Tag: bsf lesson 23 day 2

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BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 23, Day 2: Nehemiah 1

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

Summary of Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah reports that Jerusalem is broken and the gates have burned. He prayed to God, saying he confessed the sins he and the Israelites had made. They have not obeyed. He reminds God of His promise to gather them back to the Promised Land if they return to Him and obey. He asks for favor before the Lord.

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 23, Day 2: Nehemiah 1

3) Nehemiah heard that the exiles who returned to Jerusalem are in trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is borken and its gates have been burned. He responds by mourning, weeping, fasting, and prayingbefore the Lord, repenting of his/their sins and asking God for favor.

4a)

God’s character: “Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments”

God’s people: God’s people are His servants. He confesses that the people have sinned, acted wickedly against God, and not obeyed His commands, decrees, and laws.

God’s promises: “If you (the people) return to me (God) and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.”

Nehemiah’s desire: “Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

b) This shows that Nehemiah understands God and His character. He represents the people by confessing for them. His prayer reveals a relationship of deep intimacy and corporate solidarity. He approaches God confidently based on His covenant faithfulness, yet humbly identifies with the people’s sin (“we have sinned,” v.6). This is vital because true spiritual leadership requires owning the community’s failures as one’s own to intercede effectively.

5) I’m currently searching for God’s will in my life right now. I have an important medical procedure coming up that I am anxious about. I am trying to determine what God wants for my life right now, what is His will for the rest of my life. I’m asking God for guidance and to move me in His direction, not mine.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 23, Day 2: Nehemiah 1

I love this example of prayer: praise God for who He is, confess your sins, remind God of His promises, ask for what you want/need. Good stuff!

End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 23, Day 2: Nehemiah 1

It’s been 1,000 years since Moses, and the people of God have 400 more years to wait for Jesus. Both Judah and Israel were in shambles. They had been exiled by Babylon, and only about 50,000 of the Jews decided to return when given the opportunity. It’s around 444 B.C.

We pick up the Israelites’ story 15 years after the Book of Ezra ends, so almost 100 years after the captives were allowed to return to Jerusalem. The walls of Jerusalem are still in rubble from the Babylonian conquest.

Nehemiah lives in the capital of the Persian empire and in the palace, so he is a person of import. He is tasked with rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls and the city. He spent about 13 years leading God’s people to rebuild the city.

The survivors were living in a city with no wall, and therefore, in constant fear of attack.

God would use Nehemiah, but first He has to do work inside of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah is a leader, as we all are in some part of our lives. He fasted and prayed before he did.

If your vision is big, you must pray. We’ll see that Nehemiah prayed for months before he did anything Nehemiah 1:1-4 and 2:1.

Prayer will relieve your stresses. It gives you strength.

We are to be humble before the Lord, confessing our sins without excuses, and realizing we need God to do it.

Nehemiah quoted from both Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 30.

Nehemiah wanted to do something, but he would need God to do so. God, use me!

END NOTES SUMMARIZED

The Report and Reaction (Verses 1–4)

The Scene: Nehemiah is in the citadel of Susa, serving the Persian King, enjoying comfort and prestige. The Crisis: His brother arrives with news that the Jewish remnant in Jerusalem is in “great trouble and shame.” The walls are broken, and the gates burned—meaning the city is defenseless and a laughingstock. The Response: Nehemiah does not offer pity from a distance; he internalizes the pain. He sits, weeps, mourns, and fasts. His broken heart immediately leads him to prayer rather than political maneuvering.

The Prayer of Preparation (Verses 5–11)

Nehemiah’s prayer establishes a model for crisis management:

  1. Adoration: He begins by acknowledging God as “great and awesome” and faithful to His covenant.

  2. Confession: He does not blame the Babylonians or his ancestors alone. He uses the word “we”—including himself and his father’s house in the nation’s sin.

  3. Remembrance: He quotes Deuteronomy back to God, reminding Him of His promise: if the people return to Him, God will gather them from the farthest skies.

  4. Petition: He asks for success, specifically requesting favor “in the sight of this man” (King Artaxerxes).

Conclusion

Nehemiah 1 teaches that effective leadership begins with empathy and intercession.

