Tag: bsf lesson 28 day 5

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BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 28, Day 5: Malachi 4:1-6

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

Summary of Malachi 4:1-6

The day is coming when evildoers will be punished. Those who remember the Lord will be healed and will trample the wicked. Remember God’s decrees. He will send the prophet Elijah to save His people.

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 28, Day 5: Malachi 4:1-6

12) The End Times

13) Luke 1:13-17 predicts the coming of John the Baptist. Luke identifies John the Baptist as the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy, not as the literal Elijah (John 1:21), but by coming in his “spirit and power” (Luke 1:17). Gabriel quotes Malachi’s specific promise to “turn the hearts,” and Jesus confirms John is indeed the “Elijah who has come” (Matthew 17:12)

14) I am able to focus on God more. Anticipating the “Day of the Lord” acts as a lens that clarifies what truly matters, shifting our focus from the temporary to the eternal. Living with the end in mind forces you to drop the heavy baggage of bitterness and pick up the light burden of love.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 28, Day 5: Malachi 4:1-6

Great lesson on getting your priorities right and focusing on what really matters: God and who He is and others.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 28, Day 5: Malachi 4:1-6

The people are reminded that the day of judgment is coming. God will right all wrongs and reward good. The wicked will burn (the stubble of grain is the part that will burn instantly). There will be no hope for the wicked.

The “sun of righteousness” is Jesus. God is called heavenly bodies many times in Scripture (Psalm 84:11, Isaiah 60:19, Revelation 22:16, Numbers 24:17).

The wings of Jesus will bring healing. God’s people will be very happy and jump for joy and trample the wicked.

God will be silent for 400 years so the people needed to remember the Law and who He is and His promises.

God will send Elijah (John the Baptist partially fulfills this prophecy  (Matthew 11:14, Mark 9:11-13, Luke 1:17) because in the End Times, scholars believe the real Elijah will appear  Matthew 17:11-12 and Revelation 11:3-12 . This is why a place is set by the Jews for Elijah during Passover — in case he comes!

Elijah is most likely chosen because he ministered to the people in a time of crisis in Israel, when the nation was far from God.

God refers to both Moses and Elijah. They both met God at Mount Sinai (Exodus 3:1 and 1 Kings 19:8-18). They both met Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-5). They are probably the two witnesses of Revelation 11.

The Old Testament ends with a curse, be we remember the Sun of righteousness! The end of the New Testament speaks of Jesus, too (Revelation 22:21).

It all comes back to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! We are to always remember that!

END NOTES SUMMARIZED

The Interpretation: The Sunrise and the Silence

The book (and the entire Old Testament era) concludes with a stark contrast between two futures.

  • The Burning Oven (v. 1): The day of the Lord is compared to a blazing furnace. For the arrogant and evildoers, this fire will consume them completely (“leaving them neither root nor branch”). It is a promise of total judgment where their family lines and influence will cease.

  • The Healing Sun (vv. 2–3): For those who revere God’s name, the judgment fire transforms into the “sun of righteousness” rising with healing in its rays (wings). Malachi uses the joyful image of calves released from a stall—leaping with energy and freedom—to describe the relief of the righteous trampling over the wicked.

  • The Final Elijah (vv. 4–6): The prophecy ends by pointing backward to the Law of Moses (the standard) and forward to the Prophet Elijah (the forerunner). God promises to send “Elijah” (fulfilled in John the Baptist) before the great day comes. His mission is specific: to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and children to their fathers. If this restoration fails, the land faces total destruction (“a curse”).

Conclusion

The Old Testament ends not with a resolution, but with a cliffhanger. It leaves Israel looking for a new Elijah to fix broken families and prepare hearts for the coming King. The final word—”curse” (in some translations)—underscores the desperate need for the New Testament’s grace.

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BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 5: Matthew 27:57-66

by atozmom, posted in BSF Matthew 2021/2022

SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 27:57-66

When evening approached, a rich man named Joseph of Arimathea who had become a disciple of Jesus asked Pilate for Jesus’s body. He wrapped Jesus’s body in clean linen cloth and put him in his tomb. He rolled a big stone in front of it. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sat outside the tomb.

