W I N T E R This quarter s Study Themes are: Change the World, The Roads Less Traveled, and God s Outrageous Love. AY.

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1 W I N T E R B i b l e S t u d i e s f o r L i f e O400 CELEBRATING F T H E K J V

2 Ross H. McLaren Content Editor Christina Zimmerman Editorial Project Leader Alan Raughton Lead Adult Ministry Specialist David Apple Adult Ministry Specialist Send questions/comments to Editor, The Herschel Hobbs Commentary One LifeWay Plaza Nashville, TN Or make comments on the web at Management Personnel Bret Robbe, Director Leadership and Adult Publishing Ron Brown, Ron Keck, Ken Braddy Managing Directors Leadership and Adult Publishing David Francis, Director Sunday School Bill Craig, Director Leadership and Adult Ministry Gary H. Hauk, Director, Publishing LifeWay Church Resources ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We believe the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. The 2000 statement of The Baptist Faith and Message is our doctrinal guideline. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV). Scripture quotations identified as CEV are from the Contemporary English Version. Copyright American Bible Society 1991, Used by permission. Quotations marked ESV are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible, Holman CSB, and HCSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. This translation is available in a Holman Bible and can be ordered through Lifeway Christian Stores. Quotations marked KJV and the printed Bible study text are from the King James Version. This translation is available in a Holman Bible and can be ordered through Lifeway Christian Stores. Passages marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, Used by permission. Quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. Reprinted with permission. Quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The Herschel Hobbs Commentary (ISSN X; Item ), Bible Studies for Life, is published quarterly by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee 37234; Thom S. Rainer, President, LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention; Copyright 2010 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. All rights reserved. Single subscription to individual address, $22.35 per year. If you need help with an order, WRITE LifeWay Church Resources Customer Service, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee ; For subscriptions or subscription changes, FAX (615) or For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, FAX (615) , orderentry@lifeway.com., or write to the above address. Please allow six to eight weeks for arrival of first issue. COVER: King James I of England Jupiter Images Corporation. Printed in the United States of America. ii

3 Contents Celebrating 400 Years of the KJV Who Was King James and Why Did He Authorize the Bible? Study Theme Change the World December 5 Value What God Values (Isa. 61:1-11) December 12 Go and Do (Luke 10:25-37) December 19 Focus on Jesus (Luke 2:8-20,33-35) December 26 Go and Tell (Acts 8:26-39) The Roads Less Traveled January January 2 A Lifestyle of Community (Eph. 4:4-7,14-16,25-32) A Lifestyle of Humility (Luke 14:7-11; John 13:3-5,14-15; Phil. 2:1-4)

4 Contents January January January 16 A Lifestyle of Service [Sanctity of Human Life Lesson] (Matt. 25: 19-21,29,34-40; Mark 10:42-45) A Lifestyle of Sacrifice (Luke 9:23-24,57-62; 21:1-4; Rom. 12:1-2) A Lifestyle of Meditation (Pss. 1:1-3; 119:11-16; Mark 1:35-39) God s Outrageous Love February 6 God Loves the Unlovely [Evangelism Lesson] (Hos. 1:2-9; 3:1-5) February 13 God Loves for His People to Be Loyal to Him (Hos. 6:1 7:2) February 20 God Loves Like a Grand Father (Hos. 11:1-11) February 27 God Loves to Welcome Us Home (Hos. 14:1-9) Preview of Next Quarter s Studies

5 Week of December 5 Value What God Values Bible Passage: Isaiah 61:1-11 What This Lesson Is About: God works through us to change the world when we understand what is important to Him and realign our values with His values. How This Lesson Can Impact Your Life: This lesson can help you become an agent of change by discovering what is important to God and aligning your priorities with God s purposes. This is a GROW lesson. Word Study: Judgment The Hebrew word mishpat in Isaiah 61:8 is the word usually translated as justice. This word is found many times throughout the Old Testament. Justice is the central ethical idea of the Old Testament. People often think of justice or judgment in the Bible as God s way of expressing His wrath. Mishpat does have this as one of its expressions, but many other times the word deals with God s benefits and is a positive term. Justice was a key theme for Isaiah (see 1:17), for Amos (see 5:24), and for Micah (see 6:8). v Search the Scriptures In this lesson we are searching the Scriptures for two things. First, we are looking for the things that God values and, second, we are looking for the ways we are to make these values our own. The Lord God anointed His servant with His Spirit and commissioned Him to meet the needs of the poor, the brokenhearted, captives, and those who mourn. God s people are to restore, rebuild, and renew their roles as priests and ministers. They will be vindicated in the 9

