Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Dust the Screen for Better Viewing

Deuteronomy Chapter 13

When was your worst experience of hindered viewing (static, dust, obstacles)?

Read verses 1 – 5
What about the prophet or dreamer mentioned here would make his claims believable?
What would clearly demonstrate that the prophet was not to be followed?
Why would that be something that invalidate his claims?
Why would such behavior be so serious that it would be considered a capital crime?
[Note- capital crimes in the Bible were rarely enforced by execution, rather they were a statement of the seriousness of the crime]
How are you going to get to know God’s word better this year to ensure you can discern good spiritual messages from bad spiritual messages?
What are some things that you need to radically change in your life to ensure the false messages in the world today do not affect your spirituality?
How can you make sure the advice you give to others is spiritually sound?

Read verses 6 – 11
What about a close relative tempting you to disloyalty God would make it particularly tempting?
Why is the observer expected to spark the enactment of the punishment?
Why is this considered serious enough to be a capital crime?
What effect is the enactment of the punishment expected to have on society?
What are some examples of this problem happening in the history of Israel?
What are some ways that close family members can create spiritual problems for disciples today?
Obviously, execution is not how to deal with this situation today (that was even rarely done in the ancient world). How can we best deal with this problem when we are faced with it in our lives?

Read verses 12 – 18

What is to happen to an Israelite city if the whole city leaves God?
Why would this be a problem to the remaining Israelites?
Why is such an intense investigation expected?
Describe the punishment that is to be enacted if a whole town is disloyal?
Why is such a severe punishment given?
Why are people not to even keep any of the plunder or livestock from the city?
What does this say about our spiritual impact on other people?
How can we make sure we are avoiding negative spiritual impact on those around us?

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