Psalm 46:God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. We will not fear. God is with us, our fortress. He can do all things.
Lamentations 3:22-23: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning;great is your faithfulness.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 5: Psalm 46, Lamentations 3:22-23 & Others
12) We are healed by Jesus’s wounds. We have peace because he died for us. Jesus takes away all of our sins when he suffered. He is our intercessor. Jesus will be at the right hand of God because of it.
13) Verse 1: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. It really doesn’t get any more comforting than this.
14a) We[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. James says the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Perseverance helps us to be more mature and complete in God, lacking nothing. Suffering gives us the courage to keep at it. We pray more when we suffer; we grow closer to God, too.
b) Because God comforts us in our suffering, we can comfort others in theirs. Suffering produces endurance and hope. We are tested by sufferings. Suffering can make us overjoyed when God’s glory is revealed. We are blessed because we have the Spirit of glory.
15) I am unsure. It might be to achieve my goals. To experience more. To grow my faith and perseverance.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 5: Psalm 46, Lamentations 3:22-23 & Others
I love the theme of perseverance here. Persevering is hard to do, but often yields the best things in our lives. Trials help us to persevere and overcome, bringing us closer to God and giving us a sense of self-worth.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 5: Psalm 46, Lamentations 3:22-23 & Others
God provides even in our suffering. He can provide comfort.
When we suffer, we expereince God’s nearness.
God knows exactly what we need to grow with Him.
If we never suffered, we might never truly depend on God.
Suffering allows us to long for heaven.
Be still is the idea for humanity to stop opposing God, for he is the Great I Am. Instead, surrender.
God is compassionate even in His judgment. Every day we have new hope, mercy, and compassion from God.
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 4: Isaiah 43:19 & Others
9a) Suffering makes you realize that you are not in control of your life, so you turn to the One who is for help to get through your troubles and get at least a sense of normalcy.
b) There have been many difficulties in my life, from bankruptcy to moves and more. Every time, I grow closer to Him and His ways and path for my life.
c) I am inspired by all those throughout history that have suffered for a cause or for the kingdom, from the apostles who were martyred to Christians today who refuse to compromise on the Words of the Bible. It inspires me to be a better person.
10)
Numbers 32:23: He draws us to Him when we fail to do things His way or follow His Word.
Psalm 40:17: He uses financial difficulties (or poor in spirit), so we depend on Him.
Psalm 118:13-14: He uses our setbacks to grow us towards Him.
Jeremiah 9:7: He tests us to refine us and draw us closer to Him.
Zechariah 13:9: He refines us by fire in our lives so we call upon Him.
11a) Pride. Self-aggrandizement. The need to be right and be in control. The shame we feel admitting we failed.
b) God shows others through me that you don’t have to be perfect; you are great even in your weaknesses.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 4: Isaiah 43:19 & Others
Great study on suffering. We only need to turn to God to come through on the other side.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 4: Isaiah 43:19 & Others
God will make our way. We just have to trust Him.
Our job is to remain faithful through suffering and grow from it. To trust Him through the pain and hard times.
His will and work are accomplished through our pain.
He will complete His work in us.
In hard times, we recognize the truth — that God upholds us every day.
SUMMARY OF GENESIS 3:19; JOB 5:7 & PSALM 109:21-22
Genesis 3:19: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground,since from it you were taken; for dust you areand to dust you will return.”
Job 5:7: “Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.”
Psalm 109:21-22: “But you, Sovereign Lord, help me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.”
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 3: Genesis 3:19; Job 5:7; and Psalm 109:21-22 & Others
6a) Since the Fall, humans have and will suffer as part of the Fallen condition. Yet, the glory that awaits us makes our sufferings pale in comparison.
b) Human suffering tests us and strengths us. It also grows us closer to God. It can also be the work of Satan or of God who wishes for others to see his work through others’ pain and suffering.
c) That God’s ways are not our ways. He is higher than us, and He has a purpose for pain and suffering that most of the time we do not understand why. Our lot is to walk the path He has laid out for us, whether we like it or not.
7) God does all things. He is in control. Yet, He is with us and will strengthen us. God keeps us humble.
