討論問題

TAFPC Adult Sunday School Bible Study

台美團契長老教會成人主日學三年讀經運動 07/24/2005 討論問題

Question 1: Exodus 18:13-26

    Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, gave advice to Moses how to do his job as a leader of Israelites. Jethro is an “outsider ", a “gentile”, and not part of the 12 tribes of Israel as Moses was. Why Moses did not consult God for advice? Jethro’s advice prevented people direct access to the greatest man ever raised by God, Moses. It prevented giving people a chance to directly ask someone like Moses a question. Moses is a type of intercessor between God & Man. Do you think Jethro’s advice was a good or bad advice? Please share your thoughts.

Question 2: Exodus 20:3

    The Lord said: "You shall have no other gods before me." Is it true that we always put our God in the number 1 position? Or, sometimes we let our worldly affairs such as money, family, social position, career, etc., sneak into our mind taking higher priorities over our God. How did it happen? Please share your experiences with the group.

Question 3: Exodus 20: 22-26

    This is the first detailed "SOP(Standard Operational Procedure)" that God--YHWH gave regarding "How to worship". My personal interpretation of these instructions is this: God desires us to worship Him in a simplistic and dignified way. He does not want fancy decoration. God also specifically instructed in verse 24 that He does not want to be limited in a centralized hierarchical religious system. It is God who comes to us and causes us to worship Him.

    After the 9-11 and several serial terrorists destructions, the history of wars among the 3 monotheistic religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) again provokes such questions as: "Are we worshiping the same God since we all call Him the God of Abraham?" What about other religions especially in Asia? What Would Jesus Do?

Question 4: Exodus 21:24

    From the Exodus 21:24, we see the message "eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand and foot for foot".  However, In Matthew 6:38-47, Lord Jesus said that there was a better way. As a matter of face, He gave us a radical solution to this ancient problem. Instead of retaliating against your enemy, you should love him by doing good to him! "How can we be expected to love those who are treating us harshly and unfairly?" "Surely, no one could do that, or would want to." "Even Christians have their limits, don't they?"