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BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 7, Day 4: Acts 11:1-18

October 16, 2019October 13, 2019 by atozmom, posted in BSF Acts 2019/2020

Summary Acts 11:1-18:

Peter’s actions shocked the Jewish community and he was questioned when he went to Jerusalem. Peter retold the story of his meeting with the Centurion, explaining who was he to oppose God who blessed these Gentiles with the Holy Spirit. (Great explanation by the way!).

Finally, it began to dawn on the Jewish leaders that God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life and given everyone the gift of Heaven.

BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 7, Day 4: Acts 11:1-18

9) Because this changed thousands of years of Jewish tradition. We’d all ask the same questions.

My answer to this question back in 2012:

For centuries God’s chosen people has been only Jewish. God himself has said do not marry foreigners or associate with them. Jews were accustomed to only thinking God’s words were for them (which it was–they were the chosen ones). For only 3 short years, Jesus taught otherwise and then overnight, with his death, everyone was made equal and included in God’s kingdom.

This was a MAJOR paradigm shift. This could be akin to the Equal Rights Movement in the US. When people grow up with a culture and a thought so ingrained in their mind it takes a while for it to change–usually a long while.

So for the Jews to accept the Gentiles would be a process. We are human after all. Most can’t just flip a switch and get rid of past prejudices that have been ingrained in us since childhood.

10) Peter recounted exactly what happened.

11) Personal Question. My answer: It’s okay to follow God even when you don’t fully understand. In time, God will reveal all to you. Unsure what “situation” I’m in, but it encourages me to just listen and be open to God at all times.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 7, Day 4: Acts 11:1-18

I liked how once Peter explained it all to the Jews, they praised God for accepting the Gentiles into eternal life. This would be rare to see in this day and time.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 7, Day 4: Acts 11:1-18

This reaction of the Christian Jews shows how significant the change was that God initiated in Acts 10. Gentiles no longer had to become Jewish to be saved, and they were equal to the Jews.

When we see what the reaction of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, we can see how wise it was of Peter to take six witnesses with him to Caesarea and his meeting with Cornelius (Acts 10:23 and 11:12).

God emphasized the importance of these events by repeating the story.

The sheet could represent the church, having both “kosher” (Jews) and “unkosher” (Gentiles) on it, with no distinction or dividing line between the two (Ephesians 2:11-18).

If it was permitted for an angel of God to go into Cornelius’ house, it must be permitted for Peter also.

The Holy Spirit was God’s stamp of approval was on this work towards the Gentiles.

These Christians would see this was all in accord with the Scriptures. They had both the word of the Lord Jesus, recorded in Mark 1:8, and the Old Testament promises that Gentiles would come to the Lord through the Messiah (in passages such as Isaiah 49:6).

Activity alone isn’t enough to validate a work of God. It must also be in line with God’s Word. This work among the Gentiles passed both tests.

Jewish People’s Acceptance of Gentiles

The Jewish believers in Jerusalem (those of the circumcision, Acts 11:2) first reacted with a stunned silence. But then they glorified God, because they saw He was now at work among the Gentiles.

This is a powerful passage, demonstrating that the hearts of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were soft enough to be guided and corrected by God. It is a glorious thing when God’s people will allow their prejudices and traditions to be overcome by God’s Word and God’s work.

The church in Jerusalem embraced these Gentile believers at first, but it would be a long time until all the objections of those of the circumcision were answered. This acceptance is only temporary, as prejudice will continue for centuries.

BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 3, Day 4: Acts 4:1-22

September 18, 2019September 21, 2019 by atozmom, posted in BSF Acts 2019/2020

Summary of Acts 4:1-22:

The priests and the Sadducees arrest Peter and John because they were teaching people Jesus rose from the dead. But many heard and more were converted.

The next day the pair was brought before the Sanhedrin (a group resembling the group Jesus was brought before) and asked by what power they healed. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, speaks the truth, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ whom you killed that this man is healed. Salvation is found only in Jesus.

The learned men were astonished these so-called unschooled, ordinary men could heal. They could do nothing since everyone had seen the man healed. The Sanhedrin want to stop them from speaking in Jesus’ name but when they asked Peter and John to stop, they refused. Reluctantly, the two were let go since they could not deny a miracle had taken place.

BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 3, Day 4: Acts 4:1-22

10) Peter proclaimed that Jesus alone has the power to raise the dead and that salvation is found in no one else but Jesus. It makes a difference if you are saved and go to heaven or not. Believers are saved; unbelievers in Jesus Christ as the Savior are not.

11a) Even more people believed, now numbering 5000. Those who arrested them took note as well of Jesus’ power. All the people were praising God for what had happened so they were set free.

b) Personal Question. My answer: The power of Jesus can overcome anything so give my troubles to him.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 3, Day 4: Acts 4:1-22

When we did Acts before, Lesson 3 covered Acts 3-7. I’m wondering where we’re going this year. It’s cool to see how the authorities can’t do anything because they can’t refute the power of Jesus.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 3, Day 4: Acts 4:1-22

The captain of the temple is the police force of the temple. Boice says that the emphasis in the original indicates that they stopped and seized Peter and John suddenly.

The Sadducees were disturbed that Peter and John taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead; they did not believe in the afterlife or the resurrection at all.

This was a scare tactic on the part of the authorities to get Peter and John to stop preaching about Jesus. Acts 4:21 mentions further threats. Boice notes that Acts 4:1-6 lists no less than 11 different groups or individuals opposing these followers of Jesus.

This was a scene of power and intimidation. This same group of leaders had recently condemned Jesus to death, and they wanted them to know that they had the power to do the same thing to Peter and John.

Peter’s logic was piercing – why are we on trial for a good deed?

The quotation from Psalm 118:22 was appropriate. Jesus was rejected by men – by those leaders – but was exalted by His Father.

God uses both educated and uneducated men for His purpose. It’s just as wrong to think that formal education disqualifies someone for effective service as it is to think that it automatically qualifies someone for effective service.

It is interesting to note what the Jewish leaders did not do: they did not make any attempt to disprove the resurrection of Jesus. If it were possible to do, this was the time to do it; yet they could not.

Luke probably found out what the Sanhedrin discussed among themselves because a member of that Sanhedrin later became a Christian: Saul of Tarsus. Acts 26:10 gives us reason to believe Paul (Saul) was a member of the Sanhedrin to cast his vote against the early Christians.

If this is true, then Peter and John had no idea they were preaching to a future apostle and the greatest missionary the church would ever see. We have no idea how greatly God can use us.

How God Uses Bad Situations for Good

2,000 more people came to believe in Jesus
Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit again
Peter preached Jesus to the leaders of the Jews
Hostile examiners and unbelievers confirmed a miraculous healing
The enemies of Jesus were confused
Peter and John were bolder for Jesus than ever before
God was glorified

BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 3, Day 2: Acts 3:1-10

September 16, 2019September 14, 2019 by atozmom, posted in BSF Acts 2019/2020

Summary of Acts 3:1-10:

Peter and John were heading to the temple to pray when they ran into a crippled beggar. He asked them for money and Peter exclaimed, “Look at us!” The beggar did and Peter said he would give the man what he had and told him to walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He pulled him to his feet and the beggar began to jump around and praise God. The people who saw the beggar were filled with awe at what had happened to him.

BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 3, Day 2: Acts 3:1-10:

3) The beggar walked after Peter told him to in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Those who saw this miracle were filled with wonder and awe.

4) Jesus comes to give us eternal life through faith by grace to forgive us of our sins. The man expected alms. When we have faith and expect things from God, He gives us great things. The man’s life was transformed by Jesus. So, too, can be ours. Jesus has the power to transform our lives.

5) Personal Question. My answer: Everything I do and am. My jobs, my family, my pets, my home, my life.

6) Homeless, fellow believers, all of us at some point really. Those who are hurting, who have lost a loved one, who are suffering.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 3, Day 2: Acts 3:1-10:

In 2012, this lesson entailed reading all of Acts 3 & 4. I am wondering if BSF is going to stop making us read so much of the Bible as one of their many changes, for good or bad. In 2012, I had noted that this lesson was challenging. The questions were about faith and the power of Jesus’ name. I’m missing those…

End Notes BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 3, Day 2: Acts 3:1-10:

This story is included by Luke to show Acts 2:43 in action: that the apostles would do many signs and wonders. Here is just one of them.

Peter and John are still praying in the Jewish custom since they were going to temple at a certain hour. This is the 9th hour — the hour Jesus cried from the cross, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

The Jewish historian Josephus described this gate on the temple mount; made of fine Corinthian brass, seventy-five feet high with huge double doors, so beautiful that it “greatly excelled those that were only covered over with silver and gold.”

