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Weekly Bible Study Review
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Missed an Issue? No problem. View our Archives.
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Class Schedule
Go to www.theocentrix.org click on the "Events" tab
for maps and more information.
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Cafe Class
Culture Cafe
1359 N Altadena Drive
Pasadena CA 91107
Tuesdays 11:00 am
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Read-to-Believe Class
Lake Avenue Church
Hutchins Hall Room 402
309 N Lake Avenue
Pasadena CA 91101
Thursdays 7:00 pm
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Romans Challenge
Albert Baroody invites you
to read the book of Romans in two translations with three other people
in four weeks.
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Arbo Class
LA County Arboretum
301 N Baldwin Ave
Arcadia CA 91007
Saturday 12:00 noon
Once per month
August 11, 2012 September 8, 2012 October 6, 2012 November 3, 2012 December 8, 2012 |
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 Greetings!
This newsletter is sent to people who attend one of Sandy's weekly Bible studies. The left column has the current class schedule. Be sure to watch for the links in each article. Clicking on them will lead you to charts, diagrams and additional articles related to your class.
Anyone can subscribe to this free newsletter by using the link in the upper left corner. If you would like to forward this issue to a friend all you have to do is click on the link below.
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Tuesday Cafe Class
Ephesians | |
Ephesians 5:21-6:24
5:21-22 Paul urges his readers to submit to one another. The motive for this submission is "reverence for Christ." Then he lists three specific examples of submission.
- wives submit to husbands
- children submit to parents
- slaves submit to masters
Keep in mind that every man, woman and child in Palestine already knew this. It's unlikely that anyone would seriously think it should be any other way. Paul was not introducing some new teaching here. He was talking to his audience about something they already understood from their culture and used it to tell them about Christ and the church. In class we had to work hard to set aside all the sermons, books and articles we've been exposed to and try to look at this section from the perspective of first century believers in a less autonomous culture.
v. 23-30 The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is head of the church. The church is Christ's body. He is the savior of His body.
As the church submits to Christ, so should wives submit to their husbands. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Christ loved the church so much that He gave Himself up for her on the cross. He made her holy, cleansed her, and presented her to Himself as holy, blameless and radiant. Husbands are told to follow Christ's example and love their wives as their own bodies. A man who loves his wife also loves himself. He benefits from the love he gives his wife. Naturally, everyone feeds and cares for their own body so of course Christ feeds and cares for the church which is His body. This is important to the believers because they are each members of His body.
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Thursday Read-to-Believe Class
Deuteronomy | |
Deuteronomy 1:1-2:37
This week we started reading Deuteronomy. Although we skipped Leviticus and Numbers we will read portions of them as needed to fill in some background information. Deuteronomy is a series of four sermons or speeches given by Moses just before they entered the Promised Land.
1:1-8 Moses spoke all these words to the Israelites while they were in the desert east of the Jordan River. Another name for Mount Sinai is "Horeb." Moses reminds his listeners that it only takes 11 days to travel from Mt. Sinai to Kadesh Barnea which is very near Canaan. But in verse 3 it says, "in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month," which shows how long it took them to travel that distance. By the fortieth year Moses had already defeated the king of the Amorites and the king of Bashan. While they were east of the Jordan in Moab, the Lord commanded them to advance into the hill country of the Amorites, the Arabah, the Negev, and along the coast as far at the Euphrates River. They must take possession of the land because this is the land the Lord swore to Abraham that He would give them.
v. 9-18 Moses reminds them that in the beginning of their journey he became overwhelmed by their problems and disputes with one another. That's why he appointed judges and leaders over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. He charged the judges with the duty to hear all cases impartially and judge fairly. They should not be afraid of men because God is the ultimate judge. The most difficult cases were brought to Moses.
v. 19-33 Then Moses recounts how in the beginning they left Sinai and crossed "that vast and dreadful desert" all the way to Kadesh Barnea. The Lord wanted them to go and take possession of it. The people wanted to send spies first to bring back a report. Moses agreed and he sent a delegation of 12 men, one from each tribe. The men came back with some of the good fruit of the land, but they frightened the people by telling them that there were fortified cities and giants living there.
(In class we read the full story in Numbers 13:17 - 14:45.)
The Israelites rebelled against the Lord's command to take the land. They grumbled in their tents saying, "The Lord hates us," so He brought us out of Egypt to destroy us. Moses told them not to be afraid because the Lord would fight for them like He did in Egypt. The Lord carries them like a father carries his son. But they did not trust in the Lord even though they knew He traveled with them in a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day and found them places to camp along the way. In class we talked about how the Israelites believed that the Lord existed but they did not trust Him. We have often said that trust is essential to faith.
