Old Testament – Page 8 – Michelle Lesley

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Zechariah 7

In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. ²Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord, ³saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

⁴Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: ⁵“Say to all the people of the land and the priests, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? ⁶And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? ⁷Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?”

⁸And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, ⁹“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, ¹⁰do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” ¹¹But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. ¹²They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. ¹³“As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, ¹⁴“and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.”

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the theme or purpose of the book of Zechariah? Which other Old Testament, post-exilic prophet was a contemporary of Zechariah’s? What is the historical backdrop for the book of Zechariah?

2. What is the “weeping and abstaining in the fifth month” referred to by Sharezer and Regem-melech? (2-5) Instead of saying, “Yes, keep the fast,” or “No, forego the fast,” what does God say instead? (4-7) During the seventy years of exile, were the people keeping the fast out of love and reverence for God or simply as a self-pitying ritual? (5-6) Which is more important to God, the outward actions of obedience, or obedience from a heart of love for Him?

3. Examine your motives for going to church, worship, serving others, giving offerings, studying your Bible, and praying. Do you do these things out of rote obedience or because you love God? Pray and ask God to change your change your heart in any area in which you are not acting out of love for Him.

4. What instructions did God give the people in verses 9-10? What does the word “they,” the use of the past tense (refusED, turnED, etc.), and the phrase “former prophets” in verses 11-14 indicate about the previous recipients of these instructions? Who were these recipients? What was Israel’s response to God’s instructions before the exile? (11-12) What was God’s response to Israel’s disobedience? (13-14)

5. Why did God have Zechariah tell the people about Israel’s past disobedience and His punishment of that disobedience? (11-14) What can we, as Christians learn from this passage about the importance God places on obedience from the heart? Though verses 9-10 were written specifically to Israel, does God want Christians to carry out these same principles? How do you know? What are some examples of ways you can carry out the spirit of God’s instructions in verses 9-10?

Wednesday's Word

Wednesday’s Word ~ Haggai 1

May 18, 2016May 16, 2016 Michelle Lesley

Haggai 1

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: ²“Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” ³Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, ⁴“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? ⁵Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. ⁶You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

⁷“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. ⁸Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. ⁹You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.¹⁰Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce.¹¹And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”

¹²Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. ¹³Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord‘s message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” ¹⁴And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came andworked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, ¹⁵on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the purpose of the book of Haggai? Which genre(s) of biblical literature (prophecy, epistle, narrative, wisdom, etc.) is the book of Haggai? What is the historical backdrop for this book?

2. What was the people’s position on rebuilding the temple? (2) Did God agree with them? What did God say about the priority of rebuilding the temple? (3-4) Read Acts 7:48-50. If God doesn’t need a building to live in, why was it so important to Him, and to the people, that they rebuild the temple? What are the two reasons God gave for rebuilding the temple? (8)

3. List the negative consequences the people experienced for neglecting to rebuild the temple. (6,9,10-11) What reason did God give for sending these negative consequences (9), and what was their intended purpose? What does God mean when He says, “Consider your ways,” in verse 5? In verse 7?

4. What were the two ways the people responded to the prophecy? (12) What were the two ways God responded back to them? (13-14) How is this similar to God’s response to our repentance? How would the words “restoration” and “reconciliation” apply in both this passage and in our repentance today?

5. What does this passage teach us about prioritizing our relationship with Christ, and our obedience to His word, above all other temporal concerns and activities? What can we learn about the negative consequences of sin? Has God ever used the negative consequences of sin to get your attention and draw you to repentance? What is God’s response to our repentance and obedience?

Wednesday's Word

Wednesday’s Word ~ Zephaniah 1

May 11, 2016May 10, 2016 Michelle Lesley

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Zephaniah 1

The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

²“I will utterly sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
³“I will sweep away man and beast;
    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
    and the fish of the sea,
and the rubble with the wicked.
    I will cut off mankind
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
⁴“I will stretch out my hand against Judah
    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
⁵those who bow down on the roofs
    to the host of the heavens,
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
    and yet swear by Milcom,
⁶those who have turned back from following the Lord,
    who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

⁷Be silent before the Lord God!
    For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
    and consecrated his guests.
⁸And on the day of the Lord‘s sacrifice—
“I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
    and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
⁹On that day I will punish
    everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master’s house
    with violence and fraud.

