Father, when trouble keeps us awake and words fail us, hear our cries. Help us remember Your mighty works when we struggle to understand Your ways. Keep us from mistaking unseen footprints for an absent Shepherd. You led Your people through the sea; lead us now. Strengthen our faith as we bring You our unanswered questions, and teach us to follow You together. In Jesus’ name, amen.

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

77 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
² In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
³ When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

⁴ You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵ I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
⁶ I said,^\)^a\) “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
⁷ “Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
⁸ Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

¹⁰ Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”^\)^b\)

¹¹ I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
¹² I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
¹³ Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
¹⁴ You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
¹⁵ You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

¹⁶ When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
¹⁷ The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
¹⁸ The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹ Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.^\)^c\)
²⁰ You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

1. Psalm 77:6 Hebrew lacks I said
2. Psalm 77:10 Or This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed
3. Psalm 77:19 Hebrew unknown

Discussion Questions:

1. In verses 3–4, remembering God brings Asaph distress, and he becomes too troubled to speak. What does this challenge about our expectations of what sincere prayer should feel like?
2. Asaph asks whether God’s love, promises, and compassion have failed (verses 7–9). What is the difference between bringing a frightening question to God and deciding that our fear must be the truth?
3. Compare what Asaph remembers in verses 5–6 with what he chooses to remember in verses 11–15. How does his focus change? How is remembering God’s faithfulness different from simply wishing life were the way it used to be?
4. In verse 19, God’s path leads through the sea, but His footprints remain unseen. Where are we tempted to confuse “I cannot see what God is doing” with “God is doing nothing”?
5. The psalm never reports that Asaph’s circumstances improved. What has changed by the end, and what does that suggest faith can look like before relief comes?

Prayer

May God our Father, by the riches of His glory,
grant you to be strengthened with might
through the Holy Spirit in your inner self,
that Jesus the Messiah may live in your hearts by faith,
and that you, being rooted and grounded in Love,
may know how wide, long, high, and deep
the Love of Jesus is, beyond our comprehension,
so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
AMEN!

^{Based on Ephesians 3:16~18}

Romans 3:21-31, New King James Version

(For alternate translations, see here.)

²¹ But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶ to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸ Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. ²⁹ Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, ³⁰ since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹ Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

QUESTIONS

1. How are we justified, or put right with God?

2. Who does it?

3. How does this show God's righteousness?

4. "Where is boasting, then?"

5. Verse 28 reads,
   Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
   That's great, but what the heck is faith? It often sounds like some kind of nebulous "thing" that some people have. What is it, really?

6. When I think about question three, I recall the Letter to the Hebrews. Not just the well-known list of the faithful, nor the famous "Now faith is..." verse, but the following: But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
   Hebrews 11:6
   The first part talks about the situation of having no faith, while the second half contrasts it with a two-part description of faith. What strikes me is that many people today seem to think that faith means believing in God or Jesus in the sense of believing that they exist or are real. That's the first part of faith to be sure, but what is the second part? And how necessary is that?

7. Jesus said,
   "...If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."
   Matthew 17:20

   In light of today's talk about what faith is, how would you reword Jesus' statement without using the word "faith"?

8. What do you think it takes to have such faith?

Feel free to leave any thoughts, comments, or questions of your own!

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8-10

God’s Faithfulness

3 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? ² Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.

³ What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? ⁴ Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:

“So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.”^\)^a\)

⁵ But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) ⁶ Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? ⁷ Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” ⁸ Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!

No One Is Righteous

⁹ What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. ¹⁰ As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹     there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
¹² All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”^\)^b\)
¹³ “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”^\)^c\)
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”^\)^d\)
¹⁴     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”^\)^e\)
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶     ruin and misery mark their ways,
¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know.”^\)^f\)
¹⁸     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”^\)^g\)

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

Questions/Discussion

1. Why does verse 2 say that Jews were entrusted with the words of God? Were they the only ones that had access to it?

2. What does it mean to let God be true and let every human be a liar?

3. What flawed argument is Paul addressing in verses 5-8?

4. Where is the quote in verses 10-18 from? Why do you think Paul quotes it here?

5. If the law is meant to show us our sin, but not save us, why would people try to use it as a checklist as a way to get into heaven? What are they missing and how could they be changed – is it anything people can help with or does it require God to change their hearts?

6. How does this passage set us up for what is to come in the remainder of chapter 3?

God’s Righteous Judgment

2 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ² Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? ⁴ Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

⁵ But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. ⁶ God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”^\)^a\) ⁷ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. ⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. ⁹ There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; ¹⁰ but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹¹ For God does not show favoritism.

¹² All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the lawwill be judged by the law. ¹³ For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. ¹⁴ (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) ¹⁶ This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; ¹⁸ if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; ¹⁹ if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— ²¹ you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ You who boast in the law,do you dishonor God by breaking the law? ²⁴ As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”^\)^b\)

²⁵ Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. ²⁶ So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? ²⁷ The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the^\)^c\) written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

²⁸ A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. ²⁹ No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.

Footnotes

1. Romans 2:6 Psalm 62:12; Prov. 24:12
2. Romans 2:24 Isaiah 52:5 (see Septuagint); Ezek. 36:20,22
3. Romans 2:27 Or who, by means of a

Questions

1) Verse 1 has the word "therefore" mentioned. How does this chapter tie into yesterday's reading/Romans 1 as a whole?

2) Do verses 1-3 remind you of anything else in the Bible?

