Kingwood Bible Study

Learning from 1 Samuel 11 - Nahash and Spiritual Blindness

1 Samuel 11:2 – “But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel…”

Continue reading Learning from 1 Samuel 11 - Nahash and Spiritual Blindness »

Learning from 1 Samuel 3 - Responding to God’s Voice

1 Sam. 3:9-10 - “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening…”

In this story, Samuel is a little boy who lives at the Tabernacle in Israel and helps with chores. This was the twilight of the period of the Judges in Israel, a time of great spiritual confusion. The priests in that day had lost connection with God. The Bible says that it was very rare then for anyone to hear directly from God. The people had stopped listening. The priests themselves were unfaithful. There were awful scandals surrounding the new generation of priests, and the old generation had grown weak, lazy, and ineffective.

Continue reading Learning from 1 Samuel 3 - Responding to God’s Voice »

Learning from 1 Samuel 3 - Where Eli Went Wrong

1 Samuel 3:1-2 – “The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days, the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place…”

The book of 1 Samuel contrasts the ministry of the boy Samuel, who listened to God and functioned as a prophet, with the ministry of the old priest named Eli, who served in the Tabernacle during a period of apostasy (falling away from God) in Israel’s early history. Most of Eli’s ministry occurred during the period covered by the book of Judges, an era of spiritual confusion, curses, and disobedience. Eli was over 90 years old in this story, so he began ministering a generation earlier.

Continue reading Learning from 1 Samuel 3 - Where Eli Went Wrong »

Four Reasons the Levites Received No Allotment of Land - Sunday morning, 7.12.2009

Joshua 14:4 – “…The Levites received no share of the land but only towns to live in, with pasturelands for their flocks and herds…”

The tribe of Levi received no allotment of land when Joshua and Eleazer the priest assigned the tribal inheritances after conquering the Promised Land. The other tribes all received a region of the Promised Land that they would pass to their descendants for generations. There were four reasons for this special treatment of the Levites, each of which teaches a valuable spiritual lesson.

Continue reading Four Reasons the Levites Received No Allotment of Land - Sunday morning, 7.12.2009 »

Joseph Reveals His Identity to His Brothers - Tuesday evening, 7.07.2009

Genesis 45:3-4 - Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” And when they had done so he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!”

Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food, not realizing that the official who dealt with them was their long-lost brother, whom they had sold into slavery. After their second trip, Joseph made himself known to them, and they were mortified. Joseph’s goal was reconciliation - to reunite the family - but it took a long time to get the brothers in a position to accept this.

Continue reading Joseph Reveals His Identity to His Brothers - Tuesday evening, 7.07.2009 »

The Dinner with Joseph - Tuesday evening, 6.30.2009

Genesis 43:32- They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews; for that is detestable to Egyptians. The men had been seated before him in the order of their age, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drank freely with him.

During the second trip that Joseph’s brothers made to Egypt to buy food, they received an invitation to dine at the house of the official in charge of dispensing grain during the famine (this was Joseph, but they did not realize it).

Continue reading The Dinner with Joseph - Tuesday evening, 6.30.2009 »

Bring Benjamin and Jacob - Tuesday evening 6.23.09

Genesis 43:7 - They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’ he asked us.  ‘Do you have another brother?’  We simply answered his questions.  How were we supposed to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”

Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to buy food, thinking it would be a simple transaction.  They did not expect that the official in charge there would want to know if their father was alive, and would insist that they bring their remaining brother, Benjamin, there as well.  This is a prophetic illustration of how sinners meet the Lord and come to salvation.

Continue reading Bring Benjamin and Jacob - Tuesday evening 6.23.09 »

Joshua & the Day the Sun Stood Still - Sunday morning, 6.21.2009

Joshua 10:12-14 - On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:  “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”  So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar.    The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

This was a major battle for Israel as they entered the Promised Land.  Up to this point, the Israelites had fought and won only two localized battles (Jericho and Ai).   Continue reading Joshua & the Day the Sun Stood Still - Sunday morning, 6.21.2009 »

Silver in Their Sacks - Tuesday evening, 6.16.2009

Genesis 42:27-28 - At the place where they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack.  “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers.  “Here it is in my sack.”  Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?” 

In this story, Joseph’s brothers traveled to Egypt to buy food during the famine.  They did not realize that the official in charge of the food there was Joseph, whom they had beaten and sold into slavery many years before.  They did not recognize him, but he recognized them immediately.  

Continue reading Silver in Their Sacks - Tuesday evening, 6.16.2009 »

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth - Sunday morning 6.14.2009

Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 - “…Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them…”

We live in the last days before the Rapture, when the darkness in this world grows increasingly prevalent. These verses talk about something important that needs to be complete before it is too late. The Faithful Church knows that she is to always remember her Creator (and Redeemer) Jesus Christ who is one with God the Father and Holy Spirit. We must do so through constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit now, in the days of our spiritual youth. We cannot allow ourselves to age spiritually and thereby lose the blessing.

Continue reading Remember your Creator in the days of your youth - Sunday morning 6.14.2009 »