Week 1 Day 4 Love the Lord
Yesterday we were thinking about the Pharisees, who strived to keep the Law but had no room in their lives for mercy and compassion. Jesus was a daily irritation to them because here was a man that was genuinely good, who knew the Law better than anyone else, but then he would go and associate with tax collectors and sinners rather than spend time with them arguing about the minutiae of the Law. He completely upset the orderly world they were trying to live in.
Let’s see how Jesus answers when he was asked what he thought was the greatest commandment. Do you remember what his reply was? Look up Matt. 22:35-40 and write out his answer.
Now write out what Jesus says is the next commandment and next to the first in importance.
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Jesus was saying that if we keep only these two then we are keeping them all. How is this even possible as there are hundreds and thousands of laws and statutes? In your own words explain how keeping these two commandments would make it possible for us to keep the entirety of the Law.
I can remember when my kids were little and I had sent them to clean up some toys they had been playing with. I was busy elsewhere and when I passed by the room I see them playing with something and so I remind them that if they take a few minutes and pick up their room then they can play. A few minutes later the conversation is repeated. And finally I walk by the room and still it is not clean and they are still messing around. As I step into the room, the kids look up and one of them says, ‘Mommy, I love you’ frustrated I look at them and I say, ‘you know if you really loved me, you would have picked up this room the first time I asked’. As I said the words I could feel the Holy Spirit give me a nudge…needless to say, I stopped yelling at the kids for not cleaning and made sure they were finished before I went back to doing what I was doing. Another life lesson learned about how I treat God taught to me by my kids. Ouch!
Back to Hosea, what do you now think of his obedience in following God and marrying a woman of harlotry? Why would a Pharisee never have done what Hosea did?
Why did God ask Hosea to marry a harlot? Look at the verse again to get a hint.
Hosea 1
2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:
“ Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For the land has committed great harlotry
By departing from the LORD.”
How does Hosea being obedient show that he loved God with his heart, mind, body, soul and spirit? How does it show he loved his neighbor as himself?
Why or how do the Pharisees fall short in keeping these commandments?
So thinking back to what we have discovered…mercy has to do with love and knowledge has to do with much more than just mental knowing…are you beginning to get a picture of what it is God is saying to His people. Take a moment and write out what the Spirit is saying to you through Hosea 6:6 in your own words. Now try giving examples of how this can personally apply to your life. (But remember, I am not talking about a list of dos and don’ts, I am wanting you to think about examples that cover all aspects of your life; body, soul, heart, mind, spirit and strength)
Why is loving God on just an emotional level not enough?
Do you tend to obey God like Hosea (wholeheartedly) or like the Pharisees (do things but no emotion) or like disobedient kids (saying I love you but no action)? Truthfully, we are usually a combination of all of the above. Try to think of an example of each. If none come to mind, ask the Holy Spirit to give some insight.
Do not beat yourself up for the lack of genuine obedience in your life. Instead, take the time now to ask God to help you to be more like Hosea and less like a Pharisee or a child each and every day. And when you do fall short, remember God has shown us mercy and it is possible to repent and then obey!
Showing posts with label sacrifice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sacrifice. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Week 1 Day 3 Mercy vs Sacrifice
Hosea Week 1, Day 3 Mercy vs Sacrifice
We are going to continue on today with the theme of obedience that we took a quick look at yesterday. Remember the verses that we looked at in Hosea:
Hosea 6:5-7
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
And your judgments are like light that goes forth.
6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 “ But like men they transgressed the covenant;
There they dealt treacherously with Me.
Looking at Strong’s Concordance we see this word: mercy
Checed 2617 goodness, kindness, faithfulness
And translated in the King James these different ways (the number refers to how many times it was translated as this word) — mercy 149, kindness 40, lovingkindness 30, goodness 12, kindly 5, merciful 4, favour 3, good 1, goodliness 1
Is this giving you a fuller idea of what mercy may have meant in the Old Testament. Seeing it translated so many different ways helps us to once again realize that in the thinking of the ancient Hebrew there is more of a link between what was felt and what was thought and what was done; a much more holistic way of looking at life.
