This is The Living Word Bible Study for Small Groups and Individual for Sunday, July 31 (TLW30C)
Lessons on how not to miss God’s best
Hosea 11:1-7 — The more they were called, the more they strayed
Luke 12:13-21 — Jesus teaches the folly of relying on possessions
Colossians 3:1-11 — The danger of falling back into the old life
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Read also this week’s linked article Three Common Pitfalls to Avoid
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Psalm 107:1-9, 43
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.
2-3 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story — those He redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
4-5 Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.
6-7 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
43 Let the one who is wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.
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Hosea 11:1-7 — The more they were called, the more they strayed
While paying lip-service to God, in their attitudes the people rejected Him
1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.
“Israel… a child” — tender words which recall God’s intense love for His people, shown especially in the deliverance from Egypt, Exodus 4:22-23.
2 “But the more they were called, the more they went away from Me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.
“They were called… they went away from Me” — continually called back to God by the prophets, they rejected His love by turning to pagan worship.
3 “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realise it was I who healed them.
“Taking them by the arms” — like a father guiding a toddler. Hosea particularly brings out how Israel “did not realise” the grace of God working in their lives and attributed the good to other things.
4 “I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.
“I led them… with ties of love” — the roots of Israel’s rebellion could not stem from God’s lack of care of the nation.
5-6 “Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? A sword will flash in their cities; it will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans.
“A sword will flash” — starting with war, they will return to bondage under foreign control (represented by Egypt) and be ruled by Assyria.
7 My people are determined to turn from Me. Even though they call me God Most High, I will by no means exalt them.
“God Most High” — Israel paid lip service with the honorific title, but foolishly paid more attention to false prophets (v.6)
Reflection
SUMMARY Hosea was a prophet who was called to speak God’s truth to the rebellious northern kingdom of Israel. His words over many years were not heeded, and the kingdom became more and more godless until it was overrun by Assyria.
APPLICATION One of the hardest things to recognise is that our self-management has been poor. Independence always justifies itself.
QUESTION Can you recall a situation in life when you wished you had listened?
Luke 12:13:21 — Jesus teaches the folly of relying on possessions
How the wealthy farmer who failed to trust in God finished with nothing
13 Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
“Divide the inheritance” — Jewish law allowed the eldest son to inherit a double share, Deut. 21:17, but was often challenged, as here.
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or an arbiter between you?”
Who appointed Me… an arbiter?” — a materialistic request, not a relational one, and it ignored the teaching Jesus had just given (Luke 12:1-12) on being sincere in recognising God and trusting Him. Jesus avoided what was not to do with His earthly work and ministry.
15 Then He said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
“Be on your guard” — Jesus goes on to tell a story about the deception of greed.
• For further study on the OT background, see Exodus 20:17; Deut. 5:21; Job 31:24-25; Ps 49; Eccles. 2:1-11.
16-17 And He told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“He thought to himself” —it’s a story full of self-references. This man never considered God, or with his abundance of crops, his moral responsibility to the needy.
• For further study, read James 4:13-17.
18-19 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘
“Store my surplus grain” — poor farmers needed to sell their harvest at the time, but excavation show that landowners had buildings, and large silos to store grain.
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“You fool!” — being rich is not in itself wrong but the trap is the deception that wealth provides security apart from God. Complacency that trusts in earned resources and not God, results in an eternal destiny separated from God.
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
“Not rich toward God” — the bottom line of both the inheritance question and the parable of the self-sufficient farmer. Independence from God is the starting point for all sin.
Reflection
SUMMARY Jesus’ story was about someone of the wealthy landowner class, but he was not being rich towards God. His trust was in what he had created and amassed in the physical world — and he’d lost sight of the spiritual dimension.
APPLICATION The more we have in possessions and in financial reserves, the more opportunities we have to live independently from God – and that’s a problem. Independence from God is at the root of all sin, and it is a fair definition for sin itself.
QUESTION How does insurance and prudent financial management affect our need to pray for God’s provision and protection for each day?
Colossians 3:1-11 — The danger of falling back into the old life
Those renewed in Christ are empowered to say ‘no’ to the former ways
1-2 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
“Since, then” – a shift from the earlier doctrinal teaching, to its practice in Christian living.
“You have been raised” – literally ‘co-resurrected with Christ’. At the moment we put our trust in Christ as our Saviour, and ask Him to be Lord of our lives, we spiritually enter His death, and His resurrection. In this new life we see the “things above”, spiritual realities and blessings, and God’s kingdom will and purpose, in a way we couldn’t before.
3-4 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
“Hidden with Christ in God” – the new, reborn life is not dictated by the world, but secure in a common spiritual life with Father and Son, 1 Cor. 6:17, 2 Peter 1:4, a dimension of life the world cannot understand, 1 Cor. 2:14, 1 John 3:2.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
“Put to death… your earthly nature” – having died to the old life by choosing new life in Christ, we are empowered to think and live differently, and to say ‘no’ to old patterns of behaviour when they try to kick in.
6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
“The wrath of God is coming” – wrath is a reflection of God’s holiness and justice. Being utterly opposed to sin, He must see that it is punished in a just way, at the final judgment but also with consequences starting now.
7-8 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
“Anger… malice, slander” – the old life was selfish, the new life in Christ is relational, about loving God and loving others. Here are listed five common but relationship-damaging behaviours.
“Rid yourselves” – or “put aside”, like taking off dirty clothes at the end of the working day.
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
“Taken off the old self…put on the new self, which is being renewed”– the old selfish nature has been exchanged for a new Spirit-led nature, with new behaviour evident to all. This is a call to choose to live in continuous renewal according to the new nature, under the lordship of Christ.
• For further study, read 2 Cor. 4:16, Eph. 4:20-25, Gal. 3:27.
11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
“No Gentile or… barbarian” – Jews looked down on Gentiles, and in the Roman Empire those unable to speak Greek well were mocked as barbarians. Black Sea coast Scythians were especially ostracised. The point is, all who turn to Jesus as Lord are accepted equally in His kingdom.
Reflection
SUMMARY This sets out the contrast between the old unspiritual, selfish life, and new life in Christ which has a heavenly focus and inspiration for our attitudes and relationships. Believers will show Christ in their lives by the opposite of the five toxic traits, and five destructive attitudes given as examples.
APPLICATION Having a life hidden with Christ in God is a description of our new identity as those belonging to God – elsewhere in the Bible described as having the rights of adopted children of God. Knowing this new identity is crucial to how we live. If we see ourselves as we were, in the old nature and unchanged, that’s how we will live, and our attitudes and actions will reflect that. But if we know that we belong to Christ and have His nature within us, we will live up to that new nature – with the help of His Spirit. God urges us through this Scripture not to live our old man-centred lives with a bit of ‘Sunday’ church adornment, but to be continually spiritually renewed in the new self, as new creations in Jesus, always growing in our relationship with God.
QUESTION We want to rid ourselves of those ugly attitudes — but should we see that as a command and a duty, or growing into the new person we are, because we can?
PRAYER Father God, with so many conflicting pressures and expectations in the world, how do we find Your way?
Forgive us for giving in to that desire to find our own way and for trying to create our own security.
As You have chosen us, so we choose to follow Your way and rely on Your eternal security.
Help us to keep receiving Your Spirit to teach, guide and enable. Help us to grow in hearing Him, in living for You – and avoiding the foolish pitfalls, through Jesus.
Amen.
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