by Deborah Onovae | Oct 18, 2021 | Bible Study
4th Quarter: Present Truth in Deuteronomy.
Lesson 4: *To Love the Lord Your God*
Monday: To Fear God
*Text: [[Deu 10:12]] KJV*
_And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,_
Message
_That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. (Deu 6:2)_ In the Text above, God gives another important condition Israel had to satisfy in order to enjoy the blessings of the promised land. This condition was to “Fear God”. Was this command meant to scare the people? No! The word fear used is to be understood in a proper context, as they understood too. God was calling the nation to revere, respect, and honour Him.
Knowing who God is, His sovereignty and majesty, and knowing who we are, sinful and wretched, it’s natural that we approach him in humility and awe. It’s in this sense that we fear him. We are fallen beings, beings who have violated God’s law and who, but for His grace, deserve condemnation and eternal death. What do we have in ourselves that should make us boastful before Him? We’re totally dependent on him, and as such, we must submit in fear. Having understood what this fear is about, how can our fear and love for God coexist?
*We must fear God because we’re sinful, miserable beings who were condemned to death-dealing with a Holy and just God. We must love him because despite our miserable state, He stooped low to die for us so we can have a new life in him.* A perfect understanding of these 2 concepts helps us to freely but carefully approach God. After all, if he has given himself, what else will he withhold? But can we treat him with disrespect like we do to our fellow men? Like Israel, we’re to fear and love God for who he is and what He’s done for us.
Reflection
Read Rev 14:6, 7. How are we to understand why the command to “fear God” should be the first command of the Lord’s last-day message to the world? Given what we know about what is coming on the world, why does that command make so much sense
by Deborah Onovae | Oct 17, 2021 | Bible Study
4th Quarter: Present Truth in Deuteronomy.
Lesson 4: To Love the Lord Your God
Sunday: To Love God
Text: [[Deu 6:5]] BSB
_And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength._
Message
If we look back at the nation Israel, one thing that is clearly seen in their relationship with God is the numerous set of laws given them to obey. So it makes it difficult to accept the reality that their salvation was based on Grace. The question that comes up is, if it was Grace, why did they need so many laws? Israel understood well their responsibility towards God within the covenant. While love is the nature of God, men had to learn and commit to love. It required a conscious effort. In the _shema,_- an important prayer of Israel, they reminded themselves that God is One, and he alone deserved their allegiance.(Deut 6:4).
God had graciously given them the promised blessings, but to keep these blessings was their responsibility. That’s why God gave them laws that will help them maintain the blessings and live long on the land (6:1-3). In other words, the laws were hedges to protect Israel. This is how Deuteronomy 6 begins. God tells them what to do so they don’t mess up the gift they’ve been given. At the heart of the secrets to success on the land, they’re to “Love the Lord your God”. This is true today as when it was first spoken. Do you seek success and progress in every aspect of your life? Then love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your strength.
_Loving God with all the heart and soul and strength means that our love for Him should be supreme over our love for everything and everyone else, because He is the foundation and ground of all our being and existence and everything else. Love for Him should put our love for everything else in proper perspective._ Basically, it means be ready to choose God above everything – job, school, relationship, etc. This call, while it was for the nation, is directed to every individual. Make a personal decision to love God wholeheartedly, and see the outcome.
Reflection
Do you Love God? How is this absolute love expressed? In other words, What does it mean to you to love God with all your heart and soul and might?
by Deborah Onovae | Jul 1, 2021 | Bible Study
3rd Quarter: REST IN CHRIST
Lesson 1 *Living in a 24-7 Society*
Thursday: A Restless Wanderer
Text: [[Gen 4:12]] BSB
When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
Message
What is the cause of restlessness? Is it Poverty, riches, or greed? We find in scripture a man who became a restless wanderer, and his story offers us a great lesson. Cain was his name, the son of our first parents. As a result of his disregard for God’s word, his sacrifice wasn’t accepted, and the bitterness led him to kill his brother Abel. God told him what’ll become of him – a wanderer.
“Cain came before God with murmuring and infidelity in his heart in regard to the promised sacrifice and the necessity of the sacrificial offerings. His gift expressed no penitence for sin. He felt, as many now feel, that it would be an acknowledgment of weakness to follow the exact plan marked out by God, of trusting his salvation wholly to the atonement of the promised Saviour. He chose the course of self-dependence. He would come in his own merits.”
