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BIBLE STUDY LESSON 21

SERIES R --- THE GOOD SHEPHERD

CARE FOR LITTLE ONES

A CUP OF WATER

From Mark 9:38-50

One day John told Yeshua about a man he had seen. [He was driving out demons in Your Name,] said John. [Since he wasn’t one of us, we told him to stop.] [Don’t do that,] Yeshua said. [Those who perform miracles in My Name will not turn against Me soon afterwards. Whoever is not against us is for us. Listen to Me! Whoever gives you a cup of water because you belong to Me will receive a reward.] Then Yeshua continued, [Anyone who makes one of My little ones turn away from Me would be better off to have a millstone around his neck and be thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to turn away from Me, cut it off. It is better to live without a hand than to go to hell, to an endless fire. If your foot causes you to turn away from Me, cut it off. It is better to live without a foot than to go into hell with two feet. If your eye causes you to turn away from Me, take it out. It is better to go into the Kingdom of YHVH with one eye than to go into hell with both eyes. In hell, their worms never die and the fire never stops burning. It is a place where everyone is seasoned with fire. Salt that serves its purpose is good. But when it loses its power to season, how can you restore it? Keep your seasoning power, your purpose, alive and continue to live with one another in peace.]

WHEN SOMEONE WRONGS YOU

From Matthew 18:15-35

[When a brother sins against you, go to him personally and tell him what is wrong,] said Yeshua. [But be sure to do this alone, just between the two of you. If he listens and acknowledges his wrong, you have won back a brother. But if he will not listen, then take one or two others along and visit him again. They will confirm all that you have to say against him. If this brother will still not listen to you, then you should bring your complaint before the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then he should be treated as an outcast. Let Me tell you truly that whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever you free on earth is freed in heaven. Also, I must tell you that if two of you agree here on earth about anything for which you pray, My Father in heaven will do it for you. Wherever two or three are together in My Name, I will be there with them.] Then Peter came to Yeshua with a question. [Adonai, how many times should I forgive my brother who keeps on sinning against me? Seven times?] [Not seven times,] Yeshua answered. [Seventy times seven.] Then Yeshua told this story: [The Kingdom of heaven is like a king who began to bring his accounts up to date. One servant owed the king millions of shekels. Of course, he didn’t have enough to pay his debt, so the king gave orders for him to be sold as a slave, along with his wife and children and all his property, and the money to be used to pay part of the debt. The servant fell on his knees and begged the king for mercy. ‘Be patient, and I will pay you everything I owe,’ the man pleaded. The king felt sorry for him and forgave his debt. But the servant went out from the king and met a fellow servant who owed him no more than a few shekels. He grabbed this fellow servant by the throat and started to choke him. ‘Pay me what you owe!’ he shouted. The fellow servant fell down at his feet and pleaded, ‘Be patient and I will pay you what I owe.’ But the wicked servant would not show mercy. Instead, he had his fellow servant put into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants heard about this, they were angry and told the king about it, who called this servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ said the king, ‘I forgave you an enormous debt merely because you asked me to. Why didn’t you show the same mercy to your fellow servant?’ The king angrily sent his servant to prison to be punished until he paid back every part of his debt. That is what My Father in heaven will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brother.]

COMMENTARY

DEBTS AND DEBTORS

The Law that YHVH gave to Moses taught the people of Israel that it was a privilege to lend something to a friend or neighbour. Making a loan to someone in need was showing him the same kindness that YHVH had shown Israel when He led them out of slavery in Egypt. The rich man was strictly forbidden to make a profit from lending money to the poor. An Israelite was not permitted to charge interest on a loan to another Israelite. It was common for other people to charge the borrower an interest fee half as large as the amount of the loan; at the very least the debtor was forced to pay back more than he borrowed. Interest on a debt was almost a penalty for being poor, and YHVH’s Law did not allow that. When a poor man asked for a loan from his rich neighbour, he had to offer his creditor a {surety payment} -- something of value to him, like his sheep or an ox. This was a symbol and guarantee of his promise to repay what he had borrowed. The lender could keep the surety payment until the entire loan was paid back. The lender was not permitted to take anything the borrower needed for his living. If his ox was taken, for example, he could not plough his fields. Without crops, he not only would be unable to pay back the loan, he also would probably not be able to survive. If the poor man left his cloak as surety, the lender had to return it to him by nightfall. The poor man’s garment was not only his coat; it also served as his blanket at night. It was not lawful for a lender to go into a borrower’s house and seize whatever he chose as surety payment; the lender had to offer it himself. When a person was so poor that he had nothing to give as a surety payment, he could offer himself as a slave to the creditor. If the loan was a large one, he might also give his sons and daughters as well. They worked for the lender without pay until the value of their labour equalled the amount of the debt they owed. The creditor was not permitted to make a poor man his slave forever. Every seventh year was observed as a Sabbatical year. During that period, all debts were forgiven and all Israelite slaves freed. But the Israelites began to act like the cruel and dishonest pagan people around them. They charged their countrymen very high interest rates, making them repay far more than they had borrowed. And if a poor man could not repay his loan on time, they seized whatever property he owned or had him thrown into prison. The debtor was to be kept in prison until he could repay the loan. But he could not earn the money in any way while he was in jail, and there was very little hope that he would ever be free again. Prison conditions in Yeshua’ time were unbearably cruel. A prisoner might be chained to the wall with iron clamps around his neck, wrists and feet. He lived with murderers, thieves and the insane. The cell was dark, with no windows, and the air smelled foul. There was no food or water, except for what the prisoner’s family could bring to him. If he became sick, there was no help. Many prisoners died in the horror of the jails.

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