Category: BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided 2022/2023

Welcome to AtoZMom’s BSF Blog! Learn about BSF (Bible Study Fellowship)’s BSF study People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided as we study the Old Testament and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah in 2022/2023.

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BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 13, Day 2: Amos 1-2

by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided 2022/2023

SUMMARY OF AMOS 1

Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa, a prophet, pronounces judgment on Israel and their neighbors, Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and Ammon. God will destroy Israel’s neighbors and dry up their fields.

SUMMARY OF AMOS 2

Amos  pronounces judgment on Moab and Judah. Judah is because they have rejected God’s laws and decrees and been led astray by false gods. The Lord will judge Israel for how they treat the poor and do not honor him.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 13, Day 2: Amos 1-2

3a) Israel, Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah

b) The foreign nations took slaves and fought one another. For Israel and Judah, because they turned from God and worshipped other gods.

c) The other nations’ sins centered around cruelty to other nations and crimes against humanity, as well as crimes against God’s people. Israel and Judah turned from God and His ways.

4a) It’s everywhere. Sin against others. Cruelty to others. Murder, rape, assault, you name it. And, people everywhere are turning from God, including His people.

b) To turn towards him, not away from him.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 13, Day 2: Amos 1-2

Lots of judgments here. Great reminder that God is just, and we will all be held accountable for our actions once we reach heaven.

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 13, Day 2: Amos 1-2

Fun fact: Amos the prophet is only mentioned in this book, not in any other books of the Bible.

Amos means “burden,” and Amos was definitely burdened as he was the bearer of bad news for all.

Amos was a farmer and not of the school of prophets. He was a live during Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, which would be between 760 B.C. and 750 B.C.

Remember, the kingdom of Judah to the south had good kings. The kingdom of Israel to the north had nothing but bad kings.

Here, Assyria had defeated Israel’s enemy, Syria, so Israel was prosperous.

Amos pronouces judgment on nations for sin upon sin.

  • Israel was judged because they disobeyed God.
  • Damascus was judged for coming against God’s people.
  • Gaza was judged because they came against God’s people.
  • Tyre was judged because they sinned against God’s people.
  • Edom was judged because they attacked Judah.
  • Ammon was judged because they attacked Israel.
  • Moab was judged because of their cruelty to Edom.
  • Judah was judged because they despised and disobeyed God’s laws.

Fire expresses judgment in the New Testament, but it also can be a purifying of the spirit with fire.

Israel took advantage of the poor. There was sexual immorality. There was idolatry.

God’s people were now a burden to him. They would not succeed without His strength.

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Friday Digest BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12

by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided 2022/2023

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IN BSF PEOPLE OF THE PROMISE: KINGDOM DIVIDED LESSON 12

  • God uses our life’s storms to grow us
  • God’s purposes are greater than our will to resist them
  • God hears and answers our prayers even in our darkest days
  • God always has the last word in our lives
  • God always pursues us
  • God’s mercy knows no bounds
  • God uses our sorrows to teach us about His character

TAKE AWAY: There’s always a second chance with God.

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BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 5: Jonah 4

by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided 2022/2023

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

SUMMARY OF JONAH 4

Jonah expresses his anger that God saved Nineveh. He asks to die. Jonah leaves the city and waits. The Lord provides a plant for shade for him. It grows and then dies. God asks him if he has a right to be angry about the plant. He still wishes for death. Jonah’s concern for the plant is the same as God’s concern for the people of Nineveh who also needed tending to grow in faith.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 5: Jonah 4

13a) That Jonah is playing God, deciding who should be saved and who should not.

b) Pride that he was better than the people of Nineveh. Anger that they were horrible sinners and God saved them when he was a prophet who was also saved. Anger that the Assyrians were his enemies (the enemy of God’s people). They should be judged, not granted mercy.

14a) Tenderly. By trying to explain to Jonah in a way he would understand about God’s infinite mercy for Nineveh.

b) “should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh” “you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity”

15) It really hasn’t. I’ve always understoon that God can forgive whoever he wants to forgive like he has forgiven me. It’s not on me to judge who he saves and who he doesn’t.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 5: Jonah 4

I find it interesting how Jonah is playing God here and decides for God that Nineveh should not be saved. How many of us do this to our loved ones?

