Harmful Substitutes

Theme: The Snare of Idolatry

Objectives:

Know: The Israelites turned from following God to worship idols and God was very angry with them.

Think: Always maintain the mindset that God is to be my only object of worship.

Do: Worship God alone. Remove from your life anything that prevents you from giving Him the worship and obedience He is due.

Scripture: Exodus 32:1-35

Notes and questions:

B1 Outline

• Moses
• On the mountain
• Off the mountain
• He breaks the tablets of God’s law
• He breaks idol
• He gives drink
• He orders judgment
• He prays for the people

B2 Setting: Mt Sinai

B3 Time

• A mere 60 days after Passover, Moses goes up the mountain to receive the tablets written by God. This is also only ~4 days from God’s glory on Mt. Sinai.
• A few days after Moses goes up the mountain, the people complain to Aaron about Moses and Aaron makes the golden calf.
• After the calf is made, the people worship it and sacrifice to it.
• http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-exodus-route-travel-times-distances-days.htm
• What in the world is wrong with Aaron? See Exodus 24:9-11. He SAW God, yet allows and makes the golden calf? What is wrong with the people?
• Do miracles, signs and wonders, and seeing God’s glory always convert the sinner?

B4 Exodus 32:1-6,

• What is the people's attitude? They say, "Make gods for us."
• Why did Aaron make the golden calf?
• In Exodus 32:4, who is they?
• In Exodus 32:5, why did Aaron proclaim a fast to Yahweh, while the people said, ...gods?"
• After their sacrifices, what did the people do?
• How does this attitude and action happen in churches today?
• What is the responsibility of leaders?
• What is the responsibility of the people?

B5 Exodus 32:7-10,

• How did God know the people had sinned? What details did He give that proved He knew?
• Why did God want to destroy His special people, Israel?
• What does God know about you or me?
• What are some things that will make God angry?

B6 Exodus 32:11-14,

• Should we pray for others, interceding for them?

• Did God really change His mind?
• God always has conditions in mind.
• Here, if one would plead with Him, He would change His mind.
• The condition is usually understood, not always stated.
• God wants repentance.
• God would rather have mercy, than judgment. YET!
• Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Luke 13:3 - "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
• Revelation 2:5 - `Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent.
• Revelation 2:22 - `Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.

B7 Exodus 32:15-18,

• Is there any significance that God wrote these tablets? Does it differ from the words given to the prophets and Apostles?
• How do you imagine Moses tone of voice when he said, “...it is the sound of singing that I hear?” Was it in sorrow, anger, disappointment, hurt, etc.?

B8 Exodus 32: 19-20

• Was Moses’ anger justified?
• Why did He throw the tablets down?

B9 Exodus 32:21-24,

• What is wrong with Aaron?
• Why do humans like lying?
• Shouldn’t we deal with reality and truth?
• How can we better do this?

B10 Exodus 32:25-29,

• The word for out of control means loose, that is, without control, self-control. Some older translations use the word naked, because of the idea of uncover, and it is used this way in Leviticus.
• Did Aaron let them get out of control, or did they choose to be so against Aaron’s wishes?
• Why would their enemies make fun of them? See Proverbs 14:34.
• Why the command to kill? See Exodus 32:27.
• If many were guilty, when only a few died? Most reasonable would be those who died were the instigators.
• Matthew Henry Commentary

• 32:21-29 “Never did any wise man make a more frivolous and foolish excuse than that of Aaron. We must never be drawn into sin by any thing man can say or do to us; for men can but tempt us to sin, they cannot force us. The approach of Moses turned the dancing into trembling. They were exposed to shame by their sin. The course Moses took to roll away this reproach, was, not by concealing the sin, or putting any false colour upon it, but by punishing it. The Levites were to slay the ringleaders in this wickedness; yet none were executed but those who openly stood forth. Those are marked for ruin who persist in sin: those who in the morning were shouting and dancing, before night were dying. Such sudden changes do the judgments of the Lord sometimes make with sinners that are secure and jovial in their sin.”

