The remnant of Israel will be restored. They will trust in God and worship Him. They will be purified.
Be glad that God has taken away your punishment.
God will be with His people and save them. He will delight in them and love them and no longer rebuke them. They will be gathered to Him.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 24, Day 5: Zephaniah 3:9-20
14) I will purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the Lord. They will do no wrong; they will tell no lies. No one will be afraid. God will be with His people and save them. He will delight in them and love them and no longer rebuke them. They will be gathered to Him.
15a) God promises to care for those who believe in Him and trust Him. He does.
b) God calls all those to Him, but only the believers will have eternal life.
16) Verse 15: The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;never again will you fear any harm. I always love the idea that God is with me. This is something I need to be told over and over again.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 24, Day 5: Zephaniah 3:9-20
Great lesson on God’s restoration of His faithful people.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 24, Day 5: Zephaniah 3:9-20
All will worship the Lord once again. There will be peace and prosperity in the Second Coming.
God will be joyful along with His people. He will sing over them (what a great picture!).
God’s people will find rest in His presence.
We should not fear and should keep serving Him.
God promises to encourage us, defeat our enemies, heal us, and gather us to Him. What a beautiful picture!
You know summer is near when the twigs and leaves of a fig tree get tender and come out. This generation won’t pass away until all of these things have happened. Jesus’s words won’t pass away.
Only God knows when the Second Coming will be. When the Son comes again, life will be normal as it was in the days of Noah before the flood. People ate, drank, and got married as normal. Some will be taken; others won’t.
Jesus says to keep watch because no one knows what day he will come, and he will come at an hour no one expects. It’s good for the faithful and wise servant to be taking care of the master’s household until he returns. If he is wicked, however, and beats his fellow servants and hang out with drunkards, he will be cut to pieces when the master returns and assigned a place amongst the hypocrites with weeping and gnashing of teeth.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 24, Day 5: Matthew 24:32-51
10) This generation won’t pass away until all of these things have happened. Jesus’s words won’t pass away.
11a) When the Son comes again, life will be normal as it was in the days of Noah before the flood. People ate, drank, and got married as normal. In Noah’s day, people were so wicked God destroyed them.
b) Only God knows when the Second Coming will be.
12) The man did not watch his house as he should, so thieves snuck in. We need to be watchful so we are not lost when Jesus comes.
13) We must keep the faith and God’s commands, so that we are ready when Jesus comes because no one knows when that will be. We are to be faithful and serve.
14) Just be mindful that Jesus is always watching, that this earth is temporary and not my home, that I belong elsewhere, and remind myself periodically that Jesus is coming again soon.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 24, Day 5: Matthew 24:32-51
I didn’t remember that only God knows when Jesus will return. This is encouraging since none of us know, so it’s best to treat every day as if Jesus will appear.
Great reminder!
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 24, Day 5: Matthew 24:32-51
The fig tree grows abundantly in Isreal and is mentioned many times in the Old Testament as a symbol of abundance. We see in Jeremiah 24:1-10 and Hosea 9:10, figs or fig trees represent Israel. The Luke version of this story Luke 21:29-31: shows clearly that the fig tree is used a sign that the kingdom of God is near.
When these signs appear, so will Jesus:
Catastrophes
Abomination of desolation
Israel will flee
Tribulation and cosmic disturbances
The generation is the generation that sees these signs. Some Bible scholars believe that “generation” really means race and refers to the Jews, meaning they will survive to the end. No one knows which generation it will be.
Many are confused by how Jesus’s coming cannot be known since only God knows it, yest Daniel says it will be exactly 1,290 days after the abomination of desolation (Daniel 12:11).
The days of Noah were marked by evil, violence, and demons, which is why God destroyed humanity and decided to start over.(Genesis 6:1-5).
Again, how can people go on living with such evil all around them?
Bible scholar William Barclay on this passage: “It is in two sections and they seem to contradict each other. The first (verses 32-35) seem to indicate that, as a man can tell by the signs of nature when summer is on the way, so he can tell by the signs of the world when the Second Coming is on the way. The second section (verses 36-41) says quite definitely that no one knows the time of the Second Coming, not the angels, not even Jesus himself, but only God; and that it will come upon men with the suddenness of a rainstorm out of a blue sky.”
This dicotomy is explained by knowing that there are two second comings here: the rapture (where all believers will be caught up and meet the Lord in the air. The bodies of the dead will be resurrected, and all believers, living and dead, will be glorified) and then the Second Coming (where Jesus will set up his kingdom, judge his enemies, and reward the faithful).
While we wait for Jesus, we must wait for his coming, be faithful, and we’ll be rewarded when he comes. The evil servant is not ready, instead not attending to God’s business, mistreating others, and indulging in the pleasures of this world.
The cupbearer said in his dream he saw three branches on a vine. It budded, blossomed and ripened into grapes. Then he squeezed the three grapes into Pharaoh’s cup and gave it to him. Joseph told him that he would only be in jail for three days and then he will be restored to his position as chief cupbearer to Pharaoh and continue to put Pharaoh’s cup in Joseph’s hand. Joseph then asks the cupbearer to remember him with Pharaoh to help get him out of this prison since he is an innocent man.
