Who should receive blessings?
(2 Kings 22-23; Jer. 7:1-7; Dan. 9:1-19; Mic. 6:1-8) Blog Dec. 5-11, 2021
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: God’s leading, God’s covenant, and God’s love are recorded by Moses in Deuteronomy. Throughout his farewell address Moses emphasized the need to remember God’s leading and his blessings. Obedience would be the result and that would bring even greater blessings. God’s people were never to forget that it was God’s grace and not their goodness that brought all these blessings and when they failed him, they were to repent and ask his forgiveness. Only through God’s grace and mercy could his people remain in covenant union with him. In that union God promised to care for them and to deliver them from every foe.
In the Historical Books
1. When Moses writes about “the heaven of heavens” what is his emphasis? When mentioning “the heaven of heavens” Moses is emphasizing God’s sovereignty over & ownership of not only earth & its atmosphere but also of the starry heavens & God’s heavenly dwelling place showing that we should love, obey & worship him (Deut. 10:12-14).
2. When David quotes Deuteronomy 10:14 what is his emphasis? David is emphasizing that even the clouds in the sky as well as the angels & highest heaven should all praise the Lord (Psa. 148:4).
3. When Solomon quotes Deuteronomy 10:14 what was his emphasis? Solomon emphasized God’s greatness showing that God cannot be contained in a box (1 Kings 8:27).
4. When Nehemiah quotes Deuteronomy 10:14 what is his emphasis? Nehemiah is emphasizing that God not only created & sustains this earth & everything in it, but he also created “the heaven of heavens” so it is right for the whole universe to worship him (Neh. 9:6).
5. What did God tell his people that they would do after Moses was gone? God told his people that they would depart from following him and serve other gods after Moses was gone (Deut. 31:16-20).
6. When King Josiah heard the words that Moses wrote in Deuteronomy what did he realize? Upon hearing the words of Deuteronomy, Josiah realized that God’s wrath was directed towards his people for they had turned to other gods (2 Kings 22:13).
7. How did King Josiah seek to remedy the evil course of his people? Josiah led his people in a covenant renewal, vowing to serve the true God (2 Kings 23:1-3).
8. After renewing their covenant with God what fifteen reforms did Josiah enact? Josiah burned the vessels made for Baal that were in God’s temple, fired all the idolatrous priests, removed & burned the graven image his grandfather had placed in God’s temple, tore down the houses of the sodomites that were beside the temple, brought all God’s priests out of the cities of Judah, broke down the idols across the country, defiled Topheth so people could no longer sacrifice their children to Molech, took the horses away from the chariots of the sun which he burned, broke down the pagan altars his ancestors had placed in God’s temple, defiled the high places that Solomon has made for his wives, broke down the golden calf Jeroboam had made for Israel to worship, took away all the pagan houses of worship in neighboring Samaria, & slew all the priests of these pagan houses of worship (2 Kings 23:1-20).
9. What reforms today would correspond with those Josiah made? Today a good church administrator would call the congregation to renew their covenant with God, burn all the heretical literature in the church, fire all the unfaithful church officers, destroy the images found in God’s temple, remove all the LGBTQ officers, bring back the marginalized pastors from exile, & speak out against false religion across the country (Rom. 16:17-18).
In the Prophets
10. What concern of Moses does Jeremiah repeat in chapter 7 of his book? Jeremiah, like Moses reminds God’s people not to oppress strangers, the fatherless or widows (Deut. 24:17; Jer. 7:6).
11. Who is Jeremiah quoting in chapter 29:13? Jeremiah is using the words of Moses written in Deuteronomy 4:29 (Deut 4:29; Jer. 29:13).
12. How does Daniel’s prayer for restoration of the sanctuary reflect the message of Deuteronomy? Daniel seeks God with all his heart, mind, & soul, confessing his sin & that of his people just as Moses said they should do when God scattered them in foreign lands. He reminds God that he has promised to keep his covenant & mercy to his commandment-keeping people & that the curses promised to the disobedient have rightfully come upon them (Deut. 4:26-31; 7:9; 27:15; 28:15; 30:1-3; Dan. 9:3-4, 9-13).
13. What portion of Deuteronomy does Micah quote almost verbatim? Micah quotes Deuteronomy 10:12 when accusing God’s people of violating the covenant (Deut. 10:12; Mic. 6:8).
14. What were God’s people doing that made God use Micah to call the mountains and hills as covenant witnesses against them? In Micah’s day (and in ours) God’s people were following the forms of religion while not having its spirit or power (Mic. 6:1-8; 2 Tim. 3:5).
15. In Psalm 135 what statement from Deuteronomy does David quote? David quotes Deuteronomy 32:36 which says: “the Lord shall judge his people” (Deut. 32:36; Psa. 135:14).
Present-day Applications
16. What term today refers to quoting other authors without giving them credit and why do Bible authors do this? Quoting other authors without giving credit is called plagiarizing & Bible authors feel free to do this for they are inspired by God who also inspired the original quotation. This gives God the credit rather than human authors (2 Pet. 1:21).
17. What can we learn from Daniel’s repeated use of Deuteronomy in his prayer for sanctuary restoration. Daniel, like Solomon, gives us an example of praying from Scripture by repeating God’s instructions in his prayer & asking God to fulfill his promises (2 Kings 8:23-26, 53; Dan. 9:10-13; Eph. 6:18).
18. What two general categories given in Deuteronomy of God’s dealings with his people do all the Old Testament writers build upon? All the Old Testament authors build upon the idea of God’s blessings & curses (Deut. 11:26; 28:2; Josh. 8:34; Psa. 21:3; Prov. 28:20; Zech. 8:13; Mal. 2:2).
19. Who does Moses say should receive blessings? And who should receive curses? Moses says the obedient are to receive blessings & the disobedient are to receive curses (Deut. 28:1-2, 15-16).
20. How many human beings throughout history have been obedient to God’s covenant? Only one human being in history has been obedient to the covenant – that was Jesus, the Christ (Eccl. 7:20, 28; Dan. 9:24-27; John 8:29).
21. What should we learn from the fact that upon Jesus were poured all the covenant curses? Jesus bore all the covenant curses so that we might enjoy all the covenant blessings (2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13-14).