Habakkuk trembled understanding God’s strength and His sovereignty. He will wait on the Lord and rejoice in the Lord no matter his circumstances. The Lord is his strength.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 5: Habakkuk 3:16-19
13a) Habakkuk shook under God’s power and righteousness. He realized he was nothing before God.
b) Unsure here. God’s presence.
14a) Habakkuk will rejoice in the Lord and be joyful in Him no matter his circumstances.
b) Though I do not understand my place here, I will wait on you to tell me to move and to tell me what to do, which direction to take, and who to turn to to help me no matter my circumstances.
15a) God is sovereign. He makes his feet like a dee’rs and enables him to climb to new heights.
b) It’s good that God is in control and He helps me. It encourages me when I’m down to ask for forgiveness and let Him pick me back up.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 5: Habakkuk 3:16-19
No matter what, God is there; He is sovereign; He is in control. We simply follow and obey.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 5: Habakkuk 3:16-19
Habakkuk can trust the Lord even in his troubles because of God’s strength.
After questioning God, Habakkuk now prays to God and praises Him for who He is and His goodness.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 4: Habakkuk 3:1-15
11a) Habakkuk asks God to repeate his awesome deeds in his day and make them known. He asks him to remember mercy in his anger.
b) It’s a wonderful prayer, asking God to show up and do good deeds in our day like He did in the past. Habakkuk is humble, declaring God’s goodness. We all can be humble to God, declare His goodness, and ask Him to show up in our lives.
12a)
His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. 6 He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed— but he marches on forever. 9 You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers;
11 Sun and moon stood still in the heavens
at the glint of your flying arrows,
at the lightning of your flashing spear. 13 You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot. 14 With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding. 15 You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters.
b) God has always been there in the past and worked things out. He will continue to do so for me today.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 4: Habakkuk 3:1-15
Love the prayer. Absolutely breathtaking.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 4: Habakkuk 3:1-15
Habakkuk prays for revival of the people like in yesteryear. We should pray for personal revival. He prays for God to remember them and have mercy.
He praises God for His glory, His works, and for who God is.
When we remember what God did in the past, it helps us to remember what God can do in the present.
Habakkuk complains again to God, asking Him why He tolerates treachery and those who do evil to others.
The Lord gives Habakkuk a message to give to the people: woe to those who do not live by faithfulness. Woe to all those who do evil to others.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 3: Habakkuk 1:12-2:20
6a) The Lord is everlasting. He will never die. He has appointed the Babylonians to execute judgment and to punish. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
b) Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wickedswallow up those more righteous than themselves?
c) I really don’t. We all deserve judgment. God is in charge. Evil happens for a reason. It is for us to accept, not to understand.
7) Habakkuk waits on God’s reply and expects to be corrected. This is what we all should do. Wait on the Lord and let Him work.
8 ) People who are righteous live by faith. Others desire evil and are proud. In essence, those who rely on themselves (proud) and those who rely on God (the faithful).
9) He warns people who do evil against others, who are proud, greedy, drunk, and practice idolatry.
10) God is above all else and truly no one has any right to be in His presence. We should be humble before the Lord in all ways and in all things for God is Holy.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 3: Habakkuk 1:12-2:20
This is so typically human. We still question God because we can’t understand Him and His ways. And God answers in typical style: because I am God.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 3: Habakkuk 1:12-2:20
Habakkuk wonders why God chose the Babylonians to judge Judah. First he wonders why God doesn’t judge Judah. Then he wonders why choose the Babylonians. Why judge evil with more evil? Why not?
Then he wonders how long the Babylonians will rule.
Habakkuk expected God to answer him, so he waited. He expected to be corrected, too.
God says there are the proud and there are the faithful.
Fun Fact: “Just live by faith” is one of the most quoted Old Testamant verses in the New Testament.
Romans 1:17the justified man – “The just shall live by faith.”
Hebrews 10:38faith – “The just shall live by faith.”
Galatians 3:11 the Christian life – “The just shall live by faith.”
Christians are to live by faith. That is it. By nothing else: works, feelings, etc.
God would deal with the Babylonians who were prideful.
God calls out to the greedy, the violent, the drunk, and the idolater.
The Lord is alive in His Holy temple, and He would deal with them all.
We watch and pray as we wait on God to answer our prayers.
Habakkuk cries out to the Lord, but says He is not listening as the wicked people pervert justice and there’s wrongdoing all around him.
The Lord answers by saying He will raise up the Babylonians who are ruthless people to seize dwellings across the world.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 2: Habakkuk 1:1-11
3a) Habakkuk cries out to the Lord, but says He is not listening as the wicked people pervert justice all around him.
b) The questions we have today are exactly the same as the ones we had back then. Why does God allow bad to happen to people?
4a) Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
b) He is going to raise up the Babylonians who are ruthless people to seize dwellings across the world.