3) Verse 4 mentions that it's God's kindness that leads to repentance. Is this easy to forget about?

4) Verse 6 has footnotes to Psalms 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12. How do those connect to what Paul's saying?

5) What do you make of verse 11?

6) For verses 13-16, is there any connection to what Paul was writing about in Romans 1:18-20?

7) Similar to verse 6, verse 24 also has Old Testament references apparently (Isaiah 52:5 and Ezekiel 36:20). How do these references apply to what Paul's saying here?

8) Anything else you want to ask about/bring up about this passage?

In today’s reading the ton quickly shifts to humanity’s condition and response to God’s law setting up our collective need for a savior. 

Romans 1:18-32 (ESV)

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Questions for Contemplation and Discussion

1.       What does this passage tell us about ‘natural knowledge’ of God?  Who is ‘without excuse’ per vs. 20?  What has God shown them and made plain to them?

2.       How do we see people worship creatures rather than the Creator today?

3.       What does it mean that God ‘gave them up’ in vs. 24?  

4.       Verses 28-32 seem to suggest that more sin is the punishment for sin.    How does this work?  How can people be brought out of this cycle?

Romans 1:1-17 King James Version

1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

7To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 10Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. 11For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 12That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 13Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. 14I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

NOTES

Let = delayed

QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

1.) Paul calls himself a servant in v1. The word is ‘doulos’ (Strongs Greek 1401) which means either slave, servant or voluntary servant. What does it mean to be committed to Christ in this way?

2.) How many times does Paul say ‘Jesus Christ’ and refer to God in this section?

3.) This letter is addressed to ‘all that be in Rome’ (v7). Why does Paul lead with saying Jesus is of the seed of David?

4.) Why did Paul feel that he was a debtor to Greeks and Barbarians (v14)?

5.) Paul greatly desires to visit Rome, but he never gets around to it, at least, not until he is arrested in Jerusalem and appeals to Caesar. He arrives in Rome in the custody of a soldier and meets with the Jewish leaders who had never heard of him. He stays there 2 years (Acts 28:16-31). Did his letter not make it to Rome? Why does he want to visit Rome? Why didn’t he make more of an effort to do so on his own terms?

6.) This just shall live by faith (v17). Where is this in the OT? What does he mean ‘from faith to faith?’

7.) What else?

Please use this thread for any discussions outside of the scheduled readings:

• Questions/comments
• Prayer Requests
• Praises

Dear Heavenly Father,
In all of Your infinite lovingkindness, may we never for a second forget that You are a fierce lion who always captures His intended prey. That Your anger can be terrible. That Your judgment is a great and terrible thing. Humble us before You, and keep us ever grateful and obedient to Your Son, Jesus Christ, for it is only by the blood of His sacrifice that we are shielded from Your wrath. It is in His name that we pray, Amen.

Psalm 76 English | Standard Version

Who Can Stand Before You?

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

76 In Judah God is known;
his name is great in Israel.
² His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
³ There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

⁴ Glorious are you, more majestic
than the mountains full of prey.
⁵ The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
were unable to use their hands.
⁶ At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.

⁷ But you, you are to be feared!
Who can stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
⁸ From the heavens you uttered judgment;
the earth feared and was still,
⁹ when God arose to establish judgment,
to save all the humble of the earth. Selah

¹⁰ Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;
the remnant^\)^a\) of wrath you will put on like a belt.
¹¹ Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;
let all around him bring gifts
to him who is to be feared,
¹² who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

1. Psalm 76:10 Or extremity

Discussion Questions:

1. Often, when we talk about the "fear of the LORD" we try to quantify that fear by saying we don't mean afraid. But here, I think, when you read it, it IS about that kind of fear/terror/trembling. As saved Christians, should we ever "fear" God in that way? Or should we only be aware that unbelievers can/should "fear" God like that? I'm not saying that there is necessarily any right or wrong answer, but this does appear to be one of those inherent paradoxes of our faith.
2. We live in a time where there is a lot of warring and aggression between nations, the same kind of thing I think may have driven some of this poetry. Can it be hard to keep in mind that not only is God involved in this kind of conflict, but that He is even "choreographing" it, in some sense, for the good of His people and His Kingdom? How do we reconcile the intimate involvement of God in things like this and not cast Him as some cosmic unattached Deist figure?
3. Verse 10 really stands out as a scratch your head kind of verse. "Sure the wrath of man shall praise you;" I looked it up in the NET and the footnote for it read: tn Heb “the anger of men will praise you.” This could mean that men’s anger (subjective genitive), when punished by God, will bring him praise, but this interpretation does not harmonize well with the next line. The translation assumes that God’s anger is in view here (see v. 7) and that “men” is an objective genitive. God’s angry judgment against men brings him praise because it reveals his power and majesty (see vv. 1-4). I will be honest - that footnote doesn't make it any clearer for me. So, I'm wondering, what do you guys think this means?

Prayer

To make our weak hearts strong and brave,
send the fire!
To live a dying world to save,
send the fire!
Oh, see us on Your altar lay
our lives, our all, this very day;
to crown the offering now we pray,
send the fire!
^{.
William Booth}

Note:
When we last studied Romans back in 2022, at its conclusion I was tasked with writing a summary. I have used some of that previous work together with new material for today's introduction.

