|
|
|
Weekly Bible Study Review
|
|
Missed an Issue? No problem. View our Archives.
|
Class Schedule
Go to www.theocentrix.org click on the "Events" tab
for maps and more information.
|
Cafe Class
Culture Cafe
1359 N Altadena Drive
Pasadena CA 91107
Tuesdays 11:00 am
|
Read-to-Believe Class
Lake Avenue Church
Hutchins Hall Room 402
309 N Lake Avenue
Pasadena CA 91101
Thursdays 7:00 pm
|
|
.
Romans Challenge
Albert Baroody invites you
to read the book of Romans in two translations with three other people
in four weeks.
|
Arbo Class
LA County Arboretum
301 N Baldwin Ave
Arcadia CA 91007
Saturday 12:00 noon
Once per month
October 6, 2012 November 3, 2012 December 8, 2012 January 12, 2013 February 9, 2013 March 9, 2013 April 6, 2013 May 4, 2013 June 1, 2013 June 29, 2013 July 27, 2013 August 24, 2013 September 21, 2013 October 19, 2013 November 16, 2013 December 14, 2013 |
|
|
 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.
|
| |
Tuesday Cafe Class
Genesis | |
Genesis 32:1-36:43
32:1-6 Jacob continued on his journey and was met by angels at a place he named Mahanaim (two camps). Remember that 20 years ago when he left Canaan he saw angels ascending and descending from heaven at a place he named Bethel. Now he is returning to Canaan and sees angels again. But Jacob was not home yet. Perhaps Esau was still angry enough to kill him for taking his birthright and blessing. So Jacob sent messengers to inform Esau that he was back. The men returned with news that Esau was coming out to meet him along with 400 men.
v. 7-12 Of course Jacob thought Esau was coming out to kill him so he divided his servants and his animals into two groups. His strategy was that Esau could only attack one group at a time so perhaps one of the groups could escape. Jacob prayed to the God of his fathers and thanked Him for his kindness and faithfulness. He remembered how he had nothing but his staff 20 years ago but now he had a large family and great wealth that was all given to him by God. He also remembered that God promised to make his descendants as numerous as the sand on the seashore and asked God to save him and his family from Esau.
Click to read more... |
| |
Thursday Read-to-Believe Class
Deuteronomy | |
Deuteronomy 30:1-34:12
30:1-10 Finally, after a lengthy description of the doom and gloom that will overtake the Israelites if they turn away from the Lord, Moses offers them some hope. Once all these calamities have come upon them and they have been dispersed throughout the world-- when they eventually return to the Lord and obey Him with all their heart and soul, then the Lord will gather them from the nations and return them to the Promised Land. He will circumcise their hearts so they will love Him with all their heart and soul. All these curses will then fall on their enemies who persecute them. Once again the Israelites will obey the Lord and He will again delight in them and make them even more prosperous than before.
v. 11-20 The commands of the Law "are not too difficult for you or beyond your reach." They are neither up in heaven nor beyond the sea but are very near them-- in their hearts and mouths. In class we discussed whether it was possible for anyone to keep the Law perfectly. But perhaps it's better to look at Moses' statement in a national sense rather than an individual one. Could they as a nation uphold all the commands of the Law and operate their nation according to the Lord's decrees? Yes, it does seem possible that they as a nation could successfully reject idolatry and obey the Lord. The choice before them was simple: life and physical prosperity in the Promised Land or death, destruction and exile as the penalty for idolatry. Notice that these are physical blessings and curses. There is no mention of eternal life, heaven or hell. Moses tells the people to "choose life" so that they and their children may live (physically) and hold fast to the Lord. The Lord is their life.
31:1-13 Moses was now 120 years old. He had been told by the Lord that he would not lead the people across the Jordan River. The Lord would cross over and destroy the nations so that they could take possession of the land. Joshua would lead them and divide the land among the tribes of Israel. Moses told him and the people to be strong and courageous because the Lord will never forsake them. He wrote down the Law, gave it to the Levites and elders, and commanded them to read it aloud to the people during the Feast of Tabernacles at the end of every seven years. Even the children and aliens must hear it so they will "learn to fear the Lord."
Click to read more... |
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
 | Tuesday Cafe Class (continued) | |
Genesis 32:1-36:43
32:13-32 Jacob chose some livestock (nearly 600 head) as a gift for his brother and sent them ahead of him one herd at a time. He instructed his servants to tell Esau that these animals were a gift from Jacob and he would be coming behind them. Then Jacob sent his wives, his children and his possessions across the Jabbok and spent the night alone. A man wrestled with him all night until daybreak. Jacob would not give up so the man "touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched." He could not wrestle anymore but still he would not let go of the man until he blessed him. So the man asked him his name. "Jacob," he answered. The man changed his name to Israel which means "he struggles with God." Jacob wanted to know the man's name but he would not tell him who he was. Jacob named the place Peniel which means "face of God" because he believed he had been wrestling with God. He said he saw God face to face and lived. Jacob limped because of the injury to his hip. That's why the Israelites didn't eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon.
