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day 2 of BSF's 7-day challenge Matthew 1:18-25 www.atozmomm.com

BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 1, Day 3: Matthew 1:18-25

by atozmom, posted in BSF Matthew 2021/2022

SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 1:18-25

Mary became pregnant while betrothed to Joseph. Joseph, knowing that he was not the father, wanted to divorce Mary but in a quiet way. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph as he slept and reassured him that Mary is faithful. Mary’s child she carries is from the Holy Spirit and is to be named Jesus, meaning “the Lord saves.” This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14.

Joseph believed the angel. He took Mary as his wife but did not lie with her until after the birth of Jesus.

BSF Study Questions Matthew: Lesson 1, Day 3: Matthew 1:18-25

7a) Joseph’s immediate thought was to divorce Mary, but he cared for her, so he was willing to do it quietly so she would not be disgraced.

b) An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph as he slept and reassured him that Mary is faithful. Mary’s child is from the Holy Spirit and is to be named Jesus, meaning “the Lord saves.” This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14.

8a ) Jesus and Immanuel. Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, meaning “the Lord saves” or “Yahweh is Salvation.” Immanuel means “God with us.” While Joshua saved his people from marauders in the Promised Land, Jesus would save his people for all of eternity.

b) Everything. Knowing God is wtih me and the Lord saves me gets me through the tough times and days of my life.

9 ) That no matter what I do, I am saved. I will go to heaven.  All I have to do is believe in Jesus and his salvation (Romans 10:9). It truly is that simple.

10 ) Joseph believed the angel. He did not divorce Mary. Instead, he took Mary as his wife but did not lie with her until after the birth of Jesus.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew: Lesson 1, Day 3: Matthew 1:18-25

I love the obedience. Of course, it helps to have an angel deliver news. Still, what would happen if we obeyed just as readily?

End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew: Lesson 1, Day 3: Matthew 1:18-25

Luke tells us about Jesus’s actual birth. Matthew just tells us about the conception.

In the Jewish culture, couples were often engaged quite young, even as children. Betrothals followed, which was the next step towards marriage. Once you were betrothed, separation was only by a divorce. Finally, the marriage took place.

The virgin birth is a hard concept for people to grasp, which is why it’s denied. What you need to remember is all things are possible through God (Matthew 19:26). Mary’s pregnancy is a miracle by God.

Since Mary was pregnant not by Joseph, Joseph is understandable upset (wouldn’t you be). He seeks a divorce from her, which is when God (once again) steps in to preserve Jesus’s lineage. An angel visits Joseph to explain the situation and what he is to do.

Jesus was a common name at the time. It means the salvation of Yahwah. Today, it is much more significant. Jesus is to save his people (all people) from sin.

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said.” This is a theme of Matthew and the first time of many you will see this phrase used.

Meaning of Immanuel

You can debate all day long what Immanuel means. However, what matters most is what Immanuel means to you. God is with you in the pain, the sorrows, the circumstances, the hurts, the joy, the wins, the losses, in death, in death of a loved one, in birth of your child, and the list goes on. Every hour, every minute, every second of every day, of every week, of every month, of every your of your life. God is with you. When you truly grasp that, nothing on this side of heaven will shake you.

Joseph obeys after the angel appears. Jesus’s parents are now set in place.

Is Mary of David’s Line?

There is debate as to Mary’s lineage. Scholars say she is of David’s House and of the tribe of Judah because she is descended from Nathan, the third son of David and Bathsheba. Joseph, on the other hand, is from the line of David via Solomon. This point is debated with bible scholars because it is not explicity stated. BSF stays away from the debate altogether. To me, it seems logical that both are descended from David because God wants to make sure there is no doubt. Contact me today!

BSF Study Questions Genesis Lesson 1, Day 4: Genesis 1:1

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2012/2013

Passage:  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Questions:

9a)  The heavens and the earth

b)  After creating the heavens and the earth, God fills both with more creations.  Genesis Chapter 1 is all about what God created.