6 Value What God Values eyes of their enemies and receive eternal joy. The Lord loves justice and hates any form of injustice. Among His gifts are salvation and righteousness, peace and joy. Why are values important? Our values are important because our total being is influenced by our values. They shape our ideals and determine our priorities, which determine our actions. God Values All People (Isa. 61:1-7) Who is the speaker in these verses? To whom was He speaking? What were their assignments? What values of God are revealed in this passage? How can we make these values our own? Verses 1-7: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. 4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. 5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. Verses 1-2 are one of many passages in Isaiah that ultimately were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus quoted the first two verses in Luke 4: He was in His hometown synagogue at Nazareth. He had begun His ministry, but this was a hometown boy who had been doing and saying great things at other places. Now He was back 10

7 Week of December 5 where He had grown up. One of the parts of the Jews worship was reading from the Scriptures. Jesus read Isaiah 61:1-2. This may have been the scheduled passage or He may have selected it. In either case, He claimed to be the One mentioned in these verses. With all eyes fixed on Him, He told the people in the synagogue, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears (Luke 4:21). The response was mixed. They were at first impressed by His words, but later they grew angry at His claims that His mission included Gentiles (4:22-30). Who is the speaker who uses me in this passage? Some say it was the prophet himself. Others say it was the Servant of the Lord. This was a title given to a promised deliverer in Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13 53:12. At one point the Servant was identified as Israel (49:3). But the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, like Luke 4:18-19, identifies an individual as the ultimate Servant. As Christians, we know the ultimate fulfillment was in Jesus. This is the One whom God anointed by His Spirit. Thus in this passage we have the involvement of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Although the full-blown doctrine of the trinity came years later, this passage anticipates it. This One anointed by the Spirit was given specific tasks. The descriptions of each task included the group affected and the action toward them. For example, He was to preach good tidings unto the meek ( the poor, NIV, HCSB, ESV; the oppressed, CEV). This was a priority task given to Jesus and Christ s followers. The inclusion of the poor showed that the good news was needed by all rich and poor alike. As a rule, the poor are more open to receive the good news. The Bible stresses compassionate ministry to the poor, but their greatest need is to hear and respond to God s good news. From this we learn that one of God s values is people who have received the good news of salvation and who tell it to others. The second task was to bind up ( heal, CEV, HCSB) the broken-hearted. Earlier David wrote, The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (Ps. 34:18). Another verse in which David used broken is in his prayer for forgiveness after his great sins: For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite 11

8 Value What God Values heart, O God, thou wilt not despise (51:16-17). David said that God values truly repentant people, not the sacrifices they bring. This means that He expects us to find healing when our hearts and spirits are broken by sins. It surely does not exclude the many other forms of broken hearts. Another task for this Servant was a message of good news for those who were captives or prisoners. The anointed One and His followers are to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. This promise of liberation has three applications. One is a special day that the Israelites had been told to set aside for setting prisoners free. Leviticus 25 tells of a sabbath year every seventh year when the land was to rest and of a jubilee year every fiftieth year when debts were to be cancelled and slaves set free. Part of Leviticus 25:10 is inscribed on our Liberty Bell Proclaim liberty throughout all the land. Another application of these words applies to the release of exiles from their captivity. Isaiah lived in the eighth century B.C. The Babylonian exile came after his death, but he predicted much that related to this deliverance. And, third, the New Testament tells how Jesus provided for deliverance from sin and death. The promise applies to any group of people who are held captive. Freedom is something God values the kind that only He can give. We need to value not only our own freedom but the freedom of others. The Bible emphasizes the freedom from sin and death. The One filled with the Spirit was to proclaim not only the acceptable year of the LORD but also the day of vengeance of our God. Amos, another eighth-century prophet, said that the day of the Lord was not something that evildoers should look forward to; for them it would be a day of darkness, not light (Amos 5:18-19). For some it will be a day of salvation but to others it will be a day of vengeance of our God. The last part of Isaiah 61:2 uses these words to comfort all that mourn. In one of Jesus Beatitudes He said, Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted (Matt. 5:4). The primary meaning may relate to mourning for sins, but it also includes comfort when you have lost a loved one. The comforting mission of believers is a priority for those whom God has comforted. As Paul 12

