EMMAUS SCHOOL OF BIBLICAL STUDIES

The major theme of this book was Israel’s leadership.  Israel rejected the Lord as their king and demanded that they have a monarchy as the surrounding nations did.  Of course, the surrounding nations had strayed so far from the Lord that He had set them for destruction and given their land to the Israelites, so I’m not sure why they wanted to emulate their practices.  The major theme of this book was to show the origin of the monarchy, God’s desire to rule over his people, the sinful nature of rejecting him, and the nature and purpose of this new government.

Here are some of my Timeless Truths:

Overall TT: The most important aspect of godly leadership is one’s heart being devoted to the Lord. (16:7)

TT: The only infallible leader is the Lord. (8:1, 3)

TT: One should find their security and worth in the Lord. (18)

TT: We ought to rely upon the Lord’s power or strength and not our own. (17:46-47)

TT: When one encounters a difficult situation they should seek their strength and guidance from the Lord. (30:6)

TT: Even in dark times one should have faith and trust in the Lord.  There is nothing the Lord cannot overcome. (31)

For me, the main thing I got from this book was that first and foremost we should not be relying upon human leaders, government, or even ourselves to achieve results.  This is true both individually and corporately (i.e. as a nation, society, etc.).  God is ultimately the source of our life, our identity, our security, our worth, our direction, our strength, our everything.  First and foremost, we must allow him to be our king and leader of our lives.

However, we do still live in a society that has structure and hierarchy, thus we must still choose leaders.  Therefore, this applies to modern American politics.  We must reevaluate what is important in selecting a representative.  Everything is about outward appearance and image these days.  I read somewhere that “the make-up man has replaced the speech writer” in terms of importance.  It definitely seems true.  Everything is about PR, marketing, appearance.  We need to remember that at the end of the day the most important thing we need to be thinking about in terms of choosing a leader is where his heart is at in relation to the Lord.

Samuels are really good. I’ve such a day being with the Lord as i wrap up my thoughts on the book. David was a great king for Israel. he did many good things for the cities and even provided examples on how to conduct themselves towards the Lord. I saw in most of David’s situations how much his heart loved the Lord. even in his sin, he repented and was truly sorry for what he had done. As opposed to Saul who half way obeyed and sought only what he could get out of being king. Samuel, though not a king, proved to be the best leader for Israel. Even during the reign of Saul, Samuel put his words and thoughts for the people. The Lord shows his people who their real king was. God allows them to have a king but he shows them that they can’t escape his rule and authority. the Lord is our true King.

1 and 2 Samuel are actually one book that got split into 2 because of how long it is so we studied them together. There is so much in it that I could write forever but I will just focus on one really great part. 2 Sam 9 deals with the story of Mephibosheth. A little background: Saul was first king of Israel and didn’t fear the Lord. His son Jonathan and this guy David were really close friends. David had been anointed to take over king after Saul by God instead of Jonathan as heir. So that in itself is strange that Jonathan would love David as much as he did. Saul hated David and tried to kill him all his life. After Saul and Jonathan died and David is king, David wants to know about any survivors related to Saul so he can show them kindness. Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, who is crippled in both feet is found and brought to David. It was proper in those days to kill all the remaining relatives of a family of the king you overthrew. So in a way, Mephibosheth “deserved” death or it would have been ok to do so since he was related to the former king Saul. So Mephibosheth enters King David’s presense probably trembling with fear for his life, useless and unable to do anything for himself. David tells him not to be afraid and that he is going to show kindness to him. David makes Mephibosheth eat at his table with him everyday from that day on. Mephibosheth asks David why he is doing this to him, a “dead dog.” Through this story, God’s grace is greatly seen. You and I are Mephibosheth. We are useless, crippled in the feet, dead dogs that don’t deserve to be eating at the kings table but God the great king of all invited us to be with him always and we did nothing at all to deserve it. Because of Christ Jesus we can sit and eat with the king forever in eternity.

