Tag: bsf lesson 12 day 2

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!

photo of black horse www.atozmomm.com bsf revelation

BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 12, Day 2: Revelation 6:1-8

by atozmom, posted in BSF Revelation: The Hope 2024/2025

Summary of Revelation 6:1-8

Jesus/the Lamb opened the first of the 7 seals. One of the 4 living creatures called a white horse that had a rider on it with a crown.

Jesus opened the 2nd seal, and the 2nd living creature called out a red horse that had a rider that took peace from the earth and made people kill each other.

Jesus opened the 3rd seal and the 3rd living creature called out a black horse whose rider was holding scales.

Jesus opened the 4th seal and a pale horse came. His rider was Death with Hades close behind. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 12, Day 2: Revelation 6:1-8

3a) Come

b)  A horse with a rider appeared. Each horse was a different color with a different rider on it. Each rider was given different things.

4) “Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.” Many people believe this is most likely Jesus. However, some Bible scholars believe this is someone imitating Jesus or the Antichrist. This view stems from what the rider is doing — conquering or bringing death and destruction. Do note that no woe is pronounced here.

5a) “Its rider was given the power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other.” Humans are by nature evil, so when leaders arise who are evil, they cause havoc, despair, and death and destruction.

b) The source of strife is sin. The solution is Jesus. We must submit to God’s will, resist the devil, and draw closer to God through Bible study and prayer. We must avoid sin and situations that prompt sin.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 12, Day 2: Revelation 6:1-8

I love how God is in control of all of these creatures, no matter what they may bring. And, amidst the evil, there is always good that will triumph in the end.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 12, Day 2: Revelation 6:1-8

The scrolls reveal man’s destiny and God’s plan for the world, which will happen before the End Times. The End Times are revealed in Revelation 19.

Note we do see the real Jesus on a white horse just not until Revelation 19:11-16

Each seal opens up a judgment, or 7 events that we’ll see again as 7 trumpets and bowls.

The 1st 4 seals reveal 4 horsemen bringing judgment.

To sum up the 4 Horsemen of Revelation:

  1. The white horse brings a man of conquest
  2. The red horse brings a man of murder and destruction
  3. The black horse brings scarcity, high costs, inflation, and famine
  4. The pale horse brings Death

Scales here symbolize rationing, so there’s not enough food to go around. The prices are exceedingly high.

Death will be everywhere when the pale horse arrives.

Yet, these horsemen only have power because of God. He is in control, and He will be in charge at the end.

Contact me today!

Best Holiday Home & Kitchen!

https://amzn.to/4huFcwq

https://amzn.to/4hstwdN

https://amzn.to/3YuPPXA

https://amzn.to/3AAMgqG

https://amzn.to/4edZibq

https://amzn.to/4hvaTpu

*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

woman praying www.atozmomm.com bsf john

BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 12, Day 2: John 8:1-11

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

SUMMARY OF JOHN 8:1-11

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. The teachers of the law asked Jesus if this woman should be stoned as commanded in the Law of Moses.

Jesus wrote in the ground and said “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Everyone went away and Jesus said he did not condemn her and told her to leave her life of sin.

BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 12, Day 2: John 8:1-11

3a) The religious leaders were desperate. They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him, so they could kill him.

b) Jesus is omniscient, wise, full of compassion, and forgiving. He loves everyone.

4a) Because we all like to think we are good people and do the right thing, when we are all sinners and fall, too. It somehow makes us feel better to accuse others and think we are better than others.

b) Do what Jesus commands: Don’t throw a stone when I’m a sinner, too. Be less quick to judge and quicker to love.

5) Jesus just wants the best for us. When we confess our sins, he forgives us and wishes us well and to follow in his footsteps.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 12, Day 2: John 8:1-11

Great reminder of how we are all full of sin and should be less judging of others.

End Notes BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 12, Day 2: John 8:1-11

This story has been debated by Bible scholars for centuries on if it really occurred or not or if it is part of the Gospel of John. This is because it it omitted in many early manuscripts of the Bible.

Yet, the story seems to reflect what Jesus would actually do, so many Bible studies believe it is true.

This scene is placed here after the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:37), and Jesus is still teaching in the temple.

Bringing the woman out in public was to embarrass her and Jesus.

Note the man whom the woman was with is missing here.

While a woman could be stoned for adultery, in all practicality, no one was. The rules were extremely strict in order to establish guilt.

If Jesus said the woman should go free, he would break the Law of Moses. If he condemned her, he’d seem cruel and break Roman law since they were the only ones allowed to execute.

The woman was being used as a pawn; Jesus would have none of it.

Jesus’ stooping is him identifying with the woman. No one knows what he wrote.

Witnesses to the crime would have to throw the first stone. All were convicted by their conscience and left with the oldest first (Bible scholars are unsure why).

In sum, Jesus took her sin and bid her to sin no more.

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 2: Jonah 1

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

SUMMARY OF JONAH 1:

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

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

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

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

b) Jonah ran away from the Lord.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What Was the Fish?

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

Contact me today!

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

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

map of region of Gergesenes or Gadarenes bsf matthew matthew 8 www.atozmomm.com

BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 12, Day 2: Matthew 11:1-15

by atozmom, posted in BSF Matthew 2021/2022

SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 11:1-15

Jesus is continuing his ministry in the towns of Galilee. John the Baptist was in prison, and when he heard Jesus had come, he sent his disciples to ask if he was the One. Jesus told them to tell John that he has come to help the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, and raise the dead. He has come to preach the Good News to the poor. All who hear and believe will be blessed.