5) God is working silently in the background. He is always with us, even when we can’t see, feel, or understand Him.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 2: Habakkuk 1:1-11
Many of the prophets we’ve studied this year have wondered how God could allow such atrocities against mankind and they have asked him about it. So must we.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 28, Day 2: Habakkuk 1:1-11
We know very little about the prophet Habakkuk, as he is not mentioned in other books of the Bible. Bible scholars believe he preached during the reign of King Jehoiakim around 600 B.C. and the book was written before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. His name means “embrace” in Hebrew and him being called a prophet is rare in the Bible. He lived in the last days before Judah’s exile and is the last of the preexilic prophets. His book encourages the righteous to remain faithful despite the horrors and evil around them.
This is the 8th book of the Minor Prophets.
Paul quotes Habakkuk 1:5 in Acts 13:41 urging the people not to let complacency keep them from accepting Jesus.
Habakkuk wanted judgment on those who were doing evil in the world.
Seeing evil makes us realize that we ourselves are evil, too.
God answers by saying He will use the Babylonians for judgment.
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.
Jesus hung for three hours in this darkness. At the ninth hour, Jesus cries out to God, asking why He has forsaken him. Some who were there thought Jesus was crying for Elijah. They immediately ran to get a sponge and put wine vinegar on it. These people offered it to Jesus to drink. They waited to see if Elijah would come and save him. Jesus cried out again and then died. At that moment, the curtain in the temple was torn in two, the earth shook and the rocks split. Tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who were dead came to life. They came out of their tombs and appeared to many people after Jesus’s resurrection.
Those who were there with Jesus when he died, including the Roman centurion believed he was the Son of God. Many women were there who had followed Jesus from Galilee. These included Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zedebee’s sons.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 4: Matthew 27:45-56
8 ) Isaiah 13:9-10 tells us that the day of the Lord is coming to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within. Acts 2:20 says the darkness will foreshadow the coming of the Lord.
9) This was the first time God had ever been separated from Jesus as he bore our sins on the cross. It must have been agonizing for both. Plus, Jesus is in physical pain and spiritual pain.
10a) At that moment, the curtain in the temple was torn in two, the earth shook and the rocks split. Tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who were dead came to life. They came out of their tombs and appeared to many people after Jesus’s resurrection.
b) When the curtain tore upon Jesus’s death, we all immediately had access to God. There would be no need for a priest to be the only one who could be with God. The earth shook and the rocks split signify Jesus will come again. Those were were raised signify their ascension to heaven and Jesus’s power to conquer death.
11a) Fear
b) Many women were there who had followed Jesus from Galilee. These included Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zedebee’s sons. God’s inclusion of everyone in his plan for redemption.
12) Every action has a price we must pay and the cost can be severe. We are to try to walk like Jesus, repent of our sins, and be truly grateful Christ stood in our place.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 4: Matthew 27:45-56
So many people sugar coat Christ’s death, not thinking about the reality of death — the pain, the agony, the suffering that Christ endured for us. If we had any idea how much Christ suffered for our sins, we’d all be on our knees.
Just for fun!
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 4: Matthew 27:45-56
An unusual darkness descended from noon to 3 pm. It is estimated that Jesus hung on the cross for 9 hours, beginning around 9 am. This showed how the entire world was in agony as Jesus was dying.
People come out of the darkness into light. In this moment, the entire world was black as Jesus was dying.
Fun Fact: This is the only time it is recorded that Jesus cried out to God without calling him “Father.”
Jesus quotes Psalm 22, as his fulfillment of the prophecy.
For the first time, Jesus is separate from God. You get the sense that that’s all that truly matters. Is that what truly matters to you, too? Yet, God was still with Jesus since they are irrevocably tied together.
Jesus was separated from God so we never have to be.
Jesus dreaded the spiritual suffering of the cross, when he took upon his own shoulders the sin of the world. This cup was what Jesus had a hard time bearing (Luke 22:39-46, Psalm 75:8, Isaiah 51:17, Jeremiah 25:15) or God’s righteous wrath.
Those who heard Jesus mistakenly thought he was calling down Elijah.
With one word, “telelestai” meaning “it is finished” in Greek, Jesus paid the price for our sin and saved us for all of eternity.
Note that Jesus had to choose to give up his life. Since he was not a sinner, he could not die like the rest of us. (John 10:17-18)
When the curtain tore upon Jesus’s death, we all immediately had access to God. There would be no need for a priest to be the only one who could be with God.
The earth cried out in agony at Jesus’s death even if man did not.
Jesus was the only person who willingly gave up his life. Humans have no choice; we all die.
Earthquakes frequently represent God’s judgment in the Bible. Note that those who came out of the grave did so on the day Jesus was resurrected, not at this moment. This is the only Gospel that records this event so this is all that we know about it.
The Roman centurion noted the uniqueness of Jesus’s death. Women came, as did all social classes and faiths. All sinners were there; all sinners were saved.
