Tag: bsf questions answers lesson 13 day 3

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BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 13, Day 3: Esther 1:10-22

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

Summary of Esther 1:10-22

Drunk, King Ahasuerus ordered Queen Vashti to display her beauty before the people, but she refused. Enraged, the king consulted his advisors. Fearing widespread domestic disobedience, they issued a royal decree banishing Vashti and commanding all wives throughout the empire to honor their husbands. He is to give her royal position to someone else who is better. The royal decree was issued, proclaiming that every man shall be ruler over his own household.

BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 13, Day 3: Esther 1:10-22

6) King Xerxes commanded the Queen to come to him, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles.

7) She wanted to be seen as more powerful than the king. She just wanted to say no to see what would happen. She didn’t feel like coming and being an object. Vashti likely refused to protect her royal dignity and personal modesty. The king was drunk, and his command to parade her “beauty” before his drunken guests was a demeaning objectification. It violated Persian customs that secluded royal women and reduced her from a queen to a spectacle.

8a) King Xerxes issued a royal decree, proclaiming that every man shall be ruler over his own household, and the Queen must never again enter Xerxes’ presence.

b) Xerxes’ ungodly authority was self-serving, impulsive, and insecure. Driven by pride and rage, he used force to objectify Vashti and demand respect. In contrast, godly authority is service-oriented, self-controlled, and humble, seeking to honor others and earning respect through wisdom and love, not threats.

9) Many times. You have to do what is right, or you can’t live with yourself. Oftentimes, it resulted in shunning or isolation. But God never leaves me!

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 13, Day 3: Esther 1:10-22

I love how we see the shallowness of the King here and how easily he can be persuaded. No wonder the Persian Empire was obliterated from the Earth.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 13, Day 3: Esther 1:10-22

Bible scholars argue that there was most likely an argument at the table and a debate about who had the most beautiful wife, so the King decided to lay the matter to rest.  She may have been expected to be immodest here, too.

Note that wives are to submit to their husbands, but not obey if it causes her to sin. God’s commands come before men’s.

The King was foolish here to back his advisors and not his queen.

A wife’s respect is the most precious gift she can give her husband. Xerxes here tried to demand respect; it should be a gift.

END NOTES SUMMARIZED

This passage details a crisis of power in the Persian court. When a drunken King Ahasuerus commands Queen Vashti to be paraded as an object to display her beauty, she refuses, publicly humiliating him.

This act of defiance is not treated as a private marital dispute but as a political threat. The king’s advisors, led by Memucan, spin the event, fearing it will inspire widespread rebellion from all wives in the empire. Their solution is a legal one: banish Vashti and issue an absurd royal decree, sent to all 127 provinces, commanding that every man must be “master in his own household.”

Conclusion

This episode exposes the fragility of the king’s supposedly absolute power. His authority, built on lavish displays, is shown to be hollow, easily threatened by a single act of defiance. The over-the-top, foolish decree reveals a court that is insecure and farcical. Most importantly, Vashti’s removal, born from a drunken whim and political panic, creates the very power vacuum that God will providentially use to elevate Esther to the throne.

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BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 13, Day 3: John 9:13-23

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

SUMMARY OF JOHN 9:13-23

The blind man was brought before the Pharisees. The Pharisees cared because the blind man was healed on the Sabbath, which was against their laws. The parents vouched for the man’s blindness.

BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 13, Day 3: John 9:13-23

6) The Pharisees only want to try to catch Jesus doing something wrong or breaking the law, so they can try and kill him. They care nothing for who he has helped.

7a) With trepidation, for he was scared. He said as little as possible and stuck to the facts.

b) They said to ask their son. How would they know what happened? They were afraid of the Jewish leaders, too, and did not want to be throw in jail or excommunicated.

8 ) Unsure. Never explicitly, I don’t think. God is good; that is my mantra.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 13, Day 3: John 9:13-23

It’s sad how the Pharisees, those who are supposed to be the most educated amongst the Jews, are so bent on trying to catch Jesus doing something wrong. It just goes to show you how power and influence can corrupt.

End Notes BSF Study Questions John’s Gospel: The Truth Lesson 13, Day 3: John 9:13-23

Jesus did not line up with the Pharisees’ belief of what a religious person did.

Jesus divided people then and now.

The religious leaders did not want to believe the man, which is why they called in his parents.

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BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 13, Day 2: Amos 1-2

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

SUMMARY OF AMOS 1

Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa, a prophet, pronounces judgment on Israel and their neighbors, Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and Ammon. God will destroy Israel’s neighbors and dry up their fields.

SUMMARY OF AMOS 2

Amos  pronounces judgment on Moab and Judah. Judah is because they have rejected God’s laws and decrees and been led astray by false gods. The Lord will judge Israel for how they treat the poor and do not honor him.

BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 13, Day 2: Amos 1-2

3a) Israel, Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah

b) The foreign nations took slaves and fought one another. For Israel and Judah, because they turned from God and worshipped other gods.

c) The other nations’ sins centered around cruelty to other nations and crimes against humanity, as well as crimes against God’s people. Israel and Judah turned from God and His ways.