Verse 6 of Hosea 6 is quoted by Jesus at least a couple of times during his 3 ½ year ministry. I am thinking it must have been pretty important if Jesus uses it as a reference to what he is trying to teach. Let’s take a quick look.
Matthew 9
9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
What is Jesus teaching here?
Matthew 12
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even[b] of the Sabbath.”
What is Jesus teaching here?
So here is the Greek word that is used in the New Testament for mercy:
eleos 1656 translated mercy every time
1) mercy: kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them
a) of men towards men: to exercise the virtue of mercy, show one's self merciful
b) of God towards men: in general providence; the mercy and clemency of God in providing and offering to men salvation by Christ
c) the mercy of Christ, whereby at his return to judgment he will bless true Christians with eternal life
Now let’s take a moment and try and put this all into context. We know that God would get upset when sacrifice was just performed out of duty or manipulation rather than love. Our example of Saul was a good one. And we see this most emphatically with the many exchanges that Jesus had with the Pharisees. Because remember these were the religious leaders of Jesus’ time and they were great at making sacrifices. They knew the Law and took great pride in being to point out to others when they were not following the Law the way they felt it should be followed. They would argue amongst themselves as to the exact meaning of certain laws according to which Rabbi they followed.
We have two perfect examples here of their thoughts; first Jesus is eating with sinners and the Pharisees could not understand why a teacher would lower himself as to be seen in public with tax collectors and other known sinners. Then in the other example they chastise Jesus because he does not correct his disciples for picking some grain to eat on the Sabbath, which would have been considered work by them and one did not work on the Sabbath.
In both these cases as we see Jesus quotes from Hosea. But what is his reasoning for doing these things that could cause such controversy? Think about it; He associated with sinners because they were the ones in need of being called to repentance. And he allowed the disciples to pick the grain because they were hungry. So here was Jesus showing mercy to sinners (spiritually) and even his own disciples (physically). Jesus is not just caring for those around him in their outward actions, he was actually concerned about them, their heart condition and whether they needed to eat or not.
What did Jesus want his disciples to understand from this exchange he had with the Pharisees?
But Jesus keeps pointing out to the Pharisees that God desires mercy and not sacrifice. The Pharisees were good at sacrifice, but how were they at mercy? Do you think they even had room in all their rules for mercy?
Do you find that sometimes it is easier to follow the rules than it is to have the right attitude about why those rules are there in the first place? Think of some examples where you follow the rules but your heart is not in it. Do you think God is satisfied with this type of obedience? What are some ways to get the needed attitude adjustment?
I have often heard it taught that we should just obey God and that our attitudes and emotions will follow, after much soul searching I am beginning to wonder if that is true. At this point in time, I am learning that following God means complete surrender to His will….not just what I do but also what I think, feel, desire, choose as well as do.
Write out your thoughts! Can you be obedient in actions only and still be obedient?
We are going to continue on today with the theme of obedience that we took a quick look at yesterday. Remember the verses that we looked at in Hosea:
Hosea 6:5-7
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
And your judgments are like light that goes forth.
6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 “ But like men they transgressed the covenant;
There they dealt treacherously with Me.
Looking at Strong’s Concordance we see this word: mercy
Checed 2617 goodness, kindness, faithfulness
And translated in the King James these different ways (the number refers to how many times it was translated as this word) — mercy 149, kindness 40, lovingkindness 30, goodness 12, kindly 5, merciful 4, favour 3, good 1, goodliness 1
Is this giving you a fuller idea of what mercy may have meant in the Old Testament. Seeing it translated so many different ways helps us to once again realize that in the thinking of the ancient Hebrew there is more of a link between what was felt and what was thought and what was done; a much more holistic way of looking at life.
Verse 6 of Hosea 6 is quoted by Jesus at least a couple of times during his 3 ½ year ministry. I am thinking it must have been pretty important if Jesus uses it as a reference to what he is trying to teach. Let’s take a quick look.
Matthew 9
9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
What is Jesus teaching here?
Matthew 12
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even[b] of the Sabbath.”
What is Jesus teaching here?