10)  John 1:1-3:  Christ was with God in the beginning

Colossians 1:15-19:  Christ was born before creation in order to be supreme above all things

Colossians 2:3:  Christ holds all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

Colossians 2:9:  For Christ is God in bodily form

Hebrews 1:3:  Christ is God’s glory

All of these support the idea Christ was there from the beginning (Creation).

Conclusions:  Easy day.  Not much here to conclude we didn’t already know:  God created the heavens and the earth and Jesus was with Him.  Makes sense since God is Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

BSF Study Questions Genesis Lesson 1, Day 3: Psalms 8 & 90 with Genesis 1

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2012/2013

Summary of passages:  Psalm 8:  David sings God praises, saying how majestic He is. God set His glory above the heavens.  The praises of children silence God’s enemies. David asks the question many of us ask:  when we consider all you have made (the heavens, moon, and stars), why do you care for insignificant man so and crown him with glory and honor by making him ruler over everything?

How majestic is your name!

Psalm 90:  Moses says before you brought forth the earth there was only everlasting God.  For a thousand years in your sight is like a day.  He says our days fly by quickly under God’s wrath so teach us (man) to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Moses asks God to relent his anger and have compassion on man so man may sing for joy and be glad.  Show man your deeds and rest your favor on man.  Give man work.

Genesis 1:  HERE

Questions:

6)  Psalm 90 speaks to how God’s time is not our time (verse 10).  In 2 Peter 3:8 the author says the Lord’s day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day.  I am leaning towards saying it IS a 24-hour time frame.  It would be presumptuous to say that God could not create the world in 6 days and in 24-hour time frames since God can do anything so I would think He’d only need 24 hours in a day.

God created the sun and the days and the length of the days specifically for man to mark time (Genesis 1:14) and I would like to think His Sabbath is the same as today.  If you take what 2 Peter says then that would be a case for Evolution.  That the world was created gradually.  That it took 6000 years and that God needed 1000 years to rest.

Nope, don’t buy it.

I agree that God’s time is not our time.  But I think in the case of Creation, God didn’t need thousands of years.

7)  For His glory (Psalm 8) and because it was very good (Genesis 1:31).  He created us because He wanted to.  For His purposes.  And God can do whatever He wants.

I personally think he created the earth with the intention it be a home for man.  He created man for companionship.  The first days of the Garden show us this:  that God walked in the Garden, expecting to see man (Genesis 3:8).  Can you imagine?  Walking next to God in Paradise?  This is heaven now but back in Genesis.

God is the Father.  We are His children.  Most of us would say we cannot live without our children.  I think God feels the same way.  That’s why He sent Jesus after the Fall–to be with us.  Not separate from us.

David seems to be thinking the same thing in Psalm 8.  Why would God go to so much trouble of creating the universe if not for us?

We don’t know all of God’s reasonings but I do think the creation of the world has something to do with man.  You can call this presumptuous as well.  But having God in my life makes my life.

8 )  This question is confusing.  Verse 26 & 27:  God created man in His own image.  God created living from the living.  The dead cannot reproduce.  Thus, God is living.

God made everything (including everything that is alive like plants and animals) so this proves God is living as well.

We also know the Holy Spirit was there as exhibited by Genesis 1:2 so the Spirit is living as well.

I’m hung up on “living person”.  For is God a person?  Or is He God?  I don’t think of God as a person.  I know He is living. I know He was a living person in the form of Jesus Christ on this earth for a time.  But is God Himself a person?

I know we are made in His image so we must resemble Him somehow.  But does that make Him a person?

Calling God a person (to me) equates Him with humans and I just can’t do that.  He is above us.  Always has been and always will be.

My conclusion:  He is most definitely living (as many passages in the Bible attest to).  But is He a person?  No.  Not like me or you at least.

Conclusions:  Great lesson!  It definitely got me thinking.  You?  Thinking about things I don’t normally think about in my daily hum-drums of life.

All of these are personal questions and make you think about why we are here on this earth.  For His purpose.  That the world is His and we are mere transients.  We are here for Him.  He is the Alpha and the Omega.  It begins and ends with Him.