The man was begging at the gate because the Jewish people gave alms to support such people. Peter and John looked at him intently. Normally, people avoid eye contact with beggars.

There is a story about a humble monk walking with a Roman Catholic cardinal at a time in the Middle Ages when the Roman Catholic church was at its zenith of power, prestige, and wealth. The cardinal pointed to the opulent surroundings and said to the monk, “We no longer have to say, silver and gold I do not have.” The monk replied, “But neither can you say, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

Peter’s Faith

At this moment, Peter received the gift of faith described in 1 Corinthians 12:9 – a supernatural ability to trust God in a particular situation.

This wasn’t something Peter did on a whim or as a promotional event; he did it under the specific prompting of the Holy Spirit. God gave Peter the supernatural ability to trust God for something completely out of the ordinary.

What We Learn from the Lame Man

He followed the apostles (Jesus through them).
He used what God had given hime (he walked).
He praised God.

This was all in God’s timing. We know that this man was more than 40 years old (Acts 4:22), and had been crippled since birth. He was a familiar sight at this temple gate (Acts 3:10). Therefore, Jesus must have passed him by many times without healing him. It was for the greater glory of God that Jesus healed this man from heaven through His apostles.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1: Lesson 28, Day 2: 1 Kings 9:1-9

April 8, 2019March 17, 2019 by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promised Land Part 1

Summary 1 Kings 9:1-9:

God appears to Solomon after the temple was finished and tells Solomon to follow his laws and decrees and his throne will be established over Israel forever. But if he or his sons turn away and worship other gods, God will forsake them, cut off Israel from the Promised Land, and reject the temple. Israel will be scoffed at and all will know the Israelites disobeyed God.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1: Lesson 28, Day 2: 1 Kings 9:1-9:

3) Solomon had finished God’s temple (7 years) and his palace (13 years). He had conquered a vast territory and all of Israel had peace and safety. He had horses and chariots. The land was plentiful.

4) God tells Solomon to follow his laws and decrees and his throne will be established over Israel forever. But if he or his sons turn away and worship other gods, God will forsake them, cut off Israel from the Promised Land, and reject the temple. Israel will be scoffed at and all will know the Israelites disobeyed God. These words were to remind Solomon to choose God and not others gods. It’s to remind Solomon of the consequences of disobedience. It’s to give him another chance before he turns from God.

5) Personal Question. My answer: It means to walk in the ways of Jesus. Follow God’s words and follow God’s and Jesus’s heart for others and the world. It’s relevant to me every day as I try to remember to do what Jesus would do, put others first, and care about others.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1 Lesson 28 Day 2: 1 Kings 9:1-9:

Even though God doesn’t appear to us today like He did in OT times, he still reminds us of the blessings we will receive if we walk in His ways and the consequences if we don’t. We see this in the choices we make every day: whether to live God’s way or our own.

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1 Lesson 28, Day 2: 1 Kings 9:1-9:

This was 24 years after Solomon came to the throne. The temple and the palace work at Jerusalem were finished. Now Solomon had to deal with life after completing his greatest accomplishment.

“It was the hour when the accomplishment of work means the relaxation of effort. That is always a perilous hour, and the greater the work done the graver the peril. A life which has been full of activity, when that activity ceases, demands some new interest, and will find it, either high or low, noble or ignoble.” (Morgan)

God appeared to Solomon at the beginning of his reign (1 Kings 3:5-9), which was gracious. It was even better of God to appear to Solomon a second time.

God heard Solomon’s prayer

The great prayer of Solomon in 1 Kings 8 meant nothing unless God heard the prayer. The true measure of our prayer is if God in heaven answers the prayer.

Did God hear Solomon’s prayer? This answer seems to have come many years after the actual dedication of the temple. Yet God also gave Solomon an immediate answer of approval at the time of dedication, when the sacrifices were consumed with fire from heaven (2 Chronicles 7:1-7)

The temple was Solomon’s work, done in the power and inspiration of the LORD. The consecration of the temple was God’s work. Solomon could build a building, but only God could hallow it.

“Man builds; God hallows. This cooperation between man and God pervades all life. Man performs the outward and mechanical; God the inward and spiritual” Meyer

God’s answer to Solomon’s prayer had one condition: If Solomon walked before God in obedience and faithfulness, he could expect blessing on his reign and the reign of his descendants, and the dynasty of David would endure forever.

