Tag Archives: Bible Study

Moses sets up God’s Tent (Exodus 40)

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Bible Summary:

Moses sets up the Tent of God’s Presence with the Ten Commandment tablets, two years after he led the people of Israel out of Egypt, and then dedicates it to God. God visits the Tent as a cloud with dazzling lights. Each time the cloud lifts, they move the camp.

My Thoughts:

Worship Center: Moses established the worship center and holy rituals, followed by the Jews for the last 3,500 years. The Christian religions incorporate many of these rituals since Jesus was a Jew and practiced them.

Traveling with God: The people of Israel feared God’s presence with them during the time of Moses, but I am sure most people today would love to have God visibly with them, especially in their time of need or “wandering”.

Prayer: Please be with us God. Help us through our suffering, provide us what we need, give us hope to fulfill our dreams for You, and forever shine Your light upon us to bring happiness and joy.

Jesus says you are like salt and light (Matthew 5: 13-16)

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Bible Summary:

Jesus tells the crowd at the Sermon on the Mount they are like salt for all mankind and a light for the whole world. “Your light must shine before people, so they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven”

My Thoughts:

Salt and Light: Salt brings out the goodness in foods during cooking. Light shines for all to see. Salt also preserves foods for a long time. So, show your goodness for all to see. Be the example they can follow to preserve mankind forever.

Jesus gives us the Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 1-12)

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Bible Summary:

Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes:

  • Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  • Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
  • Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
  • Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
  • Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
  • Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
  • Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
  • Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  • Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

– From the English Standard Version Bible at Bible.com which is how I know it.

My Thoughts:

Doing right can be hard, but rewarding: In less than 150 words, Jesus touches each person’s heart, since they had experienced at least one of the characteristics – poor in spirit, mourning, meek, and hunger or thirst; teaches them how to behave – merciful, pure of heart, peaceful, and righteous; and warns them that doing right can cause others to revile and persecute them, but they will be rewarded in heaven.

Foreshadowing: the last part about persecuted prophets describes the past but also foreshadows what will happen to Jesus and the apostles.

Second Ten Commandment Tablets (Exodus 34)

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Bible Summary:

God tells Moses to cut two new stones tablets and bring them up Mount Sinai so He can rewrite the Ten Commandments. Moses pleads for Him to come with the people of Israel, so God renews His covenant and says He will clear the way for them. He tells Moses not to make any treaties because it could be a fatal trap. They are to destroy the other people’s religious objects and not worship their goddess Asherah. God reminds Moses to keep all the commandments. Moses stays forty days and nights, eating and drinking nothing, while rewriting the Ten Commandments on the tablets. Moses returns from Mount Sinai with a shining face from speaking to God and the people are afraid to go near him.

My Thoughts:

Anger: Moses took another forty days to create a second pair of Ten Commandment tablets after he broke the first in a fit of anger because the people of Israel worshiped the gold calf.

Most of the time, anger is triggered by something that happens different from what we expect. And, even grown-ups can have tantrums and break things. If you feel anger coming on, just walk away from the situation until you cool down. Then, take time to think about what caused the anger. What expectation was not met and is that expectation really important enough that you are willing to ruin a relationship over it? After you calm down, talk to the person you were getting angry with. Communication can only help you both move toward common expectations, or at least acceptance of each other’s differences.

Peace be with you.

Jesus calls, preaches, and heals (Matthew 4: 18-25)

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Bible Summary:

Jesus walks along Lake Galilee, sees two brothers Simon Peter and Andrew catching fish, and tells them to join him so they can catch men. They leave at once with Jesus. Later, they meet James and John readying their nets in a boat with their father Zebedee. Jesus calls them and they too leave with him.

Jesus preaches the Good News all over Galilee and heals people of many diseases. News spreads throughout Syria and people bring him all who are sick – and Jesus heals them all. Large crowds follow him around the ten towns near Jerusalem.

My Thoughts:

When God Calls: Jesus calls these four men and they drop everything to join him. When God calls we need to drop everything and follow Him. The challenge today is hearing Him above all the other choices.

Whole Healing: Jesus heals both body and soul of the people around Jerusalem. He shows us that wellness is related as much to mental wellbeing as physical health. Lifting people’s spirits likely touched more people and did more good than the physical healing, though the latter gets more press because “proof” is in seeing.

Jesus Begins to Preach (Matthew 4: 12-17)

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Bible Summary:

Jesus hears that John the Baptist is imprisoned so he flees from Nazareth to Capernaum, near Lake Galilee. This location matches what prophet Isaiah foretold and is the land of the people who live in darkness that will see a great light, the Gentiles. Jesus begins to preach his message, “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near.”

My Thoughts:

Prophecies: Jesus matching so many prophecies (born in Bethlehem, flees to Egypt so they can say he came out of Egypt, lives in Nazareth, moves to Galilee) sure seems too convenient, like Matthew “fit” Jesus into the criteria of the Messiah.

The Message: Jesus begins preaching in Galilee, telling people to turn away from their sinful behavior in his campaign to teach people to be kind to each other and do right.

People do not like to be told they are wrong and especially when they are doing wrong, even though in their hearts they know it is true. Take a look today, inside at the thoughts that come up and outside at the things that are done or said. Be the witness to your own behavior and decide if you have room for improvement. I know I have areas where I continue to struggle, so keep the faith and with God’s help we can beat them together. Peace.