As I type this, I am sitting here petting my one remaining dog.  It’s been one week since I lost my female.  I’m remembering how one minute she was here, present on this earth, and the next she was gone.  Lifeless.  A mere shell of what she used to be.  How I miss her!

But I can’t wait to see her in her prime in heaven.  It gives me comfort to know she’s in a better place.

Still, I could never be a vet or a doctor.  Watching someone or something take their last breath in this world takes a special character to do repeatedly.  And that’s not me!

It’s a reminder of how time is precious.  How we need to do God’s work now.  How God has a purpose for us and we must discover it now.  No more excuses or ho-humming around.

Do it NOW!

BSF Study Questions Genesis Lesson 1, Day 2: Genesis 1

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2012/2013

Introductory Note:  Hey all!  It’s great to be back.  Just some information up front. The answers will be found under BSF Genesis on the side bar.  It might take a couple of weeks for it to show up since the side bar is determined by popularity so be patient! Until then, you can use the search in the side bar or scroll down to find the answers.

Summary of passage:  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was formless and void but the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

1st Day:  God made light and He saw it was good.  He separated light from dark.  He called light “day” and dark “night.”

2nd Day:  God separated the waters to create sky.

3rd Day:  He let the dry ground appear, which He named “land” and the gathered waters he called “seas”.  Then the land produced vegetation–all of which God saw was good.

4th Day:  God made the sun, moon, and stars to be used as signs to mark the seasons, days, and years; to give light on the earth; to govern the day and the night; and to separate light from darkness.  God saw that it was good.

5th Day:  God created the great creatures of the sea as well as every winged bird.  He blessed them to multiply and fill the earth.  He saw it was good.

6th Day:  God created living creatures on the land and all the wild animals and He saw it was good.  He made man in His own image to rule over all the earth and its creatures.  God blessed them and told them to be fruitful and rule.  He gave man every green plant for food and everything that has the breath of life in it.  God saw that it was very good.

Questions:

3a)  God is the subject of most sentences followed by an action verb (said, saw, created, called, made, set, blessed).  It’s all about God.  His name is used 30 times in Chapter 1.  He’s the center.  Nothing happens in this chapter without Him.  It’s true now.  He’s the center and nothing happens in this world without Him.

b)  The word let is very common in English.  I sense no pompousness here or a great booming voice–just God casually (yet purposefully) creating all.  Let means “to cause to or make” according to Webster’s Dictionary.  God is causing or making all.

Another meaning of let in Webster’s Dictionary is the imperative (command) form here, meaning to introduce a request or proposal.  It’s a command yet it’s gentle.

“It was so” means everything God spoke was.  He is omnipotent and Chapter 1 of Genesis shows this clearly.

4)  He saw that all He had made was very good (verse 31)

5a)  Jeremiah 10:12:  God made everything by His power, wisdom, and understanding

Acts 17:24-25:  God made the world and is therefore Lord and He does not need anything because He’s the ultimate (and the first) giver.

Romans 1:18-20:  Since God is the Creator His eternal and divine qualities are in everything.

b)  Personal Question.  My answer:  This is a stupid question.  Why doesn’t BSF just come out and say the word “evolution” instead of tip-toeing around it?  Obviously, if you are a believer, then you believe in the Creation and not in Evolution.  It’s the first words of the Bible.  This alone speaks to its significance.

Conclusions:  I felt silly summarizing Genesis 1, the most popular and probably well-known chapter in the entire Bible. But I had never listed out each individual day before so I learned the sequence of Creation.

I think we must be careful not to get too comfortable with this study.  Most of us know the stories in Genesis like the back of our hand.  But do we know the significance of the stories?

I know I don’t.  This is why I am doing this study.

Some fun facts I already learned:  The Bible would not make much sense without the book of Genesis.  Almost every fundamental doctrine begins here:  sin, redemption, the power of God, the purpose of Jesus Christ, and justification.

Moses is believed to have written the book of Genesis (Luke 24:27, 44).

Genesis is quoted in the New Testament over 150 times.

I pray everyone has a deep and meaningful study in the book of Genesis and that perhaps you glean something here.