Note God did not demand perfect obedience from Solomon. David certainly did not walk perfectly before the LORD, and God told Solomon to walk before Me as your father David walked. However, this was definitely within Solomon’s realm of possibilities.

God’s Condition to Solomon’s Prayer

The positive promise of 1 Kings 9:1-5 was followed by a negative promise: If Solomon or his descendants were to turn from following the LORD, God promised to correct a disobedient Israel.

Thus, God answered Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings 8, but it was not an unqualified promise to bless the temple in any circumstance. God blessed the temple and filled it with the glory of His presence, but he would cast it out of His sight if the kings of Israel forsook the LORD.

With such a glorious temple, Israel would be tempted to forsake the God of the temple and make an idol of the temple of God. Here the LORD made them know that He would not bless them if so

Under the Old Covenant, God promised to use Israel to exalt Himself among the nations one way or another. If Israel obeyed, He would bless them to the point that others had to recognize the hand of God upon Israel. If Israel disobeyed, He would chastise them so severely that the nations would be astonished at the hard work of God among His disobedient people, and they would know that the LORD has brought all this calamity on them.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1: Lesson 26, Day 4: 1 Kings 6:1-13

March 27, 2019March 2, 2019 by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promised Land Part 1

Summary 1 Kings 6:1-13:

Four hundred and eighty years after God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, Solomon began the building of God’s temple. As the building of the temple was taking place, God came to Solomon and told him to keep His decrees, carry out His laws, regulations, and commands, and God would fulfill all the promises He gave to David through him.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1: Lesson 26, Day 4: 1 Kings 6:1-13:

9) God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. David spared Saul’s life. Solomon builds God’s temple here. Jesus is sacrificed here, just on the other side of Mount Moriah. These are all places God spared people, which is what the temple does. It spares people of their sins once the atoning sacrifice is made. The final atoning sacrifice was made with Jesus’ crucifixion.

10) God came to Solomon and told him to keep His decrees, carry out His laws, regulations, and commands, and God would fulfill all the promises He gave to David through him. God also promised to live among the Israelites and not abandon them. God is omniscient so He knows the mistakes Solomon is about to make (idol worship, marrying foreign wives, building altars to foreign gods, etc). God is trying to warn Solomon before he chooses to make those mistakes.

11) Personal Question. My answer: He reminds me of my blessings in subtle ways like the beautiful sunrise or sunset. He places people in my life I can touch in small ways, like co-workers. He keeps my in His word with BSF. He reminds me all things are from Him.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1 Lesson 26 Day 4:1 Kings 6:1-13:

I love how God blesses and then He reminds to follow Him always. Then it’s just a matter of if we listen or not.

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1 Lesson 26, Day 4:1 Kings 6:1-13:

This time reference gives us dates for the Bible: The reign of Solomon began in 971 BC and ended at 913 BC (the temple was begun in 967 BC). This means that the Exodus took place in 1447 BC.

It took probably about three years to prepare timber from Lebanon for use in building. If Solomon began the construction of the temple in the fourth year of his reign, he probably started organizing the construction in the very first year of his reign.

Yet the work was carefully organized and planned even before Solomon became king. 1 Chronicles 28:11-12 tells us, Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, of all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things.

The writer of 1 Kings never tells us exactly where the temple was built, but the writer of 2 Chronicles tells us that it was built on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1), the same place where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac and Jesus would be crucified (on another part of the hill). Image result for 1 kings 6

Four Main Structures of God’s Temple

The temple proper (the house which King Solomon built), divided into two rooms (the holy place and the most holy place).
The vestibule or entrance hall on the east side of the temple proper (the vestibule in front of the sanctuary). It was thirty feet (10 meters) wide and fifteen feet (5 meters) deep, and the same height as the temple proper.
The three-storied side chambers (chambers all around) which surrounded the temple proper on the north, south, and west sides.
A large courtyard surrounding the whole structure (the inner court mentioned in 1 Kings 6:36)

The temple proper was approximately 90 feet (30 meters) long, 30 feet (10 meters) wide, and 45 feet (15 meters) high. This was not especially large as ancient temples go, but the glory of Israel’s temple was not in its size.

Allowing for the outside storage rooms, the vestibule, and the estimated thickness of the walls, the total size of the structure was perhaps 110 feet, 37 meters long and 75 feet, 25 meters wide.