Overall timeless truth: The more you insist on your own way and the longer you refuse to repent and acknowledge your sins, the further your heart and conscience gets from God. (1 Samuel 22)
Timeless truth: Partial obedience is not obedience (15:4-9)
Timeless truth: To obey is better than sacrifice (2:12-36) This book raises questions and gives answers concerning the nature and the purpose of Israel’s new monarchy. What is the acceptable nature of the Israelites monarchy? Who can serve properly? This is answered throughout both books, shown through Saul and David. The author is showing the affects of personal and national sin. It is through the covenant that they maintain a relationship with God, showing that Israel does not want to be in covenant with God as their King. They wanted to be like the other nations and have their king on earth. The main idea of this book is that God is the true King of Israel. He is their God and they are to be his people.

The two books of Samuel are full of God revealing to his people what a leader should look like over them. This book is full of so many different wonderful lessons but the one I feel like impacted me the most was the theme of Leadership. Great leaders are willing to admit when they are wrong, have smarter and more powerful people under them, be confident in who they are in God and praise their people when appropriate. They also have to be humble and remember to always fear God more than man. Why did leadership hit home with me? I have always seen myself as a leader, and since I am up here at this school learning who God is and in turn who I am I thought I would look at it more closely. I decided that leadership is a huge responsibility and privilege. I do know that if God calls me to lead I will know where to go in the Bible to get some pointers for good leadership. The application point that I got out of this book was to be humble. This project alone humbled me because it broke me at one point and I just gave up, but where I gave up is where God picked me up. So I have come to realize that I am flawed but if I admit it and yearn for God’s best he will pick me up brush me off and give me another go at it.

What I have seen so much of is God’s faithfulness. That he relentlessly pursues us. That he longs to be with us. That thankfully He is good. I have just seen over and over again how much his faithfulness endures. How much He chooses to make our hearts run hard and fast after Him. That in His sovereignty He is good and allows the spirit to dwell within us making our heart do everything unto him. I just saw Him be faithful within sin and wavering faith. That he was good in His justice to sustain His character for the lasting good of His people. So in my life I want to change my perspective and change my heart. Change my view of myself and of God. I will rehearse his faithfulness, my identity, and His character as spiritual disciples for the rest of my life.

I plan to carry out these changes by praying that the Lord would do a great work in me. That my heart would be bound to his. That it would be powerfully sealed to his. I want to value human life as He does. I will choose to let the Lord be in control. I want to come back to him swiftly and readily. I want to care about Him more than my own selfish gain. I choose to keep my life aligned with the truth of the work on the cross FOR me. I will have true repentance. I want my whole heart engulfed by His. I will change my life by not owning my life but letting the Lord. I desire to be better each new day. And have spiritual disciplines to build our relationship for my lasting good and for the rest of my life. I will find my identity in Christ ALONE!

Ruth is a beautiful short book about a volume of important truths. It portrays the gospel so clearly. Ruth has a choice to go back to her home town to find “security” among the Moabites but they do not worship the true God. She decides to go with her mother-in-law into  Judah where security is not promised them since they are widowed with no male to support them, which was a really bad thing to happen back then. Naomi, her mother-in-law wants Ruth to go back to her home land to find security but Ruth proclaims in 1:16 “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” I love that verse because Ruth is choosing to find true security in God almighty instead of what seems like a better decision on an earthly basis. What happens is that that God proves to be their true security through a man named Boaz who for no reason at all it seems, goes above and beyond what the law required of a person to treat those in need and ends up marrying Ruth, giving her and her mother-in-law security all their life. Boaz wasn’t looking for a wife. He was an older wealthy man who actually lost a little money in doing what he did but the love of God is seen passionately in his life and he values people. Ruth is not an Israelite and it is so cool to see that Ruth and Boaz become the descendants of King David who becomes the descendant of Christ Jesus. It proves to show that God had all people in mind with Christ and not just Jewish people.

