Discovering Moses: Session 3
God’s Leadership Manual – Session 3
Read Session 1, Session 2
Homework Assignment Session 3:
We covered Acts 7:17(a) and Genesis 15 As the icy rain covered everything outside, the men gathered comfortably together for our Bible study in the warm atmosphere of our neighbor’s home. What a joy it was to fellowship together once again -to study God’s Word and to pray for each other. As a reminder, our next meeting will be February 29th. For the next two weeks we will continue to study the second part of the Acts 7:17:
"But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham (a), the people increased and multiplied in Egypt (b)"
Highlights of Our Night
While several men were not able to come for our gathering, we had a great number of men who were able to make it and share their findings from the Word.
The homework assignment was to pay close attention to the words in English and also to search out the original meaning in Greek and Hebrew. We are to follow the rule of the 1st mention which provides us with insight into the meaning of the word by the surrounding context of the next. While we don’t give much thought on a daily basis to the words we use, we must pay extra attention to God’s words since His word is not merely a suggestion on better living but a command for life itself. How can we know God well if we don’t know what He says in His word? We are challenged with paying careful attention to the grammar, the parts of speech and the usage of words because all of this is imperative to understanding the text. When we ask questions, we ask them to further understand the meaning of the text. We are commanded in Proverbs 2 to search after God as after a hidden treasure:
“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:1-5)
How many of us go thru the day reflecting and meditating on God’s word? Treasure hunters go to all kinds of trouble in search of hidden treasures and God’s word has been given to us freely and we have the ability to study it in its original languages. What a blessed time we live in. But to whom much is given much is required! We are men of this generation who are responsible to know so that we can pass onto the next generations what we know, as the Moses stated in Deuteronomy 6:3-9:
"Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Before we are to teach others the word it must be in our own hearts -We cannot give away what we do not possess, therefore we must acquire His truths in order to raise up the next generation.
So let us strive forward, encouraging each other to press on to the mark of greater calling. I view our studying of God’s word as a journey. We should be encouraged not by the amount of stuff we know but by what we know and implement in our daily lives. To know and implement is a journey of growing up in God’s word - A journey of each of our transformation by His word into the men that God intended us to be from the very beginning.
As a word of encouragement, while not all of us were able to use tools like Strong’s Concordance, I would like to commend each one of you for dedicating time and effort to learning and studying God’s word!
As a part of this word study, we all discovered that English word “promise” relates itself to other English words such as “to say, to tell”. If we apply the technique of going from Jewish-Greek of the New Covenant text and seeing its mentioning in the Septuagint Greek, we then discover the original word for Hebrew that is used in Genesis 1:3 “And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.”. Wow! When God says something it is not simply a suggestion but the very words of life. He is going to be true to His words and will bring them to pass. How different that is from our understanding of the English word “promise”.
We have also discussed Genesis 15 in the context of previous chapter where Abram defeats 5 kings and rescues his nephew Lot with his family.
“Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." (Genesis 15:13-16)
We covered the principle of God’s righteous judgment. That He also gives an opportunity for each of us to repent and turn from our wicked ways to Him. It was clearly seen in the last statement “for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete”. Why was God so concerned for the Amorites? That is wonderful question. Abram made a covenant with them in Genesis 14:13. English words are used “an ally, friend or confederate” but the Hebrew word H1285 (בְּרִית) Breth to cut a covenant. This points us to Abram making friendship with this people and most likely telling them about One True God. God gave Amorite 400 years to repent. Can you relate to God’s patience with you? Each day we take our breath God gives us an opportunity to make it right with Him by trusting in His Son Yeshua and repent. This principle is consistent thru the entire Bible. What a long suffering God we serve. To learn how to do your own word study refer to the following articles:
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