The dimensions of the temple also tell us that it was built on the same basic design as the tabernacle, but twice as large. This means that Solomon meant the temple to be a continuation of the tabernacle.

How God works

The stones used to build the temple were all cut and prepared at another site. The stones were only assembled at the building site of the temple.

The temple had to be built with human labor. God did not and would not send a team of angels to build the temple. Yet Solomon did not want the sound of man’s work to dominate the site of the temple. He wanted to communicate, as much as possible, that the temple was of God and not of man.
Often the greatest work in the Kingdom of God happens quietly. Yet the building site of the temple was only quiet because there was a lot of noise and diligent work at the quarry.

God’s promise to Solomon

God promised an obedient Solomon that he would reign and be blessed, fulfilling the promises God made to David about his reign (2 Samuel 7:5-16). He also promised that His special presence would remain among Israel as a nation.

There was nothing particularly new in this promise. These are essentially the same promises of the Old Covenant made to Israel at Sinai. But this was an important reminder and renewal of previous promises.

God was careful not to say that He would live in the temple the way pagans thought their gods lived in temples. He would dwell among the children of Israel. The temple was a special place for man to meet with God.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1: Lesson 24, Day 2: 1 Kings 3:1-4; 2 Chronicles 1:1-6; Deuteronomy 17:16-20

March 11, 2019February 17, 2019 by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promised Land Part 1

Summary of 1 Kings 3:1-4:

Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh of Egypt and married his daughter. Both himself and the Israelites were sacrificing to other gods, but Solomon was following God’s laws. He went to Gibeon to sacrifice to the Lord.

Summary of 2 Chronicles 1:1-6:

God was with Solomon and made him great. He spoke to all of Israel and went to Gibeon to sacrifice to the Lord.

Summary of Deuteronomy 17:16-20:

The Lord commanded the future kings of Israel not to return to Egypt and not to accumulate horses, not to take many wives, or accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. He must write a copy of God’s law and keep it with him and read it every day so the king can know God’s law and obey it with a humble attitude. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1: Lesson 24, Day 2: 1 Kings 3:1-4; 2 Chronicles 1:1-6; Deuteronomy 17:16-20:

3) Solomon disobeyed most of them. He obviously went to Egypt since he married an Egyptian princess. He took many wives. He was extremely wealthy.

4) Submissive attitudes and tolerance towards sins that show others that sin is okay and even permitted.

5) Part personal Question. My answer: Having the king write a copy of God’s law and keep it with him and read it every day so the king can know God’s law and obey it. This is important for all of us. We can’t obey God’s law if we don’t know God’s law. We shouldn’t consider ourselves better than our brothers either for we are all sinners. God’s law (the Bible) is our guidebook for living. It keeps us from sin and the devil. I’ve been protected many times every day by it and blessed in this life.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1 Lesson 24 Day 2: 1 Kings 3:1-4; 2 Chronicles 1:1-6; Deuteronomy 17:16-20:

Solomon is a great example of someone who loves God but chooses to disobey and justify these sins. He picks and chooses which parts of God’s law to follow. Ultimately, as good of a king as he was, it is his downfall.

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1 Lesson 24, Day 2: 1 Kings 3:1-4; 2 Chronicles 1:1-6; Deuteronomy 17:16-20:

Commentary 1 Kings 3:1-4:

Solomon’s bad example of marrying foreign wives

Marriage to fellow royalty was a common political strategy in the ancient world, and continues to the modern age. It was not only because royalty wanted to marry other royalty, but also because conflict between nations was then avoided for the sake of family ties.

This was not Solomon’s first marriage. 1 Kings 14:21 tells us that his son Rehoboam came to the throne when he was 41 years old, and 1 Kings 11:42 tells us that Solomon reigned 40 years. This means that Rehoboam was born to his mother, a wife of Solomon named Naamah the Amonitess, before he came to the throne and before he married this daughter of Pharaoh.

Solomon’s multiple marriages and marriages to foreign women would cause great disaster in his life and went directly against God’s word. Later in the Book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah was angry and frustrated because the people of Israel married with the pagan nations around them. In rebuking the guilty, Nehemiah remembered Solomon’s bad example (Nehemiah 13:25-27).

The foreign wives made Solomon more than a bad example – they ruined his spiritual life. (1 Kings 11:1-4).

1 Kings 11:4 says this Solomon only turned away from God as he got older, but the pattern was set with this first marriage to the Egyptian princess. It perhaps made political sense, but not spiritual sense.