So here is the Greek word that is used in the New Testament for mercy:
eleos 1656 translated mercy every time
1) mercy: kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them
a) of men towards men: to exercise the virtue of mercy, show one's self merciful
b) of God towards men: in general providence; the mercy and clemency of God in providing and offering to men salvation by Christ
c) the mercy of Christ, whereby at his return to judgment he will bless true Christians with eternal life
Now let’s take a moment and try and put this all into context. We know that God would get upset when sacrifice was just performed out of duty or manipulation rather than love. Our example of Saul was a good one. And we see this most emphatically with the many exchanges that Jesus had with the Pharisees. Because remember these were the religious leaders of Jesus’ time and they were great at making sacrifices. They knew the Law and took great pride in being to point out to others when they were not following the Law the way they felt it should be followed. They would argue amongst themselves as to the exact meaning of certain laws according to which Rabbi they followed.
We have two perfect examples here of their thoughts; first Jesus is eating with sinners and the Pharisees could not understand why a teacher would lower himself as to be seen in public with tax collectors and other known sinners. Then in the other example they chastise Jesus because he does not correct his disciples for picking some grain to eat on the Sabbath, which would have been considered work by them and one did not work on the Sabbath.
In both these cases as we see Jesus quotes from Hosea. But what is his reasoning for doing these things that could cause such controversy? Think about it; He associated with sinners because they were the ones in need of being called to repentance. And he allowed the disciples to pick the grain because they were hungry. So here was Jesus showing mercy to sinners (spiritually) and even his own disciples (physically). Jesus is not just caring for those around him in their outward actions, he was actually concerned about them, their heart condition and whether they needed to eat or not.
What did Jesus want his disciples to understand from this exchange he had with the Pharisees?
But Jesus keeps pointing out to the Pharisees that God desires mercy and not sacrifice. The Pharisees were good at sacrifice, but how were they at mercy? Do you think they even had room in all their rules for mercy?
Do you find that sometimes it is easier to follow the rules than it is to have the right attitude about why those rules are there in the first place? Think of some examples where you follow the rules but your heart is not in it. Do you think God is satisfied with this type of obedience? What are some ways to get the needed attitude adjustment?
I have often heard it taught that we should just obey God and that our attitudes and emotions will follow, after much soul searching I am beginning to wonder if that is true. At this point in time, I am learning that following God means complete surrender to His will….not just what I do but also what I think, feel, desire, choose as well as do.
Write out your thoughts! Can you be obedient in actions only and still be obedient?
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Hosea...Week 1....Day 2 Obedience
Hosea
Week 1 Day 2 Obedience
2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:
“ Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For the land has committed great harlotry
By departing from the LORD.”
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.The next few days we are going to take a look at obedience. The one thing that really stands out to me about Hosea is his instant obedience. God told him to marry a harlot and the next verse we see Hosea carrying out the command. In Hosea’s case we do not see any arguing with the Lord, we do not see any hesitation in the timing. What we do see is instant obedience. How refreshing! But how not like the way I normally react. How about you?
I want to learn how to be obedient like Hosea so we are going to spend some time looking at what the Lord has to say about obedience.
Hosea 6:5-7
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
And your judgments are like light that goes forth.
6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 “ But like men they transgressed the covenant;
There they dealt treacherously with Me.
Here in Hosea, God tells us what about obedience?
Let’s compare some words to get a clearer picture of what is being said:
Mercy_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sacrifice_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Knowledge______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Burnt offerings___________________________________________________________
Transgressed____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dealt treacherously________________________________________________________
Looking at these words, what are you beginning to understand a little more clearly about obedience?
The argument had been throughout the prophets by the people of Israel was that they had made sacrifices and offerings but still they were having major problems. They could not understand why the Lord would punish them or fail to bless them, when they were going through the motions. Let’s take a look and see some of their behavior problems.
King Saul was the very first king of Israel. He was chosen by God to be their king because he looked the part. He was tall, handsome, physically fit and could carry himself in a kingly manner. At first, Saul was very humbled by being chosen. We even have a report that he was filled by the Spirit and able to prophesy just like the prophets but being king soon changed the way he felt about himself and his relationship with the Lord. He made the mistake of thinking much too highly of himself and treating the Lord casually, almost as an equal.
Read the story in 1Samuel 15 about King Saul and his failure to completely follow the Lord’s commands.
Thinking about obedience, why do you think this story is so important?