Before Nehemiah laid a single stone, he laid a foundation of prayer. He demonstrates that when we face a crisis, we must first look upward (to God’s character) and inward (confessing sin) before we look outward (to fix the problem).

The takeaway is that true burden-bearing bridges the gap between our personal comfort and the brokenness of God’s people.

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BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 23, Day 2: Revelation 18:1-3

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

Summary of Revelation 18:1-3

John saw an angel who shouted that Babylon had fallen. She had become a dwelling for evil.

BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 23, Day 2: Revelation 18:1-3

3a) John saw an angel who shouted that Babylon had fallen. She had become a dwelling for evil.

b) He mentioned that Babylon had become a place for demons and everything impure, unclean, and sinful. She was about to be judged.

4a) The future for Babylon is destruction because of her sins.

b) God should be the top priority. The consequences of putting anything above God (including riches and luxuries) are that they can be taken away, you can live an empty, unfulfilled life, and you risk falling away from Jesus. The list of consequences truly is endless.

5) Our hearts and minds should be set on the things above us in heaven — God, Jesus, and His ways and light. Honestly, things of the world occupy my thoughts most of the time. I work every day to reverse this, but the challenges of life can be forceful. But, I pray and each day, I try to spend one extra minute with Jesus! That will add up eventually!

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 23, Day 2: Revelation 18:1-3

Question 5 was very convicting for me. I do need to spend more time contemplating God than things of the world.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Revelation: The Hope Lesson 23, Day 2: Revelation 18:1-3

Do note that some Bible scholars see this Babylon as different from the Babylon in Revelation 17.

Most Bible scholars agree that Babylon here is symbolic and not referring to the actual city of Babylon in ancient times.

The angel glows because he was just in God’s presence.

Babylon was guilty of many sins, including idolatry, pride, greed, and the selfish pursuit of worldly things, such as wealth and luxuries.

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BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 23, Day 2: John 18:1-9

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

Summary of John 18:1-9

Jesus leaves for the Kidron Valley to the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas comes to the garden with soldiers and officials. Jesus told them who he was and asked them to let his disciples go.

BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 23, Day 2: John 18:1-9

3a) Jesus prayed to the Father for himself and his disciples, as well as all believers. He retreats to prepare for this moment.

b) The Garden of Gethsemane. He may have chosen it because Judas knew the place. It was also out of the public eye.

4) He confessed to who he was right away and asked for his men to be let go. His show of power was to protect his disciples.

5a) The men drew back and fell to the ground. They were overwhelmed by the power of Christ. They knew they were in the presence of God and reacted to it. The soldiers were no match for the great “I am.”

b) Jesus’ power is so great that it impacts everyone, believers and non-believers alike. The fact he willingly goes to the cross shocks everyone. It helps me understand his immense love for all of us.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 23, Day 2: John 18:1-9

Jesus is never concerned about himself. So powerful here.

End Notes BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 23, Day 2: John 18:1-9

This is a new section of John’s Gospel as we follow Jesus to the cross.

Bible scholars note that the Kidron River would have been red from the blood of thousands of Passover lambs that had been sacrificed, signifying Jesus’ upcoming sacrifice.

John did not name the Garden, but the other Gospel writers did (Matthew 26:36 and Mark 14:32). This was a place Jesus and his disciples often visited.

Judas comes with soldiers and officials to arrest Jesus. They may have expected a fight. Obviously, Judas did not know the character of Jesus.

Jesus of Nazareth was how most people referred to Jesus at the time.

Jesus answers with his name “I am,” proclaiming his deity once again and connecting to the rest of his “I am” statements in John’s Gospel.

The fact the men fell when Jesus spoke is undeniable proof that Jesus could have escaped if he so chose to. Jesus was in control.

He knocked the soldiers down to protect his disciples. Jesus sacrificed himself for their safety. The disciples then left.

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BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 23, Day 2: Micah 1-2

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

SUMMARY OF MICAH 1-2

Micah 1

We learn when Micah prophesized in verse 1: during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. The Lord will come down and punish His people for their sins. Micah will mourn because of the people’s sins, weeping and wailing.

