The Lord instructed Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow, to consecrate himself to the Lord, he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during his vow. “You must not cut his hair throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He must be holy until the time is completed, during which he consecrates himself to the Lord; he is to let the hair of…
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Hannah: Part One
The Lord instructed Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow, to consecrate himself to the Lord, he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during his vow. “You must not cut his hai throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He must be holy until the time is completed, during which he consecrates himself to the Lord; he is to let the…
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Ruth: Part One
“In those days, there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25 The days of Ruth was still the time period when the Judges ruled. What do we know about this time period of the Judges? Read Judges 2:8-22. The cycle goes like this: disobedience, defeat, and distress, desperately crying out, deliverance, and peace back to disobedience. This is the sin cycle in the book of Judges. In Ruth 1:1, there is a famine in Bethlehem. According to Ruth 1:2-3, what does this family face in Moab? What do you fin in Ruth 1:4? Marriage to a Moabite was not allowed in…
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Deborah: Part Two
And he said, “Listen carefully, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15 Our abilities do not limit God’s power. Our talents are also not what’s makes us usable to Him. Deborah was a woman who was faithful, available and trusted in God. If we would yield to God, let His power work through us, We could be just as usable for God’s kingdom. From Judges 4:6 -7, what do we learn from Deborah concerning the details of God’s plan…
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Deborah: Part One
And he said, “Listen carefully, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15 Do you believe that God is faithful? He is! During the time of the Judges, Israel was walking away from God. God remained faithful. In Joshua’s time, they say victory after victory; in the time of Judges, it was defeat after defeat. God was using this defeat after defeat to bring the people back to Him. When the Israelites got comfortable, they would walk away from God. …
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Rahab: Part One
Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there. Joshua 2:1 Rahab was a harlot or, in other words, a prostitute. She grew up in a pagan Canaanite culture of Jericho. This culture worshipped Baal and other idols. Joshua was the new leader when we first hear about Rahab. How and why did the spies meet Rahab? Read Joshua 2:2-7. What do we learn from this passage? The king of Jericho learned that spies of Israel were there. He…
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Miriam: Part Two
“See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, ad by it many be defiled.” Hebrews 12:15 Sin always has a consequence. The more public it is, the greater the consequence. Miriam let her jealousy get out of hand. When this happened, it sprung up, and many were defiled because of her jealousy. Bitterness sets in when we allow jealousy into our lives. Miriam criticized her brother and brought her other brother into this. As a leader, she used her giftedness and position to lead the others into doubt, criticism, and to question Moses. She was not…
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Sarah: Part 2
“Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” Genesis 18:14 Do you ever move ahead in God’s plans? Do you tend to do what you think God wants you to do, to realize that it wasn’t at all what he wanted you to do? This what Sarah did. She allowed unbelief in God to keep His promise of a child and did her own plan, trying to achieve God’s plan. It didn’t go well for Sarah, and it doesn’t go well for us either. We face a challenge of God’s plan…
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Sarah
“In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the world, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. And let not your adornment be merely external – braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used o…
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Eve: Part 2
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:16 We don’t take warnings or truth very well. In fact, seldom do I meet a person who handles truth and warnings very well. We don’t stop to really think about the consequences. Our choices will affect others. Whether it is good or bad, it affects others. Being affected by other choices can be directly or indirectly. Through Eve, we learn that talking to Satan and walking with God do not go hand in…