Introduction to Paul's Epistle to the Romans

Paul's Letter to the Romans is often referred to as his magnum opus, and is so well known, loved, and argued, that it is really daunting to even think about trying to introduce it. Because of this, you are invited and encouraged to add anything I may miss.

The Letter is written to the believers in Rome; its intended audience is both Jewish and gentile. The Jewish people had been expelled from Rome under the Emperor Claudius, but five years later were allowed to return, at which point many of them had become followers of Jesus, but with very Jewish ideas about how he was to be followed in accordance with the law of the Torah; meanwhile the gentiles had been worshipping Christ in freedom without considering that law; And so Paul must carefully navigate the waters of both viewpoints.

Paul begins by thanking God for the faith of those in Rome, and by revealing his pride in the Good News of Christ's death and resurrection. But soon the mood changes, as Paul takes us step by step through the conviction of sin, first decrying the sin of others, but then pointing out our own sin as well, leaving no one untouched. He begins with idolatry, a word that to modern western ears does not tend to mean much; we don't consider ourselves to be worshipping idols. But in preparing for this introduction, I came across a quotation which struck me personally:

Idolatry is "...finding ultimate significance in created things,
and then giving ultimate allegiance to these things that are not God."
^{See Source 1, below.}

This convicted me! I do give great allegiance to created things, in my case especially to people whom I love. But when that surpasses and surplants the love I should have for God, that is idolatry.

So it is not only others or ancient peoples who are sinful, but we ourselves today and now.

Just when we are feeling lost, the righteousness of God comes into play in chapter 4. And Paul then shows us that this has been the way of God from the beginning; since Abraham, it has been faith (or trust) in God's righteousness that leads to life; it was only afterward that the law was given to convict us of how we all fall short.

In chapter 5 we are shown that it is not the law, but our Messiah Jesus who saves us. It is not by obedience to rules that saves us, but by trusting in Jesus: Trusting that he saved us and in doing so, trusting him enough to follow his leading.

Chapter 6 continues with a discussion of our having died to sin and being alive in Christ, and chapter 7 has Paul's own confession that he himself is unable to keep the law due to the "law of sin" being present in his members, concluding with his famous cry,

"O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Romans 7:24,25a

And then comes chapter 8, that glorious chapter filled with real hope and so many excellent verses which inspire us and help us to carry on in the faith. I look forward very much to going through that chapter.

Paul then continues in Romans 9 and 10 to struggle with the role of his kinsfolk the Jews and the place of the gentiles in God's plan, marvelously showing how God has used humanity's sins and faith alike to work out his plan, and how both the gentiles and the Jewish people are being used for the God's purposes, the ultimate salvation of all of us, a multi-ethnic true family of the faithful Abraham: the people of the covenant.

Chapter 11 shows Paul's trust in God that one day, those of Israel who have thus far rejected Jesus, will one day recognize Jesus and be restored to the covenant family of God.

Chapter 12 deals with how then we are to live, reminding us (and I cannot be reminded often enough):

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Chapter 13 continues with how to behave under governmental authorities, then continues with a discussion of how we are to live by Love; how it is Love which shows our commitment to God in Jesus.

Chapters 14 and 15 show us how this works: how to treat other believers with whom we disagree, encouraging us to bear with one another and to accept those we see as weaker in the faith. This is an important message to us who find ourselves in the middle of so many divisions in the body of Christ.

Finally, chapter 16 concludes with Paul's commending Phoebe, the bearer of the Letter to the faithful in Rome, which is in itself a wonderful affirmation of the equality of humanity in Jesus; together with many personal greetings given to both gentiles and Jews there. It ends with Paul's blessing us to accomplish all these things through the One who alone can establish all of this for us.

May we indeed trust in God's righteousness as we struggle with the daily, dirty, mundain, complaint-filled lives we find ourselves in: God is more than able to do all that He promises. Here's to our reading of Romans; let's savor every bite!

QUESTIONS

1. In the definition of idolatry given above, we find that we are loving people and things more than God, giving them the allegiance that He alone deserves. How can we learn to love the invisible over and above the visible?

2. When I was a young teen, there was another boy at school who constantly bothered me. I hated that and didn't know what to do. My mom suggested that I pray for him. I was surprised at the suggestion, but agreed to do so. And before long, he and I had become friends. It was an amazing demonstration of Love and forgiveness being given through God's Spirit. Have you ever had any struggles with others, offered to God, in which God worked to bring a happier outcome?

3. I must ask the usual question at this time: What are you most looking forward to in our reading of Romans?

Feel free to leave any thoughts, comments, summarizations, or questions of your own!

“What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Luke 18:27, ESV

Source 1
Source 2

5 Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
look, and see our disgrace.
² Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to foreigners.
³ We have become fatherless,
our mothers are widows.
⁴ We must buy the water we drink;
our wood can be had only at a price.
⁵ Those who pursue us are at our heels;
we are weary and find no rest.
⁶ We submitted to Egypt and Assyria
to get enough bread.
⁷ Our ancestors sinned and are no more,
and we bear their punishment.
⁸ Slaves rule over us,
and there is no one to free us from their hands.
⁹ We get our bread at the risk of our lives
because of the sword in the desert.
¹⁰ Our skin is hot as an oven,
feverish from hunger.
¹¹ Women have been violated in Zion,
and virgins in the towns of Judah.
¹² Princes have been hung up by their hands;
elders are shown no respect.
¹³ Young men toil at the millstones;
boys stagger under loads of wood.
¹⁴ The elders are gone from the city gate;
the young men have stopped their music.
¹⁵ Joy is gone from our hearts;
our dancing has turned to mourning.
¹⁶ The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
¹⁷ Because of this our hearts are faint,
because of these things our eyes grow dim
¹⁸ for Mount Zion, which lies desolate,
with jackals prowling over it.

