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Showing posts from October 7, 2026

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Browse at Your Own Pace

Begin wherever your curiosity leads. The studies will be here when you’re ready. When I shared my first Matthew study on Facebook today, I mentioned that I planned to post daily, though I might not share every post on Facebook. As I continue setting up this blog, I’ve realized that what matters most to me is making my past studies available for anyone who wants to explore them. For now, I’ll be adding posts to my heart’s content as I work through those studies. Some days that may mean one post; other days it may mean several. I’ll continue reading through and preparing each one before sharing it. There is no need to keep up with everything as it appears. This blog is becoming a place you can browse at your own pace—begin with a book, a question, or a study that interests you, and follow from there. The Bible Books page gathers studies by book, while Study Threads helps connect topics that travel through more than one book. The labels on individual posts also bring related material to...
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52. Ten Commandments: Remember, Enter, and Keep Holy

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God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” — Exodus 20:8, LSB We began this commandment by returning to what God established. Through the passages that followed, remembering the Sabbath brought us into an examination of completed work, provision, deliverance, faith, and holiness. These connections belong together as we consider what it means to rest in God. Remember Who Established Rest Exodus connects the seventh day with God’s work of creation and His rest. YHWH (יהוה) blesses the day and makes it holy. The command also includes the household, servants, animals, and the sojourner. Read Exodus 20:8–11. Deuteronomy brings deliverance into the explanation. Israel must remember having been enslaved in Egypt, and servants must be allowed to rest as their masters do. Remembering freedom carries responsibility toward others. Read Deuteronomy 5:12–15. Our own rest cannot become an excuse to overlook the burdens we place upon someone else. Trus...
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51. Ten Commandments: Where Your Treasure Is

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God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” — Matthew 6:21, LSB As we approach the conclusion of our examination of the fourth commandment, these words bring us back to the heart. We have followed provision, gathering, preparation, and remaining in what God gives. Now we must ask what we truly treasure—and how that treasure directs our lives. What Holds Our Devotion? Jesus places these words within his teaching about treasures on earth and in heaven. He then addresses serving two masters and explains that we cannot serve God and wealth. Read Matthew 6:19–24. This reaches into our choices. What am I unwilling to release? What receives my loyalty when obedience becomes uncomfortable? Does my confidence depend on what I possess, or on the Father whose instruction I claim to follow? Jesus continues by directing his listeners toward the Father’s knowledge of their needs and toward seeking His kingdom and righteousness first. Re...
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50. Ten Commandments: What Are We Gathering, and Where Is Our Rest?

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God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath As we follow provision, famine, and preparation through Scripture, we must also examine gathering. What is being gathered? Who provides it? What purpose does it serve? Jesus’ teachings carry these questions into the heart, where what we treasure shapes how we live. A Full Storehouse and an Unprepared Soul In Luke 12, a wealthy man plans larger barns for his abundant crops. He expects what he has accumulated to provide years of ease. That very night, however, his life is required of him. Jesus concludes by identifying the problem: storing treasure for oneself without being rich toward God. Read Luke 12:15–21. This places a question beside our examination of rest: What am I trusting when I believe I have everything I need? Jesus then directs attention to the Father’s care and tells his disciples to seek His kingdom. Their treasure and their hearts belong together. Read Luke 12:22–34. Gathering in Jesus’ Teaching Matthew 13 develops agricultu...
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49. Ten Commandments: Hearing Now and Remaining in What We Receive

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God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath Our previous post followed Joseph’s preparation before the famine. Provision received beforehand sustained people when the circumstances changed. Amos brings another famine into view: a famine involving the hearing of God’s words. Before reaching that warning, however, we must notice what the chapter says about the Sabbath. Waiting for the Sabbath to End Amos describes people who want the Sabbath to pass so they can resume selling grain. Their intentions include dishonest measurements and exploitation of the poor. Their attention to the calendar has not produced faithfulness toward God or care for others. They wait through the appointed day while planning to continue the very conduct God condemns. Read Amos 8:4–7. This brings our examination inward. Am I treating holiness as something observed for a certain period, while protecting desires that oppose God’s instruction? A Famine of Hearing Later in the chapter, YHWH (יהוה) announces a fami...
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48. Ten Commandments: Joseph—Provision Before the Famine

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God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath Our examination of Sabbath has repeatedly brought us to provision received beforehand. Joseph’s account gives us another comparison: seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. What sustains people when the period of abundance ends? God reveals what is coming Joseph attributes the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams to God. The two dreams communicate the same coming events: seven plentiful years, then seven years of severe famine. The repetition confirms the matter and its approaching fulfillment. Joseph therefore advises gathering and storing food during the plentiful years. Read Genesis 41:16, 25–36. Knowing what is coming calls for a response while provision is available. The abundance has a purpose beyond its own season Joseph gathers grain during the productive years. When famine arrives, he opens the storehouses, and people come for food. The change in conditions does not make the earlier provision useless. Its importa...
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47. Ten Commandments: Trusting What God Provides

