Tag: bsf answers questions lesson 12

photo of Ezra 9 and his frustration at the people's sins from bsf exile and return study www.atozmomm.com

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 5: Ezra 10:18-44

by atozmom, posted in BSF Exile & Return: A Time to Build 2025/2026

Summary of Ezra 10:18-44

The Israelites and the priests who had married foreign women were examined and found guilty. Their names are listed. They divorced their wives and gave a guilt offering for atonement. Some had children. God preserved the purity of the nation for the Messiah.

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 5: Ezra 10:18-44

12) The priests and their descendants. The musicians, gatekeepers (The Levites), and many others.

13a) To show that no one is exempt from God’s laws. This ensured accountability. It showed the seriousness of their sins. To serve as a warning to others who will follow.

b) To be honest, not a lot. This is hard since this was 2,000 years ago. Obviously, it’s never good when families are separated. But, God’s laws are His laws, and it’s not for us to question the consequences of breaking them.

c) The Christian spouse in the marriage now is able to sanctify the unbelieving spouse so that their children are holy. At the time, this was a radical, painful act of national purification. The community saw intermarriage as a direct threat to their covenant identity—the very sin that led to the exile. They chose to surgically remove this influence, sacrificing personal family ties to preserve their “holy seed” and restore their relationship with God. Sometimes hard decisions are necessary to be faithful to God.

14) To obey God’s laws or suffer the consequences. To know that God’s punishments are for our good. Sin has corporate consequences, not just personal ones. Genuine repentance is costly and requires decisive, painful action, not just sorrow. It shows that spiritual purity is a non-negotiable priority, and leaders are held to an even higher standard of accountability.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 5: Ezra 10:18-44

Great study of the consequences of sin and what can happen within a family unit because of sin.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 5: Ezra 10:18-44

This passage is pretty self-explanatory. Those women who did not convert were put out. They number about 114.

We meet Ezra again in the book of Nehemiah about 13 years later.

END NOTES SUMMARIZED

Ezra 10:18-44 is the final, sobering record of the community’s repentance: a public list of every man found guilty of intermarrying with foreign women.

Interpretation

This section is the official documentation of the investigation’s findings. Its structure is significant:

  • Widespread Sin (vv. 18-43): The list is organized by group, beginning with the priests, then the Levites, and finally the rest of the people. This demonstrates that the sin was not isolated but had pervasively corrupted the entire community, including its spiritual leadership.
  • Costly Repentance (v. 19): The guilty priests are specifically noted as having pledged to send away their wives and, significantly, to offer a ram as a guilt offering. This underscores the seriousness of the sin and the costly, tangible nature of their repentance.
  • Painful Conclusion (v. 44): The book ends with the stark summary that all these men had married foreign women, and some even had children with them.

Conclusion

The book of Ezra does not end with a celebration but with this stark list of accountability. It’s a somber conclusion that demonstrates the painful, practical, and necessary steps the community had to take to purify itself. This public record serves as the final, concrete proof of their commitment to restoring their covenant identity and separating themselves from pagan influences, no matter how difficult the personal cost.

Best Comfort Items

https://amzn.to/3IZIpbd

https://amzn.to/3L75glG

https://amzn.to/3WPKfyu

https://amzn.to/4o6X4kb

https://amzn.to/3WhqnEl

https://amzn.to/4qpUgjx

*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

Contact me today!

photo of Ezra 9 and his frustration at the people's sins from bsf exile and return study www.atozmomm.com

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 4: Ezra 10:1-17

by atozmom, posted in BSF Exile & Return: A Time to Build 2025/2026

Summary of Ezra 10:1-17

Ezra continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. The people supported him and repented as well. Ezra issued a proclamation for the people to separate themselves from the people around them, including their foreign wives.  All the peoples agreed.