¹⁹ You, Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures from generation to generation.
²⁰ Why do you always forget us?
Why do you forsake us so long?
²¹ Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;
renew our days as of old
²² unless you have utterly rejected us
and are angry with us beyond measure.

Questions/Discussion

1. Why do you think Jeremiah writes “Remember, O Lord” as if God does not recall what is happening?

2. What is the significance of verse 4? Is this a sudden change or hardship?

3. What is verse 6 referring to? Is this an event separate from the Babylonian invasion, or is this happening at the same time?

4. Is verse 7 referring to something specific? Did Jeremiah believe that the current generation had not sinned or that they were being punished for previous generations’ sins? How does this contrast to verse 16?

5. What do you make of the tone and perspective shift beginning in verse 19? It almost seems to me as if Jeremiah is emboldened by confidence in the Lord for a couple of verses and then reverts to deep despair again in closing in verse 22.

The Holy Stones Lie Scattered

4 How the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
at the head of every street.

² The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight in fine gold,
how they are regarded as earthen pots,
the work of a potter's hands!

³ Even jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young;
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.

⁴ The tongue of the nursing infant sticks
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
the children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.

⁵ Those who once feasted on delicacies
perish in the streets;
those who were brought up in purple
embrace ash heaps.

⁶ For the chastisement^\)^a\) of the daughter of my people has been greater
than the punishment^\)^b\) of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.^\)^c\)

⁷ Her princes were purer than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
the beauty of their form^\)^d\) was like sapphire.^\)^e\)

⁸ Now their face is blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as wood.

⁹ Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
by lack of the fruits of the field.

¹⁰ The hands of compassionate women
have boiled their own children;
they became their food
during the destruction of the daughter of my people.

¹¹ The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
he poured out his hot anger,
and he kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations.

¹² The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³ This was for the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.

¹⁴ They wandered, blind, through the streets;
they were so defiled with blood
that no one was able to touch
their garments.

¹⁵ “Away! Unclean!” people cried at them.
“Away! Away! Do not touch!”
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
people said among the nations,
“They shall stay with us no longer.”

¹⁶ The Lord himself^\)^f\) has scattered them;
he will regard them no more;
no honor was shown to the priests,
no favor to the elders.

¹⁷ Our eyes failed, ever watching
vainly for help;
in our watching we watched
for a nation which could not save.

¹⁸ They dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
our end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.

¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

²⁰ The breath of our nostrils, the Lord's anointed,
was captured in their pits,
of whom we said, “Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations.”

²¹ Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell in the land of Uz;
but to you also the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.

²² The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
he will keep you in exile no longer;^\)^g\)
but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
he will uncover your sins.

Questions

You don't have to answer all/any of these questions, they're just for discussion.

1) Does verse 2 have any connection to Jeremiah 18:1-12?

2) For verse 3, I've got a cross-reference in my Bible to Job 39:13-18 for some reason. Is this relevant to what we see here?

3) For verses 4 and 10, I might be wrong about this, but isn't this mentioned somewhere in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28?

4) For verses 7-8, we find out that Zedekiah's sons were killed in 2 Kings 25:7. So who are these princes here then?

5) Verse 12 seems like a strange verse. Was Jerusalem really more difficult to conquer than say, Tyre or Egypt?

6) Is there an Old Testament reference to verses 14-15?

7) Who is the "they" mentioned in verse 18?

8) For verse 20, we can see that in Ezekiel 17:11-21 and elsewhere in Jeremiah that King Zedekiah was a weak/problematic king. But verse 20 almost seems like a compliment. Why does the writer (either Jeremiah or someone else) say this?

9)For verses 21-22, what is this referring to? And why is Edom singled out here, but not Babylon?

10) Anything else you want to bring up about this chapter?

I have to feel a bit like I should have broken up the schedule to give myself some of the hope in the verses that closed yesterday’s reading, but it didn’t’ quite work out that way.  Today’s reading goes back into the depths of pain and suffering that has been common in this book.

Lamentations 3:34-66 (ESV)

³⁴            To crush underfoot

all the prisoners of the earth,

               ³⁵            to deny a man justice

in the presence of the Most High,

               ³⁶            to subvert a man in his lawsuit,

the Lord does not approve.

               ³⁷            Who has spoken and it came to pass,

unless the Lord has commanded it?

               ³⁸            Is it not from the mouth of the Most High

that good and bad come?

               ³⁹            Why should a living man complain,

a man, about the punishment of his sins?

               ⁴⁰            Let us test and examine our ways,

and return to the Lord!

               ⁴¹            Let us lift up our hearts and hands

to God in heaven:

               ⁴²            “We have transgressed and rebelled,

and you have not forgiven.

               ⁴³            “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,

killing without pity;

               ⁴⁴            you have wrapped yourself with a cloud

so that no prayer can pass through.

               ⁴⁵            You have made us scum and garbage

among the peoples.