Micah 2

Micah says that there is woe to those who plot evil, who covet, steal, defraud, and rob others. As consequences, the Lord will plan disasters upon His people. There will be false prophets. Yet, God will redeem a remnant of Israel.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 23, Day 2: Micah 1-2

3) During the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

4a)

Micah 1:1-7: because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel. They worshipped idols.

Micah 2:1-5: Planning sin and plotting evil. Covet fields and houses and seize them. They defraud people of their homes and rob them of their inheritance

Micah 2:6-11: They steal and drive people from their homes. There are false prophets.

b) Because our hearts and nature are evil. We are tempted, and we sin.

c) Sin is easy to do, which is why so everyone does it. Sometimes, following God’s ways are harder. It’s a choice to not sin just as much as it’s a choice to sin. It’s important to be cognizant of your choices.

5) God would gather a remnant and the One (Jesus) would go before them.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 23, Day 2: Micah 1-2

See here the consequences of sin clearly for God’s people.

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 23, Day 2: Micah 1-2

Micah 1

Moresheth (also called Moresheth Gath in Micah 1:14) was about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Jerusalem. Micah was from the country and he preached somewhere around 739 BC and 686 BC, the same time as Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea. His name means “Who is like the Lord.”

Micah tells the people to listen to what he has to say. Idolatry was everywhere, and it was time to put God first again.

God will come to judge Israel and Judah. Samaria will be left desolate because of it.

Micah announces the judgement on Judah howling and wailing, very sad to do so.

The nations will know of God’s judgment, and it will bring shame on the people.

Micah 2

Sin is bad, but planned sin is even worse. God will bring His people low because of their planned sins.

God would take away what He had given them.

Still, God will restore His people even if they embrace false prophets.

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BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 23, Day 2: Matthew 22:15-33

by atozmom, posted in BSF Matthew 2021/2022

SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 22:15-33

The Pharisees continue to try to trip Jesus up with words. They ask him if it is right to pay taxes to Caesar. Of course, Jesus knows they are trying to trip him up. Instead, he asks for a denarius. On the denarius is a portrait of Caesar, so Jesus said give to Caesar what is his and give to God what is His.

Next, the Sadducees try to trip up Jesus. They ask him that at the resurrection, whose wife will a woman be who married all of the brothers because it was their duty to marry her. The Sadducees believe there is no resurrection. Jesus said at the resurrection there is no marriage. They will be like angels in heaven and be living.

BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 23, Day 2: Matthew 22:15-33

3) The Pharisees continue to try to trip Jesus up with words. They ask him if it is right to pay taxes to Caesar. They think that if Jesus answers to pay the taxes, he will alienate many Jews. If he advocates to not pay taxes, he could go to jail for breaking Roman law.

4a) Jesus knows they are trying to trip him up, so he won’t satisfy them.

b) We must submit ourselves to governing authorities, so we must pay taxes since they are our elected officials chosen by God. To God, we owe our lives, but more than that, our service and our love.

5a) The Sadducees ask Jesus that at the resurrection, whose wife will a woman be who married all of the brothers because it was their duty to marry her.

b) They don’t know the Scriptures or the Power of God. At the resurrection, we will all be living and marriage won’t exist.

6) It reveals how Jesus knows our hearts and intentions and talks about the deeper issues. He knows the Pharisees and the Sadducees are trying to trip him up, so he responds appropriately. I was not really surprised or amazed. Jesus is all-knowing, so his actions make sense to me.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 23, Day 2: Matthew 22:15-33

You can tell the Pharisees and the Sadducees don’t understand who Jesus is; if they did, they would know he wouldn’t fall into their trap. Jesus gives them many opportunities to repent. They do not.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 23, Day 2: Matthew 22:15-33

You know it’s serious when the Pharisees are working together with the Herodians (most likely pagan Romans).

Note they compliment Jesus first, hoping to take his guard down.

They think that if Jesus answers to pay the taxes, Jesus could be accused of denying God’s sovereignty. If he advocates to not pay taxes, he would be an enemy of Rome.

