Can I just say that I've had a lot of fun with you this week? If you're new here, let me just re-cap again: we're spending a few days this week testing our Biblical Literacy, and by that I mean - how well do we know the Word of God and how it applies to our lives? Please go back and quiz yourself to see if you know the answers from the past few days.
Yesterday I asked you about the Gifts of the Spirit and the Fruit of the Spirit, and I got two really great answers. I'm really proud of us so far! I'd just like to add my explanation of the between the two, in support of what Denise and Jama wrote yesterday.
The Gifts of the Spirit are given to every Christ-follower upon his or her confession of faith in Jesus for eternal Salvation, and are given for the two-fold purpose of 1. edification of the Church 2. spreading of the Gospel into all the World. We should all aim to use our gifts consistently. The Fruit of the Spirit, on the other hand, are evidences of God's power in our lives to transform us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus, through the working of the Holy Spirit in us. Every Christ-follower should generally see a growth of these fruits throughout the course of his or her life. If you're not seeing more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, I would suggest you need to do one of the following: 1. Check yourself - do you accept Jesus as your Savior? Is He the Lord of your life? (2 Corinthians 13:5-6) 2. Surrender once again and daily to the Holy Spirit and His influence over your life. Cooperate with His will and allow Him to mold you into the person God created you to be. Remember: maturity is gradual.
Okay, so on to our next question for a prize! If you don't remember the rules, here they are again: open-Book, provide scripture reference to back-up your answer, and the first one to comment below with the correct answer wins a super-great prize!
Question #4: Who was the reigning king in Judah when Babylon invaded the nation of God's people and sent them into Exile, and in what year did this happen? For bonus points: Explain the significance of the Exile in the History of God's people. (I told you they'd get harder)
Ready, Set . . .
5 comments:
Well, if we're gonna be accurate, there were 3 deportations of Judah during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, the first one in 605 B.C.
At the beginning of their national existence God had very clearly warned his people that if they did not observe His law, their nation would be devastated. Isaiah and Micah had predicted the captivity of Judah in Babylon a century and a half before it happened (Isaiah 11:11; 39:5-8; Micah 4:10). The prophet Jeremiah had actually announced that the captivity would last seventy years (Jeremiah 25:1, 11-12; cf. Daniel 9:1-2).
But the most important thing is that it made way for the Redeemer, prophesied in several OT Books.
King Zedekiah - 586 BC - (2 Kings 25)
Ok! Nice Job, Family and Glen. Not sure who Family is, but you can e-mail me at robynlangdon@yahoo.com if you don't want to tell us your name here.
The answer I was looking for was Jehoiakim, son of Josiah - in 605 B.C., which is when Neb's invasion began and the exile of God’s people was started. There were different phases, Family, so you are also correct, and the extent of the Exile was fully realized in 586, so you are correct, too, Glen.
And I will give bonus points to Family for his/her answer, because it was extremely important in that it was a fulfillment of the prophesies of the major and minor prophets that God would not continue to allow idolatry among His people, and that consequences would be paid for their continued disobedience of the Law of Moses.
And, yes, the ultimate importance is that it demonstrated humanity's need for a Redeemer - we could not live up to religion, we needed a Savior to give us forgiveness and Relationship with our God.
Awesome! Now wasn't this fun?
Keep reading the Word, friends. Learn it, Know it, and Live it.
Family is your sister-in-law... got confused on your question and didn't read it correctly. Thought you wanted to know the King of Babylon, not the King of Judah... Ha! Oh well - guess I better read more carefully next time... partial credit is always nice though. Luv ya!
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