               ⁴⁶            “All our enemies

open their mouths against us;

               ⁴⁷            panic and pitfall have come upon us,

devastation and destruction;

               ⁴⁸            my eyes flow with rivers of tears

because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

               ⁴⁹            “My eyes will flow without ceasing,

without respite,

               ⁵⁰            until the Lord from heaven

looks down and sees;

               ⁵¹            my eyes cause me grief

at the fate of all the daughters of my city.

               ⁵²            “I have been hunted like a bird

by those who were my enemies without cause;

               ⁵³            they flung me alive into the pit

and cast stones on me;

               ⁵⁴            water closed over my head;

I said, ‘I am lost.’

               ⁵⁵            “I called on your name, O Lord,

from the depths of the pit;

               ⁵⁶            you heard my plea, ‘Do not close

your ear to my cry for help!’

               ⁵⁷            You came near when I called on you;

you said, ‘Do not fear!’

               ⁵⁸            “You have taken up my cause, O Lord;

you have redeemed my life.

               ⁵⁹            You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord;

judge my cause.

               ⁶⁰            You have seen all their vengeance,

all their plots against me.

               ⁶¹            “You have heard their taunts, O Lord,

all their plots against me.

               ⁶²            The lips and thoughts of my assailants

are against me all the day long.

               ⁶³            Behold their sitting and their rising;

I am the object of their taunts.

               ⁶⁴            “You will repay them, O Lord,

according to the work of their hands.

               ⁶⁵            You will give them dullness of heart;

your curse will be on them.

               ⁶⁶            You will pursue them in anger and destroy them

from under your heavens, O Lord.”

Questions for Contemplation and Discussion

1.       In the overall structure of this chapter (yesterday’s reading and today’s) we see hope quite literally in the midst of pain and despair.  What does it mean to find hope in the midst of pain and suffering?  How does that play out in our lives today?

2.       Are verses 34-36 an admission of (corporate) guilt in Israel (things we’ve seen the prophets condemn)?  Or is this something else?

3.       In verse 38 states that both “good and bad” come from “the mouth of the Most High”.  What does it mean for “bad” to come from God? 

4.       Verses 55 and following seem to be a return to hope, but its also a plea for God to punish the enemies of the one praying.   Is this hope, or is this something else?

Apologies for being a little late I thought it was an automated Post for when i was scheduled.

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Lamentations 3:1-33 King James Version

א

1I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

2He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.

3Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.

ב

4My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.

5He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.

6He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.

ג

7He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

8Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.

9He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.

ד

10He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.

11He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.

12He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.

ה

13He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.

14I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.

15He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.

ו

16He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.

17And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.

18And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:

ז

19Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

20My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

21This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

ח

22It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

24The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

ט

25The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

26It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

27It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

י

28He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.

29He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

30He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.

כ

31For the Lord will not cast off for ever:

32But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.

33For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.

NOTES

Psalms and Lamentations are the only books of the Bible that have natural chapter divisions. Psalms is based on each psalm. Lamentations is based an easily identifiable (in Hebrew) acrostic structure. For chapters 1 and 2 each line starts with a different letter in the Hebrew alphabet. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. For chapter 3 each letter gets 3 lines before moving on to the next letter. This makes for 66 verses. Chapter 4 returns to 22 acrostic lines. Chapter 5 has 22 lines, but is not organized as acrostically.

Here are notes about how Jeremiah is a type of Christ.

QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

1.) The chapter starts with a lot of first person statements. Is Jeremiah talking about himself or is he identifying with Jerusalem’s judgement and misery or something else?

2.) Who else in the Bible drinks gall (v5, 15, 19)?

3.) Jeremiah is surrounded by gall and travail (v5), drunken on bitterness and wormwood (v15) and then remembers wormwood and gall (v19). Is there a pattern here?

4.) The chapter starts pretty dire, but then there seems to be a change in tone. Where does the shift take place?

5.) Other than being organized neatly is there any significance with the acrostic layout to Lamentations?

6.) What else would you like to add?

Please use this thread for any discussions outside of the scheduled readings:

• Questions/comments
• Prayer Requests
• Praises

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your grace, Your mercy, Your miracles and Your wondrous deeds. When our hearts stray towards pride, remind us of who You are and what You have done for us. Remind us that all things are under Your control, and we are just the recipients of whatever it is You choose to give. May Your praise be ever on our lips, and words that share Your blessings and wonders with those who don't know You yet In Christ's holy name we pray, Amen.

God Will Judge with Equity

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

75 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
We^\)^a\) recount your wondrous deeds.

² “At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
³ When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah
⁴ I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
⁵ do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with haughty neck.’”

⁶ For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
⁷ but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
⁸ For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.

⁹ But I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
¹⁰ All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

1. Psalm 75:1 Hebrew They

Discussion Questions:

1. God says He will judge at the time He appoints. What’s hardest about trusting His timing when you see injustice?
2. The warnings against pride are strong here. What are some ways pride can hide behind being “right,” even in our faith?
3. Verses 6–7 say that lifting people up or bringing them down belongs to God. How should that affect the way we pursue recognition, influence, or success?
4. What’s the difference between wanting God’s justice and wanting personal revenge? How do we recognize that difference in ourselves?

Prayer

Oh Lord,
We are doing things to this earth you have given us
and to the people around us
that are harmful
selfish
and deserving of consequences.

Help us to repent
Forgive us our sins
melt our hearts of stone
turn them to hearts of flesh
help us to live in kindness, wisdom, generosity, and caring for the life that is to come.
In Jesus' name we pray,
amen!