There were many taxes in Judea imposed by Rome. This scene is referring to the poll tax, which is a denarius a year that everyone has to pay.

Jesus shows he is in control. God is superior over all, but government handles local and national affairs.

Fear God. Honor the king. (1 Peter 2:17)

Christians have the image of God stamped on them. We belong to God, so we are to give ourselves to Him. We belong to Him. Jesus makes it clear that there is a separation between church and state here.

The Sadducees

The Sadducees were a small group of wealthy, aristocratic elite who only believed in the first five books of Moses and even then they picked and choose what to believe in. They were more politial than religious, and with the demise of the temple in 70 AD, they disappeared as a political party. They are only mentioned by name in the New Testament about a dozen times, but when chief priests are mentioned, this referred to them, too.

The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection, as the ridiculousness of this question shows. While the premise is true that if a married man died childless, it fell to his brother to marry the widow  Deuteronomy 25:5-10, which is known as levirate marriage. Levir is a Latin word meaning “brother-in-law.”

These highly learned men did not know the Scriptures or the Power of God. God can raise people from the dead, and as Paul says, you can have Biblical knowledge, but not understand the Bible. (2 Timothy 1:13).

Jesus tells them that life in resurrection is now what we know life on earth. Jesus says angels are in heaven, meaning they are real, which the Sadducees do not believe.

In the Bible, angles are always male. (Genesis 18:2, 16; Genesis 19:1-11)

Jesus uses the patriarches of the Old Testament since that is the only part of the Bible that the Sadducees believed in. Jesus quotes God as saying, “I am,” not “I was.” This shows they are still living and God is the God of the living.

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BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 23, Day 2: Genesis 37:1-11

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2020/2021

Summary of Genesis 37:1-11:

Joseph was Israel’s/Jacob’s favorite son, being the oldest son of Rachel. At age 17, he attended the flocks. He was given a rich robe as his father’s favorite, which made all of his brothers hate him. Joseph had a prophetic dream where his sheave of grain rose up and his brothers’ sheaves gathered around him and bowed down to it.  This angered his brothers who understood the meaning and said he would never rule over them. Joseph had another dream where the sun, moon, and 11 stars bowed down to him. He told his brothers this dream and his father who rebuked him, saying that does he expect his mother, him and his brothers to bow down to him? His brothers again grew jealous, but Jacob knew it was from God and remembered it.

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 23, Day 2: Genesis 37:1-11

3) His dreams

4a) God planned for Joseph to be the leader of Egypt.

b) God is good and great.

5) Jacob knew this dream was from God.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 23, Day 2: Genesis 37:1-11

Joseph is my absolute favorite person in the Bible (after Jesus, of course). I love this story!

Unsure why Joseph would tell his brothers his dreams, especially his second dream. Either 1) he was bragging or 2) he was utterly clueless how everyone hated him. Then again, he is a teenager. He has A LOT to learn about the world and how it works.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 23, Day 2: Genesis 37:1-11

We immediately notice that the family of Jacob is dysfunctional with kids from four different women, Jacob playing favorites amongst his kids and his wives, and the brothers murdering a whole town over the reputation of their sister. Yet, the story of Jospeh, Jacob, and Abraham is about God’s triumph over sin. He uses all of us despite our sins.

Joseph tattled on his brothers, which did not help his case.

The coat of many colors was probably not a work coat but one meant to show privilege.

Joseph’s First Dream

The first dream of Joseph conveyed the fact that he would rule over his brothers with the sheaves bowing down to him. Note the symbolism of the sheaves since Joseph will meet his brothers in Egypt when they come for grain during the famine.

Joseph’s Second Dream

Joseph’s second dream revealed that Joseph would be over his father and mother, as well as his brothers. This made everyone angry. This illustrates that sometimes keeping information to yourself, even if it’s from God, is best for all involved.

Note that here Rachel seems to still be alive Genesis 35:16-20,. This shows that Genesis is not in chronological order, probably to keep the story of Joseph as one whole here.

Note that most likely Jacob is ending his tale here and Joseph is picking it up so Joseph is telling his remembrances. Genesis 37:2: This is the genealogy of Jacob. You’ll see these transitions elsewhere in the book of Genesis Genesis 5:1, 6:9 and 25:19.