8 ) Our troubles achieve for us eternal glory, and we are being renewed in God each and every day. We will once again reign with God in Eden. When life is tough, we know that there is much more beyond this world, so we can persevere and endure, waiting on God’s timing.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 3: Genesis 3:19; Job 5:7; and Psalm 109:21-22 & Others
I love how there’s always a purpose in our suffering, even when we can’t see it. We just have to trust that God has it.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 3: Genesis 3:19; Job 5:7; and Psalm 109:21-22 & Others
Trouble comes to us as a judgment from God. Since all men sin, they deserve the trouble that befalls them.
Jesus bore these sins for us as our Redeemer.
The plain fact of the matter is that no one knows why we suffer because God’s ways are not our ways. He knows why we suffer, and it’s up to us to discover the purpose in our suffering and to rely wholeheartedly on Him in the midst of it.
It’s an on-going challenge to resist sin; yet, it’s an opportunity to experience God’s strength
Suffering can be as discipline, from Satan coming against us, or from living in a fallen world. It’s how you respond that matters most.
Isaiah 26:16: Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer.
Isaiah 43:2: When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 2: Isaiah 26:16; 43:2 & Others
3)
Israel: 2 Kings 17:1-23: They have done evil in my eyes and have aroused my anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until this day. The kings did evil. They worshiped other gods8 and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns.10 They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree.11 At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger. They worshiped idols. They never turned from their evil ways. They disobeyed all God’s commands repeatedly.
Judah: 2 Kings 25:1-21: they have done evil in my eyes and have aroused my anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until this day. God allowed Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to march against Jerusalem with his whole army. The people starved and were taken captive by Babylon. The temple was destroyed. The sons of Zedekiah were killed. All the buildings were burned and destroyed. The people were exiled to Babylon.
4a) God sent his Son to redeem His people. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding itwith justice and righteousnessfrom that time on and forever.
b) He preserved a remnant. The people were freed from exile and allowed to return home to Jerusalem. God still watched over His people and protected them. He was always with them. He gave them hope with prophets and with prophecies, such as that of Jesus. The people knew there was more to life than just this.
5a) The same question I always have: why didn’t the people see their evil ways before the exile? Why didn’t they return to the Lord sooner?
b) God is always with His people and us no matter our sufferings. Even in our darkest days and in the midst of punishment sent by God, He is there. This gives me comfort during my struggles.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 2: Isaiah 26:16; 43:2 & Others
Great passages on how God is still with His people and offers hope despite their suffering.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 2: Isaiah 26:16; 43:2 & Others
We don’t have to fear if we have the Lord in our lives. We should remember the three sons who did not burn when thrown into the fire for their refusal to worship idols. (Daniel 3:19-25).
No matter our fires, God is just a prayer away.
God’s judgment of Israel and Judah revealed His sovereignty, upheld His purposes, and showed His glory.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 5: Skim Isaiah 58-66
12) Isaiah 58:9-14 lists if the people will turn from their ways, The Lord will guide them always, they will find joy and triumph in the heights of the land.
If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
Isaiah 59:20: “The Redeemer will come to Zion,to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord.
13) Isaiah 61:10: I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
I just love the picture of being wrapped up in God’s salvation and Jesus as the bridegroom and me as the bride. This is a beautiful picture of how much God loves me. This verse is very encouraging in the hard times.
14a) God has made us all and shaped us all to do His will. He is in control. He is in control of nations. We are to obey God as our Creator.
b) We all want to do our own thing, especially when God’s will for our lives is hard. We want to be in control, but we are not. Submitting to His will is the hardest part.
15) God judges His people, but He loves them so much He always calls them back to Him and offers them salvation. Those who choose God will see salvation. Those who forsake God faces judgment.
16) This verse helps me to remember that God made me for a purpose and to keep at it no matter the hardships and circumstances that arise. God looks on me with favor.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 5: Skim Isaiah 58-66
Short overview of the end of Isaiah. Love how God judges us for our own good and then welcomes us back with open arms when we return to Him.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 5: Skim Isaiah 58-66
Isaiah 58: The Lord blesses true worship, not half-hearted worship. Those who worship Him truly will be blessed. Israel is called to forsake sin.
Isaiah 59: The sins of man have separated them from God. Therefore, judgment and darkness comes. But when you confess you guilt, salvation and redemption come.
Isaiah 60: God’s kingdom is lighted in glory. Great treasures await Israel. The other nations against Israel will be judged. Israel shall inherit the land forever. God’s kingdom is coming.
