Old Testament 150 Reading Challenge week 17

Old Testament 150 Reading Challenge 5 May 2014 to 28th November 2014 Week 17: Bible Reading Plan and Discussion Starters

Welcome to The Salvation Army's Challenge to read
150 popular chapters from the Old Testament within 7 months,

reading just 5 chapters per week.  

 

Monday, August 25 , 2014 --- Judges 14 --- Samson takes on a lion, gets married, and tells a riddle  

-        V1-4, After the message from the Lord, and their careful upbringing of Samson, how difficult must it have been for the parents when asked to secure him a Philistine wife?

-         V4, Do we sometimes struggle to see God’s will in events which occur today?

-        How can we decipher between what God makes happen, and what He allows to happen?

-        Does His will remain ‘on course’ no matter what we do?

-        If so, what difference does obedience to His will make?

-        Is obedience to God more about developing our own character than helping God’s will to be achieved?

-        V20, Samson’s wife had tricked him, but only to save the lives of her family from fire!...So why do you think Samson gave her to his best man instead?...How important is trust within a marriage?  

Tuesday, August 26 , 2014 --- Judges 15 --- Samson and the Philistines trade blows  

-        V1-2, It would seem that Samson’s actions toward his wife and best man had been misinterpreted. Have your actions or words ever been misinterpreted? How did this make you feel, and what, if anything, can be done to avoid it?

-        V3-17, this story appears to be a recurring round of revenge, and counter-revenge. What are we to make of this?  

Wednesday, August 27 , 2014 --- Judges 16 --- Samson falls for Delilah, and the Philistine temple falls on Samson  

-        V4, Why do you think we are introduced to Delilah by name, and yet we are not told the name of Samson’s chosen wife, nor his mother?

-        V4-6, We are told that Samson fell in love with Delilah. Do you think she loved him? Do you think she loved him BUT loved her fellow Philistines more?...Or do you think she was driven by the money?

-        V7, Does Samson’s response reveal his lack of trust in Delilah?

-        V7-14, numerous times it must have been clear that Delilah was trying to trap Samson. Do you think his love had blinded him of this, or did he enjoy the challenge/mockery of the Philistines?

-        V16-17, What eventually made Samson cave in to Delilah’s request, and how could he have avoided this?

-        V20, How was the Lord’s presence linked to his hair cut?

-        V23, How would this reflect on the Name of the Almighty God?

-        V25-30, What message would this send to the rest of the Philistines about their god?  

Thursday, August 28 , 2014 --- Ruth 1 --- Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, return to Bethlehem.  

-        V15, What do you make of Naomi saying this about the Moabite gods? Do you think she mentioned them to try and attract Ruth into going back to her own home, or was she simply stating a matter of fact about Orpah?

 

-        V21, Do you think the Lord really had brought this upon Naomi, or that this was merely the way she felt about it? Which would be better?

 

 

 

Friday, August 29 , 2014 --- Ruth 2 --- Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, return to Bethlehem.  

-        V1&3, was this coincidence, or do you think this was all part of God’s plan? Is it possible that some apparent coincidences may actually be a part of God’s plan, and yet we will never be aware of that fact?

 

-        V12, to what extent might this verse summarise the story