Bible study for Today

2 Chronicles 1:1–2:18Psalm 79:1-4Proverbs 20:8-9Acts 11:1-30

Notes:

2 Chronicles 1:17 six hundredshekels. Assuming a shekel weighs .4 ounces, this represents 15 pounds of silver for one chariot. one hundred and fifty. Assuming the weight is in shekels, this would be about 3.75 pounds of silver. Deuteronomy 17:16 warned against the king’s amassing horses.

2 Chronicles 2:1 temple for the name of the LORD. God’s covenant name, Yahweh or Jehovah (Ex. 3:14), is in mind. David wanted to do this, but was not allowed to do any more than plan and prepare (1 Chr. 23–26; 28:11–13), purchase the land (2 Sam. 24:18–25; 1 Chr. 22), and gather the materials (1 Chr. 22:14–16).

Psalm 79:1–13 The historical basis for this lament psalm was probably Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of the temple in 586 B.C. (Ps. 74; 2 Kin. 25:8–21; Lam. 1–5). The psalm contains prayer for the nation’s spiritual needs, curses against the enemies of God’s people, and praises in anticipation of God’s actions. The psalm helps the believer express his anguish in a disaster when it seems as though God is aloof.

Psalm 79:1 nations. In this context, the word refers to heathen, pagan people. inheritance. The inheritance of God was national Israel, and specifically its capital city, Jerusalem, where the temple was located.

Acts 11:3 ate with them! The Jewish believers were outraged over such a blatant breach of Jewish custom. It was difficult for them to conceive that Jesus could be equally Lord of Gentile believers.

Acts 11:18 God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life. One of the most shocking admissions in Jewish history, but an event that the Old Testament had prophesied (Is. 42:1, 6; 49:6; Acts 2:38).

Acts 11:27 prophets. Preachers of the New Testament (1 Cor. 14:32; Eph. 2:20).

Acts 11:28 Agabus. One of the Jerusalem prophets who years later played an important part in Paul’s ministry (21:10, 11). a great famine.Several ancient writers (Tacitus [Annals XI.43], Josephus [AntiquitiesXX.ii.5], and Suetonius [Claudius 18]) affirm the occurrence of great famines in Israel ca. A.D. 45–46. all the world. The famine reached beyond the region of Palestine.Claudius Caesar. Emperor of Rome (A.D. 41–54).

DAY 3: How does the baptism with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13) relate to the Spirit’s activities in the Book of Acts?

Acts describes a number of occasions in which the Holy Spirit “fell on” or “filled” or “came upon” people (2:4; 10:44; 19:6). Here in Acts 11:16, 17, Peter recounts how the Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles just as it had the early Jewish disciples. Peter identifies these actions by God as a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2:28–32).

Viewed from the perspective of the entire New Testament, these experiences were neither the same nor replacements for what John the Baptist (Mark 1:8) and Paul described as the baptism with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). The baptism with the Spirit is the one-time act by which God places believers into His body. The filling is a repeated reality of Spirit-controlled behavior that God commands believers to maintain (Eph. 5:18). Peter and others who experienced the special filling on Pentecost Day (2:4) were filled with the Spirit again and again (4:8, 31; 6:5; 7:55) and so boldly spoke the word of God. That was just the beginning. The fullness of the Spirit affects all areas of life, not just speaking boldly (Eph. 5:18–33).