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.
Habakkuk complains again to God, asking Him why He tolerates treachery and those who do evil to others.
The Lord gives Habakkuk a message to give to the people: woe to those who do not live by faithfulness. Woe to all those who do evil to others.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 3: Habakkuk 1:12-2:20
6a) The Lord is everlasting. He will never die. He has appointed the Babylonians to execute judgment and to punish. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
b) Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wickedswallow up those more righteous than themselves?
c) I really don’t. We all deserve judgment. God is in charge. Evil happens for a reason. It is for us to accept, not to understand.
7) Habakkuk waits on God’s reply and expects to be corrected. This is what we all should do. Wait on the Lord and let Him work.
8 ) People who are righteous live by faith. Others desire evil and are proud. In essence, those who rely on themselves (proud) and those who rely on God (the faithful).
9) He warns people who do evil against others, who are proud, greedy, drunk, and practice idolatry.
10) God is above all else and truly no one has any right to be in His presence. We should be humble before the Lord in all ways and in all things for God is Holy.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 3: Habakkuk 1:12-2:20
This is so typically human. We still question God because we can’t understand Him and His ways. And God answers in typical style: because I am God.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 3: Habakkuk 1:12-2:20
Habakkuk wonders why God chose the Babylonians to judge Judah. First he wonders why God doesn’t judge Judah. Then he wonders why choose the Babylonians. Why judge evil with more evil? Why not?
Then he wonders how long the Babylonians will rule.
Habakkuk expected God to answer him, so he waited. He expected to be corrected, too.
God says there are the proud and there are the faithful.
Fun Fact: “Just live by faith” is one of the most quoted Old Testamant verses in the New Testament.
Romans 1:17the justified man – “The just shall live by faith.”
Hebrews 10:38faith – “The just shall live by faith.”
Galatians 3:11 the Christian life – “The just shall live by faith.”
Christians are to live by faith. That is it. By nothing else: works, feelings, etc.
God would deal with the Babylonians who were prideful.
God calls out to the greedy, the violent, the drunk, and the idolater.
The Lord is alive in His Holy temple, and He would deal with them all.
We watch and pray as we wait on God to answer our prayers.
Habakkuk cries out to the Lord, but says He is not listening as the wicked people pervert justice and there’s wrongdoing all around him.
The Lord answers by saying He will raise up the Babylonians who are ruthless people to seize dwellings across the world.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 2: Habakkuk 1:1-11
3a) Habakkuk cries out to the Lord, but says He is not listening as the wicked people pervert justice all around him.
b) The questions we have today are exactly the same as the ones we had back then. Why does God allow bad to happen to people?
4a) Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
b) He is going to raise up the Babylonians who are ruthless people to seize dwellings across the world.
5) God is working silently in the background. He is always with us, even when we can’t see, feel, or understand Him.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 2: Habakkuk 1:1-11
Many of the prophets we’ve studied this year have wondered how God could allow such atrocities against mankind and they have asked him about it. So must we.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 2: Habakkuk 1:1-11
We know very little about the prophet Habakkuk, as he is not mentioned in other books of the Bible. Bible scholars believe he preached during the reign of King Jehoiakim around 600 B.C. and the book was written before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. His name means “embrace” in Hebrew and him being called a prophet is rare in the Bible. He lived in the last days before Judah’s exile and is the last of the preexilic prophets. His book encourages the righteous to remain faithful despite the horrors and evil around them.
This is the 8th book of the Minor Prophets.
Paul quotes Habakkuk 1:5 in Acts 13:41 urging the people not to let complacency keep them from accepting Jesus.
Habakkuk wanted judgment on those who were doing evil in the world.
Seeing evil makes us realize that we ourselves are evil, too.
God answers by saying He will use the Babylonians for judgment.
This is a prayer to God to remember His people after the punishment. So many bad things have happened, including women being raped, princes hung, young men and boys forced to work slave labor, poverty for all, and more. Jeremiah prays for restoration.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 5: Lamentations 5
12a) Us, we, our. The people of Jerusalem. You. Lord. Jeremiah is including himself with God’s people. He is suffering right alongside them. He is praying on their behalf.
b) That God’s people have suffered enough and paid the price for their sins. They are weary from it all and are asking God to restore them to their former days of glory.
13) It helps to understand and acknowledge the consequences of sin so that you and the people don’t sin again. It shows God you are learning the lessons He is trying to teach you and that you are ready to come back to Him by praying for His presence in your life once again.
14) Remember what has happeded to them and see their disgrace. They have lost children. They are poor. They are pursued by their enemies and tired. They are hungry. Women have been raped. Princes and elders murdered. Young men and boys do hard labor. They have no joy, and it’s hard to remember God.
15) He sought for God to restore the people back to their former glory. God reigns forever and is in control. He has the power to restore our lives.