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 4: Ezra 10:1-17

9a) Ezra set the example, and the people followed. Ezra’s authentic public grief had a powerful impact, igniting a corporate conviction that caused the assembly to weep with him. His response didn’t just shame them; it moved them to take ownership, propose a radical covenant to separate, and commit to a unified, organized process of repentance.

b) How else will people change and follow the ways of the Lord if they don’t recognize the gravity of their sins? And, the Lord will forgive if sins are confessed. Grasping sin’s gravity is crucial because it reveals its true cost. It motivates genuine, costly repentance by showing sin as a relational rupture with God, not just a mistake. This understanding protects our community from corruption and magnifies our gratitude for the precious gift of grace and forgiveness.

10a) Shekaniah acknowledges that they have done wrong in the eyes of the Lord, but recognizes there is still hope. He proposes a solution: to make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law.

b) The plan was to separate themselves from the peoples around them and from their foreign wives.

11) Many times. I prayed about it and worked on it daily. Every time it was hard, but I am better, and while I still fail, every small step towards God is a victory!

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 4: Ezra 10:1-17

I love how we see the power of leaders setting the right example for the people to follow and the results when this happens. Great stuff!

End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 4: Ezra 10:1-17

The heart of Ezra’s sorrow is what impacted the people so.

Shechaniah knew there was hope because of the power of God’s spirit working within the people to confess their sins. He proposed concrete action to fix it.

Divorce was permitted by the Law (Deuteronomy 24:1), and this seems to be a good reason to do so for the Israelites at the time.

The children would be expelled as well because children stayed with their mother. Children do suffer for the sins of their parents (then and now). But, it seems not all had children (Ezra 10:44).

Ezra issues a proclamation and fasts. The people all agreed.

The pagan wives would be examined, and if they agreed to follow the Lord, they could stay. There were only about 114 wives actually expelled. The rest converted.

God still takes a strong stance on marriage within the faith. Christians should marry Christians but if a Christian is married to an unbeliever, they should not divorce. Instead, they are to be a witness to the spouse and stay together for the kids (1 Corinthians 7:12-17).

END NOTES SUMMARIZED

Ezra 10:1-17 details the community’s dramatic, unified response to the sin of intermarriage, moving from emotional grief to a practical, organized plan of repentance.

Interpretation

  • Public Confession (vv. 1-8): As Ezra wept and confessed, a massive assembly of men, women, and children gathered, joining him in bitter weeping. A leader named Shecaniah spoke for the people, acknowledging their sin but also declaring, “There is hope.” He proposed a radical, public covenant: to send away all foreign wives and their children. He urged Ezra to lead, and Ezra immediately made the leaders swear an oath to do it. A proclamation was then sent for every exile to gather in Jerusalem within three days or forfeit their property and be excommunicated.
  • Collective Agreement (vv. 9-15): The entire community gathered in the open square, trembling in the cold rain and from the gravity of the matter. Ezra stood and formally charged them to confess their sin and separate. The assembly shouted back in agreement, “It is our duty to do as you have said!” Recognizing that the sin was widespread and could not be handled in a day, they wisely proposed a systematic plan: a committee of leaders would investigate every case, town by town, over time.
  • The Process Begins (vv. 16-17): This proposal was accepted. Ezra and the appointed family heads immediately began the difficult investigation, which took them three full months to complete.

Conclusion

This passage is the climax of Ezra’s reform, showing a nation genuinely broken over its sin. It demonstrates a move from personal grief (Ezra’s) to corporate responsibility (the people’s). The community not only confesses but also commits to a painful and thorough process of purification, showing they were serious about restoring their covenant identity and turning away God’s wrath.

Best Comfort Items

https://amzn.to/3IZIpbd

https://amzn.to/3L75glG

https://amzn.to/3WPKfyu

https://amzn.to/4o6X4kb

https://amzn.to/3WhqnEl

https://amzn.to/4qpUgjx

*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

Contact me today!

photo of Ezra 9 and his frustration at the people's sins from bsf exile and return study www.atozmomm.com

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 3: Ezra 9:5-15

by atozmom, posted in BSF Exile & Return: A Time to Build 2025/2026

Summary of Ezra 9:5-15

Ezra prayed to God. He acknowledged the people’s great sins. He thanks God for their return to Jerusalem and the temple rebuilding. He again acknowledges their sins and how they are unworthy of God’s grace, mercy, and presence.

