Thy Kingdom Come!
Verse of the week to live by:
“For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice” (Hos. 6:6).
Bible Readings 2025, Week 50; Dec. 8-14
Dec. 8; Hos 6-8;
1. Hos. 6:6; “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
Why does God desire steadfast love more than sacrifices?
2. Hos. 7:1; “when I would heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria, for they deal falsely; the thief breaks in, and the bandits raid outside.”
How does God use Israel and Ephraim interchangeably?
3. Hos. 8:7; “For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour; if it were to yield, strangers would devour it.”
What does God mean by “They sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind”?
Dec. 9; Hos 9-11; Rev 6
1. Hos. 9:7; “The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred.”
What day does the prophet Hosea talk about?
2. Hos. 11:1; “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”
How did Matthew apply this passage to Jesus? Please refer to Matt. 2:15?
3. Rev. 6:9; “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.”
What does this passage teach about those who died before us?
Dec. 10; Hos 12-13; Rev 7;
1. Hos. 12:4-5; “He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us- the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial name.”
How did Jacob wrestle with God?
2. Rev.7:4; “And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:”
Who are the 144,000?
3. Rev. 7:14; “I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
How do we wash robes in the blood of the Lamb?
Dec. 11; Hos 14; Joe 1-2; Rev 8;
1. Joel 1:1; “The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
Who was Joel?
2. Joel 2:28-32; “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”
Where in the New Testament do we see the fulfillment of this prophecy?
3. Rev.8:1; “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”
Why is there silence in heaven for half an hour?
Dec. 12; Joe 3; Amos 1;
1. Joel 3:1; “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem.”
When was this promise fulfilled?
2. Amos 1:1; “The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds[a] of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years[b] before the earthquake.”
Who was Amos?
3. Amos 1:1; “The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.”
Did God send Prophet Amos to Israel or to Judah?
Dec. 13; Amos 2-4; Rev 9;
1. Amos 3:2; “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
Does this verse teach that God does not know any other nation than Israel?
2. Amos 4:6, “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places,yet you did not return to me.”
What does God mean by “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places”?
3. Rev. 9:2-3; “He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth
Were there similarities between the plagues in Egypt and this passage in Rev. 9:2-3? What is the meaning behind that?
Dec. 14; Amos 5-6; Rev 10
1. Amos 5:11; “Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him,you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.
How does this passage indicate the sin of Israel?
2. Amos 6:14; “For behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts; “and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”
Which nation did Amos talk about?
3. Rev. 10:1; “Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire.”
What rainbow? Why do we read about a rainbow in this passage?