Lamentations 2, New King James Version

(For alternate translations, see here.)

2

¹ How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion
With a cloud in His anger!
He cast down from heaven to the earth
The beauty of Israel,
And did not remember His footstool
In the day of His anger.

² The Lord has swallowed up and has not pitied
All the dwelling places of Jacob.
He has thrown down in His wrath
The strongholds of the daughter of Judah;
He has brought them down to the ground;
He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.

³ He has cut off in fierce anger
Every horn of Israel;
He has drawn back His right hand
From before the enemy.
He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire
Devouring all around.

⁴ Standing like an enemy, He has bent His bow;
With His right hand, like an adversary,
He has slain all who were pleasing to His eye;
On the tent of the daughter of Zion,
He has poured out His fury like fire.

⁵ The Lord was like an enemy.
He has swallowed up Israel,
He has swallowed up all her palaces;
He has destroyed her strongholds,
And has increased mourning and lamentation
In the daughter of Judah.

⁶ He has done violence to His tabernacle, As if it were a garden;
He has destroyed His place of assembly;
The Lord has caused
The appointed feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion.
In His burning indignation He has spurned the king and the priest.

⁷ The Lord has spurned His altar,
He has abandoned His sanctuary;
He has given up the walls of her palaces
Into the hand of the enemy.
They have made a noise in the house of the Lord
As on the day of a set feast.

⁸ The Lord has purposed to destroy
The wall of the daughter of Zion.
He has stretched out a line;
He has not withdrawn His hand from destroying;
Therefore He has caused the rampart and wall to lament;
They languished together.

⁹ Her gates have sunk into the ground;
He has destroyed and broken her bars.
Her king and her princes are among the nations;
The Law is no more,
And her prophets find no vision from the Lord.

¹⁰ The elders of the daughter of Zion
Sit on the ground and keep silence;
They throw dust on their heads
And gird themselves with sackcloth.
The virgins of Jerusalem
Bow their heads to the ground.

¹¹ My eyes fail with tears,
My heart is troubled;
My bile is poured on the ground
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
Because the children and the infants
Faint in the streets of the city.

¹² They say to their mothers,
“Where is grain and wine?”
As they swoon like the wounded
In the streets of the city,
As their life is poured out
In their mothers’ bosom.

¹³ How shall I console you?
To what shall I liken you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What shall I compare with you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your ruin is spread wide as the sea;
Who can heal you?

¹⁴ Your prophets have seen for you
False and deceptive visions;
They have not uncovered your iniquity,
To bring back your captives,
But have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.

¹⁵ All who pass by clap their hands at you; They hiss and shake their heads
At the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that is called
‘The perfection of beauty,
The joy of the whole earth’?”

¹⁶ All your enemies have opened their mouth against you;
They hiss and gnash their teeth.
They say, “We have swallowed her up!
Surely this is the day we have waited for;
We have found it, we have seen it!”

¹⁷ The Lord has done what He purposed;
He has fulfilled His word
Which He commanded in days of old.
He has thrown down and has not pitied,
And He has caused an enemy to rejoice over you;
He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.

¹⁸ Their heart cried out to the Lord,
“O wall of the daughter of Zion,
Let tears run down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief;
Give your eyes no rest.

¹⁹ “Arise, cry out in the night,
At the beginning of the watches;
Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.
Lift your hands toward Him
For the life of your young children,
Who faint from hunger at the head of every street.”

²⁰ “See, O Lord, and consider!
To whom have You done this?
Should the women eat their offspring,
The children they have cuddled?
Should the priest and prophet be slain
In the sanctuary of the Lord?

²¹ “Young and old lie
On the ground in the streets;
My virgins and my young men
Have fallen by the sword;
You have slain them in the day of Your anger,
You have slaughtered and not pitied.

²² “You have invited as to a feast day
The terrors that surround me.
In the day of the Lord’s anger
There was no refugee or survivor.
Those whom I have borne and brought up
My enemies have destroyed.”

QUESTIONS

1. Verse 2 begins, The Lord has swallowed up and has not pitied
   All the dwelling places of Jacob.
   Is this a statement about God's character over all toward "the dwelling places of Jacob," or are there other times when God does pity those places?

2. Why has God done this?

3. There is a lot of poetic imagery of the violence here. What could this part of verse 6 mean?
   "He has done violence to His tabernacle,
   as if it were a garden" ... ?

4. Verse 10 reads in part,
   "...They throw dust on their heads
   And gird themselves with sackcloth..."
   Where have we read something similar in recent days, or what does this remind you of?

5. Verse 15 says, “Is this the city that is called
   ‘The perfection of beauty,
   The joy of the whole earth’?”
   This is a callback to what?
   How does it make you feel to read these words in this context?

6. There are some verses here that are too much for me to face directly for long. Refusing to care for each other as we should apparently leads to some horrific results. How do you deal with such verses?

7. What other verses stand out to you?

Feel free to leave any thoughts, comments, or questions of your own!

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26, NIV

1 ^\)^a\)How deserted lies the city,
once so full of people!
How like a widow is she,
who once was great among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
has now become a slave.

² Bitterly she weeps at night,
tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers
there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.

³ After affliction and harsh labor,
Judah has gone into exile.
She dwells among the nations;
she finds no resting place.
All who pursue her have overtaken her
in the midst of her distress.

