This is the Living Word Bible study for groups and individuals, on the Revised Common Lectionary Bible readings set for Sunday, September 11, 2022.
Exodus 32:7-14 — Moses intercedes for God to relent on His anger
Luke 15:1-10 — Heaven’s joy in bringing in people who were lost
1 Timothy 1:12-17 — God relents and we find grace turning to Christ
Theme: Rebellion invites holy judgment but God seeks grounds to show mercy
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• Read this week’s linked article
• Watch the 14-min video Why God’s Grace Is Too Good To Be Untrue in widescreen YouTube or tall format for mobiles on Instagram
• The same material is available on The Living Word publication on Medium, https://medium.com/the-living-word
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Psalm 14
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
4 Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord.
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
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Exodus 32:7-14 — Moses intercedes for God to relent on His anger
Jeremiah later prophesies unrelenting judgment on those who would not repent
7 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.
“Go down, because your people…” — irony in the Lord’s phrase “your people… whom you brought out…” as He warns Moses of the trouble that has arisen in the camp.
8 “They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’
9-10 “I have seen these people,” the LORD said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave Me alone so that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
Stiff-necked people” — first use of this phrase describing Israel’s arrogance before God.
• For further study, see Deut. 10:16, 31:27; Neh. 9:16; Jer. 19:15.
“Now leave me alone” — a test, leaving the way open for Moses to continue as intercessor to plead for the Lord to relent.
11 But Moses sought the favour of the LORD his God. “LORD,” he said, “why should Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?
12 “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that He brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on Your people.
“Turn from Your fierce anger” — accepting the Lord’s verdict, Moses appeals on the basis of “Your people”, the phrase the Lord challenged Moses with earlier.
13 Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom You swore by Your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ ”
“Remember” — in this great intercessory prayer, Moses reasons with the Lord that His deliverance from Egypt should not be abandoned and the covenant established long before, should be upheld.
14 Then the LORD relented and did not bring on His people the disaster He had threatened.
“The Lord relented” — because He had threatened, rather than decreed, punitive action, so Moses could be drawn into prayerfully calling on God’s mercy to overrule.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 — A judgment foretold where God will not relent
11-12 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward My people, but not to winnow or cleanse; a wind too strong for that comes from Me. Now I pronounce My judgments against them.”
“A scorching wind” — not the beneficial wind that helped in winnowing grain, but like the hot and dusty desert sirocco; a sandblast judgment.
22 “My people are fools; they do not know Me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”
“Fools… senseless… ” — Judah was wise in the ways of evil but ignorant about right living: strong language to bring repentance.
23 I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone.
“: “formless and empty… their light… gone”, echoes Genesis 1:1-2.
24-25 I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away.
I looked… I looked” — repetition emphasising the prophetic perspective of a judgment like reversing creation itself
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before His fierce anger.
“Fruitful land” — or Carmel; the vineyards and olive groves turning to desert.
27 This is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely.
“Not…completely” — a ray of hope enters the speech.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back.”
“Will not relent” — and in parallel, “will not turn back”. This will be God’s judgment unless there is repentance, e.g. Jer. 18:7-10 where God relents for the nation that heeds the warning and repents.
Reflection
SUMMARY Where Moses was able to intercede for God to withhold judgment, Jeremiah foretells the consequences for those who repeatedly refused to learn, a judgment so severe it is like reversing creation.
APPLICATION Moses pleaded for people who had made a serious, but early mistake, while Jeremiah’s context was a longstanding and unrepentant rebellion against God. By contrast the NT perspective emphasises God’s merciful grace through believing and trusting in Jesus as the sole condition.
QUESTION Does this impending judgment apply in our time? If so, how can we best help others to find eternal life and not eternal punishment?
Luke 15:1-10 — Heaven’s joy in bringing in people who were lost
Jesus teaches through stories about finding a lost sheep and a lost coin
1-2 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
“Tax collectors” — marginalised for serving the pagan emperor, together with notorious sinners such as robbers, nevertheless these outcasts showed that they had “ears to hear”, Luke 14:35.