Isaiah 61: Isaiah speaks as the Messiah and proclaims what he will do. God’s people will rebuild the ruins and be set apart to serve the Lord. They will rejoice and have an everlasting covenant with God. The people will receive blessings, salvation, and righteousness.
Isaiah 62: Zion will be clothed in righteousness and glory. Zion will be loved like a bridegroom loves his bride. God will protect Zion. The Lord will come to Jerusalem. The Messiah will come to Zion. The people will be delivered.
Isaiah 63: The Lord will have vengeance when Jesus will judge the nations and all on earth. The people will remember God’s mercy and might and plea for restoration.
Isaiah 64: God’s people remember His works and plead for Him to come in power and glory. Yet, the people’s sin still stands in the way. The people ask God to remember them and to act.
Isaiah 65: The Lord answers the prayer of the remnant from Isaiah 64. A blessing is promised for the true servants of God. The false servants will see vengeance. The Lord promises a new heaven and earth. The 2nd coming will be blessed.
Isaiah 66: The Lord will repay His enemies and deliver Jerusalem. The Lord will judge the nations and restore His people.
Israel will be restored similar to a barren woman who now bears children. Remember that having kids was paramount in ancient times, and if you were barren, you were shamed. Here, the Lord gives barren women children. Israel will be released from exile and their shame.
God will not forsake Israel. He promises them prosperity, peace, and protection.
Isaiah 55
God invites us to receive His blessings and be led by Him. God invites us to be forgiven by Him.
God’s ways are not our ways; He is higher in all respects.
God will accomplish His purpose as His word says.
We will have joy and blessing with restoration.
Isaiah 56
Isaiah says to stay obedient and keep your righteousness. Do what is right and you will be blessed. No one is excluded from God’s blessings.
God’s temple (or house) shall be a house of prayer for all nations.
God will judge the blind leaders of Israel.
Isaiah 57
The idolatry of God’s people is like spiritual adultery, which is what caused their exile.
The wicked make fun of the righteous. God will judge His people for their disobedience.
The way of peace and restoration is Jesus. We must understand God’s majesty, His love for us, and be humble.
God will redeem His people, but the wicked will have no peace.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 4: Isaiah 54-57
10)
54:7: God cares for us and always brings us back to Him.
55:1-7: God welcomes everyone and provides everything they need. He will have mercy on all and forgive all.
55:8-13: God’s ways are not our ways, neither are his thoughts. His ways and thoughts re higher than ours. God’s word accomplishes His purposes.
57:15: For this is what the high and exalted One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
11a) This is a daily occurrence for me since I don’t understand much of what happens in my life without Him.
b) I know that God has it, so I don’t have to worry about it.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 4: Isaiah 54-57
Because of what Jesus did, we are delivered. God calls us of us to turn to Him. Incredibly beautiful!
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 4: Isaiah 54-57
Isaiah 54
Israel will be restored similar to a barren woman who now bears children. Remember that having kids was paramount in ancient times, and if you were barren, you were shamed. Here, the Lord gives barren women children. Israel will be released from exile and their shame.
Jesus (the servant) will act wisely. He will be raised, lifted up, and exalted. His appearance was disfigured.
Jesus was despised. He had no beauty of majesty. Nothing in his appearance that we should desire.
Yet, he bore our suffering. He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities. He suffered our punishment that brought us peace. By his wounds we are healed.
We’ve gone astray and turned away.
Yet, Jesus was slaughtered like a lamb for us. It was God’s will this happen, the servant our sin offering. Jesus will be great.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 3: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
6a) Jesus (the servant) will act wisely. He will be raised, lifted up, and exalted. His appearance was disfigured. Jesus was despised. He had no beauty of majesty. Nothing in his appearance that we should desire. Yet, he bore our suffering.
b) Just as there were many who were appalled at him[b]—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so he will sprinkle many nations,[c]
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
7a) Jesus willingly suffered for my sins. He died and was punished because of me. He brought me peace with God.
b) There are powerful verbs here: pierced, crushed, despised, rejected, oppressed, afflicked, slaughtered. Jesus, who was sinless, suffered terrible pain for our sins. It shows me the depth of the love that Christ holds for me, which is hard to comprehend.
8a) It’s really quite simple: Jesus bore our sins and died for us. He was arrrested; he stood trial; he was forsaken; he was convicted; he was mocked; he was crucified.
b) God always (and still does) have a plan for all of humanity and for me who plays a role in humanity. He wanted his people to know that the ulitmate home was coming; that God would save all.