Of course Cain made great achievements. He built cities and established himself. He was industrious and lacked nothing, yet, he had no peace of mind – no rest. Here, we have a secret about rest. There’s a poor man who is satisfied in life and at peace with himself, and there’s a rich man with material possessions but has no rest. With all we’ve explored so far, we find that there’s a rest only God can give the soul, and until we surrender to his will, we’ll never experience it. But when one surrenders to God and accepts his pardon, the soul will enjoy heavenly rest even if suffering the greatest consequence of his sin. Neither poverty nor riches is a key to enjoying this rest. Whatever our lot, may we find joy and rest as we submit to our heavenly Father.
Reflection
Like Cain, there are many today who have built estates but still can’t boast of this true rest. Even if we end up suffering the consequences of our sins as we usually do, how can we learn to accept the forgiveness for them, offered us through the Cross?
by Deborah Onovae | Jun 30, 2021 | Bible Study
3rd Quarter: REST IN CHRIST
Lesson 1 Living in a 24-7 Society
Wednesday: Defining Rest in the New Testament
Text: [[Mar 6:31]] ASV
And he saith unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while. For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
Message
As we saw yesterday, the old testament Hebrew text had several words which explained the various types of rests. This isn’t peculiar to the OT alone, the NT also used different words to describe different forms of rest. One of such verbs is _anapauō_, which means to “rest, relax, refresh.” It is used in one of Jesus’ most famous statements on rest, Matt 11:28: “ ‘Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’. It can refer to physical rest (Matt. 26:45). Another verb used to indicate rest is hēsychazō. It describes the Sabbath rest of the disciples as Jesus rested in the grave (Luke 23:56). But it also is used to describe living a quiet life (1 Thess. 4:11).
Just as in the Hebrew language where not all the rests needed were as a result of physical exhaustion, the Greek shares similar idea. The Greek verb _katapauō,_ which means to “cause to cease, bring to rest, rest,” points to the creation Sabbath in which the rest instituted was not because of tiredness. But it’s important to note that, God is so much interested in our rest from physical labor too. Our bodies weren’t designed to work continuously without break, and so irrespective of how important your work is, there must be time for rest.
The disciples came back to Christ from a missionary journey excited to share their stories. They were willing to go back to the fields and work again for their master. Note that this was the work Christ was much passionate about, but having seen the load of work already covered, Christ bid them retreat and get some rest. Working for God isn’t a reason not to rest. We can’t excuse ourselves with church work while we breakdown physically. God is a God of order, and even in our work for him, he expects us to rest.
Reflection
What are ways of helping and relieving your local church pastor or elder or anyone you know who could be burned out from doing the Lord’s work? What could you do to express your appreciation and help this person find rest?
by Deborah Onovae | Jun 29, 2021 | Bible Study
3rd Quarter: REST IN CHRIST
Lesson 1 Living in a 24-7 Society
Tuesday: Defining Rest in the Old Testament
Text: [[2Sa 7:12]] BSB
_And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom._
Message
The concept of rest, for some strange reason appears to be offensive to some today. In the corporate world, to rest is almost synonymous to being lazy. It’s misconstrued that you can’t stop working and be successful. In the religious context, some Christians aren’t much comfortable with the same idea because it comes with the natural thought that one is pointing to the Sabbath (Saturday), which they are to observe. Though this is an important rest instituted by God, the old testament presents the idea of rest in a more broader range.
The OT defines or uses the term to describe several aspects of human existence. At the end of the creation week, God instituted _shabbat_, which means “to cease work, to rest, to take a holiday,” this is the verb form of the noun “Sabbath.” In Exodus 5:5, the same verb is varied to denote “making someone rest” from their work. In the Sabbath law, the term used is _nuakh_ (Exod. 20:11, Deut. 5:14) which means “rest” or figuratively “settled,” as used in Job 3:13. Another variation of the term is _”shaqat”_, which means to “be at rest, grant relief, be quiet.” The verb _”shakab”_ means “to lie down, sleep.” This is use in the Bible to describe the rest that God’s people find in death (this in no way teaches consciousness after death).
The OT uses different Hebrew words to describe rest that captures not just one traditional idea. According to the OT, there are rests that were required not because one is tired but because you are done (to cease), there are those that come naturally because you have peace of mind (to be at rest even while working), there are those that describe a state of being, and there are those that are necessary because of exhaustion (rejuvenation). All these are important and help us to have a broader view of the concept. This sets the tone for this quarter’s lesson. We’re not to limit ourselves to one type of rest, but to explore all the avenues which God has given for us to REST IN HIM.
*Reflection*
Death is certainly an enemy and will one day be abolished. And however much we mourn and miss our dead, why is it comforting to know that, at least for now, they are at rest?