The sun, moon, and stars represents those from Jacob. We see this again in Revelation 12:1 as we Jesus coming from Israe.

BSF Study Questions Genesis Lesson 23, Day 2: Genesis 29:1-30

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2012/2013

Summary of passage:  Jacob travels to Paddan Aram and immediately meets Laban’s shepherds watering their sheep.  He helps them water the sheep by pushing the stone from the well.  Rachel who is a shepherdess and Laban’s daughter arrives.  Jacob kisses her and tells her he is Rebekah’s son (so they are cousins).  She ran home to tell her father Laban who welcomes Jacob as his own.

Jacob agrees to work for Laban for seven years in return for Rachel’s hand in marriage. It seems as only a few days to him his love was so great for her.  But on the marriage night, Laban tricks Jacob into sleeping with Leah.  Jacob realized in the morning what had happened.  Laban told him the custom was he had to take the older daughter first and then the younger daughter.  And if he still wanted Rachel, he’d have to work another 7 years.

Jacob agreed and gained Rachel as a wife whom he loved more than Leah.

Questions:

3)  You can see God’s fingerprints everywhere.  The servant found Rebekah easily as the well.  She came up to the servant and happened to be from Laban’s family.  Jacob happened upon Laban’s servants and lo and behold Rachel shows up and Jacob falls in love with her.  God is in control here.  Neither incident happened by accident.

4)  Personal Question.  My answer:  No.  It doesn’t seem so.  It seems to me as if they obeyed Laban out of daughterly duty.  I would imagine Rachel loved Jacob as much as he loved her so she was probably upset about it.  Not sure about Leah.  She might have been willing if she had no other suitors or if she herself loved Jacob as well.

5a)  Jacob pretended to be Esau by dressing up as him and Leah pretended to be Rachel in a similar manner.  Jacob exchanged the younger for the older.  Laban exchanged the older for the younger.

b)  Personal Question.  My answer:  Cheating, lying, and deception are no way to live your life.  That what he did to Esau, although God’s will, was the wrong way to go about gaining God’s favor.  Cheating and lies have a heavy cost and take a huge toll on relationships.  That honesty is the best policy and is God’s way.

c)  Personal Question.  My answer:  Haven’t learned anything new about deception.  I just try to be honest and up front with people.  Never take the short route for a minimal game.  The price is too high.  Be honorable.  Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.  You don’t want to be cheated so don’t cheat others.

d)  Psalm 15:  “He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart…who keeps his oath..will never be shaken.”

Proverbs 12:22:  “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.”

Proverbs 19:1:  “Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.”

Proverbs 6:16-20:  “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:  a lying tongue…a heart that devises wicked schemes…a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

2 Corinthians 8:21:  “For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.”

Others:  1 Peter 3:10-12, Philippians 4:8-9, John 8:32, Hebrews 13:18, Proverbs 11:3, Colossians 3:9

God honors those who are truthful.  Deception is from the devil and only causes heartache.  It’s just not worth it.  I’m encouraged by how much honesty is talked about in the Bible.  That tells me just how important it is to God that you are upright, righteous, and full of integrity.  You follow Him and not the world.

Conclusions:  I enjoyed looking up honesty in the Bible.  I would hope living a life full of integrity is ingrained in all of us, but alas I know that not to be true.  If you struggle, with honesty, please pray.  God will change your heart.

Keep the Golden Rule in mind that Jesus spoke and was recorded in Matthew 7:12:  “So in EVERYTHING, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

It’s hard for our culture to imagine Rachel and Leah going along with Laban’s plot but it was expected and demanded in ancient times.  We must honor our father and mother but not if it goes against God’s word.  Luckily, we have that right today to stand up and say, “No, I can’t do that because it’s a sin.”  But in ancient times, you had to submit.  No matter how sinful your father’s plan was.

I had to wonder (assuming Leah may have protested the arrangement), why would Leah want to marry Jacob, someone who didn’t love her?  Either she didn’t think anyone else would marry her or she loved him herself.  Either way she sinned as well either complicityly or complyingly.