16a) They were waiting in every way. They were waiting for God’s anger to abate and embrace His people again.
b) I do have goals and ambitions. I pray for them and wait on His timing. I also work on them every day and wait for God’s timing for doors to open up. I am learning patience and that hard work does pay off.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 5: Lamentations 5
Despite the calamities that surround you, there is always hope. We can cry out to God, and He hears us.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 5: Lamentations 5
This chapter has 22 verses, the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, but it is not an acrostic.
Jeremiah prayed that God would look and see the people’s misery because he felt like God had forgotten them.
We are responsible before God for our sins.
The people’s food was rationed, they were sick, and everyone suffered.
Jeremiah praises God’s eternal nature and asks for restoration. The people must turn back to God in repentenace. He asks God to turn the people back to Him.
With repentance comes renewal.
The weeping prophet ends on a sad note of unresolved anguish and not with hope (so does the books of Isaiah, Malachi, and Ecclesiastes). It is befitting Jeremiah. Yet, we know there is always hope.
Jeremiah is lamenting the punishment and loss of the people. He compares them to gold that has lost its luster. And they are now destitute. All because of their sins that caused the Lord’s wrath. The Lord has scattered His people. Their punishment will end after the punishment is over.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 4: Lamentations 4
9a) They and their. The people of Jerusalem. Us. The people of Jerusalem. He. God.
b) The children of Zion are now pots of clay in a potter’s hand (they have gone from gold to clay). The people are heartless. The infant is thirsty. The children beg for food. The rich are destitute. Kings and royals are now dead. The princes are unrecognizable. Many will die of famine. Women cooked their own children for food.
c) We see the punishment of God’s people. But their punishment will end after this punishment.
10) The Lord has given full vent to his wrath;he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations. The enemies and foes entered the gates of Jerusalem. The Lord himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor. The Lord’s anointed, our very life breath, was caught in their (the enemies’) traps. God will punish their sin and expose their wickedness.
11) It’s good. It helps to keep me accountable and prevent me from sin. God’s judgment is just; everything He does is just. I think it’s helpful to know you are being watched, so you don’t sin.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 4: Lamentations 4
It can be hard to read the troubling consequences of sin and God’s punishment. Yet, it serves as a lesson to us to not do/be the same.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 4: Lamentations 4
Jeremiah uses comparison and contrast to point out how the people used to be versus what they are now.
Jeremiah laments the loss of the people who were as precious as gold. Everyone was punished by God; no one was exempt.
The nobility are unrecognizable. It is so bad that women cooked their own children for food.
God’s wrath was deep. The people wandered the streets, stepping on dead bodies and defiling themselves. The people were scattered and were shunned everywhere they went.
No one could escape as the Babylonians pursued them.
Edom was happy Jerusalem had fallen, but they would be punished soon for their sins.
Jeremiah has seen affliction from God and others. Yet, he has hope because of God’s great love for us. His compassions never fail. He is faithful. He is good to those whose hope is in Him. He waits for the Lord’s salvation. His love is unfailing.
Return to the Lord. God hears pleas. God redeems His people. Jeremiah prays for Lord to avenge His people.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 3: Lamentations 3
6) I, me, and my. Jeremiah. He. God. Jeremiah laments what has happened to him, but he has faith that God will redeem him and avenge him.
7a) Verse 5: He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. Verse 13: He pierced my heartwith arrows from his quiver.
b) It shifts from one of lamenting his lot in life to one of praising the Lord for His goodness, faithfulness, and coming redemption.
c) God is compassionate. His love is unfailing. He does not willingly grieve us. God is in control of all things. I am encouraged because I know everything happens for God and by God’s will. He watches me every second of every day. I take comfort in that.
d) Jeremiah admits the people have sinned and rebelled, but God has heard his cries. God redeemed him and asks Him to avenge him from his enemies.
8 ) His word. Prayer. His presence. Knowing He is in control, and I have to give it to Him.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 3: Lamentations 3
A long chapter that we can learn from. We learn that despite the consequences of our sins and what happens, God shows compassion, and when we cry out to Him, He answers. Powerful stuff!
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 3: Lamentations 3
Here, this is the poem that is different from the others. Instead, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is used for the first three lines, the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet is used for the next 3 lines, and so on.
In chapters 1 and 2, Jeremiah worte as Jerusalem. Here, he writes as him (and as the people of Jerusalem).
The Lord afflicted His people. God became the enemy and sunk Jeremiah.
Here, for the first time in the book of Lamentations, we see hope. We see God as merciful to Jeremiah and His people. God is there even in our punishments. He never leaves us.
Each morning there are new hopes and new mercies from the Lord.
God is faithful, even in His justice. God is in charge.
The people should humbly turn back to God and examine their ways.