¹⁰“On that day,” declares the Lord,
    “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
    a loud crash from the hills.
¹¹Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
    For all the traders are no more;
    all who weigh out silver are cut off.
¹²At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
    and I will punish the men
who are complacent,
    those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
    nor will he do ill.’
¹³Their goods shall be plundered,
    and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
    they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
    they shall not drink wine from them.”

¹⁴The great day of the Lord is near,
    near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
    the mighty man cries aloud there.
¹⁵A day of wrath is that day,
    a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
    a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
¹⁶    a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
    and against the lofty battlements.

¹⁷I will bring distress on mankind,
    so that they shall walk like the blind,
    because they have sinned against the Lord;
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
    and their flesh like dung.
¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold
    shall be able to deliver them
    on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
In the fire of his jealousy,
    all the earth shall be consumed;
for a full and sudden end
    he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Questions to Consider:

1. Who wrote the book of Zephaniah? Which genre of biblical literature is this book? Who was the intended audience of the book? What is the theme or purposed of this book?

2. What is the theme of Zephaniah 1? Which aspect of God’s character does this chapter showcase? Sometimes people think of God as wrathful in the Old Testment and loving in the New Testament. Is this true? How can God be good, loving, and wrathful all at the same time? How does God’s wrath demonstrate His goodness?

3. During which king’s reign did Zephaniah prophesy? (1) What impact might his prophecy have had on the king, and, through the king’s actions, on the people?

4. What is the sin the priests are committing in verses 4-6? Verse 5 says the priests “bow down and swear to the Lord.” Who else does it say they bow and swear to? Why would this anger God? Which Scriptures are the priests violating?

5. How do verses 14-18 describe the “great day of the Lord” (the day of judgment)? List the descriptors following the phrase “a day of…” in verses 15-16. Why will God bring judgment on the earth? (17) Why do Christians not need to fear God’s judgment and wrath against sin?

Wednesday's Word

Wednesday’s Word ~ Nahum 1

April 27, 2016April 26, 2016 Michelle Lesley

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Nahum 1

An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.

²The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
    the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
    and keeps wrath for his enemies.
³The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
    and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
    and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
⁴He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
    he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither;
    the bloom of Lebanon withers.
⁵The mountains quake before him;
    the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
    the world and all who dwell in it.

⁶Who can stand before his indignation?
    Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
    and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
⁷The Lord is good,
    a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.
⁸    But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
    and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
⁹What do you plot against the Lord?
    He will make a complete end;
    trouble will not rise up a second time.
¹⁰For they are like entangled thorns,
    like drunkards as they drink;
    they are consumed like stubble fully dried.
¹¹From you came one
    who plotted evil against the Lord,
    a worthless counselor.

¹²Thus says the Lord,
“Though they are at full strength and many,
    they will be cut down and pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,
    I will afflict you no more.
¹³And now I will break his yoke from off you
    and will burst your bonds apart.”

¹⁴The Lord has given commandment about you:
“No more shall your name be perpetuated;
from the house of your gods I will cut off
the carved image and the metal image.
I will make your grave, for you are vile.”

¹⁵Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him
    who brings good news,
    who publishes peace!
Keep your feasts, O Judah;
    fulfill your vows,
for never again shall the worthless pass through you;
    he is utterly cut off.

Questions to Consider:

1. Which genre of biblical literature (epistle, wisdom, prophecy, historical narrative, etc.) is the book of Nahum? The theme of Nahum is God’s judgment against which people? (1) Which book of the Bible would you read to find out more about God’s dealings with Nineveh?

2. Why was God going to execute judgment on Nineveh? (8,11,14) How and why would God’s judgment of Nineveh have been a comfort to Judah? (12-13,15)

3. Verses 1-3a and 6 highlight which attribute of God’s nature? Verses 3b-5 showcase His power over what? What emotion and response are these verses designed to evoke from the enemies of God? From God’s people, Judah? How can it be a comfort to Christians to know that God will one day judge His enemies?