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 5: Jonah 4

Most prophets are pleased with converts. Thus, Jonah’s reaction here is very different.

Without God’s mercy, Jonah would be dead. Yet, this same mercy granted to Nineveh overwhelms him with anger.

God questions us because we are in the wrong and He wants us to see it from a different (often His) perspective. Sure, we can be angry with God, but we are never right over God, and we must repent of that anger, which is often due to misunderstanding.

Jonah seemed to hope that God would still destroy Nineveh when he left. He did not understand God’s love for all of humanity.

Yet, if Jonah cared so much for a plant that he did nothing for, how much more is God’s caring and love for a people that He did everything for from the moment of their creation?

Fun Fact: This is the first time Jonah is recorded as being happy. And it’s all because of a plant.

Fun Fact: Jonah’s last words recorded in the Bible show him clinging to his ways and not God’s ways. Luckily, God always has the last word.

All of this prepared Jonah for God’s work. How is He preparing you today?

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BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 4: Jonah 3

by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided 2022/2023

SUMMARY OF JONAH 3

God gives Jonah the same command twice to go to Nineveh and proclaim His message. Jonah obeyed.

It took Jonah 3 days to deliver God’s message to all the people: Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown. When Jonah’s message reached the king of Nineveh, he ordered everyone to cover themselves in sackcloth, fast, and call on God. They were to give up their evil ways and violence. God saw this and relented. He did not punish them because they repented.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 4: Jonah 3

10a) “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” A message of destruction.

b) The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. They called upon God and turned from their evil and violent ways. God does listen, and God’s word can change people and their lives.

11a) God is merciful. God listens. God relents. God warns. God gives people second chances. God is gracious, loving, and caring

b) I love second chances. I need them a lot. I love God’s mercy, too, for all my daily sins. I love God’s warning. I should listen more. These truths draw me closer to God.

12) This one is hard. Unsure. Hopefully, with my kids. I’ve learned to give God the glory for everything.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 4: Jonah 3

So encouraging to see so many people turn to the Lord. God is gracious, loving, and caring. He loves us so much He never stops chasing us. How awesome!

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 4: Jonah 3

God had work to do through Jonah, and He was determined to accomplish it, despite how much we (humans) resist it.

Oftentimes, God only gives us enough information that we can process at one time. The rest will come in time and with faith.

The word “overthrown” was used in the destruction of other cities in the Bible, too.  (Genesis 19:25, Lamentations 4:6, and Amos 4:11).

Believing God is repenting. The people put on sackcloth (animal hair clothes essentially) and came to God. God, in his mercy, forgave.

Nineveh does receive judgment as we read in Nahum. It was just delayed 150 years out of God’s mercy.

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BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 3: Jonah 2 and Matthew 12:39-41

by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided 2022/2023

SUMMARY OF JONAH 2:

Jonah prayed to God from inside the fish. He called out to God who brought him up from the pit. Jonah will proclaim God’s name and say that salvation comes from the Lord. The Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 12:39-41:

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The people of Nineveh repented when Jonah preached, but Jesus is here who is greater than Jonah.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 3: Jonah 2 and Matthew 12:39-41

7a) God listens even in our darkest (literally) hours.

b) “I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.” Even though God has given us consequences for our sins, we can still praise him in his infinite mercy. He always lifts us up.

8a) Mankind is stubborn. Sometimes, we have to hit rock bottom to come to Him.

b) Patience. I’m trying to be patient as I yearn to move some place else.

9a) I hopefully learn not to disobey God and suffer the consequences. But when I do, all I have to do is cry out to Him for forgiveness and redemption.

b) Jonah saved many people in Nineveh. That matters to God.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 3: Jonah 2 and Matthew 12:39-41

I can just picture the fish vomiting up Jonah. I’m unsure who was more relieved: Jonah or the fish?