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 3: Ezra 9:5-15

6a) Ezra addressed God on his knees with his hands spread out to the Lord. His face was down due to the greatness of the shame and sin he felt. He prayed and acknowledged the people’s sins, God’s mercy, and their unworthiness to stand before Him. It shows that he is fully aware that God is all-mighty and he is nothing before Him. Ezra’s prayer reveals he is a leader of profound humility who sees God as both perfectly righteous and incredibly merciful. He doesn’t approach God as a detached, righteous leader scolding sinners, but as a broken member of a guilty community.

b) The same. Humbly. With an attitude of a repentant heart and a desire to do better. Approach God with total honesty and humility, not excuses. Confess your sin directly. Acknowledge His perfect righteousness and your own guilt. Don’t bargain, but appeal to His mercy and grace, which He promises to those who genuinely repent.

7) Because the people needed God’s grace and mercy once again. Recalling God’s faithfulness was their only source of hope. As Ezra confessed, they deserved total destruction. Remembering God’s mercy—proven by their very existence as a “remnant”—was their only basis for appealing to His gracious character, giving them the courage to repent rather than fall into complete despair.

8 ) It’s very encouraging. We all sin, but God always forgives. We just need to come to him with a repentant heart and ask for forgiveness and move forward with a desire to do better.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 3: Ezra 9:5-15

Great example of how to pray in the midst of sin in your life.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 3: Ezra 9:5-15

Ezra prayed on his knees like so many in the Bible did (Solomon, Daniel, Stephen, Peter, Paul, and Jesus!).

Yet, many in the Bible don’t pray on their knees, so it’s not a requirement, but it is good!

Ezra spread out his hands, which was very common in OT times. This shows surrender and readiness for God.

Note that Ezra offers no excuses for their sins. He just lays it out there. He rightly asks for mercy and appeals to God’s position and His righteousness.

END NOTES SUMMARIZED

This section is Ezra’s powerful, public prayer of confession. After his initial shock (v. 1-4), he moves to formal repentance, which unfolds in three parts:

  1. Corporate Shame (v. 5-7): Ezra rises from his grief and prays. He doesn’t blame “the people”; he fully identifies with them, using “I” and “our.” He expresses profound shame (“I am… ashamed and disgraced”), confessing that their current sin (intermarriage) is not an isolated mistake. Instead, it’s a continuation of the same unfaithfulness their ancestors practiced, which he identifies as the very reason God sent them into the Babylonian exile (“our guilt has mounted up… we were given over…”).
  2. Acknowledgment of Grace (v. 8-9): He immediately contrasts their sin with God’s recent, undeserved mercy. He acknowledges that God could have destroyed them completely. Instead, God graciously preserved a “remnant,” gave them a “foothold” (or “a peg”) back in Jerusalem, “revived” their spirits, and even gave them favor with the Persian kings to rebuild the Temple and find security (“a wall”).
  3. The Gravity of the New Sin (v. 10-15): This is the core of his anguish. He asks, “what can we say?” He highlights the community’s shocking ingratitude. Despite God’s grace and after experiencing the severe punishment of exile, they have still knowingly broken the specific commands about separation (v. 11-12). He recognizes that God has punished them less than they deserved (v. 13) and that by repeating this sin, they are provoking God’s righteous anger to the point of total annihilation, “leaving no remnant or survivor” (v. 14).

Conclusion

Ezra’s prayer is a model of true repentance. He makes no excuses, shifts no blame, and does not try to minimize the sin. In fact, he argues that God’s recent grace makes their new sin even worse, not more excusable.

He concludes not by begging for a specific outcome, but by affirming God’s total righteousness (“you are righteous”) and their own total guilt (“no one can stand before you because of this”). It is a complete surrender, an admission that they have no defense and stand condemned, placing the entire community at the mercy of the just God they have offended.