Ruth Demonstrates Loyalty, Faithfulness, and Humility. It shows the blessing that can come from obedience to the Lord in you heart. The book of Ruth also shows the curses of the Israelites disobedience in the famine that swept the land. God is faithful to his word in all things and as Ruths story coincide with the time of the Judges, most of Israel is in the shackles of sin. Within the midst of such a dark time there is a light in the book of Ruth. Ruths faithfulness to her mother-in-law is inspiring, and Boaz’s humility in sharing his wealth with others is a testament to how wealth and power should truly be used. Ruth being a gentile woman coming into the community of those in Bethlehem and through faith becoming a part of the covenant demonstrates God extreme appreciation for a faith of the heart. It is also important to note that the faith of her heart shown outward and brought blessings and honor upon her from others. The book of Ruth shows that God provides security with trust and acceptance of what he has and will do. IN order to understand and learn to trust God sometime it is important to step outside of our comfort zone and allow God to lead us into unknown territory. The book of Ruth has shown me there is value in faith, there is value in loyalty, there is value in love, and there is value in others. I’ll take that to Heart.

I love the story of Ruth and thought I knew the love story contained in it between Ruth and Boaz. I learned so much studying the book to teach it. I learned first that God is the hero. He was sovereign to make the great king in Israel’s history come from this family. He placed the book as a bright light in the darkness of Israel’s history. He is just and serious about blessings and curses from the covenant He made. And also serious about the descendants of Abraham becoming a great nation, here they produce a king. God is so good to be personal in the lives of these people and give the author Samuel a writing style to include the finest details. I learned that Naomi became the central figure that facilitated Ruth having Obed with Boaz. That her family line (orchestrated by God) made Ruth and Naomi’s time in Bethlehem possible. I learned that Naomi was the most real person because her faith wavered like normal Christians. That she was probably a good wife and really cared for her daughters-in-law. I saw God’s ability to rescue the faithful and even His desire to do as such. I learned that God blesses my life spiritually when I am obedience and I am thankful that my acceptance is not dependant on my obedience that it was for the characters of this story. I am thankful Ruth was a child by faith, that God continues to set up His people for a need for a savior, and that True Israel was by faith alone, not works so that no man can boast. I can apply they truths I know about God from the book of Ruth to my life by being obedient by the power of the Holy Spirit in loving response to receive spiritual blessings from the Lord my God. I can believe God to rescue me, as I am faithful. I will know more social tolerance and hopefully change to judge others different than me, less. I will remember God wants me to have good character and that my integrity is noticed by God. I want to apply a truth to live out my faith that others would be inspired to dedicate their lives to Jesus. Jesus has let me see that without Him I am nothing and that I have nothing and that when I cling to Him my life is better and the most complete, fulfilled, and happy.

The book of Ruth is so exciting to me! It is a story of the love that God has for the margins of society. He shows this love through the faithfulness of one man to his covenant, Boaz. Boaz has become a dear character. He goes above and beyond his call of duty to the law in almost every interaction with Ruth. First he tells her to only glean in his field, he feeds her lunch and she has food left over, when she asks him to marry her he sends her away with food, and finally he tricks the closer kin out of acting as next-of-kin just to protect Naomi and Ruth from getting a raw deal. It is so beautiful to see that he put God before his finances and had faith to obey the law and trust God for the outcome. My application point might seem silly but the blog was not required but because Boaz went above and beyond I too want to go above and beyond what I am supposed to do. I want to be outlandishly generous! So here is my blog! Another application point is to be more ready to give true praise and encouragement to other students up here.

What really struck me was the conclusion of the book. I believe the main point he was trying to make, is that all of the bad stuff in the middle of the book came from small sins that were in the beginning of the book. It was small decisions that sent them to the complete moral bankruptcy that is depicted in the last few chapters. What the reader sees is that these people truly believe what they are doing is right. Micah believes he will be blessed by God by setting up an idol and having a priest. People left to themselves will not choose God There is a cycle throughout this book that shows this principle to be true, but O’ how true it is in my life. I often times choose the temporary gods of this world over God. Especially the god of my own self. I have had a good walk with the LORD over the last couple of years, but it never ceases to amaze me as to how I am self-deceived in some ways. My idols are small hidden things that still continue to pull me from God. Search me O God…