Jeremiah cries again. He prays for help against his enemies. He knows God will help him. Jeremiah leaves vengeance up to the Lord.
God’s actions reflect the consistency of who He is. He divvies out punishment and then yearns for us to return to Him.
The city is deserted after the people are taken into exile. Everyone mourns and weeps. All because of the people’s sins. Jeremiah weeps over this.
Lamentations 2
The Lord is angry with Jerusalem and His people. This is why they were punished. Jeremiah weeps and is in torment over this. God fulfilled His plan and did what He said He would do.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 2: Lamentations 1-2
3a) According to Webster’s Dictionary, lament means, “to mourn aloud; wail; to express sorrow or mourning for often demonstratively; to regret strongly.” In these verses, we see those (including Jesus) crying out to the Lord in anguish for sins. They are in mourning.
b) It’s okay to lament and cry out to God in anguish, even if you don’t understand Him or things in your life. He is there to listen and to answer you in His way.
4)
Chapter 1: She and her. This refers to Jerusalem and the people of Jerusalem. I. Jeremiah. He is mourning what has happened to Jerusalem. The theme is mourning for the sins of Jerusalem that has caused their exile.
Chapter 2: He. This refers to God. I. Jeremiah. Jeremiah is once again lamenting the Lord’s wrath against His people and the consequences the Lord laid out on them for their sins.
5) Jeremiah 2:11: My eyes fail from weeping,I am in torment within; my heart is poured out on the ground. Jeremiah uses such strong words that is anguish is palpable. You can feel him crying and weeping, and it makes you want to cry and weep, too.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 2: Lamentations 1-2
This is a very sad book, and these are very sad chapters. It’s hard to read, but good to read, so we can understand just a bit of how much God loves us.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 27, Day 2: Lamentations 1-2
Fun Fact: Lamentations 1:1 is an acrostic poem. The verses begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In fact, the first 4 poems are acrostics, with Chapters 1, 2 & 4 with 22 verses (the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet). Chapter 3 has 66 – 3 verses per letter. Chapter 5 has 22 verses but is not an acrostic. This was probably for memory purposes.
Bible scholars believe this structure aims to be comprehensive in Jeremiah’s expressions of grief.
The book of Lamentations is just that: a mourning written by Jeremiah for the people of Jerusalem as they were taken into exile by the Babylonians. This was God’s punishment for their years of disobedience.
This book was probably written during the Babylonian exile, sometime between the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC) and the fall of the Babylonians to Persia (538 BC).
Jeremiah expresses deep sorrow over the end of the theocracy and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. He urges confession and repentance.
Remember that Jerusalem is the heart of God’s people, where the temple stood. So, when it fell, the people were utterly devoid.
There is much Biblical precedence for laments. The book of Job and a good part of Psalms are laments. Even Jesus lamented.
It is healthy to express your pain and longings to God. God promises to help us every step of the way.
The book of Lamentations is 5 poems:
Zion’s devastation (Lamentations 1)
Anger of the Lord (Lamentations 2)
Despair and consolation (Lamentations 3)
Horrors of the destruction (Lamentations 4)
Prayer for restoration (Lamentations 5)
This is the 3rd book among the five Megilloth (scrolls) in the Hebrew Bible.
Lamentations 1
Jerusalem is personified here as a widow who lost everything.
Jerusalem is empty. No one can comfort her (Jerusalem). It was because of the people’s transgressions that they were punished by God.
The people remember the good times, however, but that is no comfort.
Jeremiah weeps for her (hence, the nickname “the weeping prophet”). God is righteous for His actions.
Jeremiah prays for the Babylonians to face consequences, too.
Lamentations 2
The Lord is now Jerusalem’s enemy because of their sins.
God destroys His tabernacle and the city.
Jeremiah cries some more over this. Jerusalem cannot be comforted. They should cry out to God.
Zedekiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem in response. The city was taken and Zedekiah was captured. The king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah.11 Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes.
Nebuchadnezzar burned Jerusalem, including the temple. He took away the artisans, leaving the poor to work the fields. The city was looted. Jehoiachin king of Judah was freed by the new king of Babylon, but still was exiled.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 26, Day 5: Jeremiah 52
12a) Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem in response. The people were starving, the city was taken, and Zedekiah was captured. Nebuchadnezzar burned Jerusalem, including the temple. He took away the artisans, leaving the poor to work the fields. The city was looted.
b) Zedekiah was captured. The king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes.Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, , bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.
c) The temple was where God dwelled. Once it was gone, the people had no place to meet God under the Old Covenant. It was a symbol that God had abandoned His people to His judgment.
13) It proves that God knows the future. It gives us faith that God is the One True God. It gives faith in prophecy.