9) Dear Lord. Thank you for having a plan, for bringing that plan to fruition to save the world, and for having a plan for the future when we’ll all worship you here on earth. Thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice of your son for us. We are so blessed, so in awe of you. We humbly worship you. Thank you. Amen
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 3: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
I love how God is so good to reveal His plans to us. So humbling what Jesus did that it’s hard to put into words.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 3: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
God called Isaiah to be his servant before Isaiah was born. God will display His splendor thorugh Isaiah. He told Isaiah he would bring back Israel, Jacob, and the Gentiles to him. Isaiah chose you. God will restore Israel. The people will not hunger or thirst. God will have compassion on them. The Lord comforts His people. He does not forsake them.
Other nations will bow down to Israel. God will have his revenge on Israel’s enemies. Then all will know that God is the Savior and Redeemer of Jacob.
Isaiah 50
The Lord tells Israel that they were exiled because of their transgressions. God tells Isaiah what to say. God helps him. He has awakened Isaiah’s ears to hear and his eyes to see. He has not been rebellious or turned away like Israel. He is confident in the Lord.
Isaiah 51
The Lord has blessed Israel and looks with compassion on them. He will bring justice, righteousness, and salvation. He will bring salvation forever, and God’s righteousness will never fail. He entreats the Israelites to awaken. He will rescue and comfort them. They are His people, and God will set them free.
Ruin has come to Israel because they rebuked him. However, the Lord will take the cup of his wrath from them and give it to their tormentors instead to drink. He defends His people.
Isaiah 52:1-12
The Lord tells his people to awaken and to know His name. Yet, God reigns and will bring salvation to earth.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 2: Isaiah 49-52:12
3a) God called Jesus to be his servant before he was born. God will display His splendor thorugh Jesus. He told Jesus he would bring back Israel, Jacob, and the Gentiles to him. Kings will bow before Jesus. God chose Jesus. God will restore Israel.
b) God tells Jesus what to say. God helps him. He has awakened Jesus’s ears to hear and his eyes to see. He has not been rebellious or turned away like Israel. He is confident in the Lord.
4a) Everyone expected the Messiah to be a Savior, a warrior, and very kingly. No one expected him to be humble, a healer, and a peacemaker. Eternal salvation.
b) It strokes the ego to have others adore you and admire you. In addition, being a servant is hard work.
5) Isaiah 49:1: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
It just gives me cofmort to know that the Lord has had a plan since the beginning of time, and it is playing out. It also gives me comfort to know that God knew me before I was born. It gives me a purpose to do His purpose because I matter to Him at the very least.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 2: Isaiah 49-52:12
Long passages of reading again, so hang in there! These can be confusing with the alternating of Isaiah speaking and God speaking and God speaking to Isaiah and to his people. The gist is that the Messiah has a mission to save and redeem the world and God’s people, so we can find comfort in that and be joyous.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 21, Day 2: Isaiah 49-52:12
Isaiah 49
Isaiah 49 discusses the Messiah’s mission. We see Jesus called and be prepared for his role before birth. The reference to Israel is a reference to Jesus.
Jesus blesses Israel and the nations. Jesus is to bring Israel back to the Lord and to bless the Gentiles, too.
Jesus is the covenant to the people.
The Lord is faithful to Zion and promises to bless them. He will not forget them.
Servant Song #1: Isaiah 42:1-9. Jesus is the light to nations.
Servant Song #2: Isaiah 49:1-13: The Messiah’s mission
Isaiah 50
Israel is questioning if God cares about them. God declares His love for them and is seen in Jesus’ submission to the Lord.
Jesus speaks to his people and challenges them to submit to God, too.
Servant Song #3: Isaiah 50:4-11: The Servant obeys, while Israel fails.
Isaiah 51
God’s past faithfulness will bring future blessing.
He says “Listen to me” three times here to get His people’s attention.
He will bring salvation and righteousness forever.
The people should fear God, not men.
The Lord is powerful, yet full of wrath.
Isaiah 52
The Lord will redeem Israel and He will vindicate His name before all who blasphemy it.
Be confident in the Lord.
Servant Song #4: Isaiah 52:13-53:12: The suffering of God’s servant in order to rid us of our sin forever.
God will send His promised Messiah to establish His kingdom, but the Messiah will suffer and will accomplish God’s purpose.