The baker tells his dream to Joseph, saying he dreamed he had three baskets of bread on his head. The top basket has all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating the goods. Joseph tells that baker that in three days Pharaoh will behead the baker and hang him on a tree. The birds will eat his flesh.
Both dreams came to pass. The chief cupbearer was restored in three days, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, and the baker was hung. However, the cupbearer did not remember Joseph.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 24, Day 5: Genesis 40:9-23
13) Joseph was honest in his assessment. He could have lied to the baker and said he would live, but he did not.
14) To remember him and mention him to Pharaoh so that he could go free since he has been wrongly imprisoned.
15) The cupbearer was restored his position. The baker was hung. Joseph was forgotten and stayed in jail.
16) Joseph still was in charge so he found comfort in his work. He knew God was with him. God has given him the correct interpretation of the dreams. He was still alive.
17) Taking it day-by-day. You get up and do all that you can do to keep going. You pray; you hope; you pray some more. That’s really all you can do.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 24, Day 5: Genesis 40:9-23
So many time those who have helped others are forgotten when someone reaches success. Remember it’s not about glory here on earth; it’s about the glory in heaven you will receive for doing your good deeds. God remembers; that’s all that really matters.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 24, Day 5: Genesis 40:9-23
God uses pictures that makes sense to the two men. Wine is made from grapes, which the chief cupbearer dealt in wine all the time.
Note that these are not far off dreams; both will happen in three days. This allows God to give Joseph immediate credibility.
Note how Joseph is working for his release. This shows us we have to take action, too, in what we want. God will help, but we must be active participants.
Joseph delivers the bad news along with the good news. How many of us want to know this as well and need to hear it? The message of judgment is just as important as the message of redemption.
We an assume that the baker was guilty of what he was accused of, while the cupbearer was not.
For Jesus, even a message of death can mean good news if you have accepted him as your Savior. Going to heaven is good news, indeed.
It was not Joseph’s time yet. He still must linger in prison. Preparation for greatness takes years to be molded. Having the patience is allow God to do His work is key.
Summary of passage: Jacob sees Esau coming towards him with 400 men so he divides up the women and children, putting the maidservants first, then Leah and her kids and finally Rachel and Joseph in the rear (obvious preference here). He went ahead and bowed 7 times to greet his brother.
Esau ran to meet Jacob and welcomed him with open arms. They wept and kissed. Jacob introduced his family and then insisted that Esau keep his gift of animals, saying to see his face is like seeing God’s.
Esau offered to accompany Jacob the rest of the way home, which Jacob refused, citing the fact his herds had a lot of babies and needed to go slow. Esau offered to leave some of his men with Jacob but Jacob refused that as well.
So Esau went back to Seir while Jacob went to Succoth to shelter. Then he ventured on to Shechem where he bought the land upon which to pitch his tent. He set up an altar.
Questions:
14a) He bowed down to the ground 7 times upon meeting Esau. He calls himself Esau’s servant and his lord. He insists Esau keep his peace offering of animals.
b) They both wept. He compared seeing Esau’s face to seeing God’s face (no light statement).
c) Esau is genuinely glad to see Jacob. He runs to him, embraces him, kisses him, and he weeps. He asks to meet Jacob’s family and he attempts to refuse Jacob’s gift of animals. A selfish man would have gladly accepted. He offers to accompany Jacob back “home” and to offer an escort of men as well.
15) No where does it say in this passage Jacob passed 10 years at Shechem. In fact, it doesn’t say. This is a guess by scholars based off of a guess at Dinah’s age. Genesis 31:13 seems to imply that God is calling Jacob to Bethel. And in Genesis 35:1, God specifically calls Jacob to Bethel.
We all know if God calls, you go and go NOW! Don’t wait! Like the servant’s example in bringing back Rebekah, we must do God’s will and promptly. There is no time to wait. Especially when we know life is so very short.
Conclusions: In that culture, the act of Esau accepting the gifts was an act of forgiveness. You never accepted gifts from an enemy. With Esau’s acceptance, all was put right between the two brothers.
Jacob is still afraid of Esau. He doesn’t want Esau to accompany him and he ends up lying to him, saying he will follow him when Jacob instead goes the opposite direction. Despite having wrestled with God, Jacob is STILL not trusting God to be in control and lead him. Jacob inserts “Jacob” instead of “Israel” here and lingers where he should not.
Plus, Genesis 31:13 seems to imply God is calling Jacob to Bethel. So why does he stop here in Shechem? Fear. Obstinance. Desire to still be in charge.
One commentary I read suggested Jacob wanted to be close to the city (based off of Genesis 33:18), which is speculation in my view. I believe Jacob just wanted to be away from Esau so he went in the opposite direction and stopped somewhere, which happened to be Shechem.
Interesting, however, to note that Jacob is repeating Lot’s sin of wanting to be close to Sodom. As we shall see in chapter 34, sinful people have an unduly influence upon the godly.
Map Work: Map of Shechem and Bethel with Jabbok River HERE
Summary of passage: Jacob sees Esau coming towards him with 400 men so he divides up the women and children, putting the maidservants first, then Leah and her kids and finally Rachel and Joseph in the rear (obvious preference here). He went ahead and bowed 7 times to greet his brother.