Weekly Guide：Week 72
June 09, 2019
Forward
We continue to read the Book of Isaiah this week.
Isaiah’s prophecy of God’s judgment and salvation represents the love of God for all people. God actively invites us, the sinful human, the wicked people, the evil kind, the corrupted children, who are in rebellion, to come to debate.
Shouldn’t the one who breaks the covenant and wants to escape the consequence be the one who initiates a debate? This is yet again God’s love giving man a chance he does not deserve. God, the one being offended, actively seeking reconciliation and teaching man what he does not understand so that man, even though his sin is as red as blood, would be purified as white as snow. God fills our cups with blessings for He who can strike us in an instant, gives us the undeserving chance, opens up a new doorway. Accepting God’s invitation is an act of wisdom so that we may be transformed to new persons in God’s design.
May you all be renewed in God’s word each day!
Question
How did God make the Assyrian His whip and rod of anger?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor Galilee of the nations.
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For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.
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Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria are with pride and arrogance of heart. But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them.
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The people have not returned to Him who struck them. By the wrath of the Lord Almighty the land will be scorched, disaster will come from afar.
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The Lord makes the Assyrian, the rod of His anger, the club of His wrath. The Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon the sturdy Assyrian warriors.
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The survivors of Jacob will truly rely on the Lord. The burden of the Assyrians will be lifted from their shoulders.
Meditation: My Story
- Identity – God disciplines the Israelites by His love. How do I understand His discipline? Do I truly know my identity as His child, as His beloved, and must be disciplined by Him?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Question
How would the Lord reach out to reclaim His people?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him.
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The Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the people, the nations will rally to him.
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The Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people.
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The Israelites will give praise to the Lord for He is their salvation.
Meditation: My Story
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Identity – The savior raised from the Lord will delight in the fear of the Lord. How do I understand what is the meaning of delight in the fear of the Lord? Do I delight in the fear of the Lord?
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The remnant of Israel will give praise to the Lord on the day of salvation. All of us are saved by the Lord. How am I giving praises to Him each day?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Question
What was the Lord’s plan for Babylon?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw.
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The day of the Lord is near, all the land of Babylon will be destroyed.
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The Medes will come up against the Babylon, they will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
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The Lord once again will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land, foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
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The Israelites will take up a taunt against the king of Babylon.
Meditation: My Story
- Integrity – A bright star falls because of his pride to put himself above all the stars of God so he may be equal to God. Is my pride in control of my thoughts and deed?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Question
What was the fate of the nations?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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The prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died.
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Disaster will come to the Philistines. It will be destroyed by famine and survivors slayed.
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Moab is ruined and destroyed in a night.
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Advise the Moabites to give tribute to the king of Zion. The Moabites will wail together for Moab. Lament and grieve.
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Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins.
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The remnant of Israel will return to the Lord.
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The Lord will rebuke the people, for this is the portion of those who loot, the lot of those who plunder.
Meditation: My Story
- Identity – The Israelites forgot the Lord, His salvation, the rock, and therefore without harvest. Have I forgotten the source of my strength? How may I be strengthened by the Lord?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Question
What were the outcomes for Cush and Egypt?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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The people of Cush are feared far and wide. The gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.
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The Lord is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, the officials of Zoan are nothing but fools, the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice.
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There will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, He will send them a savior and defender, and He will rescue them.
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The king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles.
Meditation: My Story
- Fidelity – When the Egyptians cry out to the Lord, He sends them a savior. How am I following God’s love of all people to love those who are different from me?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Question
What were the horrors of Babylon’s destruction?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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A prophecy against Babylon. Babylon has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!
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A prophecy against Dumah. A prophecy against Arabia.
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Weep bitterly for Jerusalem will be destroyed. Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for.
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Tyre will be forgotten. The Lord will deal with Tyre at the end of seventy years and her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord.
Meditation: My Story
- Integrity – When the Lord makes the men cry, they rejoiced instead, and therefore their sins will not be atoned for. The Lord values our repentant heart. Is there anything I need to repent to the Lord?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Scripture Reading
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
Why did Amos plead repeatedly for the Israelites to God?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ The Lord was preparing swarms of locusts to strip the land clean. Amos cried out to the Lord so He relented.
