July 17, 2023
July 23 | Hope in God’s Promise
God promised to bring his people back from Babylon to the Promised Land, and he did. Against all odds, Jeremiah was calling on his people to believe.
Articles for tag: Babylonian Captivity
June 26, 2023
July 2 | Hope in Repentance
Jeremiah held out the prospect of avoiding coming judgment for the people of Judah, provided they would repent. But alas, the people refused, and judgment came. . . .
June 19, 2023
June 25 | Discovery
Questions for group discussion for use with this week’s lesson titled “Warning for Liars” (Jeremiah 28:1-17).
May 15, 2023
May 21 | Discovery
Questions for group discussion for use with this week’s lesson titled “Wounded” (Lamentations 1:1, 10-18; 2:5-14, 17, 20-21).
May 8, 2023
May 14 | Punished
God administered deserved punishment to the Israelites for their unfaithfulness. The result was Lamentations, which we are working our way through. . . .
August 1, 2022
August 7 | Sent to a Rebellious People
The major prophetic book of Ezekiel is the Judges of the exile. It is the Dark Ages of captivity for Israel. This prophet-priest had to announce that sin came with consequences. With this lesson, we launch a two-month study of this book.
July 19, 2021
July 25 | Down but Not Defeated
The last king of Judah (Zedekiah) was horribly corrupt, and Nebuchadnezzar came and burned the city and the temple. But offstage a note of hope was being played that would allow God to fulfill his promise to save the world through Jesus.
August 15, 2020
‘I Will Bring You Back’
Lessons from the Babylonian Captivity for Modern-Day ‘Exiles’ By Arron Chambers During this pandemic, quarantine, and sheltering at-home orders, I’ve found myself drawn to Bible stories of liberation and freedom from captivity. We were created to be free—not isolated, alienated, held in captivity, or exiled indefinitely. Even so, such things happen, and it happened to the people of God during a period of 70 years we call the Babylonian captivity. They’d been warned. Warning In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump and a team of doctors gave daily briefings. Day after day they presented numbers and charts
July 15, 2020
Legacy
Like father, like son. He’s a chip off the old block. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. These well-worn phrases still impart truth. Life is lived in and through generations. From beginning to end in the Scriptures, we read of generations of people. The genealogy of Jesus is listed in both Matthew and Luke. Today, there are five living generations: builders, boomers, gen X, millennials, and gen Z. Despite the untold volumes written and conferences held about the qualities and particularities of these generations, a far greater concern is each one’s legacy. Many people think of generational legacy
July 10, 2017
Lesson for July 16, 2017: Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the July 9, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott It would seem that when God wants to make a prophet, he first takes him to the desert and crushes him. Tears make a prophet better than laughter does. The crucible of suffering is the best birthing room of a prophet. Jeremiah would have been glad to continue the family business of being a priest
June 13, 2016
Lesson for June 19, 2016: The Day of Joy for the Remnant (Zephaniah 3:9″“14, 20)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the June 12 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott Have you ever considered God in the role of a tailor? He knows about making something out of remnants””and so did the prophet Zephaniah. Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah formed the triad of prophets whom God used to prepare his people for Babylonian captivity. But way before
June 6, 2016
Lesson for June 12, 2016: The Day Is Coming (Zephaniah 3:1″“8)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the June 5 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott “Turn out the lights” or “00:00″ or “Pay day some day” are all ways of expressing the inevitable, “Time is up.” Last week”s lesson from Zephaniah predicted the day of the Lord. This week”s lesson is focused on that day actually coming. God had an
January 11, 2016
Lesson for January 17, 2016: An Unfaithful Bride (Hosea 1)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the January 10 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott School boys used to say, “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugliness goes all the way to the bone.” When it is spiritual ugliness, it goes deeper still. The minor prophet Hosea experienced spiritual ugliness. Like many of God”s prophets, his life got intertwined with
December 19, 2015
The Gospel in Minor Key
By Mark Scott These sometimes-overlooked prophets are anything but minor when it comes to the Christmas message. The Melody The Major Prophets of the Old Testament get lots of press at Christmastime. Rightly so. They carry the melody line in the Christmas story. Isaiah gave King Ahaz the gospel with these words, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14*). Isaiah gave the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali even more good news: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great
August 17, 2015
Lesson for August 23, 2015: A Demand for Justice (Zechariah 7; Isaiah 30:18-26)
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the August 16 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone The people of Israel were taken captive to Babylon. After 70 years, God allowed a remnant of his people to return to the promised land. There they set about to rebuild the temple. Although this effort began with much excitement and devotion, the project slowed considerably (Haggai 1). The Lord sent Haggai and Zechariah as prophets to encourage the people to
January 26, 2015
Lesson for February 1, 2015: Feasting and Fasting (Daniel 1; Matthew 6; 9:9-17)
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the January 25 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone “The Book of Daniel has attracted more interest than any book of the Old Testament,” declared Dr. James. E. Smith. “Because he was willing at all times to stand up for what he believed, Daniel is a true hero of the Faith.” In today”s lesson the role of one”s dietary choices focuses on two perspectives””feasting and fasting. The first text describes
September 8, 2014
Lesson for September 14, 2014: Hope for the Future (Jeremiah 31)
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the September 7 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone Jeremiah is often called “the weeping prophet” because of the sad news he had to bring to his people. But he also held out hope for them. Following 70 years in Babylonian captivity, a remnant would return to the promised land (Jeremiah 23:3). They would rebuild Jerusalem and be the source of great rejoicing (31:7-14). His message encouraged the captives to
June 9, 2014
Lesson for June 15, 2014: Live Pure Lives (Haggai 2:10-19)
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone Judah had been conquered, Jerusalem burned, the temple demolished, and the people taken captive to Babylon. After 70 years of captivity there, they were allowed to return to their homeland. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel (the governor) and Joshua (the priest), work was begun to rebuild the temple. Despite a good start, nothing more was done for 15 years. With the coming of King Darius and the encouragement of Haggai and Zechariah, the work was resumed.
July 22, 2013
Lesson for July 28, 2013: Giving Gifts for the Temple (Ezra 8:24-36)
By Sam E. Stone Today”s lesson is the last of five studies in the life and ministry of the respected Old Testament leader Ezra. In the book that bears his name, he describes how the Jews came to return to Israel from their Babylonian captivity. Ezra includes seven official documents or letters, in addition to his own memoirs. Especially striking is the prominence of Levites and temple personnel. When Ezra realized that no Levites were among those committed to return with him, he sent a delegation to a nearby area (Kasiphia) to recruit some. They were to “bring attendants to
July 1, 2013
Lesson for July 7, 2013: Restoring the Temple (Ezra 3:8-13)
By Sam E. Stone This is the second week of studies from the book of Ezra. It describes the time when God”s people were able to worship in Jerusalem once again. Being released from Babylonian captivity was not enough. Now they needed not only to rebuild the altar but also to restore the entire temple, following God”s directions for worship. The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther contain the inspired record of what took place at this time period. James E. Smith explains, “The first six chapters of the Book of Ezra cover a single generation, 538-515 BC. The major