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 3: Jonah 2 and Matthew 12:39-41

Jonah prayed many of the Psalms (Psalm 18:6), (Psalm 42:7), (Psalm 31:22). He was a man of God

Jonah is distressed to be separated from God. Yet, he praises God and realizes his mistake at resisting Him. He repents and promises to do what God tells him to do. He realizes salvation is the Lord.

Note Jonah was delivered after he truly repented of his wrongs. This is what we must do, too.

Jonah most likely was vomited onto the shore and then made his way to Nineveh.

Jonah’s journey foreshadowed Christ’s:

  • Both offered their life for others
  • Both spent 3 days and 3 nights “dead”
  • Both were resurrected per se

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BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 2: Jonah 1

by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided 2022/2023

SUMMARY OF JONAH 1:

God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against its wickedness. But Jonah ran from the Lord and headed for Tarshish on a ship. God sent a great wind and storm against Jonah’s ship. They threw their cargo overboard to lighten it. Jonah was sleeping, and the crew cast lots, which told them he was responsible for the storm.

Jonah confessed that he was running from God, so he told them to throw him overboard because the storm is his fault. At first, the men did not do this, but the sea grew wilder. The men prayed for God to not fault them for throwing Jonah over. A fish swallowed Jonah, and he was in its belly three days and three nights.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 2: Jonah 1

3a) 2 Kings 14:25 says, “He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.”

b) Jonah ran away from the Lord.

c) He was afraid to do what God told him to do. He may have been afraid of the people of Nineveh. He was outside of his comfort zone. It was a hard job and Jonah simply did not want to do it. Many Bible scholars believe that Jonah did not believe that the evil Assyrians deserved repentance and mercy from God.

d) They run in every way possible. They ignore his voice and his calling. They don’t do what he tells them to do. They don’t pray or go to church. They hide from Him like Jonah did.

4) When you disobey God, there are consequences. He pursues you and does what he has to to get you to listen to him.

5) I usually don’t struggle with this. None of us are worthy of God’s love and grace, no matter how “good” we are or how “evil.”

6) All the time. He asks me to be nice to people I don’t want to be nice to. He puts me in places I hate. He challenges me to bloom where planted. Sometimes I succeed; sometimes I fail. Still, I try.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 2: Jonah 1

I love the story of Jonah. Such a colorful story of God doing whatever it takes to get your attention.

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 2: Jonah 1

map of nineveh and tarshish www.atozmomm.com It’s important to understand that Nineveh was the capital of Assyria at the time. It was a pagan city. God chose Jonah to go and speak to the people of Nineveh and rebuke them for their sins.

Nineveh was to the east of Israel. Tarshish was to the west in what is now Spain. Jonah wanted to get as far away from God’s calling as possible.

God sent a storm. God’s timing is now when He calls. You don’t put off His call for when it’s convenient for you.

Jonah slept as many Christians sleep through God’s calling. We must be awake for Christ.

Jonah asks to be thrown into the sea, and gives us a picture of Christ who threw himself into humans’s storms.

The storm ended once Jonah was thrown into the sea, proving God existed. Many Bible scholars believe the men on the ship came to faith in God after this.

What Was the Fish?

We don’t know what kind of fish this was. It could have been a whale or a special fish God created for just this moment in time. Either way, God was not finished with Jonah yet. He lived three days and nights in the belly of the fish. This was what Jonah personally needed to come to God and obey Him. God does the same with us, just in different ways.

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Friday Digest BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11

by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided 2022/2023

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IN BSF PEOPLE OF THE PROMISE: KINGDOM DIVIDED LESSON 11

  • God speaks so we can find our purpose
  • Mankind is characterized by: rebellion against God; God’s amazing grace towards us despite of this
  • God redeems each of us sinners
  • God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit
  • God’s principles and truths spare us from sin and pain
  • God always gives us what we need
  • God pursues and fights for you
  • God has work for you; embrace it

TAKE AWAY: Our greatest need is the power of the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.

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BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 5: Romans 15:4

by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided 2022/2023

Romans 15:4:

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 5: Romans 15:4

11a) Unsure. I love the Old Testament prophets!

b) It encourages me that I’ll learn great things in God’s word.