⁴ The roads to Zion mourn,
for no one comes to her appointed festivals.
All her gateways are desolate,
her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
and she is in bitter anguish.

⁵ Her foes have become her masters;
her enemies are at ease.
The Lord has brought her grief
because of her many sins.
Her children have gone into exile,
captive before the foe.

⁶ All the splendor has departed
from Daughter Zion.
Her princes are like deer
that find no pasture;
in weakness they have fled
before the pursuer.

⁷ In the days of her affliction and wandering
Jerusalem remembers all the treasures
that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into enemy hands,
there was no one to help her.
Her enemies looked at her
and laughed at her destruction.

⁸ Jerusalem has sinned greatly
and so has become unclean.
All who honored her despise her,
for they have all seen her naked;
she herself groans
and turns away.

⁹ Her filthiness clung to her skirts;
she did not consider her future.
Her fall was astounding;
there was none to comfort her.
“Look, Lord, on my affliction,
for the enemy has triumphed.”

¹⁰ The enemy laid hands
on all her treasures;
she saw pagan nations
enter her sanctuary—
those you had forbidden
to enter your assembly.

¹¹ All her people groan
as they search for bread;
they barter their treasures for food
to keep themselves alive.
“Look, Lord, and consider,
for I am despised.”

¹² “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look around and see.
Is any suffering like my suffering
that was inflicted on me,
that the Lord brought on me
in the day of his fierce anger?

¹³ “From on high he sent fire,
sent it down into my bones.
He spread a net for my feet
and turned me back.
He made me desolate,
faint all the day long.

¹⁴ “My sins have been bound into a yoke^\)^b\);
by his hands they were woven together.
They have been hung on my neck,
and the Lord has sapped my strength.
He has given me into the hands
of those I cannot withstand.

¹⁵ “The Lord has rejected
all the warriors in my midst;
he has summoned an army against me
to^\)^c\) crush my young men.
In his winepress the Lord has trampled
Virgin Daughter Judah.

¹⁶ “This is why I weep
and my eyes overflow with tears.
No one is near to comfort me,
no one to restore my spirit.
My children are destitute
because the enemy has prevailed.”

¹⁷ Zion stretches out her hands,
but there is no one to comfort her.
The Lord has decreed for Jacob
that his neighbors become his foes;
Jerusalem has become
an unclean thing among them.

¹⁸ “The Lord is righteous,
yet I rebelled against his command.
Listen, all you peoples;
look on my suffering.
My young men and young women
have gone into exile.

¹⁹ “I called to my allies
but they betrayed me.
My priests and my elders
perished in the city
while they searched for food
to keep themselves alive.

²⁰ “See, Lord, how distressed I am!
I am in torment within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,
for I have been most rebellious.
Outside, the sword bereaves;
inside, there is only death.

²¹ “People have heard my groaning,
but there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my distress;
they rejoice at what you have done.
May you bring the day you have announced
so they may become like me.

²² “Let all their wickedness come before you;
deal with them
as you have dealt with me
because of all my sins.
My groans are many
and my heart is faint.”

Questions/Discussion

1. Who were Jerusalem’s lovers/friends? How did they abandon Jerusalem?

2. Does God intentionally cause grief in His people (v. 5)?

3. Verses 1-11 seem to portray Jerusalem’s sufferings. What was the cause of this great suffering and what was Jerusalem’s sin?

4. Starting in verse 12, there is a shift and it seems like the author is now talking about himself. Is this the case, or is the author moving from talking about Jerusalem in 3^rd person to 1^st person? Why this shift?

5. What decree is being referenced in verse 17 about Jacob? Where can we find this in the OT?

6. How does verse 10, 11, and 19 give insight into how devastating the exile was? Which other verses give you insight into the devastation?

7. What is the announced day referring to in verse 21?

I'm back! Thanks to everyone who covered for me this month! I hope my absence didn't cause too much of an issue.

It's been a while since I've done an introduction. Also, I'm trying not to use YouTube videos or the Internet for this (though feel free to plug in any sources in your comments). I'm just basing this introduction off of reading through Lamentations just now and some commentary notes in a Bible I've got. So if you feel like I've missed something or if some information I've got is outdated, feel free to correct me in the comments!

Introduction

Lamentations is written as a response to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian Exile in 586 B.C. The last King of Judah, Zedekiah, has been blinded and taken away in chains to die in Babylon, the people have been taken away in captivity, and the city of Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple have been burned (2 Kings 25, Jeremiah 52, etc)

The author of Lamentations is unnamed, though apparently tradition seems to believe Jeremiah was the writer. In any case, the writer seems to be an eyewitness to what's happened.

Lamentations consists of 5 chapters. Chapters 1-2 and 4-5 have 22 verses for each chapter, while chapter 3 has 66 verses. Evidently the first 4 chapters are written as an acrostic poem, with each verse starting with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

The main theme of Lamentations is grief as a response to what's happened. There is hope in this book, but the book doesn't start with that.

Chapter 1 depicts Jerusalem as a widow in her grief. She states that God has brought her grief through the Babylonian siege, but at the same time acknowledges her responsibility due to her sins and rebellion (Lamentations 1: 5, 14-15, 17-18). She also calls God to look upon her affliction (Lamentations 1:9).

