Friday, June 26, 2015
Hosea 11:1-7 KJV
1 When Israel [was] a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. 2 [As] they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. 3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. 4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them. 5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return. 6 And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour [them], because of their own counsels. 7 And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt [him].
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How did the Lord feel about His people and what did He do as a result? (v.1)
2) What did the people of God do after He delivered them? (v.2)
3) What else did the Lord do for His people and how did they respond? (v.3-4)
4) How did the Lord punish His people and why? (v.5-7)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Do you know of anyone who has backslidden, or rejected, the Lord after being saved?
6) If so, describe what happened to one such individual?
LIFE LESSONS
7) The Lord God saves us for His own purposes.
8) We will never know the Lord's purpose for our lives if we reject Him after being saved.
9) When we reject the Lord, He removes His hand of protection from us and allows our enemies to consume us.
Amos 3:1-8 KJV
Thursday, June 3, 2015
1 Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed? 4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? 5 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [is] for him? shall [one] take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? 6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done [it]? 7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. 8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Who had the Lord spoken against and why? (v.1-2)
2) What nine (9) questions does the Lord ask those who hear Him? (v.3-6,8)
3) Who does the Lord reveal His secrets to? (v.7)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) What calamites or evils, if any, are impacting your life?
LIFE LESSONS
5) No calamity or evil can befall a people unless the Lord God reveals it to His servants (the prophets).
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
2 Samuel 24:17-25 KJV
17 And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house. 18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. 19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded. 20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. 21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people. 22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what [seemeth] good unto him: behold, [here be] oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and [other] instruments of the oxen for wood. 23 All these [things] did Araunah, [as] a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee. 24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy [it] of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) King David had sinned by taking a census of his warriors in Israel and Judah. What did David ask of the Lord when he realized that he had sinned? (v.17)
2) What suggestion did Gad make to King David? How did David respond? (v.18-19)
3) What was Araunah's response to David's arrival and offer? (v.20-23)
4) Why did David refuse Araunah's offer? (v.24)
5) How did the Lord respond to King David's offerings?
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) Who else in your life has suffered as a result of your sin? Briefly explain one such incident.
7) Who do you turn to when seeking godly counsel?
8) When making an offering at your local church, do you typically give the most you have, or the least?
PRINCIPLES
9) The chastening of the Lord not only affects us, but often affects those closest to us.
10) Our gifts to the Lord include our time, our talent, and our treasure.
11) God so loves us that He gives us His best.
12) As children of God, we owe Him our lives.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Jer 22:1-9
1 Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
2 And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:
3 Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
6 For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou [art] Gilead unto me, [and] the head of Lebanon: [yet] surely I will make thee a wilderness, [and] cities [which] are not inhabited.
7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast [them] into the fire.
8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?
9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord tell the Prophet Jeremiah to do? (v.1)
2) Who did the Lord address His message to? (v.2)
3) What was the Lord's five-part message to His people? (v.3)
4) What would happen if the hearers were obedient to the Word of the Lord? (v.4)
5) What would happen if the people did not obey His word? (v.5)
6) Despite the Lord's love for Judah, what did He say would happen if they rebelled? (v.6-7)
7) How would neighboring nations explain Judah's calamity? (v.8-9)
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
8) Have you ever experienced the chastening of the Lord? If so, please decribe what happened?
9) Were any of your brothers and/or sisters aware that you were being chastened? If so, please explain how.
10) If you responded affirmatively to either of the last two questions, what did you do to be restored to God?
PRINCIPLES
11) The Lord always warns His children before chastening us.
12) Just as any parent would, the Lord expects obedience from His children.
13) Though chastening can be painful, it is the proof of God's love for us.
