Exploring Difficult Biblical Assignments in Bible Study
Dive into a Bible study session focusing on challenging tasks assigned by God to various biblical characters. Discover how these assignees faced obstacles, met or failed goals, and took action in fulfilling divine commands. Reflect on spiritual success, secular measurements, and specific examples such as Ezekiel’s hard assignments.
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The Hardest Things: A Look At Difficult Biblical Assignments Refuge Church Ministries II Bible Study February 21, 2023 Pastors Brown and Brown
Objectives Bible Study participants will learn from characters in the Bible regarding: What are some of the hard things God assigned to them to accomplish. How the assignees met or did not meet the goals of their assignments. What actions they took? Why were they so hard to accomplish?
Think About It.. Have you ever thought about how hard it was for some of our Biblical characters to actually accomplish what God told them to do? This study will help you place yourself in the hard shoes of some of God s assignees. What may be the hardest thing God has assigned to your hands as a Christian believer?
Spiritual Success is a Hard Thing! Secular Examples to Measure Success Weight Loss Better paying job/rank Bigger house Spiritual Examples to Measure Success (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) Inward Renewal Who we are in Christ ( Big Picture ) -- i.e., more loving, more patient, more peaceful, fruits of the spirit
Ezekiels Hard Assignments Read (Ezekiel 4:1-6) 1stHard Assignment: God told him to lay on his left side for 390 days! This was to symbolize bearing the sins of the people (Israel). 2ndHard Assignment: God told him to lay on his right side for 40 days to symbolize bearing the sins of the people (Judah)
Ezekiels Hard Assignments Read Ezekiel 4:7-8 Hard Assignment: Siege of Jerusalem Read Verse 9 (Ingredients for bread) Hard Assignment: Cook Bread over human excrement and eat it for 390 days! What a command from God! What are your thoughts about this assignment? Why?
Ezekiels Hard Assignments Read Ezekiel 24:15-16 God told Ezekiel that his wife was going to die, but Ezekiel couldn t mourn as usual/customary: No weeping, no sackcloth, no throwing ashes on his head, no eating foods that grieving people eat (no repast!) Must wear a turban and keep sandals on as counterintuitive signs of celebration. In today s culture what makes this assignment so difficult?
Isaiahs Hard Assignment Read/Discuss - Isaiah 20 Hard Thing: God commands Isaiah to take off his clothes and walk around naked! His nakedness: Was a sign to Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Philistines. Tells of what would soon happen to them: King of Assyria would triumph over them and take them prisoners. In near east, it was common for prisoners o be paraded w/o clothes in front of captors as a sign of shame.
What was hard about this assignment? Isaiah s Hard Assignment What do you learn about God s assignments after considering what he commanded Isaiah to do? How do you feel about the hard assignment?
It was unsettling because: Of the way God chose for Isaiah to accomplish the command. Isaiah was to do this for 3 years! Some translations of Bible suggest that he was not totally naked (he was stripped down to his briefs, but certainly not clothed on his upper body). Isaiah s Hard Assignment (Summary) Considering this story when God told you to do something how did you respond? Were you: (a) scared, (b) embarrassed, (c) ambivalent (d) vulnerable (e) choose which ones (f) all of the above? Why? Remember: God often challenged Isaiah in unusual ways. He will challenge us also. He will stretch us as well and the assignment may be quite unsettling!
Read 2 Samuel 24:1-25 (cross ref. 1 Chronicles 21: 1-25) Although known as a man after God s own heart David sinned against God. David was incited by Satan to sin by counting the people. As result, God assigned three hard choices for punishment: David s Hard Assignment- One, Two, One, Two, Three Three (1) 3-year famine among his people (2) 3-month military fight with Israel s enemies (3) 3-day plague /pestilence David said to let God choose, so God sent plagues and killed 70,000 people. The command was to choose the punishment. What made this so hard to do for David? What would you have chosen? Why?
