Discovery Questions for August 16, 2020

Study Questions for Groups

By Michael C. Mack

1. What struggles have you faced over the last week?

Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the first two people to read Judges 2:10-19 one after the other, preferably from different Bible versions.

Ask the third helper to retell the story in their own words. Remind them to keep it simple.

2. What one word would you use to describe this summary of the Israelites during the time of the judges? (Give participants a few moments to think.)

3. Let’s look more closely at a few details:

• Why did the people forsake God?

• How does the writer describe the attitudes and actions of the people who did not know God?

• In what ways did God respond to their bad choices (disobedience/sin)?

• How would you appraise the short-term and long-term effectiveness of the judges?

4. What do you learn about God’s nature from this narrative?

5. What do you learn about human nature?

        • In what ways can you personally relate to the sin/repentance cycle of the Israelites?

6. What do you learn about consistently obeying God and living for him?

        •  How can this group/class help you in any spiritual battles you are facing?

7. Sadly, one generation “who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands” (v. 17) gave way to the next one “who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel” (v. 10). What specific action will you take this week to pass on your faith to the next generation?

8. Based on our study and discussion, complete this sentence: “This week, I will . . .”

9. What opportunities to serve God will you have this week?

For next week: Over the next week, read and reflect on Judges 4:1-16 as we continue studying the books of Judges and Ruth and the theme, “Reverse the Trend.” You can also read next week’s supplemental texts as well as the Study and Application sections as part of your personal study.