Sunday, November 15, 2020

Judges 17-18 Small Group Questions


Our church is doing a twelve-week sermon series through the book of Judges called: "Flawed Heroes." We are studying the Old Testament book for a couple reasons. One is that Judges is a book of flawed heroes and none of us are perfect. The book reminds us that God is the divine hero of the story. Judges is a period of transition for Israel, a transition from God as their leader to a monarchy. For this series I volunteered to write the small group questions that go along with each sermon. It seemed like a waste to leave them in a file on my computer and not share them with everyone.

Small Group Questions ::: Micah, the thief ::: Judges 17-18

As we near the end of the book of Judges the author makes a shift in the focus of the book. We will not study a particular Judge but turn our attention to the people of Israel and see how they lived in this time. If Judges 1-16 were a 30,000 foot view of God’s people, then Judges 17-21 will be a sea level view of what took place in Israel. Starting in Judges 17 we read that Micah’s family created their own homemade religion. Micah believed in God but didn’t know God. Micah set up an idol that lead to apostasy. His actions in turn spurred the men of Dan to steal his priest and idols which lead to a larger sin. Judges 17-18 teach us what happens when we turn our back on God, the effect is much larger than any of us think.  

1) Micah was a thief because he turned people from worshipping God. Neal shared about having his car broken into and what it feels like to be stolen from. Share about a time someone stole from you and how it felt.    

2) Read Judges 17:1-6. Micah stole the money from his mother and returned it. The money was dedicated to the Lord but wasn’t fully given to the Lord. How have you been obedient in giving to the Lord? (see Malachi 3:10, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

3) Micah continued to steal from the Lord (read Judges 17:7-13). Micah cheated this priest, read the Levitical Law (Deuteronomy 18:1-5). How have you cheated God and how did God turn your heart back to Him? 

4) The sin of idol worship continued to permeate in Israel (read Judges 18:1-6). There is another time in Scripture where God’s people don’t wan to seek God (Read 2 Chronicles 18:1-7). How does this type of behavior impact others? 

5) Read Judges 18:18-20. The men of Dan returned to steal Micah’s idols and priest. We live in a culture where it’s easy to care more about self-promotion and prideful decisions. What does Scripture teach on these things? Share a Scripture.   

6) The questions Micah asks in Judges 18:24 are the hinge of the entire story. Micah feels like his idols are more important than the Lord. Do you have something in your life that you have given higher importance than your walk with Jesus?  

7) Our story ends with an example of how bad it had become for the people of Israel (read Judges 18:30). What do we learn from this story about continuing to seek the Lord with all our heart (read Matthew 22:37-40) 

Close your time in prayer. Talk about who you will invite to Coastline this week 

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