Faith = Belief + Trust.
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Since ancient times the Bible has been read aloud to groups of people who were eager to hear the words of Life. We're really no different today. Believers still look to the Bible for wisdom and instruction. We belong in the Word together. Thank you for your participation in these classes. I hope you will pass this email on to others and invite them to attend a Bible study.
Grace and peace, Sandy Blank
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 | Tuesday Cafe Class (continued) | |
Ephesians 5:21-6:24
5:31-33 Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 about a man leaving his father and mother in order to be united to his wife in such a way that they become one. Then Paul says, "This is a profound mystery-- but I am talking about Christ and the church." Christ left His Father and came to earth for His bride, the church. The mystery Paul mentions is one that he's written about several times. The mystery of Jews and Gentiles united as one in Christ and also united with Christ-- becoming one with Him. Paul is saying that the unity that Christ has with the church can be compared to the oneness of a loving husband and submissive wife. This passage is not so much about marriage as it is about the union between the Son of God and His human bride, the church. Notice in verse 33 Paul states, almost as an afterthought, that husbands must love their wives and wives must respect their husbands. The readers already knew how husbands and wives should be but they needed to understand how they are one with Christ as His bride.
6:1-4 For his second example of submission Paul refers to children obeying their parents. He quotes the commandment they would have known by heart about children honoring their parents and the blessing that comes from it. Fathers are told not to exasperate (frustrate and discourage) their children but bring them up with proper instruction of the Lord. Again, this is a human example that helps them understand Christ. Christ obeyed His Father in all things and the Father cared for Him and brought Him up well.
v. 5-9 Finally Paul tells slaves to obey their earthly masters with respect, fear, and sincerity just as they would obey Christ Himself. They are really slaves of Christ and not of men. The slaves must do the will of God and wholeheartedly serve the Lord in their work. The Lord will certainly reward the slaves just as much as the masters. This must have been a great encouragement to the Christian slaves to know that their status in the Lord was no less than free men. Masters are warned to treat their slaves well because even the masters are under the authority of Christ. He shows no favoritism to either masters or slaves.
- Wives submit to husbands (the church submits to Christ).
- Children submit to parents (Christ submits to His Father's will).
- Slaves submit to masters (both slaves and masters are under the same Master).
v.10-17 Paul wraps up his letter with a military metaphor. Believers are told to put on the full armor of God so they can stand against the schemes of the evil one, stand their ground, and after it's all done -- stand. (Remember, repetition is for emphasis so standing must be very important to Paul.) Of course this is not physical armor. Why not? Because the threat is not a physical threat. There are rulers, authorities, and evil powers in the world as well as evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm. Physical armor would be of no use against such enemies. There's no place to hide so they must wear armor to protect themselves from being overcome by evil.
- Belt of truth (Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life)
- Breastplate of righteousness (Jesus makes them righteous)
- Feet fitted with the readiness of the Gospel of Peace (Jesus gives them peace with God)
- Shield of faith (their faith is their belief and trust in Jesus)
- Helmet of salvation (Jesus saves them)
- Sword of the Spirit/Word of God (Jesus is the Word, also may mean Bible or God's promises)
So what is this armor? It is Christ Himself! Believers are in Him, protected by Him and will therefore still be standing when it's all over. That's why the armor of God is for every believer, not just the leaders or some kind of warrior-Christians. Each believer needs this armor to be able to stand against the deception and schemes of the spiritual forces of evil. Although Paul tells them to "put on" this armor, they never really take it off. A believer doesn't move in and out of Christ. Remember, the armor is just a metaphor to help the readers understand who they are in Christ.
v. 18-24 Paul also tells them to pray on all occasions (not just special occasions), with all kinds of prayers (not just special ones), and pray for all the saints (because they all need to remain standing no matter what the evil one throws at them). Paul asks for prayers for himself so that he will be fearless when he proclaims the Gospel. He closes this letter without the usual list of individual greetings. Perhaps since he was in prison he felt it best to be careful in case this letter fell into the wrong hands and put others in danger. He assures his readers that Tychicus will tell them everything that has been going on.
That's the end of Ephesians. We will start a new book next time.