9 Week of December 5 wrote, Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God (2 Cor. 1:3-4). The Great Servant Isaiah wrote of was especially concerned about the mourning of those in Zion, probably thinking of the exile of the people from Jerusalem. The Israelites expressed sorrow and failure by tearing their clothes and putting ashes on their heads and bodies. The ones who mourned were to be given beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ( instead of a spirit of despair, NIV). Here was a message of hope for those in despair and grief. God would give them a beautiful body instead of smears of ashes. They would receive oil, which was an ointment for their body. Their clothes would be a clean life. Isaiah compared the new life of forgiveness to trees. They would become trees of righteousness planted by the Lord that he might be glorified. God values righteous lives that show forth His glory. This should be one of our chief commitments. Verse 4 continues the list of assignments given to the Anointed One of God and to those who follow Him. In these verses Isaiah was looking back at the sins and troubles of His people. He looked at the present generation that had opportunities, regardless of when the present was. He looked to the future bright with hope, a hope that each generation has. Devastations left from past sins could be rebuilt and restored with the Lord s help. In some cases, this referred to literal building projects, such as the rebuilding of the temple after the return from exile and later the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem. Or Isaiah may have been speaking metaphorically instead of referring to physical ruins. Many people leave behind them ruined lives. The verse uses the words wastes and desolations to describe the ruins of lives resulting from past sins. Isaiah looked for a bright future, one of its features being that other nations would honor Israel and their God. This part of their hope included the unique mission of Israel to other nations. Statements such as those in verse 5 should be seen not as put-downs of others 13

10 Value What God Values and Israel s domination of them. Verse 5 should be taken with verse 6, which called Israel to the proper attitude toward their role in relation to other nations. The Lord s covenant with Israel called for the people to be missionaries to other nations (Ex. 19:4-6). As Israel fulfilled this mission, they would be serving as Priests of the LORD and Ministers of our God. Priests serve by representing God to the people and the people to God. From the beginning God wanted Israel to be a priestly nation to all the other nations (Ex. 19:4-6). This mission is one of the things that God values. As Christians, we should value our mission stated in the Great Commission. During Israel s history powerful nations had made their lives difficult. They were terribly insulted and horribly mistreated (v. 7, CEV). Isaiah promised a time when the people of God could rejoice and receive everlasting joy. What are some lasting truths in Isaiah 61:1-7? 1. The Spirit of God anoints people for special tasks. 2. God reveals His values and counts on His people sharing His values. 3. God s values focus on meeting the needs of people. 4. Some human needs include those involving the poor, the broken-hearted, captives, and mourners. 5. Jesus was concerned about both the spiritual needs and physical needs of people. 7. Jesus offers help and hope. God Loves Justice (Isa. 61:8-9) What does the Bible teach about justice? What words show God s feelings about justice? What role does justice play in human society? How does the biblical view of justice differ from human definitions? How important is justice as a priority for God s people? Why is verse 8 a key verse in the passage? Verses 8-9: For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. 14