Two robbers were crucified with Jesus, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by insulted Jesus as he hung, telling him to rescue himself since he was going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. He was mocked by the chief elders, the teachers of the law, and the chief priests, telling him to come down off the cross if he was the Son of God. Let God rescue him. Even the two robbers next to him mocked him in the same way.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 3: Matthew 27:38-44
6a) Those who passed by insulted Jesus as he hung, telling him to rescue himself since he was going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. He was mocked by the chief elders, the teachers of the law, and the chief priests, telling him to come down off the cross if he was the Son of God. Let God rescue him. Even the two robbers next to him mocked him in the same way.
b) If they only knew that Jesus was there by choice, and if he did come down, we all would not be saved. Satan tempted him to prove his identity too, by telling him if he were the Son of God. There is a human need to prove oneself here and defend the Father, but not for Jesus. His purpose was higher. And honestly, God is more than capable of defending himself.
7a) “Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help.” Psalm 22:11
“But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All weh see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.” verses 6-7
b) I’m just in awe at what Jesus endured for us. There really aren’t any words.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 3: Matthew 27:38-44
Another hard passage to read. If they only knew what would have happened if Jesus had come down from the cross.
Another great read!
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 3: Matthew 27:38-44
It’s helpful to know that one robber did turn to Jesus in the end. (Luke 23:39-43). Shows it’s never too late to choose the Lord.
The people mocked Jesus for who he really was. Jesus hung on the cross out of love for humanity, and he did save himself and all of us in his time.
Do not respond to those who mock you. It’s just not worth it.
Another way to view this is to see how much hatred humans have for God. Truly sad. Immanuel, and his treatment was horrific.
The fact Jesus did not come down from the cross proves his deity.
A man named Simon from Cyrene carried Jesus’s cross because he could not. At Golgotha (meaning The Place of the Skull), the Roman soldiers offered Jesus wine to drink that was mixed with gall. Jesus taste it, but refused to drink more. They crucified him and divided up his clothes by casting lots. They waited for Jesus to die. They placed the sign “This is Jesus, King of the Jews” above his head.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 2: Matthew 27:32-37
3a) He saw Christ as the walking dead, too weak to carry Jesus’s cross. He probably heard the crowds and the soldiers, perhaps still mocking Jesus. He may have heard Jesus praying.
b) To fulfill prophecy. Leviticus 4:12, 21 describes how the sin offering is offered outside the city in a place that is ceremonially clean. The sin offering is burned. Hebrews 13:11-13 describes how traditionally the high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy thorugh his own blood.
4) It tasted bad, and it would have done more harm than good. Jesus did not want his senses dulled for the most important moment in all of history.
5a)
Romans 5:6-8: God sent Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners.
2 Corinthians 5:21: Jesus took on our sin so that we may become righteous before God.
1 Peter 1:18-19: You were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect instead of being redeemed with perishable things
1 Peter 2:24: We have been healed by Jesus’s wounds as he bore our sins in his body on a tree so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness.
1 John 4:10-11: God loved us so much that He sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Thus, we should love one another.
b) I love how we should love others because God loved us so much.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 2: Matthew 27:32-37
Hard passage to read, but an important one so we can begin to understand the depth of love God has for us.
Great read!
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 2: Matthew 27:32-37
Cyrene was a place in North Africa about 800 miles away. The man, Simon, was probably visiting Jerusalem for Passover and was recruited to carry Christ’s cross. Probably the man did not want to carry the cross, but since the man was an obvious foreigner, he had no choice in the matter. Many Bible scholars suggest that his sons became leaders among the early Christians based on Biblical passages (Mark 15:21 and Romans 16:13).
Golgotha
Golgotha (or Calvary in Latin) was the place outside of the city walls where crucifixions were held. It was called the Place of a Skull.
The wine was to dull the pain and the mind — a drug if you will. Jesus declines, wishing to be in full mind and spirit for this sacrifice.
Death by Crucifixion
Suffice it to say, crucifixion was a terrifying tortuous death that Jesus endured. He was scouraged, and then nails where physically hammered into his hands. He then hung on a cross from these wounds. It was extremely hard to breathe on the cross as gravity worked to pull the body down. The victim would have to physically lift their body in order to breathe, which would have been difficult after the torture.
The cause of death on the cross could have been many things:
Suffocation
Shock
Dehydration
Heart attack
Sometimes, the Roman soldiers would break the victim’s legs so that the victim could not push themselves up to breathe, so they would suffocate and die faster.
Roman citizens could not be crucified so horrible of a death this was. We get our work excruciating from crucifixion, meaning “out of the cross.”
Jesus was crucified naked.
He was in total control of the events. Jesus was both our sacrificial lamb and our scapegoat — the goat that symbolically carried Israel’s sins on its back as it was sent into the wilderness to die.
Jesus refused the sedative so he chould instead take the cup of full suffering and God’s wrath on himself.
Roman soldiers watched over Jesus so no one could rescue him.
Someone would carry the written crime as the victim was led to be crucified as a warning to others. Then, someone would hang the charge over their head on the cross.
John John 19:21 tells us how the religious leaders did not like this title since they did not believe it. Yet, Pilate let it stand. (John 19:22).
Cyrene was a place in North Africa about 800 miles away. The man, Simon, was probably visiting Jerusalem for Passover and was recruited to carry Christ’s cross. Probably the man did not want to carry the cross, but since the man was an obvious foreigner, he had no choice in the matter. Many Bible scholars suggest that his sons became leaders among the early Christians based on Biblical passages (