2 Samuel 3:3 tells us that David married the daughter of a foreign king: Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. Marrying a foreign woman was not against the Law of Moses – if she became a convert to the God of Israel. What did not ruin David did ruin Solomon.

Image result for deuteronomy 17 At this time, altars were allowed in Israel at various high places, as long as those altars were unto the LORD and not corrupted by idolatry (as commanded in Deuteronomy 16:21). When the temple was built, sacrifice was then centralized at the temple.

With the sacrifices, we see Solomon’s great wealth and his heart to use it to glorify God.

As we see in 2 Chronicles 1:2-3, the entire leadership of the nation went with Solomon to Gibeon, which was the great high place. The tabernacle was a Gibeon and the ark of the covenant was in Jerusalem.

The journey of the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant in the Promised Land

Joshua brought both the ark and the tabernacle to Shiloh (Joshua 18).
In the days of Eli the ark was captured and the tabernacle wrecked (1 Samuel 4, Psalm 78:60-64, Jeremiah 7:12 and 26:9).
The ark came back to Kiriath-Jearim (1 Samuel 7:1-2).
Saul restored the tabernacle at Nob (1 Samuel 21).
Saul moved the tabernacle to Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39-40).
David brought the ark to Jerusalem and built a temporary tent for it (2 Samuel 6:17, 2 Chronicles 1:4).

Why did David not bring the tabernacle from Gibeon to Jerusalem?

He may have believed if the tabernacle were in Jerusalem, the people would be satisfied with the simple tabernacle instead of having the temple God wanted built.
It may be that the tabernacle was only moved when it was absolutely necessary – as when disaster came upon it at Shiloh or Nob.
David simply focused on building the temple, not continuing the tabernacle.

Commentary 2 Chronicles 1:1-6:

This bronze altar was the same altar made in the wilderness between Egypt and the Promised Land (Exodus 36:1-2). This altar was at least 500 years old and had received many sacrifices over Israel’s long history since the Exodus.

Solomon and the people of God sought the LORD at the place of atoning sacrifice. This was the Old Testament equivalent to “coming to the cross” in seeking God.

This was an important event marking the “ceremonial” beginning of Solomon’s reign. Solomon wanted to demonstrate from the beginning that he would seek God and lead the kingdom to do so.

Commentary Deuteronomy 17:16-20:

Commands to the future king of Israel

The king of Israel must not put undue trust in military might.
The future king of Israel must not put undue emphasis on physical indulgence and personal status.
The future king of Israel must not put undue emphasis on personal wealth.

Each of these issues is a matter of balance. The king had to have some military power, but not too much; one wife and certain comforts, but not too much; some personal wealth, but not too much. Such balances are often the hardest to keep.

Solomon was a notorious breaker of these commands. He had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots (1 Kings 4:26), and Solomon had horses imported from Egypt (1 Kings 10:28). He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart (1 Kings 11:3). He surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches (1 Kings 10:23).

Solomon knows the commands of Deuteronomy 17, yet deceives himself by asking the self-justifying questions, “How much is ‘multiply’?” It might seem self-evident that 700 wives and 300 concubines is multiplying wives to yourself, but one should never underestimate the ability of the human heart to deceive itself in such situations.

How modern Christians fall today

These are universal stumbling points; hence God’s commands not to do them: power, pleasure, or money. God’s commands for leaders have not changed; and neither has the need to be on guard against the self-deception in these things which felled Solomon.

The king of Israel himself was supposed to labor over parchment with a pen, making a personal copy of the law of Israel. This shows how greatly God wanted the word of God to be on the hearts of His rulers; God wanted every king to also be a scribe.

FUN FACT: “Incidentally, the phrase a copy of this law appears incorrectly in the LXX as ‘this second law’, to deuteronomion touto. It was this misunderstanding that gave rise to the English name Deuteronomy.” (Thompson)

Staying in God’s Word

The word of God was to be constant companion of the king of Israel, and something he read every day.
All need the word of God; but the greater our responsibilities, the greater our need to depend on the truth of God’s word.
Staying in the word of God was intended to build a reverence for God and a holy life in the king.

It is striking to consider that reading a book – the Great Book, the Bible – can keep a person from sin. We may not understand all the spiritual work behind the word of God, but staying in the word will keep one from sin. It has been well written in many Bibles: “This book will keep you from sin. Sin will keep you from this book.”