14) I think it’s significant that Jehoiachin was never really “free.” He was still an exile in Babylon. Bible scholars point out that King Jehoiachin received small kindnesses out of God’s grace and as a foreshadow of God’s blessing and restoration of His people to come. It ends this chapter on a positive note.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 26, Day 5: Jeremiah 52
A sad chapter and day for God’s people. It’s hard to read, especially of the temple’s destruction. But, it serves as a warning to us all to obey God with all our hearts, minds, and souls.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 26, Day 5: Jeremiah 52
Almost every verse is fulfilled prophecy in Jeremiah 52.
We read about the evil reign of Zedekiah and what happened to him. Jerusalem is destroyed; the city is plundered; the people are left in ruin and/or carried away to exile. All the leaders were killed, too.
Bible scholars point out that King Jehoiachin received small kindnesses out of God’s grace and as a foreshadow of God’s blessing and restoration of His people to come. This ends the chapter (and the book of Jeremiah) on a positive note.
The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity[a] and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess. They will serve God again. ‘I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. God is with them and will save them. God will not completely destroy them; only discipline them. ‘But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil. 17 But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’
‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,and the palace will stand in its proper place. He will add to their numbers. They will bring him honor. God will punish all who oppress them. Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. So you will be my people, and I will be your God.’”
Jeremiah 31
I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel.” God will build them up again. They will proper again with plenty of fruit. The Lord will preserve a remnant adn they will come back to the Lord. The people will be delivered and redeemed and be abundant.
The Lord will make a new covenant with His people. I will put my law in their mindsand write it on their hearts. I will be their God,and they will be my people. I will forgive their wickednessand will remember their sins no more.” Jerusalem will be rebuilt.
Jeremiah 32
The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah. I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.4 Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Babylonians[a] but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”
Jeremiah buys his uncle’s field because the Lord told him to do so.
I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the Lord. I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. The Lord will prosper them.
Jeremiah 33
The Lord says: They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness. Yet, the Lord will restore His people: Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.7 I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity[b] and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. The land will be restored and the people will prosper again. Jesus will come and save Judah. He will be called the Lord Our Righteous Savior.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 26, Day 4: Jeremiah 30-33
9a) He will bring His people Israel and Judah back from captivity[a] and restore them to the land He gave their ancestors to possess. ‘I will surely save you out of a distant place,your descendants from the land of their exile. God will not completely destroy them. ‘But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil. 17 But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds.
‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,and the palace will stand in its proper place. He will add to their numbers. They will bring him honor. God will punish all who oppress them. Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. So you will be my people, and I will be your God.’”
I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel.” God will build them up again. They will proper again with plenty of fruit. The Lord will preserve a remnant adn they will come back to the Lord. The people will be delivered and redeemed and be abundant.
b) Because at this point in their history they are about to be taken captive. They needed words of encouragement that this would not be forever; that their children will inherit and inhabit the Promised Land once again. Everyone needs hope, or life is utterly meaningless. And, there is only hope found in God.
10a) The Lord will make a new covenant with His people. I will put my law in their mindsand write it on their hearts. I will be their God,and they will be my people. I will forgive their wickednessand will remember their sins no more.”
b) They have the Holy Spirit who guides them. Jesus fulfilled the law. The Holy Spirit tells us: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”[a] Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”[b]
c) I’m not weighed down by my sins as I know God forgives me. I know Jesus took my judgment. For that, I feel I do become closer to Jesus each and every day and can be more like him, too. I can pray and feel guided by the Holy Spirit as to what God wants me to do. This in and of itself is freedom.
11) By Jeremiah purchasing a piece of land that would soon be overrun by Babylonians and be worthless, the message was clear: God would restore Judah and God’s people would once again inherit the Promised Land.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 26, Day 4: Jeremiah 30-33
LOVE Jeremiah 32:40: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 26, Day 4: Jeremiah 30-33
Jeremiah 30
God says again how he will bring His people back from captivity. They will no longer be slaves. He will gather His people in the Promised Land and restore them. God’s judgment will be like a whirlwind.
Jeremiah 31
Israel will have salvation in the latter days. God is faithful to Israel because of His everlasting love for them. He will build up His people, and they will be joyful. God will gather His people who have been scattered. Israel will repent, and God will forgive them. The people will be restored and blessed.
God promises a New Covenant because Israel could not keep the Old Covenant. There will be an inner transformation with the presence of the Holy Spirit. God loves His people and will forgive their sins. Jerusalem shall be restored.
Jeremiah 32
Jeremiah is told by God to purchase property as proof of a future for His people in the Promise Land. God will restore His people. Jeremiah prays for understanding. God responds with the judgment and with the restoration and the New Covenant promise.
Jeremiah 33
There is hope after the judgment for restoration. And, there shall be gladness and a branch of righteousness (Jesus) shall come. The covenant shall be repeated.