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God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath We have examined keeping holy and extending rest to others. Now we return to the provision that made Israel’s Sabbath rest possible, focusing on the response God required. The provision came with instruction In Exodus 16, God explains that the gathering of manna will test whether the people follow His instruction. On ordinary days, they are told not to preserve leftovers until morning. On the sixth day, they are instructed to preserve enough for the Sabbath. The response required depends upon what God has said for that occasion. Read Exodus 16:4–5, 19–24. The distinction matters. They cannot replace attentive obedience with a habit of their own. More gathering did not mean greater faithfulness Some go out to gather on the seventh day despite the instruction. They find nothing. God connects their action with refusing His commandments and reminds them that He has already supplied bread for two days. Read Exodus 16:25–30. Their additional act...
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46. Ten Commandments: Rest That Reaches Others

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God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath Our previous post examined entering God’s rest and honoring the holiness of what He gives. Now we turn to an important detail within the command itself: the rest extends beyond the person being addressed. Notice everyone included Exodus 20:10 names sons, daughters, male and female slaves, cattle, and the sojourner within the gates. Their inclusion gives the person addressed a responsibility. Stopping one’s own work while transferring it to others would disregard those God expressly includes. Read Exodus 20:8–11. We must therefore examine more than our own experience of rest. We must also consider how our choices affect those around us. So that others may be refreshed Exodus 23 makes the purpose especially clear. The instruction to cease work includes rest for the ox and donkey and refreshment for the maidservant’s son and the sojourner. Read Exodus 23:12. Earlier in the chapter, Israel is told not to oppress the sojourner, remembering thei...
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45. Ten Commandments: Entering Rest and Keeping Holy

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God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath Discussions about Sabbath often become arguments over Saturday or Sunday. Yet identifying a worship day does not, by itself, answer whether someone has entered God’s rest. Our study follows the seventh-day command alongside the larger question Scripture raises: How do we respond to God, and how do we live in what He provides? God is the One who makes holy In Exodus 31, God identifies the Sabbath as a sign between Himself and Israel, through which they are to know that He makes them holy. The relationship matters. YHWH (יהוה) establishes the sign and identifies Himself as the source of their sanctification. Their responsibility is to honor what belongs to Him. Read Exodus 31:12–17. The invitation says “Today” Hebrews 4 recalls God’s seventh-day rest while addressing the continuing invitation to enter it. The passage joins hearing with faith and warns against a hardened, disobedient response. “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your...
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44. Ten Commandments: Remember the Sabbath Day

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God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath Having completed our Sabbath study under Genesis, we return to the wording of the fourth commandment. The connections we examined—completion, provision, release, holiness, and restoration—give us a foundation for reading it carefully. Remember—with a purpose “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” — Exodus 20:8, LSB The instruction joins remembrance with a response: keeping the day holy. The following verses explain how that remembrance affects work and the household. The seventh day belongs to YHWH (יהוה) . Its holiness is grounded in His action: He blessed it and made it holy. The people are instructed to honor what God has established. Read Exodus 20:8–11. Remember what God completed Genesis 2:1–3 brings together completed work, rest, blessing, and holiness. That is why our examination began there. God’s rest follows the completion of His work. The day is distinguished by what He has done. Read Genesis 2:1–3. As we carry our earlie...
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13. Sabbath Study: From Completed Work to Rest—Bringing the Study Together

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study We began in Genesis to examine what Scripture places around the seventh day: completed work, rest, blessing, and holiness. From there, we followed provision, release, life, and restoration. Before returning to the fourth commandment in Exodus, let us gather those connections. Completed work comes before rest Genesis 2:1–3 presents God’s completed work and His rest on the seventh day. He blesses that day and sets it apart as holy. Read Genesis 2:1–3. Within our study’s reading of Genesis 1–2:4 as a blueprint, the completed outcome stands before the unfolding account. That is the framework through which we have been comparing completion and progression. God provides what is needed In Exodus 16, the sixth day brings a double portion of manna. On the seventh day, the people eat what has already been supplied. The cessation of gathering does not mean the cessation of nourishment. Read Exodus 16:22–30. Leviticus 25 similarly connects appointed rest...
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12. Sabbath Study: Completed Witness, Judgment, and Restoration