33:1-20 Esau arrived with his 400 men. Jacob placed the children with their mothers and lined them up with the maidservants first, then Leah, and lastly Rachel. He went ahead of them to meet his brother and bowed before him seven times. Esau ran to meet him, embracing and kissing him. Then his wives and children came forward bowing before Esau. Esau was reluctant to accept the livestock as a gift but Jacob insisted. Even though the brothers had reconciled it seems that Jacob still wanted to keep some distance between them. When Esau wanted to accompany him on his journey or at least send some of his men with him, Jacob made the excuse that he had to travel very slowly because of the animals and young children. Esau returned home to Seir but Jacob went the other way to Succoth. Later Jacob arrived safely at Shechem in Canaan where he bought some land from the sons of Hamor. There he pitched his tent and set up an altar named El Elohe Israel, meaning "mighty is the God of Israel."
34:1-12 Jacob's daughter Dinah went out to visit the women of the land. Hamor the Hivite was ruler of that land. His son Shechem took Dinah and raped her. He loved her very much and told his father to get her as his wife. Jacob heard what happened to Dinah but didn't say or do anything because his sons were still working out in the fields. Shechem's father, Hamor, went out to talk to Jacob about letting Dinah marry his son. Hamor, being the ruler of the land, had a bigger picture in mind. He wanted Jacob's family to intermarry with the Shechemites so they would become one people. Shechem was so in love with Dinah that he was willing to pay any price to marry her.
v. 13-31 Dinah's brothers were upset that she had been violated so they decided to deal deceitfully with the Shechemites. They said (deceitfully) that they would only intermarry if all the Shechemite men were circumcised. Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and Shechem. It was easy to convince the other men in the city to be circumcised because they could see the economic advantage of bringing Jacob's wealth into their families by intermarrying with them. All the Schechemites were circumcised. Three days later, while the men were all in pain, Simeon and Levi killed all the men in the city including Hamor and Shechem. They rescued Dinah from Shechem's house and left. Jacob's other sons looted the city taking all the flocks, herds and possessions. They even carried off all the women and children. Jacob was not pleased with Simeon and Levi. He had not authorized this attack and feared that now the other tribes in the land might band together and overpower him. But Simeon and Levi defended their actions saying, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"
35:1-8 God told Jacob to go the Bethel and settle there. So Jacob told his whole household and all the women and children of Shechem who were with him to get rid of their foreign gods, purify themselves and change their clothes. It was time for a fresh start. They would go to Bethel and build an altar there to worship Jacob's God. He buried all the gods under the oak at Shechem and they started traveling. The other nations did not attack them on the way because "the terror of God fell upon them." Jacob and his people arrived safely in Bethel. It was there that Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried. Rebekah was Jacob's mother.
v. 9-15 In Bethel God appeared to Jacob and blessed him, giving him the name Israel. God confirmed His promise that Jacob's descendants will be a community of nations and kings will come from him. They will inherit the land God promised to Abraham. Jacob set up a stone pillar there and poured an offering of oil and wine on it.
v. 16-22 He moved from Bethel to Ephraph (Bethlehem) and while they were traveling Rachel went into labor. She died in childbirth and was buried on the way. A pillar marks her tomb. Israel named the baby Benjamin. He moved on again and went beyond Migdal Eder. Reuben slept with Jacob's concubine, Bilhah, and Jacob found out about it.
v. 23-29 Jacob had 12 sons in all:
from Leah - Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun
from Rachel - Joseph, Benjamin
from Rachel's maidservant Bilhah - Dan, Naphtali
from Leah's maidservant Zilpah - Gad, Asher
Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Hebron. Isaac lived 180 years. When he died his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
36:1-9 Esau was the father of the Edomites. The Israelites reading this account later were very familiar with the Edomites. They were conquered by Saul. David also ruled over them. The prophecy that the older (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob) was not fulfilled in Jacob's lifetime but was fulfilled later. Esau had three wives: Adah the Hittite, Oholibamah the Hivite, and Basemath the Ishmaelite. Esau took his family and moved out of Canaan to the hills of Seir. He and Jacob could not live close together because the land could not support all their livestock.
v. 10-43 Esau had five sons. The 14 chiefs in Edom were Esau's sons and grandsons. The Horites were also living in the region and had seven chiefs ruling them. There was a long line of kings in Edom before any Israelite king reigned, eight in all. Esau's descendants were divided into 11 clans, each one was led by a chief.