+ The Lord was calling for judgment by fire. Amos begged to the Lord so He relented.
+ The Lord was setting a plumb line among His people and He will spare them no longer.
+ Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: Amos is raising a conspiracy against you.
+ Amos answered Amaziah, I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but the Lord called me to prophesy to people of Israel.
+ Amos prophesied against Amaziah that he would be punished.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Integrity** - Why did Amaziah sent a message to Jeroboam that Amos was raising a conspiracy? What can I learn from this when facing false claims against me?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
How will Israel end?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ Amos saw a basket of ripe fruit. The Lord said, the time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.
+ Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land.
+ I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your religious festivals into mourning and all your singing into weeping.
+ I will send a famine through the land-a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
+ The Lord standing by the altar, and he said: Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Bring them down on the heads of all the people; those who are left I will kill with the sword.
+ The Lord will restore David's fallen shelter, so that they may possess all the nations that bear His name.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** - After judgment, the Lord will restore David's fallen shelter, repair its broken walls, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as it used to be. God's love to Israel is fully displayed here. It is not a hopeless destruction but a measured discipline. How does this promise help me to have total faith in Him?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
How did God make the Assyrian His whip and rod of anger?
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### Meditation: God’s Story
+ In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor Galilee of the nations.
+ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.
+ Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria are with pride and arrogance of heart. But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them.
+ The people have not returned to Him who struck them. By the wrath of the Lord Almighty the land will be scorched, disaster will come from afar.
+ The Lord makes the Assyrian, the rod of His anger, the club of His wrath. The Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon the sturdy Assyrian warriors.
+ The survivors of Jacob will truly rely on the Lord. The burden of the Assyrians will be lifted from their shoulders.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** – God disciplines the Israelites by His love. How do I understand His discipline? Do I truly know my identity as His child, as His beloved, and must be disciplined by Him?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
How would the Lord reach out to reclaim His people?
{%- include BibleLinks2022.html -%}
### Meditation: God’s Story
+ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him.
+ The Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the people, the nations will rally to him.
+ The Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people.
+ The Israelites will give praise to the Lord for He is their salvation.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** – The savior raised from the Lord will delight in the fear of the Lord. How do I understand what is the meaning of delight in the fear of the Lord? Do I delight in the fear of the Lord?
+ The remnant of Israel will give praise to the Lord on the day of salvation. All of us are saved by the Lord. How am I giving praises to Him each day?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
Why did Judah and Samaria receive the same warnings?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ The word of the Lord came to Micah concerning Samaria and Jerusalem that the Lord may bear witness against them from His holy temple.
+ Because of this, the prophet will weep and wail; will go barefoot and naked. For Samaria's plague is incurable; it has spread to Judah.
+ Woe to those who plot evil on their beds. They covet fields, houses, defraud people, and rob them of their inheritance.
+ Therefore, the Lord is planning disaster against this people. Others will taunt them with mournful song.
+ The Lord will surely gather all of Jacob, bring together the remnant of Israel, like sheep in a pen.
+ Warns the leaders of Jacob, rulers of Israel who hate good and love evil. Warns the prophets who lead the people astray and falsely proclaim peace.
+ Warns the leaders of Jacob, rulers of Israel who despise justice and distort all that is right, Zion will be plowed, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Integrity** - Because the leaders of Jacob and rulers of Israel despised justice and distorted all that is right, Zion would be plowed and Jerusalem would become a heap of rubble. Our conducts may bring blessings for others but may also bring suffering. How am I behaving?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
What was the promise to Judah on the last day?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains.
+ He will judge between many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
+ The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever.
+ Many nations are gathered against them. But they don't know the thoughts of the Lord. Rise and thresh, daughter Zion, break to pieces many nations.
+ Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.
+ He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
+ The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** - Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. It is by His calling that we may have the eternal life.
Prayer
Notes and Responses
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Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
What did Jesus commission the twelve disciples to do?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ Jesus sent out His twelve disciples to spread the Gospel, reminded them of the difficulties they will face, the cost of following Him, as well as God's presence, His equipping, and the rewards.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Fidelity** - What did God commission me to do? (see Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8) What does Jesus's command to the disciples to preach Gospel remind me of in my service to the Lord? Am I relying on my own skills, money, or God alone?