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study Our previous post followed Christ first, the giving of the Spirit, and the progression toward completion. We now bring together the passages concerning completed witness, judgment, and restoration. Completion has an appointed setting Daniel 12 asks how long it will be until the wonders reach their end. The man above the river raises both hands toward heaven and swears by the One who lives forever. His answer includes an appointed interval and the completion of the shattering of the holy people’s power. Read Daniel 12:6–7. Revelation 10 presents a closely corresponding scene: an angel raises his right hand toward heaven and swears by the eternal Creator. God’s mystery reaches completion in connection with the seventh angel’s sounding, according to what God announced through His prophets. Read Revelation 10:5–7. The shared details invite comparison: the oath, the appointed timing, and the announced completion. The witnesses finish their testimo...
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11. Sabbath Study: Christ First—Life and the Progression Toward Completion

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study Our favorable-year comparison requires us to follow progression. Jesus accomplishes the work entrusted to him, and others receive through him. As we examine how this relates to rest, we must preserve both what has been accomplished and what still moves toward completion. Each in his own order Paul identifies the risen Christ as the firstfruits, then writes: “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming.” — 1 Corinthians 15:23, LSB The order and the timing belong together. Christ is first; those belonging to him follow, with their resurrection here connected to his coming. Paul then describes the end, when Christ hands the kingdom to the God and Father after opposing rule, authority, and power have been abolished. Death is the last enemy abolished. Read 1 Corinthians 15:20–26. The Spirit is given Acts 2 supplies another part of the progression. At Pentecost, the disciples receive the Holy ...
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10. Sabbath Study: The Favorable Year—Preparation Before Judgment

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study Our study has followed provision, release, completed work, and restoration. We now return to the favorable year Jesus announces, keeping the progression toward completion before us. The year Jesus announces In Luke 4, Jesus reads of an anointing, a commission, and release for those held captive or oppressed. He announces the favorable year and identifies the Scripture as fulfilled in his hearers’ presence. Read Luke 4:16–21. Isaiah’s passage also names a day of vengeance, followed by comfort and restoration. Jesus’ recorded reading ends before that vengeance portion. We must preserve both what he announces and where he stops. Read Isaiah 61:1–3. The question for this study is the extent of that favorable period and what takes place within it. God’s servants are sealed before harm proceeds Revelation 7 presents restraint with a stated purpose. The angels are instructed to hold back harm until God’s servants receive the seal upon their forehead...
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9. Sabbath Study: Delighting in God and Caring for Others

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study As we examine rest and completion, we must also examine how we live. Isaiah 58 places Sabbath within a chapter addressing worship, conduct, and restoration. When observance and conduct disagree The people seek God and question why He does not acknowledge their fasting. Yet their observance accompanies oppression, conflict, and violence. God directs them toward releasing the oppressed, feeding the hungry, sheltering those without a home, and clothing those in need. Their treatment of others belongs within the examination of their worship. Read Isaiah 58:1–7. Light, guidance, and restoration The passage connects this response with light, healing, and the protection of God’s Glory. It describes continued guidance, nourishment, and rebuilding what has been ruined. Notice the movement: burdens are removed, needs are met, and restoration follows. Read Isaiah 58:8–12. Whose desire comes first? The Sabbath instructions then address one’s ways, desire...
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8. Sabbath Study: Completed Work, Glory, and the Rest That Remains

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study Our previous post followed Jesus’ explanation that the Father was working and that he was doing the Father’s works. We now turn to completion. As we read, keep this question before us: How does completed work relate to others entering what God has prepared? The work the Father gave In John 17, Jesus addresses the Father: “I glorified You on the earth, having finished the work which You have given Me to do.” — John 17:4, LSB The Father gives the work. Jesus accomplishes it and glorifies the Father. He then asks to be glorified with the Father, with the Glory he had before the world existed. Notice when Jesus speaks: this prayer precedes his arrest and crucifixion. His language of completion must be read alongside the events still unfolding. Read John 17:1–5. Others are included in the purpose The prayer reaches beyond the disciples present with him to those who will believe through their testimony. Jesus also speaks of giving them the Glory th...
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7. Sabbath Study: Doing Good and the Father’s Work

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study Our study has followed rest alongside provision, release, and restoration. We now examine how Jesus explains the work he does on the Sabbath. Is it lawful to do good? In Matthew 12, a man with a withered hand becomes the occasion for a question about Sabbath healing. The passage identifies the questioners’ intention: they want grounds to accuse Jesus. Jesus asks whether they would rescue a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath. He then draws attention to the greater value of a person and concludes: “So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” — Matthew 12:12, LSB The man stretches out his hand, and it is restored. Yet the Pharisees respond by planning Jesus’ destruction. Notice the actions beside one another: Jesus restores a person while his opponents plan to destroy him. Their concern about Sabbath observance must be examined alongside what they themselves intend to do. Read Matthew 12:9–14. This invites personal reflection: Can ...
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6. Sabbath Study: Jubilee—Rest, Release, and Return

