¹ He replied, “To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”

Who told Zechariah to “look up and see what is appearing” (verse 5)?

What is the basket (verse 6)?

Who was in the basket (verse 7)?

About whom did the angel say “this is wickedness” (verse 8)?

What did the two women with wings “like those of a stork” do (verse 9)?

What did Zechariah ask the angel (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why is the woman being taken to “the country of Babylonia” (verse 11)?

When will the basket be set “there in its place” (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, is there a connection between the city of Babel of Genesis 11:1-9 and the country of Babylonia of Zechariah 5:5-11, and if so what is the connection?

John 12:20-29 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Who “went up to worship at the festival” (verse 20)?

What did they request of Philip (verse 21)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (verse 23)?

What must happen for a single seed to produce many seeds (verse 24)?

Who will keep their life in the world “for eternal life” (verse 25)?

What must the one who serves Jesus do (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why had Jesus come (verse 27)?

Whose name did Jesus ask the Father to glorify (verse 28)?

Where did the voice come from that said “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again” (verse 28)?

What did the crowd say they heard (verse 29)?

What did the others hear (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the motivation of the people who plan to build and tower in Genesis 11:1-9 and Jesus in John 12:20-29?

In your opinion, why wasn’t taking wickedness to Babylonia in Zechariah 5:5-11 effective in removing all wickedness and how might the hour in which the Son of Man is glorfiedin John 12:20-29 lead to a different outcome?

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

⁶ 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. ⁷ 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.”

⁸ A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

⁹ 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.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

What did the angel have to proclaim “to every nation, tribe, language and people” (verse 6)?

Who does the angel say is to be worshiped (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say that Babylon the Great “made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries” (verse 8)?

What will anyone who “worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on the forehead or on their hand” drink (verses 9 and 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does it mean to have “patient endurance” (verse 12)?

Who does the voice from heaven say is blessed (verse 13)?

Why does the Spirit say they “will rest from their labor” (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does Babylon the Great’s “maddening wine of her adulteries” that is discussed in Revelation 14:6-13 have in common with the desire to “make a name for ourselves” that the people from Babel had in Genesis 11:1-9?

In your opinion, what is the significance that in Zechariah 5:5-11 we see “wickedness” being taken to the country of Babylonia where a house will be built for it and in that Revelation 14:6-13 we are told that “Babylon the Great” who had made the nations drink the “maddening wine of her adulteries” has fallen?

In your opinion, how is hour that Jesus came for, the hour in which the Son of Man was “to be glorified”, in John 12:20-29, related to the “eternal gospel” the angel was proclaiming to all who live on the earth in Revelation 14:6-13?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, Zechariah, John and Revelation teach us about the conflict that each of us have between making “a name for ourselves” and remaining faithful to Jesus?

In your opinion, how can we live in “patient endurance” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)