4a) It’s everywhere. Sin against others. Cruelty to others. Murder, rape, assault, you name it. And, people everywhere are turning from God, including His people.

b) To turn towards him, not away from him.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 13, Day 2: Amos 1-2

Lots of judgments here. Great reminder that God is just, and we will all be held accountable for our actions once we reach heaven.

End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 13, Day 2: Amos 1-2

Fun fact: Amos the prophet is only mentioned in this book, not in any other books of the Bible.

Amos means “burden,” and Amos was definitely burdened as he was the bearer of bad news for all.

Amos was a farmer and not of the school of prophets. He was a live during Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, which would be between 760 B.C. and 750 B.C.

Remember, the kingdom of Judah to the south had good kings. The kingdom of Israel to the north had nothing but bad kings.

Here, Assyria had defeated Israel’s enemy, Syria, so Israel was prosperous.

Amos pronouces judgment on nations for sin upon sin.

  • Israel was judged because they disobeyed God.
  • Damascus was judged for coming against God’s people.
  • Gaza was judged because they came against God’s people.
  • Tyre was judged because they sinned against God’s people.
  • Edom was judged because they attacked Judah.
  • Ammon was judged because they attacked Israel.
  • Moab was judged because of their cruelty to Edom.
  • Judah was judged because they despised and disobeyed God’s laws.

Fire expresses judgment in the New Testament, but it also can be a purifying of the spirit with fire.

Israel took advantage of the poor. There was sexual immorality. There was idolatry.

God’s people were now a burden to him. They would not succeed without His strength.

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BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 13, Day 3: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

by atozmom, posted in BSF Matthew 2021/2022

SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 13:1-9

Jesus was sitting by the lake (Sea of Galilee), but the crowds were so big that he got into a boat so the people could see and hear him better. He told the parable of sower. Some of the seeds that the farmer scattered fell on rocky places. They sprang up quickly, but because the soil was shallow, they withered due to a lack of root. Other seeds fell among thorns, which choked the plant. Other seeds fell on good soil where it produced a good crop.

SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 13:18-23

Jesus explains the meaning of the parable of the sower. When people hear the message about the kingdom of God and do not understand it, the evil one takes away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed along the path.  The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places hears the Word and receives it with joy. But he falls away when trouble arises because he has no root. The seed in the thorns is the man who hears the word, but is unfruitful because of his worries and deceitfulness of wealth.  The one who received the seed on good soil hears the Word and understands it. He produces a good crop.

BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 13, Day 3: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

6) He uses temptation, deceit, greed, and all the other sins to snatch us away.

7) It can be easy to focus on your problems, rather than your blessings.

8 ) John 15:5 reminds us that if you are close to Jesus, you’ll bear much fruit. When you stray, you can do nothing. Philippians 2:12-13 reminds us that God works in you for His good purpose. We all have our seasons of when we are following God’s will closely and when we stray. I think this is why our fruit can vary. God gives us all different gifts and opportunities to grow with Him. The difference in fruit lies in your obedience to these gifts and opportunities given.

9) We all need strong roots so that we won’t be tempted by the devil. If we have strong roots and are faithful, we’ll bear good fruit for the evil one will not be able to snatch us away.

10) The soil of my heart is a yearning for God and His will. I know because He is with me always, and I strive to follow Him and His path.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 13, Day 3: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

More of a personal day, but an encouraging one. We will bear fruit if we follow Jesus and God. No one says it’s easy, but it will pay off.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 13, Day 3: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

MATTHEW 13:1-9

The boat gave Jesus a platform to speak from (Mark 4:1).

Parables are meant to teach one main principle to those listening. They made the idea easier to remember, and it stayed longer with the people.

Jesus spoke to things the people would understand. Everyone understood farming.

The seeds fell on four places:

  1. Next to the path — this was where many people walked and thus the seeds would be trampled and not grow.
  2. In rocky places — characterized by thin soil as we are told
  3. Amongst thorns — fertile ground, but with hazards
  4. On good soil — fertile and free of other plants growing

Jesus uses “he who has ears, let him hear.” to call attention to his words.

MATTHEW 13:18-23

Each soil type represents one of four ways that we respond to Jesus:

  1. Next to the path — those who hear God’s Word, but are unaffected. Their hearts are hardened, so they have no real understanding of what they are hearing. You must understand God’s Word before you can take action.
  2. In rocky places — those who are super excited when they first hear God’s Word, but then their excitement quickly fades and they fade away, too when times get rough
  3. Amongst thorns — those who grow with God for a while, but then are taken down by the evil one, temptations, worries, and deceitfulness of wealth
  4. On good soil — those that hear God’s Word and stick it through, bearing fruit along the way

What the Parable of the Sower Means to Us

We all go through the different types of soil in our lives — times where our faith wanes or where we are on fire for God. However, what matters in the end is that we strive to be the good soil and bear fruit in all that we do.

It can be helpful to ask yourself which soil are you and what can you change to become the good soil.

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