I have come to the realization through studying Judges that humanity is in a fallen and depraved state. Everyone in Judges seemed to do what was right in their own eyes and the result was chaotic sin running rampage on everyone. Even the judges that God appointed to save his people were fallen people and were not the perfect Bible characters that we learn about in Sunday School. This book makes me deeply grateful that God chose me and saved me from my own depravity. The truth is that if he had not saved me I would be no different than these characters in Judges who lived in such a depraved state because they did not know God. Even though I do know God and have a relationship with Him, I want to understand him more so that I do not fall into my flesh nature and act out my misunderstanding of God. Idolatry was also a huge deal in Judges. These people kept turning to the gods of the people that they did not drive out. They disobeyed and it led to bigger problems and there were always consequences. This makes me wonder what are the areas in my life where I fudge a little bit and do not think it is a big deal. Wow! Scary! I just have asked the Lord to protect me from my own idolatrous ways. I do not even know where they are but I pray that I will turn from them and cling to him when I recognize them.

            Being at school there is always a time, place, or reason to choose God. Being not of the world but in the world those instances are less frequent. Going through the book of Judges I have seen that sometimes here I do not always choose Him. That He never leaves me alone, and nothing here leaves me to myself and still there are times when I choose things, people, and places that I think will fulfill me. In this I see my depravity. I see the not so big a shocker to God that I am fallen, sinful, and in need of a savior. The reason my sin surprises me each time is because I do not have a full understanding of it. Throughout Judges I have been praying the Lord would show me a full realization of my sin. How I need to tremble at the darkness within me and repent daily at the very least.

            I can change my life through the realization of my depravity by first, not being self-condemning. And then by having spiritual disciplines, discipleship, abiding peace, faith to see everything in the light of God, hopeful-ness, that my sin cost exactly what Jesus came to bring, and that by the power of the Holy Spirit I actually can do what is right. I want to cultivate communion with Christ and realize my acceptance and peace comes from Him. I want to have long obedience in the same direction. I want to get alone with God, pray, meditate on scripture, and read the word of God. I will choose to hate idolatry. I will know being addicted to even good things is still giving it more importance to God and that God hates idolatry too. I can rehearse God’s faithfulness continually and be beautifully transparent, where I do not pretend to be anything but who I am.

Judges shows a time in Israel of darkness because their sin. They continued to disobey the Lord. They went through cycles of sin, God shows his mercy, his grace, and his love. He continued to stay faithful and deliver them each time. Israel seemed to have forgotten what the Lord had told them, that just as he cannot dwell among sin, neither can they. To them they did what was right, so you see with that is that thier idea of what was right for them is far from what the Lord knows is right for them. All the way to the end of the book, sin, destruction of themselves. Almost like a drug addict but Israel is addicted to themselves and sin among them in the land.

The book of Joshua depicts God’s faithfulness to the promise he made. Joshua shows the reader that time and time again God was the cause of military success, the people of Israel did not obtain the promised land as a result of their hard work, but as a result of God’s faithfulness. This book records this faithfulness for generations to come, so they might never become complacent and comfortable and forget the God that saved them from slavery.

One of the main points that I saw throughout the book was that we as Christians suffer sin as a community. We live in the western Christianity where it is alright if you sin as long as you don’t get caught, and on the other end of the spectrum are those living in abuse of grace.

Both are equally far from what God wants for his people, and both are killing the church of Christ’s members. I have been a part of Christian communities that do not see the benefit of calling people out in their sin. This is never done for prideful selfish arrogant judgmental reasons, but because I truly love my brother and I want the best for him. And if truth be told I want him to do the same for me. My sin affects the whole body, but the worst thing is that I do not know where it is at times in my own life.

Christ took the wrath of God for us so we no longer live in a conditional covenant, but my secret and not so secret sins still hurt me as much now as they did back then.

This lead me to get real with some of my friends up here and to implore of them to help me see my failures.