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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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Villa Class
Pasadena CA
Call for location
(626) 531-6641
Wednesdays 7:00 pm |
Read-to-Believe Class
Lake Avenue Church
Family Life Room 201
309 N Lake Avenue
Pasadena CA 91101
Thursdays 7:00 pm
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Arbo Class
LA County Arboretum
301 N Baldwin Ave
Arcadia CA 91007
Saturday 12:00 noon
Once per month
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 |
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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
Exodus | |
Exodus 17:1-19:25
17:1-7 The Israelites left the Desert of Sin and traveled around from place to place "as the Lord commanded." At Rephidim they quarreled with Moses because there was no water. Again they questioned why they were brought out of Egypt only to die of thirst in the desert. Moses went to the Lord and told Him that the people were ready to stone him. The Lord told him to walk on ahead with the elders and strike a rock with his staff. When he did this water flowed from the rock. Moses named the place Massah and Meribah, meaning "testing" and "quarreling." The people were not just complaining about being thirsty, they were asking, "Is the Lord among us or not?" The main problem was their lack of faith in the Lord despite all that He continued to do for them.
v. 8-15 Also at Rephidim, the Amalekites (descendants of Esau) attacked the Israelites. The Amalekites were likely a nomadic people who grazed their flocks in that region and were merely defending their homeland. Joshua led a small army against them on Moses' orders while Moses, Aaron and Hur watched from the top of a hill. When Moses held his hands up the Israelites were winning but when he lowered them then the Amalekites were winning. When his hands were tired Aaron and Hur gave him a rock to sit on and they held his hands up until sunset. Joshua won the battle. The Lord told Moses to write this down on a scroll. He would one day "completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." Much later King David destroyed the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30). Moses built an altar called "The Lord is My Banner" because his "hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord."
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Thursday Read-to-Believe Class
Hebrews | |
Hebrews 11:32-12:17
11:32 Samuel was the last man to serve as a judge in Israel. He anointed Saul as the first king and then later David. Samuel was faithful to the Lord throughout his long and eventful life.
v. 33-40 God accomplished many remarkable feats through the men and women of faith listed in this chapter. In verse 35 the author begins to describe the suffering that was endured by many of the faithful. They were taunted, beaten, murdered and despised by their persecutors. Some were impoverished and homeless, wandering in remote wilderness regions because there was no place they could live in safety. The author says, "the world was not worthy of them." All of them were commended for their faith though they did not receive what God had promised them. God was waiting until all the faithful had lived and died before He would give them their full reward. Notice that all the individuals mentioned in chapter 11 died before Jesus was born. None of them would have heard the name of Jesus, yet they all had genuine faith.
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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) |
Exodus 17:1-19:25
18:1-12 Moses' father-in-law heard how the Lord had brought the Israelites out of Egypt. He decided to bring Moses' wife and sons back to him. Moses had sent them home to Midian sometime prior to the exodus. Jethro was "the priest of Midian," meaning he served as priest for one or more of the Midianite gods. Moses told him about everything the Lord had done to the Egyptians and how He saved them. "Jethro was delighted" to hear this and said "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for He did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly." This is quite an amazing statement because Jethro is saying that the Lord is greater than his own Midianite gods. Jethro knew that his gods had never done anything like this, nor had he heard of any other gods doing this. To honor the Lord, Jethro offered sacrifices to Him and ate a special meal with Moses, Aaron and the elders.
v. 13-27 The next day when Jethro saw how Moses sat judging the people's disputes all day he proposed a solution. Moses should teach the people the decrees and laws of the Lord and select honest men to be officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They could handle the simple cases and bring the more difficult ones to Moses. "Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said." Then Jethro returned home to Midian. The text doesn't say for certain, but most likely Zipporah and her sons stayed with Moses.