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study Our previous post examined release from bondage on the Sabbath. We now turn to Jubilee, where rest appears alongside freedom and return. What does this add to our understanding of the rest God establishes? Seven sevens, followed by release Leviticus 25 begins with instructions for the land: six years of cultivation followed by a seventh year of rest to YHWH (יהוה) . The passage then counts seven periods of seven years—forty-nine years. The fiftieth year is set apart as holy. On the Day of Atonement, the horn announces Jubilee throughout the land. Notice what accompanies it: release, return to family, and return to one’s possession of land. An impoverished Israelite serving another is to leave that service with his children and return home. Rest has consequences for how people live and how they treat one another. Read Leviticus 25:1–13, 39–43. Provision makes rest possible The chapter also anticipates a practical concern: what will people eat ...
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5. Sabbath Study: Rest and Release from Bondage

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study Hebrews connects entering God’s rest with hearing, faith, and obedience. Jesus’s words and actions give us another part of the examination: rest offered to the burdened, and release accomplished on the Sabbath. What does that reveal about the purpose of rest? The Son invites us to learn Before inviting the weary to come to him, Jesus identifies the Father as the One who has entrusted all things to him. He also speaks of revealing the Father. Then comes the invitation: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28, LSB Jesus continues by calling people to take his yoke and learn from him. Rest appears together with instruction, gentleness, and humility. Read Matthew 11:25–30. The invitation preserves a relationship: come, learn, and follow under his direction . Rest does not require us to become our own source of understanding. This belongs alongside our Born Again Study , where we examined receivin...
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4. Sabbath Study: Today, If You Hear His Voice

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study The manna account showed provision given before rest. It also showed that receiving God’s provision did not automatically produce obedience. Hebrews brings that distinction directly into its discussion of entering God’s rest. The question concerns what happens when we hear. The Holy Spirit speaks—and the heart responds Hebrews introduces the wilderness warning as something the Holy Spirit says: “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts” — Hebrews 3:7–8, LSB, excerpt The people had witnessed God’s works, yet the passage describes them going astray in their hearts and failing to know His ways. Seeing what God does and yielding to His instruction are distinguishable. The warning asks us to examine our response, even when we have already experienced His provision. Read Hebrews 3:7–11. The warning reaches those who have heard Hebrews addresses its readers as brothers and warns against an unbelieving heart that falls away from the liv...
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3. Sabbath Study: Provision Before Rest

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study Genesis connects rest with completed work. Exodus 16 adds another detail to examine: provision is given before the people are instructed to rest. The sixth and seventh days belong together. Their sequence helps us understand the relationship between receiving, trusting, and obeying. Twice as much on the sixth day YHWH (יהוה) announces that the daily gathering will test whether the people follow His instruction. On the sixth day, they receive twice the usual amount. Read Exodus 16:4–5. Ordinarily, keeping manna overnight against instruction resulted in spoilage. The portion kept for the Sabbath remained good. The difference followed God’s direction concerning when to gather and when to keep. Read Exodus 16:19–24. None in the field—food already supplied On the seventh day, Moses tells the people to eat what they have. They will find no manna in the field. Gathering ceases; nourishment continues from the provision already received. Some neverthe...
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2. Sabbath Study: Completed Work and the Rest That Remains

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God’s Image Study • Genesis • Sabbath Study Before examining what it means for us to rest, we begin with God’s rest. Genesis 2:1–3 connects the seventh day with completed work, blessing, and holiness. These details form the foundation for the Sabbath passages that follow. Rest follows completed work The opening verses describe the heavens and earth as completed. God rests from the work He has done, then blesses and sanctifies the seventh day because He rested on it. Read Genesis 2:1–3. The account directs our attention to completion. Isaiah also describes the everlasting Creator as neither weary nor tired. We should therefore examine God’s rest through the work accomplished, rather than assume He needed recovery from exhaustion. Read Isaiah 40:28. The blueprint and its unfolding In our God’s Image Study , we have been reading Genesis 1–2:4 as a blueprint presenting God’s plan through its completed outcome, with Genesis 2:5 beginning the account of its unfolding. This reading asks us to...
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1. Sabbath Study: Beginning with God’s Rest

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God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” — Exodus 20:8, LSB We arrived at the fourth commandment. To examine it carefully, we will begin where the commandment itself directs our attention: God’s work and His rest. Exodus connects the seventh day with creation, explaining that YHWH (יהוה) blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Understanding that connection requires us to return to Genesis. Read Exodus 20:8–11. Before examining our rest, we must examine His Genesis 2:1–3 brings several details together: the completion of the heavens and earth, God’s completed work, His rest on the seventh day, and His blessing and sanctifying that day. Each deserves careful attention. What work is described as completed? What does resting mean in this passage? Why is the seventh day blessed and set apart? How do later passages develop this account? Read Genesis 2:1–3. We will begin with these questions and follow the wording before drawing conclusions...
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