Luther said he would rather live in hell with the Bible than to live in Paradise without the Bible.

Staying in the word of God would keep the king properly humble and help him to not think of himself as above those he ruled over.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1: Lesson 14, Day 4: 1 Samuel 26

December 12, 2018December 12, 2018 by atozmom, posted in BSF People of the Promised Land Part 1

Summary 1 Samuel 26:

David is ratted out again by the Ziphites (1 Samuel 23:19-23) to Saul who takes 3000 men to the Desert of Ziph to find David. David goes with Abishai to Saul’s camp and finds Saul asleep. Abishai offers to kill Saul with one spear thrust. David again says no — that he cannot lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and God will deal with him in His time. He takes the spear and the water jug near Saul’s head and departs.

David tells the man guarding Saul he deserves death along with the rest of the men because they failed to protect the king. Saul wakes, and David once again asks why he is pursuing him. Again, we see almost a verbatim repetition of 1 Samuel 24. Saul says he was wrong; David doesn’t trust him; they go their separate ways.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1: Lesson 14, Day 4: 1 Samuel 26:

9) This play out almost exactly like 1 Samuel 24. David spares Saul’s life, but he could have just as easily killed him. He probably recognized his harshness with Nabal. David could have gone the other way, but his faith was so strong he didn’t.

10) Same as in 1 Samuel 24. Abishai believes (like the mob in 1 Samuel 24) that God has handed Saul into David’s hands to end his life. David believes he is not to raise a hand against the Lord’s anointed, and thus refuses to do so. David has faith God will deal with Saul (the wicked) in His own time, and he doesn’t worry about it.

11) Part personal Question. My answer: God is faithful, and David’s faith in Saul is unshakeable. God is just as David knows God will deal with Saul. God protects as David knows he won’t be harmed by Saul. I need to remember all God’s truths better: He’s just, fair, merciful, and faithful.

Conclusions: BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1 Lesson 14, Day 4: 1 Samuel 26:

It’s interesting how Saul never gives up when he has to know the outcome. People are stubborn despite God knocking them on the head repeatedly. I love how David won’t kill Saul, but he makes sure to let Saul know he could have. Warnings can be good teaching points (except Saul never learns).

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promised Land 1 Lesson 14, Day 4: 1 Samuel 26:

Image result for 1 samuel 26 The people of the city of Ziph – had betrayed David’s whereabouts to Saul before (1 Samuel 23:19-23). Now they try to gain King Saul’s favor again, by helping Saul find David again.

Saul goes back on his previous repentance (1 Samuel 24:16-21). At that time David had the opportunity to kill Saul but did not. When David boldly demonstrated this to Saul, the king was greatly moved emotionally and publicly repented for his murderous intentions toward David. Saul’s repentance was deep, sincere, and emotional – but it didn’t last very long as the same thing happens in this chapter.

A a wise and capable commander David constantly monitored the movements of Saul. David knew where Saul was but Saul did not know where David was.

The King James Version says that Saul lay within the trench. That translation is accurate from the Hebrew but gives the wrong idea. The perimeter of the Israeli army camp was marked by the tracks of their wagons, and it was within the perimeter of the camp that Saul slept.

The last time David and Saul met David was simply hiding from Saul, and Saul happened upon the place where David hid. This time David actively sought Saul out.

Why David not kill Saul a second time?

Saul was still the anointed king over Israel (1 Samuel 10:1)
Vengeance is God’s as God could kill Saul any time and every breath he took was a gift from God (Romans 12:17-21)
David loved Saul and wanted him to repent
David shows God’s mercy (Hebrews 6:10; Matthew 7:2)

Why partridges?

“The Arabs, observing that partridges soon become weary as not to be able to fly hunt them in the mountains till at last they can knock them down with their clubs. Saul hunted David similarly, coming hastily upon him, and putting him up from time to time, in hopes that he should at length, by frequent repetitions of it, be able to destroy him.” (Clarke)

The last time Saul was in this situation (1 Samuel 24), he was overcome with emotion. His feelings seemed right but his life was not changed (1 Samuel 24:16-21). This time there is something cold and mechanical about Saul’s words.

FUN FACT: This will be the last time David sees Saul.

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BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 3, Day 4: Acts 4:1-22

Summary of Acts 4:1-22:

BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 3, Day 4: Acts 4:1-22

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 3, Day 4: Acts 4:1-22