12a) People are all sinners. They all turn from God at some point. They are wicked inside. Yet, there are those who follow him and follow him with all their hearts. These are whom God rewards.

b) God never gives up on His people. He is greater, and His love is infinite.

13) I have immense hope for the future. God has never failed, and He won’t even in the face of chaos.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 5: Romans 15:4

I can’t wait to dive into the Old Testament even more!

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 5: Romans 15:4

God’s word is full of hope. Do you see it? Feel it? Live it? Breathe it?

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BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 4: 2 Chronicles 7:14

by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided 2022/2023

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 4: 2 Chronicles 7:14

8a) 17 Old Testament books. 18 if you count the Book of Revelation

b) Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha

9a) The details of the encounter: “I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.” I love Isaiah’s answer: Here am I! That should be all of our responses to God’s call on our lives.

b) “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. “I have put my words in your mouth.” The details here of what God said. I think we all want God to call us in this fashion!

10) The truth of their prophecies lend them credibility for current people and future generations so that they can be believed. Speaking into current situations grabs people’s attention and is a chance to bring more people to God. Both reinforce the truths of God, His word, and His chosen prophets.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 4: 2 Chronicles 7:14

Another great lesson on following God’s words and calling for your life.

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 4: 2 Chronicles 7:14

Humble yourself, pray and repent, seeking God’s face. Turn your heart and your life over to God. God will hear and forgive you if you do.

Major Prophets

  1. Isaiah
  2. Jeremiah
  3. Lamentations
  4. Ezekiel
  5. Daniel

Minor Prophets:

  1. Hosea
  2. Joel
  3. Amos
  4. Obadiah
  5. Jonah
  6. Micah
  7. Nahum
  8. Habakkuk
  9. Zephaniah
  10. Haggai
  11. Zechariah
  12. Malachi

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BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 3: Isaiah 65:1-2 and Ezekiel 20:4-7

by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided 2022/2023

Isaiah 65:1-2:

“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
    I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name,
    I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
2 All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations—

Ezekiel 20:4-7:

God reminds his people that he chose them and swore to the descendants of Jacob and revealed himself to them in Egypt. He said to them, “I am the Lord your God.” He swore to  bring them out of Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. Do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 3: Isaiah 65:1-2 and Ezekiel 20:4-7

5a) God promised his people to be their God, to bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey, and to provide for them. He called them to not defile themselves with the idols of Egypt. To follow his ways and obey him fully, to keep his covenant, and keep Sabbaths holy. Then they will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Then they will be his people and he will be their God.

b) They turned to false gods at every turn. They did not obey his laws or his wishes. They disbelieved the prophets. They intermarried with pagans. In short, they did not put him first in their lives.

6a) God called out to them by name and held out his hands. He also said he would destroy them in Deuteronomy 30:15-18 and not live long in the Promised Land. The Assyrians would capture them says 2 Kings 17:6. Lord sent Babylonian Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders to destroy Judah in 2 Kings 24:2. Yet, God still tried to return his people to him. 2 Chronicles 36:15 says,”The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place.”

b) That God never gives up on His people. He punishes them but always gives them a road to redemption.

7a) Psalm 86:11 says, “Teach me your way, Lord,
    that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
    that I may fear your name.

Ezekiel 11:19-20 says if we follow God and his laws, we will be His people. So, if you want to be God’s, do what he says!

b) Busyness of life. Others. Sin. Temptations to sin. Selfishness.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 3: Isaiah 65:1-2 and Ezekiel 20:4-7

I love how we see just how much God loves us in these verses. He never stops pursuing us, no matter how much we fall.

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 11, Day 3: Isaiah 65:1-2 and Ezekiel 20:4-7

Isaiah 65:1-2:

God held out his hands to Israel who rejected him or sought him insincerely, following their ways rather than the Lord’s. Yet, God is found by those who seek him sincerely.

Ezekiel 20:4-7:

God is speaking of an oath He made to his people while in exile in Egypt. He repeats his promise he made to Abraham and promises to bring them out of Egypt to the promised land. However, they must throw away the idols of Egypt.

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