B11 Exodus 32: 30-35

• Why did Moses go back up the mountain to make atonement for their sin? Did he think that maybe more would die?
• Was he showing compassion?
• What attitude was Moses showing in Exodus 32:32? Was he serious in his request? Compare Romans 9:3.
• What is God’s answer to Moses in Exodus 32:33? Who is to die for their sin? What hope is there for anyone? See 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and 1 Peter 1:18-21.
• Note the seriousness of sin.
• How do we avoid sin?

B12 Next week:

• A place to meet with God
• Theme: The glory of God’s presence.
• Text: Exodus 40:1-38

Written in Stone

Theme: Rules to live by

Objectives:

Know: God gave the Israelites ten commands that promoted a good relationship with God and their fellow man.

Think: Be conscious of the fact that the principles drawn from the Ten Commandments can guide every interaction with God and man.

Do: live out the principles of the Ten Commandments out of love for God and those arounds us.

Scripture: Exodus 20:1-21

Notes and questions:

B1 The purpose of the Ten Commandments

• God is King of a kingdom. These are the summary of God’s rules.
• These reflect God’s character. He does not murder, lie, covet, etc.
• The universe and all the people on earth live best and at peace living these rules.
• The rules affect thoughts, desires, words, and deeds.

B2 Two groups of laws

• Those in humanity’s responsibility towards God.
• Those in humanity’s responsibility towards each other.

B3 Nine of the ten are repeated in the New Testament. The only one not repeated is the Sabbath.

B4 Are rules and laws still needed?

B5 What is the general attitude and actions of humanity? Do we obey or disobey? See Romans 3:10-18

B6 Exodus 20:1, who spoke these words to Israel?

B7 Exodus 20:2,

• Who brought Israel out of slavery?
• How does God identify Himself?

B8 Exodus 20:3-6,

• Why is He the one and only God?
• Why are they not to make an image and worship it? See Isaiah 44:6-20
• Isn’t jealousy wrong? Why, then, does God describe Himself as a jealous God?
• There is a difference between jealousy and envy.
• Envy is wanting something another has, or equal or better than another person.
• Jealousy is wanting what is ours but stolen, etc.
• Why are descendants of evil people punished by God?
• This passage contrasts God’s grace and mercy with punishment.
• Descendants suffer from the actions of their ancestors. An example might be one who gambles all his money away and leaving the children suffering from need. Sometimes the children cannot recover financially. Guilt is not passed down, but the bad choices and consequences thereof often do get passed down. See Jeremiah 31:29-30 and Ezekiel 18:2-32

B9 Exodus 20:7, What does taking God’s name in vain mean? What are some examples?

B10 Exodus 20:8-11

• What kind of work could the Jews do? See Matthew 12:1-15 and John 7:22-23. The Jews accused the Lord Jesus of being evil, but He tells them the true interpretation of Exodus 20
• Could a Jew hire a Gentile to do the work that the Jew could not? See Exodus 20:10
• What does Exodus 20:11 state about creation?

B11 Exodus 20:12, How do we honor our father and mother? Consider this article: https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/june-2013/honor-your-mother-and-your-father/

B12 Exodus 20:13, What is murder?

• Here the Hebrew word is different than the ordinary word for kill. Some say there are 7 different words in Hebrew for kill. The word here is raw-tsakh' (H7523) and is used for premeditated, planned, killing of people. See Numbers 35:16-21, Judges 20:4, 1 Kings 21:19, Psalm 94:6, and Jeremiah 7:9.
• See also Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:21, and Proverbs 6:16-19.

B13 Exodus 20:14,

• How does the Lord Jesus clarify committing adultery? See Matthew 5:27-28.
• What does adultery do to the family and other relationships?
• Children: http://aboutaffairs.com/2008/12/how-do-affairs-effect-children-part-i/ This is from a not-necessarily Christian author. It points out how adultery messes with a child’s mind. There will be anxiety and other issues.
• Spouse: I can’t vouch for everything at this site, but it does have some good info from a Christian view. http://www.dovechristiancounseling.com/Why-Adultry-is-Wrong.html

B14 Exodus 20:15,

• What is stealing? How many different ways do we steal in work, family, home, and church?
• What does God hate stealing?