The Romans made the tomb secure so that the disciples could not come and take Jesus’s body and tell people he had been raised from the dead as Jesus preached he would do on the third day. So Pilate ordered a guard to secure Jesus’s tomb by putting a seal on the stone and posting a guard.

BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 5: Matthew 27:57-66

13) Joseph prepared Jesus’s body in rich clothes and placed in a nice tomb. Joseph used his best for Jesus.

14a) The Romans made the tomb secure so that the disciples could not come and take Jesus’s body and tell people he had been raised from the dead as Jesus preached he would do on the third day.

b) It proves that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead without any help or dark magic. No one entered or exited the tomb after Joseph placed his body there. There is no doubt that Jesus rose on the 3rd day.

15) Finding a new job. Moving states in the midst of uncertainty. Living a God-centered life always.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 5: Matthew 27:57-66

I love how God thinks of everything. Jesus’s body has to be guarded so there is no doubt that he rose from the dead. Amazing!

End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 5: Matthew 27:57-66

Normally, the Romans left the bodies of those who were crucified to rot. But since it was Passover, no one wanted the bodies left. Plus, the fact that a rich person asked for Jesus’s body helped.

Joseph had little time to prepare Jesus’s body before the Sabbath arrived where he could not touch a dead body.

Having a huge stone seal the tomb was the custom of the day for the rich. Several men had to work together to move it, which ensured nothing happened to the body. This tomb was made from solid rock and was near where Jesus died (John 19:41). These tombs had a small entrance. The bodies would be laid out so that they could mummify, rot, and decay to bones. Once they bodies were bones, they would be collected and placed in ossuaries or small boxes that then remained in the tomb with loved ones.

The priests and Pharisees approached Pilate on the Sabbath, breaking Jewish law again. They were not afraid of the disciples; they were afraid of Jesus’s power of resurrection. The chief priests were probably wondering if Jesus would rise again and wanted to make sure there were no doubts.

The Romans sent their best men to guard the tomb of Jesus.

The Roman seal is significant. First, if anyone broke the seal, they would be facing death since it would be a defyment of the Roman Empire. The seal was a rope that was secured by wax. If the stone moved, the seal would break.

The Roman guard was not just one man. This was at least four men. Then, two men could watch while the other two slept. However, in this case, there may have been more. All these soldiers cared about was ensuring the seal was not broken, for then their lives would be at risk if it were.

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BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 28, Day 5: Genesis 48:15-22

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2020/2021

Summary of Genesis 48:15-22:

Jacob/Israel blesses Joseph. Joseph tried to move his father’s hands, being displeased that Jacob had switched the order. Jacob refused, saying Ephraim would be greater than Manasseh. Jacob told Joseph that God would be with him, take him back to his fathers, and he gives him the ridge of land he took from the Amorites.

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 28, Day 5: Genesis 48:15-22

13a) God is the God of Abraham and Isaac, has been his shepherd, and now may the boys be called by the names of Abraham and Isaac, too.

b) God has led him his entire life. To find his wife, Rachel, and now back to Joseph.

14) Jacob knows more than Joseph and he tells him so.

15) He used COVID-19 to move us so we can start a new life.

16) God would be with him, take him back to his fathers, and he gives him the ridge of land he took from the Amorites. Jacob believed God enough to switch the blessing and tell Joseph he would be taken back to Canaan too when he died.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 28, Day 5: Genesis 48:15-22

Cruised through this lesson till I got here. This one is most definitely difficult to interpret because it involves God’s ways and not ours.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 28, Day 5: Genesis 48:15-22

By Jacob blessing Joseph’s sons, he is blessing Joseph as well. Ephraim would be the greater tribe and that name was even used occasionally to refer to all of the northern portion of Israel.Isaiah 7:8, 7:17, and 11:13).

Fun Fact: We see the first time God as a shepherd is used in the Bible.

