Week of December 11th Old Testament Part 1

First of all, a HUGE thank you to everyone who brought food to share for our Christmas pot luck lunch.  We really enjoyed the variety of foods from around the world, the fellowship time just chatting over lunch, and a relaxing time to get to know one another better.  A real blessing!

We began a new study booklet called "God's Amazing Book".  This is a 12 lesson study which will take us all over the Bible as we take an overview of this book which is the most important book in the entire world!  Even if you have studied the Bible for years and years, there is more to discover, and in fact, oftentimes the more you learn, the more you realize there is still more to learn.

The lesson focused mostly on the first five books of the Old Testament, which are often referred to as The Law, The book of Moses, the Pentateuch, or for Jews, the Torah.   

In Genesis we learn about the creation of the world and our origins.  God is unexplained.  He is unexplainable.  Exodus details the Israelites deliverance from Egypt.  Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy describe the rituals, sacrfices, offerings and regulations for the priests. 

The historical books of the Old Testament give accounts of the lives of the Israelites and their struggle to maintain not only order within their people but also hold of their promised lands.

But we now have the New Testamanet, and Christ came and changed it all.

Well can’t we just get rid of these Old Testament books then?  I mean, why do we need them?

If you are a Christian, the Old Testament is your spiritual history. The promises and calling of God to Israel are YOUR historical promises and callings. 

The sacrificial system established in Leviticus lays the foundation for the New Testament.  I didn’t understand this until very recently, really, about 5 years ago, when I studied the Old Testament.

In order to understand who Christ was and what He did, we must begin with the Old Testament, which contains prophecies concerning the coming of Christ as a “guilt offering” (Isaiah 53:10). In fact, the whole sacrificial system established by God in the Old Testament set the stage for the coming of Christ, who is the perfect sacrifice God would provide as atonement for the sins of His people (Romans 8:3; Hebrews 10).  The Old Testament system is a process of substituting something for our sins in order to be right with God.  

The sacrifice of lambs played a very important role in the Jewish religious life and sacrificial system. When John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), the Jews who heard him might have immediately thought of any one of several important sacrifices. With the time of the Passover feast being very near, the first thought might be the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. The Passover feast was one of the main Jewish holidays and a celebration in remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. In fact, the slaying of the Passover lamb and the applying of the blood to doorposts of the houses (Exodus 12:11-13) is a beautiful picture of Christ’s atoning work on the cross.

The sacrifices had to be done again and again, but with Christ - he was the perfect sacrifice - and the final sacrifice, the once and for all sacrifice, designed by God. 

The Old Testament points to the New Testamanet - they are linked and cannot be broken.  

Now for a couple Do’s and Dont’s regarding the OT! (from "How to Read the Bible for all its Worth", by Fee/Stuart)

Do see the Old Testamanet as God’s inspired word for you.

Don’t see it as God’s commands to you.

Do see the Old Testament law as the basis for the old covenant, and therefore Israel’s history.

Don’t see the Old Testament law as binding on Christians in the new covenant where specifically renewed.

For a very long time as a Christian, the Old Testament meant to me Outdated, Weird, Foreign, Difficult to Read.  It is easier to open up the Bible in the New Testament, definitely. 

But what a revelation I experienced when I finally did realize what it mean that Jesus is my sacrifical lamb.  That for centuries people had to follow sacrificial rituals in order to be holy in the presence of God.  That in many other religions of the world today, there is a requirement of cleansing before entering the place of worship.  Or there is a sense that they must earn their way to God’s favor.  With Christ, and the foundational laid in the Old Testament, we can access God anytime.  We can come here and worship him, we are all equally loved by God.  God doesn’t love anyone more because she knows her scriptures.  God doesn’t love anyone more because she prays so much or knows all the perfect Christian religious rituals.  God loves us all, and welcomes us all, no matter what our situation.  We can thank Jesus for this - He is everything.  He turned the Old Testament upside down really!!

Amen for that!!

We hope that you have a lovely Christmas break!  

Our next class will be January 8th.

Please complete pages 12-17 in your booklet.

Week of December 4th Esther 9-10

Triumphant Deliverance

Esther chapters 9 & 10

For next week, we will begin a new study called "God's Amazing Book".  This study will take us all over the Bible, to see the consistent themes thread throughout this holy text.  Even if you have studied the Bible for many many years, this is wonderful to take a step back and see the Bible as one whole unit.  It is our prayer that you'll find this study to be rewarding and insightful.