3-4 Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
“Jesus told them” — three stories confronting the self-righteous murmuring and gossip of the more religious Jews.
“A hundred… leave the ninety-nine” — a typical sized flock and shepherds often watched over each others’ animals, allowing freedom to search.
5-6 “And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’
“Found my lost sheep” — the gathering of the flock was familiar as a picture of God delivering His own people at the end time.
• For further study, see Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 31:10-11; Ezekiel 34:11-12.
7 “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
“Rejoicing… over one sinner who repents” — God in His love desires to reach every individual. The Pharisees and scribes should have been rejoicing over lost sheep of Israel entering the kingdom, not judging them.
“Do not need to repent” — ironic, meaning those considering themselves righteous and not in need of repentance.
8-9 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?
“Search… until she finds it” — about more than monetary value; a bride’s wedding gift was a head-dress of 10 silver coins.
9 “And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’
10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
“Rejoicing” — heaven’s joy over a precious individual turning to God, confronting the solemn religiosity of the Pharisees.
Reflection
SUMMARY Two of the three parables in which the Lord taught the special favour given to those who are lost and without hope. The concluding parable is the story of the father’s heart toward the son who was lost.
APPLICATION This teaching challenges the inward club attitude of many churches. Our worship of God is insincere unless it is joyful about meeting with Jesus, sharing His mission and helping others to find new life in Him.
QUESTION Churches may have many priorities but what is the main one as taught here?
1 Timothy 1:12-17 — God relents and we find grace turning to Christ
Paul the persecutor becomes a prime example of God’s undeserved mercy
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me trustworthy, appointing me to His service.
“He has given me strength” — insight and endurance empowered by the Spirit of Jesus.
13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
“I was once” — Paul the persecutor of God’s people was met by God’s mercy in his encounter with Christ.
14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
“The grace of our Lord… poured out on me” — as the epitome of a person without merit. The false teachers also in view here were failing to teach the gospel — new life through faith and grace — but were reverting to religious Jewish legalism.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst.
“A trustworthy saying” — emphasises key teachings, such as grace, in the letters to Timothy and Titus.
• For further study, see 1 Timothy 3:1, 4:8-9; 2 Tim. 2:11-13; Titus 3:4-8.
16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.
“Believe in Him and receive eternal life” — Paul emphasises his experience of the sole condition for salvation: believing and trusting in Jesus Christ to receive eternal life, a truth found more than 185 times in the NT.
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
“Now to the King eternal…” — Probably a line from an early Christian praise song.
Reflection
SUMMARY Writing to his apprentice Timothy, Paul shares his story to bring out a teaching about how God’s grace works. His background and actions persecuting Christians make him “the worst of sinners” and the least deserving of God’s grace and forgiveness — and the best example of the change that happens when we simply believe in Jesus and receive eternal life.
APPLICATION Jesus called people to follow His Way by faith but the religion that people constructed out of that tends to make salvation exclusive and conditional. The truth is, it is neither. Faith that believes who Jesus is, and trusts what He has done for us and our burden of sin, simply receives what He freely gives. The simplicity of that is unsatisfying to the religious mind. But Paul spells the plain truth out in short simple words — “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. We believe what we cannot learn — and receive what we cannot earn.
QUESTION In a world that has little awareness of sin, how do we share the incredible Good News of salvation in Jesus?
PRAYER Lord, You are good beyond any human idea of goodness and yet we can come to know You in a close and intimate relationship through Jesus and overcome our old selfish nature.
We were as lost and hopeless as the sheep in the story that needed to be carried — and You went out of Your way to find us and bring us back.
We renounce our judgmental Pharisee spirit as we humbly ask for Your heart of love to grow in us. Especially give us love for those we might not, of ourselves, want to reach out to.
Amen.
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