Jesus then spoke about John the Baptist, saying he is the Elijah who was to come, a prophet who none have been risen greater than he. The kingdom has been advancing thanks to John.

BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 12, Day 2: Matthew 11:1-15

3a) John is in prison, so he is probably hoping to get out when the One comes. He wants to know if Jesus will rescue him.

b) Jesus quoted Isaiah who prophesied about the Savior, saying when he (Jesus) comes, the deaf will hear, the blind will see, the lame will walk, and the humble will rejoice. He preaches Good News to the poor and binds up the broken hearted (Isaiah 14:3-5).

c) Many times: in our moves, our past bankruptcy, and even now as we try to navigate another move possibly and career changes. All changes test your faith in some way, and you learn to lean on God more and more.

4a) John the Baptist was probably confused if Jesus was a political Messiah, sent to overthrow Rome, or the one he is — the one to save our souls instead. So, he asked Jesus himself, as we all should.

b) By asking Jesus. By bringing their questions to him and asking and waiting for him to respond.

5) He said no one born of women has been greater than he.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 12, Day 2: Matthew 11:1-15

Great example of how it’s okay to doubt who Jesus is and ask him to reveal himself. Many people come to Christ this way. Doubting is human, so give yourself some grace when you arrive at these moments in your life and continue to bring your doubts to Jesus.

Great historical fiction on the life of John the Baptist!

End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 12, Day 2: Matthew 11:1-15

Some Bible scholars say that John sent his disciples to ask who Jesus was for the disciples’ sake and not his own.

John the Baptist was in jail for calling out Herod Antipas, the ruler of Judea at this time. Herod had seduced his brother’s wife and ended up marrying her. John rebuked him for it and ended up in prison Matthew 14:3-12.

John is confused here, no doubt. He may be expecting a political Messiah — one who will rescue him. Perhaps, he didn’t want Jesus to forget about his troubles, too. Being in prision is hard, no doubt.

Jesus uses the prophecies of Isaiah to say he has come — but not in the political way many crave.

Jesus commends John the Baptist as the greatest prophet and man for being Jesus’s herald.  Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1. Note that Jesus bears witness to John as he had done for him.

The kingdom of heaven is forceful in pushing back the darkness and in converting people to Jesus.

John the Baptist was in the spirit of Elijah  (Luke 1:17). John was the last of the Old Testament prophets. We see Elijah at the Transfiguration  (Matthew 17:3), and we’ll see him as one of two prophets to come in Revelation 11:3-12.

Fun Fact: “He who has ears, let him hear” was a saying of Jesus after he said something important he wanted his followers to remember.

Contact me today!

 

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

BSF Study Questions Genesis Lesson 12, Day 2: Genesis 13:5-13

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2012/2013

Summary of passage:  Lot, Abram’s nephew, was traveling with Abram until he had to separate because their herds of animals were growing too big to support both flocks. This caused quarrels between the two groups.  The Canaanites and Perizzites were living there as well so it was crowded.

Abram approached Lot and suggested they separate, giving Lot the choice of which lands he wanted.  Lot chose the plain of the Jordan which was well watered and they parted, leaving Abram in Canaan and Lot near Sodom.  Sodom was wicked and sinning greatly against the Lord.

Questions:

3)  Genesis 13:5-13:  Abram saw tensions rising and he took quick action.  He came up with a solution and gave the choice to Lot instead of Abram choosing which way to go. He approached Lot out of love and deferred to him.

1 Corinthians 6:1-8:  This passage says to settle disagreements between believers without bringing in unbelievers.  Appoint an arbitrator from the church.  Paul says it is better to be wronged than to wrong your brother.  Abram followed this advice Paul later wrote.  He approached Lot with their disagreement and came up with a fair solution and Abram humbly let Lot chose.

Ephesians 4:1-3:  Paul advised to live humbly and be patient and deal with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity, to get along.  Abram did just that.  He loved Lot as a brother so he wanted to settle the problem quickly.

Ephesians 4:31-5:2:  Paul says to not be angry or slanderous but to be kind and compassionate and forgiving to one another.  Be imitators of God and live a life of love. Abram did just that.

Seems Abram and Paul had a lot in common!

4a)  He was the eldest and God gave Abram the land (Genesis 12:1), not Lot.  Lot just tagged along.

b)  Personal Question.  My answer:  I have no concrete example but no, I would say my attitude is usually pretty poor when it comes to submitting rights.  But I will say as time passes and I grow in God I do become more generous, compassionate, and yielding.  This is hard when we are born selfish.  It definitely takes time to develop.

In this day and age when it’s all about personal rights and people thinking others owe them, this is a shining example of how to show God’s love to others.  The Canaanites and Perizzites were watching.  They saw the quarrels and probably didn’t think much of Abram’s God.  But when Abram did something not many others would in the ancient world, the Canaanites and Perizzites probably wondered, Who is this God of theirs?  

And just like that, the seed is planted…

We must remember everyone is watching (this isn’t too hard in the age of YouTube and hidden cameras).  We must reflect God to the un-Godly.

Conclusions:  I liked this lesson.  It’s a great reminder that we don’t always have to be right or even exercise our rights.  By submitting our will and rights, we are submitting to God’s will and showing trust in God that all will work out as He planned (not as we planned) and God will take care of us.

End Note:  It’s interesting the turn around in Abram.  We’re not told how much time has passed between Egypt and Abram and Lot separating but here was a man in Chapter 12 who did not trust God to save him so he took matters into his own hands by prostituting his wife.

Now we see Abram completely surrendering his rights to his nephew, trusting God will take care of him and his animals.

People do grow in faith.  This gives me hope that I can as well.