Old Testament – Page 10 – Michelle Lesley

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Ecclesiastes 3

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

²a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

⁹What gain has the worker from his toil? ¹⁰I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹²I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; ¹³also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

¹⁴I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. ¹⁵That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

¹⁶Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. ¹⁷I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. ¹⁸I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. ¹⁹For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. ²⁰All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. ²¹Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? ²²So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

Questions to Consider:

Who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes? What is the theme of chapter 3?

How would you summarize verses 1-8? What are some of the ways the New Testament says Christians should respond to joyful or difficult circumstance in our lives and in the lives of others?

What does it mean that God has “put eternity into man’s heart”? (11) What does the remainder of verse 11 mean? How might the idea in this part of verse 11 connect with these other passages?

What can we learn from verses 14-22 about God’s absolute sovereignty, supremacy, authority, and control over the world and the events that take place in it? Make a list of all the things, beings, and events from these verses that God is sovereign over. How can contemplating God’s sovereignty in these areas help us to have a proper, humble view of ourselves compared to Him?

Taking verses 12-22 into consideration, why do verses 12, 13, and 22 encourage man to “be joyful,” “take pleasure,” and “rejoice” in his toil and work? What is the alternative? How does this relate to what the New Testament says about being joyful in work or difficulties? What impact might your joy have on an unbeliever?

Wednesday's Word

Wednesday’s Word ~ Malachi 4

December 16, 2015December 15, 2015 Michelle Lesley

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Malachi 4

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. ²But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. ³And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

⁴“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

⁵“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. ⁶And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come andstrike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

Questions To Consider:

1. Which genre (history, wisdom, poetry, prophecy, epistle, etc.) is the book of Malachi? What is the overall tone or theme of this chapter?

2. Some prophecies have a “near” meaning (something that will happen in the near future to the people the prophet is currently talking to), some have a “far” meaning (something that will happen far in the future in another context), and some have both. Which would you say is the case for this passage? In either or both cases, who is the audience for this prophecy? What is the near and/or far meaning?

3. How does God contrast the wicked with those who fear the Lord in verses 1-3? Why does God say to “Remember the law of my servant Moses…”? (4) How does verse 4 fit with verses 1-3?

4. What are some possible connections between verses 5-6 and Luke 1:13, 16-17, Matthew 11:13-14, and Revelation 11:3?

5. What are some general truths we can learn from this passage as we look ahead to Christ’s second coming?

Wednesday's Word

Wednesday’s Word ~ Job 1

November 18, 2015November 17, 2015 Michelle Lesley

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Job 1

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. ²There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. ³He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. ⁴His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.⁵And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

⁶Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. ⁷The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” ⁸And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” ⁹Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? ¹⁰Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” ¹²And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

¹³Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, ¹⁵and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁶While he was yet speaking, there came another and said,“The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁷While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁸While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

²⁰Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. ²¹And he said,“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

²²In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Questions to Consider:

1. Read verses 1-5. Reflecting on this passage, what are some words you would use to describe Job, his family, and his life? Does the word “blameless” (1) mean “sinless”? How does your description of Job match up with God’s description of Job in verse 8 and what Satan says about Job in verse 10?

2. Why does Satan think Job loves and fears God? (9-11) Is he correct? (20-22)? Is it biblical to follow God in order to receive material or temporal blessings? Can you think of any churches or Christian celebrities who teach this? What should be our motivation for following Christ?

3. Was Job privy to the conversation between God and Satan (6-12)? Did he know why all these terrible things happened to him? Did he know that God would eventually restore what he had lost? How is Job’s situation similar to the blind man’s in John 9:1-3? Was Job being punished for sin? (8)

4. Make a list of all the things Job lost (13-19). Consider the repeated phrase, “while he was yet speaking.” What does this phrase tell us about the timing of these events?

5. Which three actions did Job take in verse 20? Which two indicate to us that Job was upset? Was Job’s grief sinful or an indication that he didn’t trust God? (21-22) How would you summarize Job’s response to tragedy? How do verses 20-21 correlate to Philippians 4:11-13? How are Christians to respond to suffering?

Wednesday's Word

Wednesday’s Word ~ Esther 4

November 11, 2015November 9, 2015 Michelle Lesley

Esther 4

When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. ²He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. ³And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.

⁴When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. ⁵Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. ⁶Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, ⁷and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.⁸Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. ⁹And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. ¹⁰Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, ¹¹“All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”

¹²And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. ¹³Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ¹⁵Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ¹⁶“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” ¹⁷Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

Questions to Consider:

1. The book of Esther is short, and chapter 4 can best be understood in its context in the middle of the story. I highly recommend reading the whole book, starting in chapter 1. Who are the main characters in this story? What are their backgrounds? What causes them to act the way they do?

2. What was the king’s decree (7-8)? Why would the decree have been cause for the Jews’ “fasting, weeping, and lamenting” (3)?

3. Give two reasons why it would have been dangerous for Esther to go to the king and plead the cause of the Jews (8-11). Read verses 12-14 through the lenses of a loving parent like Mordecai. He was asking his “daughter” to do what was godly, even at the risk of her life. Do you raise your children to be godly, even at risk of their lives?

4. In what ways is the story of Esther a type and shadow of Christ’s redemption of His people? Whom do King Ahasuerus, Esther, Haman, and the Jews represent? The three days of fasting?

5. God will probably never call you to save a nation as He did with Esther, but He has placed each one of us right where we are “for such a time as this,” because all of us have people in our lives who need to hear about Jesus, the Savior who steps between the wrath of God and the scheming of Satan and laid His life on the line to save His people from their sin. Think of some people and situations in your life where God has placed you “for such a time as this” to share the gospel, speak the truth of God’s word, or minister His love.

Wednesday's Word

Wednesday’s Word ~ Nehemiah 8

October 28, 2015October 26, 2015 Michelle Lesley

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Nehemiah 8

And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. ²So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. ³And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. ⁴And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. ⁵And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. ⁶And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. ⁷Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. ⁸They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

⁹And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. ¹⁰Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ¹¹So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹²And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

¹³On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. ¹⁴And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, ¹⁵and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” ¹⁶So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. ¹⁸And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

Questions to Consider:

1. What were some of the events that led up to Nehemiah 8? Why would this “worship service” have been especially meaningful for the people?

2. Which phrase in verse 2, repeated in verse 3, show us God’s desire for all people to hear and understand His word? How does this phrase hint at the love God has for women and children?

3. Read verses 2-8 and describe the scene in your own words or make a sketch of what it might have looked like. Which elements of this worship service are similar to the elements of the services at your church today? Why are these elements important? Why do you think they have lasted until the present time?

4. Why were the people weeping (9)? Why were they told not to weep (10-11)? Were the spiritual leaders ignoring the people’s desire to repent? What was the Feast of Booths (14)? How was the recent return from exile (17) similar to the original event the Feast of Booths commemorated?

5. Two key words in this chapter are “understand” and “rejoice/joy.” How many times do you see these words mentioned? What does God want us to learn from this chapter about understanding His word and taking joy in His word and in obedience to it?