19:1-6 In the third month, "on the very day," the Israelites came to the Desert of Sinai. We saw that on the 15th day of the first month they left Egypt; on the 15th day of the second month they were in the Desert of Sin and started eating manna; and now on the 15th day of the third month they came to Sinai. It's only been 60 days since they left Egypt and now they're camped in front of Mount Sinai. Moses went up the mountain where the Lord spoke to him saying He was the one who carried them "on eagles' wings and brought you to myself." In class we talked about the significance of this statement. The Lord not only rescued them from their oppressors but He brought them to Himself. He wanted them to be with Him. This is not just about an inheritance but about being with the Lord. He wanted them to be His "treasured possession," a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. But it was conditional-- they must obey Him fully and keep His covenant.
v. 7-8 Moses went to the people and told them what the Lord said. They responded by saying, "We will do everything the Lord has said." Then Moses brought their answer to the Lord. So we see that there was a bilateral agreement made. The people promised to obey the Lord fully and He promised to reward them for their obedience. In class we talked about how the Israelites were just one nation out of many. Why did the Lord make this agreement with them and not with every nation? Why would He destroy other nations in order to bless the Israelites? This doesn't seem fair.
v. 9-15 The Lord told Moses to have the people consecrate themselves, wash their clothes, and be ready on the third day because He was going to come down and speak to them. They were not allowed to go up on the mountain. Any man or animal who even touched the foot of it would be put to death by stoning or be shot with arrows. They must stay back until the ram's horn sounds a long blast. So the people prepared themselves. Moses also told them to abstain from sexual relations as part of their preparation to meet with the Lord.
v. 16-25 On the morning of the third day the people were very frightened by the thunder and lightning. Smoke billowed out of the mountain, it shook violently, and the sound of a trumpet grew louder and louder. "Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him." The Lord called him to the top of the mountain. Moses went up and the Lord warned him that He would break out against the people if they tried to approach Him. Moses assured Him that the people understood that they were not to draw near. The Lord told him to go down and bring Aaron up with him, but not the priests or the people. So Moses did as he was told.
Next time we will read what the Lord said to the Israelites that day.
--Sandy Blank
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Thursday Read-to-Believe Class (continued) | |
Hebrews 11:32-12:17
12:1-3 The readers of Hebrews are "surrounded by" these examples of faith. Therefore, they're told to throw off whatever hinders them. This suggests a deliberate action on their part to rid themselves of anything that might hold them back. And they are to run the race that God has marked out for them. They don't get to select their own course. Their race is marked out by God. Each one is to fix his eyes on Jesus, looking to Him who is the "author and perfecter" of their faith. Jesus also had a race to run when He came to earth. He set His eyes on the joy of returning to His Father and being seated at the Father's right hand. The readers are told to consider Christ's example and not lose heart by whatever they are currently suffering. It will be worth it in the end.
v. 4-10 Although these readers had already suffered persecution, they had not yet resisted to the point of shedding their blood. He reminds them that the Lord's discipline is a sign of His love for them and His acceptance of them as sons (Proverbs 3:11-12). They are to endure hardship as discipline.
Discipline is different from punishment. Discipline always looks to the future and envisions what the person can become. Discipline shapes and molds a person. There's always a hopeful expectation of improvement or growth. On the other hand, punishment focuses on past behavior and cares only that some rule was broken which requires that a penalty be enforced. God is not punishing these believers for their sins. Christ took that penalty upon Himself on the cross. Rather, these believers were being formed and shaped by God's loving discipline so that they could grow up strong in their faith. The readers needed to view their hardships in a more accurate and positive light. Not as punishment for their sins but as discipline from a loving Father.
v. 11-14 Discipline is painful, but if the individual is "trained by it" then righteousness and peace will follow. Therefore they are to be encouraged and help each other along this difficult path. The readers must try to live in peace with everyone. Of course the author is not expecting them to deny their faith in Christ just to have peace with unbelievers.
v. 15 Rejecting Jesus as Messiah would be to "miss the grace of God." The author's mention of "bitter root" may have reminded his readers of what Moses said about apostasy (turning away from the truth).
Deuteronomy 29:18 says, "Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison." Even if only a few people fell away from faith in Christ it would have a negative effect on others and "defile many."
v. 16-17 Sexual immorality could also lead them astray. Being "godless like Esau" refers to taking their spiritual inheritance so lightly that they would exchange it for temporary physical things. The author warns them not to follow Esau's example because his decision to sell his birthright to Jacob could not be reversed. Likewise, if the readers reject Christ they should not assume that they will simply be able to come back later.
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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