+ **Fidelity** - What does this attitude "freely you have received; freely give" (10:8) of preaching Gospel remind me? Do I have any reservation when preaching?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
How did Jesus reveal his identify through answering John and Pharisees?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ Jesus answered John the Baptist's question while he was in prison. Jesus also explained to the crowds about John's identity and God's plan where heaven is for those who follow Jesus, not by one's own efforts. Jesus denounced the towns' people for they did not repent and then invited all to rest their souls in Him.
+ Jesus performed miracle during Sabbath to show He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He truly satisfied the law on Sabbath. Jesus rebuked Pharisees' remark that Jesus was from the Beelzebul.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** - Jesus told John the Baptist: "Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me." Some gained faith after seeing God's deeds while others wavered and fell. May God bless me with ever strengthened faith.
+ **Identity** - Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. I can bring all my burdens to Jesus and ask what it means to be gentle and humble. What does it mean to take His yoke, and what should I learn from Him?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
What were the parables Jesus used to explain the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ Jesus used seven parables to explain the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven: The parable of the sower, the parable of the weeds, the parable of the muster seed, the parable of the yeast, the parable of the hidden treasure, the parable of the pearl, and the parable of the net.
+ Jesus explained to the disciples the reason he spoke the parables to the crowds.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Walking with God** - Even though we did not witness with our own eyes the miracle Jesus performed and did not hear with our own ears what Jesus spoke, but we are ever so blessed with God's word and the presence of the Holy Spirit. We ought to cherish what God has given us, study Bible every day, pray and obey to guidance of the Holy Spirit.
+ **Identity** - How is the seed from the Kingdom of Heaven germinating in my heart? Pray to God and ask Him to soften my heart, remove the thorn and the rock, to produce crop a hundred times!
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
What made those on the boat see Jesus as the Son of God?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ The suspicion on Jesus' identity and the discussion on His wisdom and abilities intensified.
+ Jesus fed five thousand, walked on water, and those on the boat worshiped Him as the Son of God.
+ The pharisees challenged Jesus with ancestor's traditions. Jesus pointed out to them that they broke God's command for the sake of the tradition.
+ Jesus continued to heal more, fed four thousand, and the people were amazed and praised the God of Israel.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Identity** - As Jesus began to reveal His true identity, some were more doubtful and refused Him while others got to know Him deeper. How did God lead me to know Him deeper? Did I ever refuse Him? How did God bring me out from the dead end?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
How did Peter come to know Jesus' true identity?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ Led by God, Peter came to know Jesus' true identity, but he did not understand when Jesus talked about His death and resurrection. Jesus transfigured before Peter, John, and James with Moses and Elijah appeared beside Him. They were covered with bright cloud and God said: "This is my son." Peter gotten to know Jesus deeper.
+ Jesus predicted His death and resurrection twice.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Walking with God** - Peter did not come to know Jesus by his own rationale but by the guidance and revelation from the Holy Spirit. We, too, cannot know God without the Holy Spirit's guidance and revelation. Ask God to help me to know Him better and to love Him deeper each day!
Prayer
Notes and Responses
### Question
Whom should one be like to be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?
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### Meditation: God's Story
+ The disciples asked Jesus who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus answered that the greatest would be like a humble little child. Great responsibilities are bestowed on the people of God that we shall not cause others to stumble, not look down on others, but humbly point out others' mistakes, gather in unity and in Lord's name, and forgive each other whole heartedly without reservation.
### Meditation: My Story
+ **Integrity** - Jesus set the requirements for people of God to be like Him, as God the most high, but willing to lower and humble Himself to serve, to give, to forgive, to be compassionate, and to build. Have I forgiven those who offended me? Ask God to help me to forgive, help me to repent and remove my sins that might have affected those around me, to help me unite with fellow Christians, and help me to be merciful and compassionate to the lost sheep of the world.
Prayer
Notes and Responses
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Prayer
Notes and Responses