B15 Exodus 20:16,

• Why does God hate liars?
• What is the core characteristic of God? Truth!
• Is there a difference between a little white lie and big lies according to God’s standards?
• Is reality a truth? Or, is reality what we choose it is?
• If truth is only relative, does being short changed by the cashier also? Would anyone just accept whatever change is returned?

B16 Exodus 20:17,

• What is coveting? See Joshua 7:21.
• What is the underlying problem with covetousness?
• See Ephesians 5:5. Why is being covetous so dangerous?
• How does covetousness affect the church?
• Sometimes this is called the respectable sin, why?
• What are we to be seeking? See Matthew 6:33.
• How does this sin affect relationships in the home and work?

B17 What is the fear of the Lord? How is this different from what the demons do (James 2:19)?

B18 How is society failing on its treatment of others?

B19 What do we do when we are convicted by God that we have sinned? What is one proof that we have repented? See 2 Chronicles 33:10-20 and Luke 19:1-10.

B20 How do we find contentment? I’m not a big fan of John MacArthur, but this article summarizes it well. http://www.gty.org/resources/Questions/QA149/What-Is-the-Secret-to-Contentment

B21 How does truth help us?

B22 Next week

• Harmful Substitutes
• Theme: The snare of Idolatry
• Scripture: Exodus 32:1-35

1 John 5:1-12

A1 Christian proofs 1 John 5:1-4

• Belief
• Jesus is the Christ
• The Messiah from all eternity
• The Messiah of Jews and Gentiles
• My Messiah
• Love
• For the Father
• For fellow believers
• Obey
• God's commandments
• Not Old Testament law but the New Testament rules given 
• By Jesus directly
• By Jesus through the Apostles
• In thoughts, desires, words, and deeds
• Not burdenshome (compare the difficulty of Old Testament law)
• Overcome
• World (the system with its
• Beliefs
• Standards
• Actions
• Condition to be able to overcome (born again)
• Faith
• Believes God
• What He says (Scriptures)
• What He does (for example, the miracles the Lord Jesus did)
• Has the element of trust, too. We need both for salvation. We must met God's conditions.
• The necessity to overcome

A2 Christian overcoming 1 John 5:5-12

• Faith
• Jesus is the Son of God
• Jesus our example
• He overcame the world
• He came by water and blood
• Identity
• Witnesses
• Heavenly
• God the Father 
• God the Son
• God the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:7 is questionable authority, but see the writings of Dean John Burgon)
• Earthly
• Water
• Blood
• Accepting testimony/witness
• Challenge do we accept the testimony of a man but not God's?
• Faith is 
• Reasonable
• Personal
• Deciding
• True faith VS False faith
• Believe God's testimony
• Eternal life
• The life of the Son
• Not believe God's testimony
• No eternal life
• No life of the Son

Advent Calendar, 25 Dec 16

Advent Weekly Themes, Daily Scriptures

I expanded Pastor Dr. James Leonard's recommendation by supplying the Scripture reading and placing each day on a separate page.

Please read these passages, think on them, and study them.

Pastor Dr. James Leonard"s post can be found here:

<http://treasuresoldandnewbiblicaltexts.blogspot.com/2007/11/advent-weekly-themes-daily-scriptures.html>

Christmas Eve or Day: Christ is born--John 1:1-18 or Matthew 1:18-2:23

Candle lighting: Two purple candles followed by the pink candle, then the third purple candle, and finally the Christ candle (the white candle)

Scripture memory: John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

"IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." (John 1:1-18, NKJV)

Suggested Hymn: What Child Is This?

Bonus Hymn: O Holy Night

Advent Calendar, 24 Dec 16

Advent Weekly Themes, Daily Scriptures

I expanded Pastor Dr. James Leonard's recommendation by supplying the Scripture reading and placing each day on a separate page.

Please read these passages, think on them, and study them.

Pastor Dr. James Leonard"s post can be found here:

http://treasuresoldandnewbiblicaltexts.blogspot.com/2007/11/advent-weekly-themes-daily-scriptures.html

Saturday Matthew 2:1-23 “The Visit of the Magi”

"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”  Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”  Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene." (Matthew 2:1-23, NKJV)

Suggested Hymn: Hark! the Herald Angels Sing