We see here that firstborn is more meaning first in position rather than a direct connection. For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn (Jeremiah 31:9).

David was the youngest son as well. (1 Samuel 16:11 and Psalm 89:27).

Jesus was firstborn, but he was not created. (Colossians 1:15),

We see the last of the three patriarchs dying.

Joseph is now one portion above his brothers since his two sons each got a portion. On maps of the 12 tribes of Jacob, you will see that Joseph’s name has been left out, replaced by his two sons.

This Amorite land is not recorded in Scripture as being taken. Joseph’s descendants will see this land.

Spurgeon called Joseph the best picture of Jesus in the Bible. Indeed, there are many similarities. The highlights are here:

  • Both were hated and rejected
  • Both were condemned
  • Both were sold
  • Both were falsely accused
  • Both were betrayed
  • Both were given a Gentile bride
  • Both began their life’s work at the age of 30
  • Both blessed the world
  • Both saved the world

The firstborn normally receives the priesthood, the kingship, and the double inheritance. Here, Jacob’s 11th son, Joseph, receives the double inheritance. His 4th son, Judah, receives the kingship via the Messiah, and Levi, his 3rd son, gets the priesthood.

Jacob led a blessed life, indeed. He embraces his stages in life and made the most of them.

BSF Study Questions Genesis Lesson 28, Day 5: Genesis 45

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2012/2013

Summary of passage:  Joseph could no longer keep his emotions in check so he sent all of his attendants out. He made himself known to his brothers and wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him.  His brothers were terrified so Joseph beckoned them closer and told them not to be angry at themselves for it was God who had sent him ahead of them in order to save lives and preserve a remnant on earth.

He sends them back to retrieve Jacob and all of his household and items to live in Goshen where Joseph will provide for them.  Tell him about everything you have seen, all the honor Joseph has, and bring him here quickly.

He hugged Benjamin and wept and embraced all his brothers and wept and talked with them.  Pharaoh agreed to have Joseph’s family come along with all their belongings.  He will give them the best of the land.  They could leave their belongings because the best of Egypt will be theirs.

He sent the brothers along, giving Benjamin 300 shekels of silver and five sets of new clothes and giving his brothers just new clothes.  Joseph reminded them not to quarrel along the way.

Jacob agreed to go to Egypt.

Questions:

15a)  He tells them that it was God who sent him before them in order to save lives and preserve a remnant on earth.

b)  Well it’s hard to say.  No one in this chapter is singled out except Benjamin who is favored by Joseph as well (ironic in my view).  The brothers are always referred to as “they”.  That alone should show that they acted together as a cohesive whole and had to love one another.

Possibly when they were frightened they clung to each other.  They all embraced each other and cried over Joseph.  They talked together.  The “sons of Israel” (verse 21–another use of the word Israel shows faith) all went together to collect Jacob.  Joseph warned them not to quarrel as brothers do.

16)  Personal Question.  My answer:  Pray to forgive.  Pray for God’s power to forgive.  Choose to forgive.  Give it to God.

Conclusions:  The best part of Joseph’s story to me is how God used evil for good.  How he took the brothers’ actions and made Joseph prosper beyond his wildest dreams.  And how Joseph forgave his brothers and in the end ended up doing good towards those who wronged him.  God makes ALL things work together for our good (Romans 8:28) and there is no better example in all of the Bible of this than the story of Joseph.

Note how the last verse calls Jacob Israel.  The name Israel is used when Jacob is acting out of faith.  The name Jacob is used when Jacob is acting on his own.  Interesting.

Scholars say chapters 42-45 takes place over 2 years.  It seems as if it’s shorter but it’s not.  We must remember how difficult transportation was in ancient times over rough terrain on foot with nothing but donkeys to pack your belongings.  Also, we must remember the time between the first journey to Egypt and the second.  The brothers only return when they run out of grain.  That would take a bit of time to eat that up.  So Simeon sat in prison for 2 years!

Both Joseph and Jesus were sent to save God’s people.  Both were despised and betrayed by their own people.  Yet God’s will to save conquers all.