11 Week of December 5 The speaker in verse 8 is God Himself. Notice that the speaker in earlier verses had been the One whom God had anointed by His Spirit. In verse 8 the word I refers to God. When God spoke, He revealed one of His central values: For I the LORD love judgment ( justice, NIV, HCSB). (See the Word Study for a definition of justice.) Often people misrepresent justice as punishment. Sometimes justice calls for punishment, but God s justice has a quality of mercy about it. God used the word love to describe His own commitment to justice. The word is strong enough to carry a heavy load. One important expression of justice is the judicial system. Justice means that the judicial system is dealing fairly and equally with all people. Our statue representing justice is blindfolded and has a scale in her hand. The promise is that people in a court need to be treated fairly, not favoring one person or group unfairly. Indeed justice must be blind. This is the reason that perjury and bribery are such serious crimes and sins. They totally defeat the goals of justice by distorting truth. Not only does God love justice but also He hates injustice in its many forms. The Bible contains many examples of injustices. Robbery is one form of injustice. The Bible says that God has special concern for the helpless members of society. People tend to fall into one of three attitudes toward the helpless. Some people exploit the helpless to their own advantage. Some people neither help nor hurt them. Other people champion their cause. Those who do nothing often are complacent and self-satisfied, but the Bible condemns sins of omission as well as sins of commission (Jas. 4:17). Some churches give attention only to people s spiritual needs, but an increasing number are helping the lost, the hungry, the broken-hearted, and those who have suffered grief and loss. Many Christians channel their service through some group committed to justice. Verse 9 is a hopeful promise of a bright future for Israel. The nations will recognize that the people of Israel are a people whom the Lord hath blessed. What are some lasting truths in Isaiah 61:8-9? 1. The Lord loves justice and hates injustices. 2. People fall into three groups in regard to justice and injustices. Some cause injustices; some ignore them; and others act with justice toward the exploited. 15

12 Value What God Values 3. People who ignore injustices are just as much sinners as the ones who cause them. God Desires Righteousness (Isa. 61:10-11) What is the relationship between righteousness and justice? How does righteousness relate to salvation? How do these things create joy and praise? What message will these qualities have on other nations? Verses 10-11: I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. After hearing directly from God in verses 8-9, verses 10-11, like verses 1-7, are the words of the servant of God. He began this final section of Isaiah 61 by calling for expressions of joy and rejoicing in the Lord. Isaiah rejoiced because God had clothed him with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. Paul s Letter to the Romans has as its theme the righteousness of God (Rom. 1:17). This included the condemnation of sin (1:18 3:20), but it also speaks of the righteousness of God by justifying (counting them as righteous) believers through the cross of Jesus Christ (3:21 5:21). Paul also spoke of the righteousness of God that transforms saved people by His Spirit (6:1 8:39). There is a close relation between justice and righteousness. The two words are often mentioned together in the Old Testament. This double use is also seen in Isaiah 61:8-11. The two concepts of salvation and righteousness appear in verse 10. This connection between righteousness and salvation becomes more apparent in the New Testament where we read that none of us is righteous. People are justified ( made right with God ) through repentance and faith. Here salvation and righteousness are likened to the proper garments and head gear for a wedding. 16

13 Week of December 5 This usually depicted a time of joy. In addition to the comparison to the wedding clothes, Isaiah 61:11 compares the righteousness of God s people to a garden freshly springing forth and the abundant harvest that is to be expected. What are some lasting truths in Isaiah 61:10-11? 1. Justice is closely related to righteousness, and both are related to salvation. 2. Life with God s blessings is like beautiful wedding clothes and a bountiful garden. 3. God s righteousness and salvation calls forth eternal joy. v Spiritual Transformations As stated previously, this lesson has a twofold purpose. One is to identify the things that God values; second, is to evaluate our own values in light of His. Here is a partial list of things that God values as found in the lesson s Bible passage. God values helpless people and encourages ministries to them; He greatly values preaching the good news to the poor. God values the life and work of Jesus, whom He anointed with His Spirit. God values following the path laid out by the Spirit. God values all the things that He assigned to Jesus: to liberate captives, to bind up the wounds of the broken-hearted, and to comfort those who mourn. God has special concerns related to how we treat exploited people. He loves justice and so should we. He yearns for the reign of righteousness and our being committed to His way of salvation. As you evaluate your values in light of biblical values, how do you shape up? What changes would you need to make in your life to do a better job of sharing God s values? Prayer of Commitment: Lord, help me to place highest values on the things You most value. Amen. 17