Best Comfort Items

https://amzn.to/3IZIpbd

https://amzn.to/3L75glG

https://amzn.to/3WPKfyu

https://amzn.to/4o6X4kb

https://amzn.to/3WhqnEl

https://amzn.to/4qpUgjx

*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

Contact me today!

photo of Ezra 9 and his frustration at the people's sins from bsf exile and return study www.atozmomm.com

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 2: Ezra 9:1-4

by atozmom, posted in BSF Exile & Return: A Time to Build 2025/2026

Summary of Ezra 9:1-4

Ezra learned that the people of Israel, including the leaders, the priests and the Levites, had intermarried with the pagan people around them. Ezra was appalled.

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 2: Ezra 9:1-4

3a) Idol worship, human sacrifice,  divination, sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, casts spells, who is a medium or spiritist, or who consults the dead, those who cheat/have differing weights in their bags

b) Unsure. Sometimes these things are impressive, but they are really empty. People who are down can easily be persuaded. These practices were enticing because they offered immediate, tangible benefits and a path of social and economic convenience, appealing directly to basic human desires for security, pleasure, and acceptance.

4a) God told the Israelites that when they enter and possess the Promised Land, they must destroy the nations living there totally. They are to make no treaties with them or intermarry with them. They will turn them away from the Lord, and the Lord’s anger will burn against them. They are to break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.

b) God wants to protect His people and keep them holy so that they can be faithful to Him and be His chosen people.

5) Sin is incredibly dangerous, and it’s so easy to continue down the path of sin once someone starts. God does everything He can to protect us from the devil’s ways. His love for us knows no bounds.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 2: Ezra 9:1-4

I love the emphasis on the importance of keeping God’s commands. So vital today!

End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 12, Day 2: Ezra 9:1-4

The spiritual life of the returning Israelites was in shambles. The intermarriage with the pagans can affect all aspects of society. Even the leaders were involved.

END NOTES SUMMARIZED

In Ezra 9:1-4, leaders report to the priest Ezra that the returned Jewish exiles, including priests and Levites, have failed to remain separate from the surrounding peoples and have intermarried with them. This is seen as a grievous sin and a direct violation of God’s covenant commands.

Ezra’s reaction is immediate and visceral: he tears his garments, pulls hair from his head and beard, and sits down completely appalled. His extreme display of grief demonstrates the profound spiritual horror he feels, recognizing that this unfaithfulness threatens the community’s restored relationship with God and repeats the sins that led to their exile in the first place. Others who respect God’s law gather around him, sharing his devastation.

Best Comfort Items

https://amzn.to/3IZIpbd

https://amzn.to/3L75glG

https://amzn.to/3WPKfyu

https://amzn.to/4o6X4kb

https://amzn.to/3WhqnEl

https://amzn.to/4qpUgjx

*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

Contact me today!

woman praying www.atozmomm.com bsf john

BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 12, Day 4: John 8:31-47

by atozmom, posted in BSF John's Gospel: The Truth 2023/2024

SUMMARY OF JOHN 8:31-47

Jesus told the people that The Truth will set those free who believes in him from sin. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Since they are looking to kill him, they are not free and are a slave to their father, the devil.

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 12, Day 4: John 8:31-47

11a) The freedom Jesus offers is freedom from the bondage of sin’s guilt and consequences. He offers forgiveness. People receive this freedom when they believe in Christ’s saving grace.

b) Not having guilt from sin, the freedom to ask for and receive forgiveness for my sins from others, the freedom to fail and fall and have Jesus pick me up, the freedom to follow His will for my life.

12a) They are not Abraham’s descendants/children of Abraham if they are looking for a way to kill him. They belong to their father, the devil. If they belonged to Abraham, they would love him and hear what God says.

b) Because they did not belong to God, so they could not hear what God says. Instead, they belong to the devil so they hear his words and obey him.

c) Many ways. Prayer, consult the Bible, examine the character of the words. For example, are you being asked to commit a sin? Jesus would never say that. What does your gut tell you? Abiding/living like Jesus will help you know the Truth.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 12, Day 4: John 8:31-47

I love the freedom that Christ offers. There truly is nothing else like it.