Is there anything in this story that you see as being unfair? (After all Saul did say he was sorry for doing things his own way. Do you think he was really sorry, or just sorry he got caught?)
What were the long term ramifications of Saul not obeying God completely?
Let’s look at Samuel’s response to Saul’s words of trying to justify his actions:
1 Samuel 15
22 So Samuel said:
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He also has rejected you from being king.”
What are some of the things that Samuel is accusing Saul of doing?
Today is word day, so look up:
Rebellion________________________________________________________________
Witchcraft_______________________________________________________________
Stubbornness_____________________________________________________________
Iniquity_________________________________________________________________
Idolatry_________________________________________________________________
Rejected_________________________________________________________________
The next time you justify your actions to God for not completely obeying what it is you know you should be doing, think back to Saul.
BTW a descendant of King Agag is the Haman in the Book of Esther that was so determined to destroy all the Jews in Persia. So remember, there are always consequences to our disobedience, we may not be around to see them, but none the less, they are still there.
Tomorrow we will take a look at what Jesus had to say about obedience.
But for today, take time to write out how obedience is important in your walk with the Lord. Also, be real with yourself and write down some of the reasons that you have a hard time being obedient every time.
Week 1 Day 2 Obedience
2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:
“ Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For the land has committed great harlotry
By departing from the LORD.”
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.The next few days we are going to take a look at obedience. The one thing that really stands out to me about Hosea is his instant obedience. God told him to marry a harlot and the next verse we see Hosea carrying out the command. In Hosea’s case we do not see any arguing with the Lord, we do not see any hesitation in the timing. What we do see is instant obedience. How refreshing! But how not like the way I normally react. How about you?
I want to learn how to be obedient like Hosea so we are going to spend some time looking at what the Lord has to say about obedience.
Hosea 6:5-7
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
And your judgments are like light that goes forth.
6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 “ But like men they transgressed the covenant;
There they dealt treacherously with Me.
Here in Hosea, God tells us what about obedience?
Let’s compare some words to get a clearer picture of what is being said:
Mercy_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sacrifice_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Knowledge______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Burnt offerings___________________________________________________________
Transgressed____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dealt treacherously________________________________________________________
Looking at these words, what are you beginning to understand a little more clearly about obedience?
The argument had been throughout the prophets by the people of Israel was that they had made sacrifices and offerings but still they were having major problems. They could not understand why the Lord would punish them or fail to bless them, when they were going through the motions. Let’s take a look and see some of their behavior problems.
King Saul was the very first king of Israel. He was chosen by God to be their king because he looked the part. He was tall, handsome, physically fit and could carry himself in a kingly manner. At first, Saul was very humbled by being chosen. We even have a report that he was filled by the Spirit and able to prophesy just like the prophets but being king soon changed the way he felt about himself and his relationship with the Lord. He made the mistake of thinking much too highly of himself and treating the Lord casually, almost as an equal.
Read the story in 1Samuel 15 about King Saul and his failure to completely follow the Lord’s commands.
Thinking about obedience, why do you think this story is so important?
Is there anything in this story that you see as being unfair? (After all Saul did say he was sorry for doing things his own way. Do you think he was really sorry, or just sorry he got caught?)
What were the long term ramifications of Saul not obeying God completely?
Let’s look at Samuel’s response to Saul’s words of trying to justify his actions:
1 Samuel 15
22 So Samuel said:
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He also has rejected you from being king.”
What are some of the things that Samuel is accusing Saul of doing?
Today is word day, so look up:
Rebellion________________________________________________________________
Witchcraft_______________________________________________________________
Stubbornness_____________________________________________________________
Iniquity_________________________________________________________________
Idolatry_________________________________________________________________
Rejected_________________________________________________________________
The next time you justify your actions to God for not completely obeying what it is you know you should be doing, think back to Saul.
BTW a descendant of King Agag is the Haman in the Book of Esther that was so determined to destroy all the Jews in Persia. So remember, there are always consequences to our disobedience, we may not be around to see them, but none the less, they are still there.
Tomorrow we will take a look at what Jesus had to say about obedience.
But for today, take time to write out how obedience is important in your walk with the Lord. Also, be real with yourself and write down some of the reasons that you have a hard time being obedient every time.
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