Much more next time.
--Sandy Blank
Back... |
| Thursday Read-to-Believe Class (continued) | |
Deuteronomy 30:1-34:12
31:14-22 Moses and Joshua went to the Tent of Meeting because it was time for Joshua to be commissioned. The Lord appeared in the pillar of cloud and told Moses that after his death the Israelites would soon forsake Him and turn to other gods. The Lord will become angry with them, forsake them, hide His face from them and they will be destroyed. Therefore, Moses must write down a song and teach it to the people so it will remind them of these things. After they have been blessed by the Lord in the good land He is giving them and they turn away to idols then "this song will testify against them." The Lord knew what they were disposed to do. It would not be a surprise to Him when they reject Him and worship other gods. Moses wrote down the song and taught it to the people.
v. 23-30 The Lord told Joshua to be courageous when bringing the people into the land of Canaan because He would be with him. Moses finished all his writing and commanded the Levites to place the book next to the ark of the covenant so that it would serve as a witness against them. He said, "If you have been rebellious against the Lord while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die!" He was certain they would be corrupted by idols and provoke the Lord to anger. In an assembly of all the people Moses recited the following song.
32:1-18 Heaven and earth are called as witnesses to his words. This teaching will fall on the people like rain as he praises the name of the Lord. "He is the Rock," and a faithful God who is upright and just. But the people have become "a warped and crooked generation." They are no longer His children but are foolish and unwise. Nevertheless He is their Father and Creator. He divided the land among the nations and distributed Canaan according to the number of the sons of Israel. The Lord has always guarded Israel as the apple of His eye. "The Lord alone led him, no foreign god was with him." Israel's descendants ate the best that the land had to offer and became "heavy and sleek" but "rejected the Rock" his Savior. They angered the Lord and made Him jealous by their idols and the offerings they sacrificed to demons. These idols were new to them-- idols that their fathers had never known. They forgot Father God who gave them birth.
v. 19-35 The Lord hid His face from them because of their idolatry. In His wrath He would "heap calamities upon them" and many would die. He said He would scatter them and then blot them out completely but He did not want their enemies to misunderstand and take credit for their destruction. The Israelites "are a nation without sense." Why couldn't they see that the reason their enemies defeated them was because "their Rock had sold them" and the Lord had given them up? Even their enemies know that the Lord of Israel is not like their gods. The enemy's evil and poisonous venom comes from the "vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah." The Lord has kept their deadly poison "in reserve and sealed it in" His vaults to be used when He avenges His enemies.
v. 36-43 When the Israelites' strength is gone then He will say, "Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in.. let them rise up to help you!" There is no other god besides the Lord. He puts people to death and brings them to life, He wounds them and He heals them, "and no one can deliver out of my hand." Many people will die when the Lord takes vengeance on those who hate Him. He will avenge the blood of His servants who have been killed and He will make atonement for His land and people.
v. 44-52 When Moses finished reciting all the words of this song he said, "They are not just idle words for you-- they are your life." This was to be taken literally. If the people rejected these words they would surely be destroyed. The Lord told Moses to go up to Mount Nebo in Moab so he could see the land the Israelites would inherit. He was told he would die on that mountain just as Aaron died on Mount Hor. Neither of them were allowed to enter Canaan because they "broke faith" with the Lord and "did not uphold" His holiness among the Israelites.
33:1-29 Finally, Moses blesses the Israelites just before his death. He recounted how the Lord "dawned over" them and showed His love for His people. In the beginning they all bowed down at His feet and received the Law of Moses. The Lord is King over the tribes of Israel. Then Moses blessed the descendants of each of the twelve sons of Jacob. Click here to see a chart comparing this blessing to the one given by Jacob just before he died (Genesis 49:1-28). Moses reminds them that there is no one like their God. He is their refuge and will drive their enemies out before them. Israel will live in safety in their land because they are blessed and shielded by the Lord. He is their "glorious sword."
34:1-12 Moses went up Mount Nebo across from Jericho. The Lord showed him all the land that He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Then Moses died as the Lord had said he would. He was buried in Moab "but to this day no one knows where his grave is." Although he was 120 years old "his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone." The people grieved for him 30 days. Joshua was filled with the Spirit because Moses had laid his hands on him. The Israelites listened to him. "Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." No one else has done all the signs and wonders or "performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel."
That's the end of Deuteronomy. Next time we'll begin the letter to the Hebrews and explore the difference between the old covenant and the new.
--Sandy Blank
Back... |
|
|
| 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. |
|
|