Chapter 2 describes God's anger against Jerusalem, the anguish of the people (notably the children suffering in verses 12, 20 and also Lamentations 4:3-4, 10). Verses 15-16 show Jerusalem's enemies laughing at her destruction, while verses 18-20 cry out to God.

Chapter 3 gets us into the author's personal account of his pain. It's also in this chapter where we get the most famous/hopeful verses of this book, Lamentations 3:22-23.

Chapter 4 goes into once again the children suffering and the broken/disgraced leadership.

Chapter 5 is the people calling upon God to remember what has happened to them and to see their disgrace (verse 1). The book ends by saying, "Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless you have rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure" (Lamentations 5:21-22 NIV).

Discussion Questions

1) When was the last time you personally read Lamentations (if at all)?

2) So apparently Lamentations is one of the few books this subreddit hasn't covered before. What are you hoping to get out of this study?

3) 1 Kings starts off in David's (possibly Israel's best king) last days and Israel as a United Kingdom, while 2 Kings ends with the Babylonian Exile. My rough math of the line of David (from Solomon to Zedekiah) gave me a rough estimate of 440+ years.

What I'm trying to get at is this destruction didn't happen overnight. We finished wrapping up 2 Kings earlier this year and we read through Ezekiel recently. Based on what we've read, what caused this downfall to happen? And is any one person to blame? The kings (notably for me Solomon, Jeroboam I, Ahab and Jezebel, Manasseh, Zedekiah)? The false prophets? The people? All of the above?

4) Does Lamentations remind you of any other incidents in the Bible or any historical events?

5) What are you hoping to learn about God and His character in Lamentations?

6) Lamentations 3: 22-23 and the ending of this book are probably the notable places to look for hope in this book. What does it say to you about this book that these verses are found in such a dark book like this?

7) Feel free to ask any questions/bring up anything about this Introduction that you want to take note of before we start Lamentations tomorrow!

My apologies for not being able to participate much over the past few days, have had company in town and been pretty busy; should be back to normal this week for Lamentations.

2 Corinthians 13 (ESV)

Final Warnings

13 This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ² I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them— ³ since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. ⁴ For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

⁵ Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! ⁶ I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. ⁷ But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. ⁸ For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. ¹⁰ For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

Final Greetings

¹¹ Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. ¹² Greet one another with a holy kiss. ¹³ All the saints greet you.

¹⁴ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Questions for Contemplation and Discussion

1.       Speaking of those who sinned in vs. 2 Paul says that if he comes to Corinth again he will not “spare them.”   What will he not spare them from?

2.       In vs. 5 the Corinthians are instructed to examine and test themselves to be sure they are “in the faith.”  How are they (and we) supposed to test and examine ourselves in this regard?  How do we know if we are in the faith or not?

3.       Paul closes the letter expressing to the “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.”  What is the fellowship of the Holy Sprit, do we have it today?  Do you have it?

4.       What did you learn from 2 Corinthians as a whole?

2 Corinthians 12:11-21 King James Version

11I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. 12Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. 13For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.

14Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 15And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. 16But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. 17Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? 18I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?

19Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying. 20For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults: 21And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.

QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

1.) How does Paul use the word apostles (v11-12)?

2.) What are the signs of an apostle (v12)?

3.) Do we know what the signs, wonders and mighty deeds were (v12)?

4.) Is verse 13 sarcasm?

5.) The serpent is said to be crafty and Eve blames him with guile, ‘the serpent has beguiled me.’ The way verse 16 reads Paul says he was crafty and caught the Corinthian Church in guile. What do you make of this?

6.) In verse 19 Paul calls the Corinthian Church ‘dearly beloved.’ Who else is beloved in the Bible? Is there a theme with this word?

7.) What else do you see?

Please use this thread for any discussions outside of the scheduled readings:

• Questions/comments
• Prayer Requests
• Praises

Psalm 74 English Standard Version

Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause

A Maskil[^a] of Asaph.

74 O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
² Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,
which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
³ Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

⁴ Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;
they set up their own signs for signs.
⁵ They were like those who swing axes
in a forest of trees.^\)^b\)
⁶ And all its carved wood
they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
⁷ They set your sanctuary on fire;
they profaned the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to the ground.
⁸ They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

⁹ We do not see our signs;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
¹⁰ How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
¹¹ Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garment^\)^c\) and destroy them!

¹² Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
¹³ You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the sea monsters^\)^d\) on the waters.
¹⁴ You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
¹⁵ You split open springs and brooks;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
¹⁶ Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
¹⁷ You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
you have made summer and winter.

¹⁸ Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and a foolish people reviles your name.
¹⁹ Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.

²⁰ Have regard for the covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
²¹ Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.

²² Arise, O God, defend your cause;
remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
²³ Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

1. Psalm 74:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
2. Psalm 74:5 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
3. Psalm 74:11 Hebrew from your bosom
4. Psalm 74:13 Or the great sea creatures

Discussion Questions:

1. There are a lot of Christians who will say that the Church and God's people are never "appointed for wrath." Yet, at times, it sure can seem that we are or can be. How do we reconcile when bad things happen to "good" people?
2. This sounds like an attack on God's House, whether as the Temple or the Tabernacle. Is there anything known about what specific time or time(s) this chapter is dealing with?
3. Verse 9 talks about a time when there are no prophets among them. Sometimes, today can feel that way - as though all of the spiritual gifts have ceased, as if we don't have any more "future" oracles, even though we have the very Oracles of God at our fingertips. Do you think the supernatural has ceased or have we just gotten better at explaining it all away?