4. What does verse 7 say about the nature and character of God? Does this contradict the previous six verses showcasing His wrath and power? Why not? How can God be simultaneously good and wrathful? Would it be right to say that God’s wrath against sin demonstrates His goodness?

5. Compare verse 3 to Jonah 3 and 2 Peter 3:9. What do all of these passages teach us about God’s patience towards sinners and His desire for them to repent? Is God’s patience ever an excuse to put off salvation or obedience to Him?

Wednesday's Word

Wednesday’s Word ~ Obadiah

March 30, 2016March 29, 2016 Michelle Lesley

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Obadiah

The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the Lord,
    and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
²Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
    you shall be utterly despised.
³The pride of your heart has deceived you,
    you who live in the clefts of the rock,
    in your lofty dwelling,
who say in your heart,
    “Who will bring me down to the ground?”
⁴Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
    though your nest is set among the stars,
    from there I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.

⁵If thieves came to you,
    if plunderers came by night—
    how you have been destroyed!—
    would they not steal only enough for themselves?
If grape gatherers came to you,
    would they not leave gleanings?
⁶How Esau has been pillaged,
    his treasures sought out!
⁷All your allies have driven you to your border;
    those at peace with you have deceived you;
they have prevailed against you;
    those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you—
    you have no understanding.

⁸Will I not on that day, declares the Lord,
    destroy the wise men out of Edom,
    and understanding out of Mount Esau?
⁹And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman,
    so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.

¹⁰Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
    shame shall cover you,
    and you shall be cut off forever.
¹¹On the day that you stood aloof,
    on the day that strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
    and cast lots for Jerusalem,
    you were like one of them.
¹²But do not gloat over the day of your brother
    in the day of his misfortune;
do not rejoice over the people of Judah
    in the day of their ruin;
do not boast
    in the day of distress.
¹³Do not enter the gate of my people
    in the day of their calamity;
do not gloat over his disaster
    in the day of his calamity;
do not loot his wealth
    in the day of his calamity.
¹⁴Do not stand at the crossroads
    to cut off his fugitives;
do not hand over his survivors
    in the day of distress.

¹⁵For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
    your deeds shall return on your own head.
¹⁶For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
    so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
    and shall be as though they had never been.
¹⁷But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
    and it shall be holy,
and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
¹⁸The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
    and the house of Joseph a flame,
    and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
    and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.

¹⁹Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
    and those of the Shephelah shall possess the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
    and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
²⁰The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
    shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
    shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
²¹Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
    to rule Mount Esau,
    and the kingdom shall be the Lord‘s.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the theme or purpose of the book of Obadiah? What is the historical backdrop of this book? Why is it important to understand Scripture in light of its historical and cultural setting?

2. Which nation is God speaking directly to in this book? (Who is “you” in verses 1-4?) But which nation would have been the one to receive this book of prophecy? (20) Where do the terms “Jacob” (10, 18) and “Edom/Esau” (1, 6, 18) come from originally, and why are these men’s names used to refer to two nations in this passage? “Jacob” refers to which nation? “Edom/Esau” refers to which nation?

3. Why is God bringing judgment upon Edom? (15, 10) What can we learn from this passage about God’s judgment upon the enemies of His people both in this immediate situation with Israel, and in the future final day of judgment? How does the message of Obadiah work hand in hand with the message of these passages?

4. The theme of most of the Old Testament prophetic books is a warning to God’s people, Israel, to repent of their sin before God judges them. In Obadiah, we see God’s promise of judgment for the sin of a pagan nation. What does this teach us about God’s view of sin and repentance? How do Obadiah, God’s judgment on Israel, and Romans 2:1-11 show that God is “no respecter of persons” when it comes to judging sin?

5. How does knowing that God is a righteous and just judge impact your prayer life, your worship, your sense of urgency in sharing the gospel, and your desire to take vengeance on others?