Sandy Blank
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| Thursday Read-to-Believe Class (continued) | |
Deuteronomy 1:1-2:37
1:34-46 The Lord was angry with them and solemnly swore that "not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers" except Caleb and Joshua. They were the only two spies who urged the people to take the land. Moses reminded the people that the Lord became angry with him also and would not allow him to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 20:7-12). Joshua would be the one to lead the people into their inheritance. The Lord said that the little children they were afraid would be captured by the Amorites, those very children would certainly take possession of the good land their parents refused. Then the Lord told them to turn around and go back out into the desert. But the people repented and decided they would go up and fight as the Lord originally told them to do. But Moses warned them that the Lord would not be with them. They would certainly be defeated. However they rebelled again and arrogantly marched up into the hill country even though Moses and the ark of the covenant did not go with them. The Amorites came out and chased them "like a swarm of bees," beating them down all the way to Hormah. The people wept before the Lord but "He paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you." So they stayed in Kadesh a long time.
2:1-12 Moses continues speaking-- they turned back toward the desert instead of entering Canaan and made their way around the hill country. Then the Lord told them to turn north. They must pass through Seir, the territory inhabited by their brothers, Esau's descendants. The Lord said their brothers would be afraid of them but they must be careful not to provoke them to war because the Lord is not giving them any of Esau's land. The Israelites must pay in silver for the food they eat and the water they drink while passing through Seir. So they went on past their brothers and then traveled along the desert road of Moab. But the Lord told them not to provoke the Moabites to war because He had given that land to the descendants of Lot. In class we talked about the Lord's faithfulness to His promises. The land He gave to Esau and Lot was not to be taken over by the descendants of Jacob. There was a specific parcel of land that was to belong to them.
v. 13-17 Next the Lord told them to cross the Zered Valley and they did. "Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them." So we see that the Israelites spent only two years in the wilderness before they reached Kadesh Barnea. From there they were supposed to take possession of the land of the Amorites, but because they refused the Lord had them turn back toward the desert and wander for an additional 38 years. It was a total of 40 years of wandering-- one year for each of the 40 days the spies explored the land (Numbers 14:33-34). Only after all the fighting men of that generation died would they be able to take possession of the land.
v. 18-23 The Lord had given land to the Ammonites because they were descendants of Lot. The Israelites were told not to provoke them to war. The Lord drove out a powerful people called the Zamzummites so the Ammonites could live there. The Lord had done the same thing for the descendants of Esau by destroying the Horites. Moses is probably saying this because he wants the Israelites to know that the Lord will fight for them and drive people out of their land so they can settle there. He did it for Lot and Esau, He will certainly do it for them as well.
2:24-37 The Lord told them to cross the Arnon Gorge because the He has given them victory over the king of Heshbon. The nations feared the Israelites because of reports that were spreading about them. Moses sent messengers to the king of Heshbon asking for permission to pass through his land the same way they had passed through Seir and Moab. He offered to pay for their food and water in silver. But the king refused to let them pass "for the Lord had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into" the hands of the Israelites. This sounds remarkably similar to the situation with Pharaoh's hardened heart. The Lord told the Israelites to conquer and possess the land of the king of Bashan. In the battle at Jahaz the king was struck down along with his sons and army. They took all his towns and killed everyone-- men, women and children. But they carried off the livestock and plunder for themselves. The Israelites defeated every town in that kingdom of Bashan. But they followed the Lord's command not to move into the land of the Ammonites or the towns in the hills.
In class we had a discussion about all the seemingly needless killing that happened here in the name of the Lord. Why did they have to kill the women and children? Why couldn't they settle somewhere that wasn't already inhabited? How could a loving God sanction all this bloodshed? Isn't killing against the law of Moses? After much discussion we were reminded that there is a larger context that needs to be considered. The people who were killed may not be as innocent as we think. Remember when we read about Noah cursing his grandson Canaan because of what Ham did? The Canaanites were descendants of cursed Canaan. Their destruction was a long time in coming but it was ultimately going to happen. Could the Israelites have settled in America or Australia-- some place with plenty of room for them? Not really, because Jesus was going to come from Israel and be born in Jerusalem, not in New York City or Melbourne. God is impartial in His judgments. As we keep reading we will see that when Israel falls into idolatry they are defeated by other nations and taken into exile. Although it is difficult to see God's love in the midst of all this killing, He is quite consistent in the way He works with all the nations. We will certainly discuss this again as we read through Deuteronomy.
Much more next time.
-- Sandy Blank
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| This newsletter is maintained by Sandy Blank (Ph.D. Educational Studies, Biola; MA Biblical Studies, Grace University). If you would like further information about any of her classes or would like to know how to start a Bible study in your area please contact her at sandyblank@theocentrix.org. This newsletter is sponsored by Theocentrix, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting God-centered Bible literacy. Visit www.theocentrix.org for more information. |
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