End Notes BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 12, Day 4: John 8:31-47

Jesus is addressing those who believe in him, but have not yet fully committed to following him.

People must live by Jesus’ word to believe in him. When we abide in Jesus’ word and live it, we’ll know the truth. When we know the truth, we are free.

There is no escape from slavery to sin except through Jesus Christ. You can live a life of sin or a life of freedom. But, it’s for life.

Abraham is not their father in a spiritual sense. Their rejection of Jesus shows they don’t have the word or Christ in their lives; thus, they did not have freedom.

Jesus’ actions are consistent with God. The actions of unbelievers are consistent with the devil.

The religious leaders again bring up Jesus’ shady parentage  John 8:19

If you love God, you love Jesus. Period.

Jesus came from God and is different from God.

Unbelievers are of the devil. The devil only speaks lies. Your actions prove this to be so.

We must repent of our sins and turn from our old ways in order to follow Jesus’ teachings.

Only the Holy Spirit can give us the power to live as God intended.

Contact me today!

Christmas Gifts

*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

jonah and the whale people of the promise kingdom divided lesson 12 www.atozmomm.com

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?

Contact me today!

Great Black Friday Deals (And Fun Winter Reads, Too!)

*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 12, Day 3: Matthew 11:16-30

by atozmom, posted in BSF Matthew 2021/2022

SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 11:16-30

This generation is like children, Jesus says.

Jesus denouced cities (Korazin, Capernaum, and Bethsaida) he has performed miracles in because they did not repent. Tyre, Sodom, and Sidon will be better off on the day of judgment than them.

Jesus praises God for revealing himself to the little children. No one knows God except the Son and those whom the Son chooses to reveal to him.

Jesus calls those who are weary and burdened to come to him and he will give them rest. Learn from him who has an easy yoke and a light burden.

BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 12, Day 3: Matthew 11:16-30

6a) Those who witnessed his miracles but did not repent.

b) If you don’t repent and accept Jesus, you will not receive eternal life.

7) “Because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children” for God’s pleasure.

8a) Jesus calls those who are weary and burdened to come to him and he will give them rest. Learn from him who has an easy yoke and a light burden.

b) He carries them for us, forgives our sins, and allows us freedom to live.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 12, Day 3: Matthew 11:16-30

One of Jesus’s most famous quotes as he offers rest to those who are weary and burdened, as most of us are at some point in our lives. Learn from Jesus to be less weary and less burdened.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 12, Day 3: Matthew 11:16-30

map of korazin, bethsaida, and capernaum www.atozmomm.com bsf matthewMany people will criticize just to criticize, as they did Jesus and John for nothing at all they did. Wisdom is proved by actions.

It is worse to know about Jesus and still reject him than to not know about Jesus and reject him. There is a greater responsibility with knowledge.

Here we learn that there are different degrees of accountability based on what you know and what you choose to do with that knowledge.  (Matthew 12:41; 23:13;  Luke 12:47-48), (Romans 1:20-2:16)

The cities Jesus mentions (Korazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum John 21:25🙂 all faced judgment. We are not told what happened here as we do not have all the details of Jesus’s life (what we could learn if we could!).

Note that the Father can only be known through the Son.

Jesus invites us to come to him, not go. We are to come as disciples, ready to learn how to live and now just receive grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

In ancient times, the yoke was what tied oxen together to do work. It was a symbol of a burden or obligation. The ancient Jews used this as a symbol of a yoke of the law, command, faith, repentance, and more. Jesus’s yoke is nothing in comparision.

Jesus is gentle and lowly and offers us rest. Jesus walks with us and bears burdens with us. He is our leader and mentor. Life is still hard, but with Jesus, he carries the hardships with us and for us.

Contact me today!