God agrees to go with the people of Israel (Exodus 33)

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Bible Summary:

God tells Moses to take the people of Israel from Mount Sinai to the land He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He says he will drive out all the other people from this fertile land, but He cannot join them since they are so stubborn. The people mourn that God is not happy with them and stop wearing jewelry at His request.

Moses sets up the Tent of His presences outside of each new camp. Whenever he goes to the Tent, a pillar of cloud joins him and the people bow down when they see the cloud.

God changes His mind since He is pleased with Moses and now agrees to go with the people of Israel, plus to give them victory.

My Thoughts:

History of the victor: God agrees to drive all the other people (Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) out of the fertile land for the people of Israel. Every victor believes God was on their side for the win and sanctioned the contest against the loser. I wonder what God had against those other people.

Temptations of Christ (Matthew 4: 1-11)

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Bible Summary:

Jesus goes to the desert for forty days and nights without food. The Devil comes along and tempts him three times to prove he is the Son of God.

  • First, since Jesus is hungry, the Devil challenges him to make bread out of stones. Jesus says people cannot live on bread alone, but also need the word of God.
  • Then, the Devil takes Jesus to the top of the highest temple in Jerusalem and tells him to jump so the angels will catch him. Jesus tells him not to put God to the test.
  • Last, the Devil takes Jesus to the highest mountain and offers him all the kingdoms of the world if he will just worship the Devil. Jesus commands Satan to go away since we are to worship God and serve only Him.

My Thoughts:
Three Temptations of Life: I believe these temptations of christ are like the food, fame, and riches of today.

  • Food: Bread, signifying food in general, is not enough to sustain life. We also need to nourish our souls with spiritual and social interactions. Food cares for our body, but worship and relationships care for our mental health.
  • Fame and Foolishness: I have a couple interpretations of the Devil tempting Jesus to jump off the temple. First is fame, which is a great temptation of today. Many famous people have reached the peak of their careers only to plummet because they are not grounded spiritually. In other words, they do not have angels to catch them so when they test God they fail.
  • Another interpretation is foolishness, or showing off to gain the approval of others. Many teens fit this profile, thinking they are invincible and doing foolish things that put their lives and others’ at risk.  But, sometimes the angels are not there to catch them either. Case in point is an 18-year-old who fell 60 feet to his death at Old Man’s Cave in Logan, Ohio last weekend because he was playing around off the path (Man falls to his death at Old Man’s Cave story at the Circleville Herald).  Please stay on the path and be safe.
  • Riches: The devil offers Jesus all the riches of the world if he will worship him. People that worship money discover at the end of their lives that it really was not worth it. Many forsake family and friends for their riches, but ultimately learn that we all come into this world with nothing and leave this world the same way.

Israelites defy God, worship gold calf (Exodus 32)

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Bible Summary:

Moses is gone forty days and nights up Mount Sinai, so the people of Israel give up on him and ask Aaron to make a god to lead them. Aaron asks for all their gold earrings, melts them down, and molds them into a calf. He then builds an altar to the gold calf and announces a festival for the next day.

God tells Moses the people of Israel have rejected Him, so He is going to destroy them and make a great nation from his descendants. Moses pleads for their lives and God changes His mind.

Moses returns down the mountain with the stone commandments. He is furious to find people worshiping the gold calf, so he smashes the tablets. He grinds the gold calf into powder and makes the people drink it. Then, he calls everyone over to God’s side of the gate to the camp, but only the Levites join him, so Moses tells them to kill the rest, even if they are brother, friend or neighbor. They obey and slaughter 3,000 people that day.

The next day Moses tells the people they have committed a terrible sin. He heads back up the mountain and asks God for forgiveness for their sins. God tells Moses to lead the people to the place he promised with the help of a guiding angel. He then sends disease on the people for their sin.

My Thoughts:

Jealous and vengeful God: This jealous and vengeful God is in stark contrast to the loving God we learn about in the New Testament. How can they be one in the same? How could God think about wiping out millions of people just because they worship a golden calf? This sure sounds like men used the name of God to threaten people into doing their bidding. They are looking for the same obedience as the King of Egypt.

Jealousy: Jealousy can make people angry enough to lash out against others, like this story of God. Jealousy comes from a sense of insecurity and a lack of confidence. A wife may fear her husband will find someone better. A man may fear a colleague getting promoted over him.

Challenge your jealousy with the confidence that God made you beautiful the way you are and gave you abilities to do amazing things. You just need to believe!

John baptizes Jesus (Matthew 3: 13-17)

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Bible Summary:

Jesus arrives at the Jordan River to be baptized by John. John says he should be baptized by him instead. Jesus tells him to continue as God requires. John agrees and baptizes him. As Jesus comes up from the water, the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descends on him. Then God says from heaven, “This is my Son, with whom I am pleased.”

My Thoughts:

Within a couple of pages, Matthew’s story of Jesus jumps from birth in Bethlehem to rebirth in adulthood through baptism in the Jordan River. One is the birth into the realm of our physical world and the other a birth into the spiritual world.

I believe we make the transition from childhood to adulthood at the point that we experience this connection with the spiritual world.

  • It is the time that we realize life is more than our job, our possessions, our wants and our needs.
  • It is the time that we truly see the beauty in everything and everyone around us.
  • It is the time that we look around and see how we can make this a better place.
  • It is the time that we stop pushing others aside and give them a hand instead.
  • It is the time that we realize we are part of a greater good, a greater being.
  • It is the time when we are filled with joy and harmony and nothing can take its place.

And, God is pleased.