Next week, December 11th, we will have a wonderful Christmas pot-luck of sorts, just after class from 12-1ish.  Each of you has the opportunity to bring a dish to share.  We've signed up in our discussion groups, so see or email your discussion leader if you have questions about what to bring.

We will also take up donations to give to a new church plant in Kentish Town and to the HTSC homeless shelter.  We've heard that the homeless organization that the HtB plant at St. Lukes in Kentish town urgently need new or gently used clothes, etc (new mens socks, new underclothes, new/used backpacks, new/used thermos).
Please consider bringing items in to donate.

Now, onto this past week's study!!
Our study of Esther comes to a close.  What a dramatic change of events we have seen in these last few chapters!
The tables have turned.  
This expression means taking the place of your opponent.  And in chapter 9, when the date arrives for the planned genocide originated with Haman's anger towards Mordecai arrives, the Jews defend themselves and actually, over the course of 2 days, kill 300, 500 and 75,000 of their opponents.  
Unfortunately today the Jews are still constantly threatened.  But here, God intervened and a new decree had been passed allowing them to fight - it was now a day when the Jews could legally fight and kill those who would seek to harm them. And as we read in the passage 9:1, ‘on this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them... the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them.’  The ultimate table turner is God.  In all our circumstances, and in the ultimate gift of Jesus, He turns the tables for us.  Do you have any area where the enemy has been gaining what looks like a sure victory? Thank God that He is able to turn the tables and bring hope from despair and life out of death. It is written above that in those days, through the ‘turning of the tables’, the fame of Mordecai increased greatly throughout the realm. We also see Haman's sons brought to justice, all of them are also killed, per Esther's request.

After the battles came the rest and celebration!  And Mordecai proclaimed that this event will forever be celebrated, and indeed it is today, called Purim.  It is celebrated in the month of February or March. 

Celebrations are important religious events!!  As Christians, and at this most important time of the year, how will you and your family make Christmas a religious celebration more so than a consumerism celebration?  

To recap Esther, one commentator (I. Gordon) writes:

 A nasty villain and a wicked plan... a beautiful queen and position of power... a decree of death and a city perplexed... a sleepless night and an enemy exposed... an annihilation averted and a victory gained. To be honest there is far too much to sum up with a few words. But in it all we have seen the hand of the invisible God moving providentially on behalf of His people. And, like any good story, sometimes it was only at the very last minute! But move He did. 

I loved learning from Esther!!  

I think there is so much more to discover, and I look forward to studying it again in the future.

Some final questions:

Write down and record the times in your life that God has turned a negative situation into a positive one, and keep this record in a safe place to add to as God continues working in your life!

How can you renew the importance of celebrating the Christian religious holidays throughout the year?  What might you start as a new tradition, religious in nature, in your home for Christmas this year?

Week of November 27th, 2013

Esther Chapters 6-8

Pride goes before a fall

Special thanks to Grace W. for doing our wrap up talk this week!  What a blessing!!

The king cannot sleep.  He calls for the royal diary to be read to him.  This is when he is reminded of the incident where Mordecai saved his life, and he learns that nothing had been done to reward Mordecai.

Then he asks his closest advisor, Haman, to help him plan a way to properly honor Mordecai, without revealing who the honors were for, so actually Haman, being selfish and prideful, believes it must be for him!

How ironic then, when Xerxes demands that all the rewards be done unto Mordecai!  Can you picture Haman's reaction!?

And then Esther reveals the edict to the king and reveals her identity as a Jew.

The king is outraged, and then finds Haman fallen upon Esther, taking the scene to mean he had assaulted her as well.  Enraged he demands that Haman be impaled on the pole he had erected for Mordecai, when one of the kings eunuchs explains that a gallows had been built at Haman's house. Again, an ironic turn of events!

A new edict is passed and the Jews celebrate!!

In Chapters 6 to 8 God's sovereignty is powerfully evident.  We see that Mordecai finally receives honor for his role in saving the king's life.  We see Haman get what he deserves, and that his pride in hoping for glories and honors for himself actually cause him to present those honors upon Mordecai!  Xerxes clearly was unaware of the feud/hatred between Haman and Mordecai. Esther's position enables her to influence the king through her courageous and brave approach to make her request and eventually save her people.  Wherever we are, we are of use to God.  How will God use you today?

Some questions for optional further consideration:
Scripture tells us that "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6 quoting Prov 3:34).  How do you see this principle in Esther 6-8?  How have you seen this principle work out in your life and the lives of those around you?
These chapters of Esther portray a sudden reversal in the lives of the Jews, from dispair and distress to dancing, feasting and celebrating.  How have you seen God turn grief into joy in your life or in others you know?