Catholic Doctrine Bible Study

15:11 (The Lord spoke...) “I REGRET having made Saul king....” God is spirit, not human, and does not have human shortcomings. Yet, many times in the Old Testament, the human author is limited by language God can use ANYTHING, good or bad, to advance the Kingdom. God is shown to have “regret” when he takes away the benefits to someone that he previously bestowed them to. 16:7 “Not as man sees .....but the Lord looks into the (person’s) HEART.”  Regardless of anything else going on in your life, if you have a HEART for God, God can use you! 18-20 David was threatened  by Saul for years, yet he continued to seek and praise God in the midst of his persecution.  Psalm 59 (“your praise I will sing: you, God, are my fortress, my loving God.”) is attributed to David, who is thought to have written it during this period, when Saul tried to KILL him many times.  Keep talking to God, every day!

Intro: The 2 books of Samuel were originally one book, and together they cover the time period right after “Judges”, from about 1083BC-1000BC. (The end of David’s reign.) The 3 main characters are Samuel, Saul, and David Chapter 2- Hannah’s speech when she dedicates Samuel to the Lord is very similar to Mary’s Magnificat. (Luke 1:46-56.)  Salvation comes to the people through a woman. 2:12-17 and 8:1-5 We have strong-willed kids because they have weak-willed parents!! 8:5 The people wanted a(n earthly)King, because other countries had Kings!  (God was their King before!) This will ultimately not end well, for them, or us!! 10:8 and 13:8-9 - Saul doesn’t get to be king for long because he does a priestly function, but is not a priest!  (Our clergy is ordained and  is a result of Apostolic Succession.) You don’t get to start your own church just because you “feel” like it.  God’s Word has been entrusted to Christ’s Church in a special way!

Judges 13-16  Samson ignores God’s prohibitions, is guided by lust, pleasure, and selfishness, and never prays until he loses his power (the first time.)He could have been so much more!  He is a cautionary tale for us.  Judges 17-21 We see Israelite society unravelling completely, to an unthinkable level of savagery, which includes murder, rape, dismemberment, and slaughter amongst themselves. Why?  See Judges 21:25.....”...everyone did what he thought best.”  Moral relativism guided them, as is the case in our own society.  Follow Christ’s teaching; that of the Church! On a happier note, the Book of Ruth, described as taking place “in the time of the judges” (Ruth 1:1) tells the story of a non-Israelite who shows family loyalty, kindness, gentleness, and hard work, and how as a result she ends up being blessed with a good husband. She becomes an ancestor of Jesus! (See Mt. 1:5) Morals: 1) If you want a good spouse, BE a good person, and the spouse will find YOU! 2) Your bloodline doesn’t count with God.  (Ruth was a Moabitess originally, an enemy of the Israelites, but converted to follow God. (1:16)  God can use you, wherever you came from.

 “Who Gets To Go To The Promised Land?” , “Your Choice-Who Are You Going To Serve?” , “Our Relationship Cycle With God.” Joshua 10:13 ( “the sun stood still...for a whole day. (!)) Hyperbole? Miracle?  Either way, the point is that God provided the victory. Joshua 14:6-14 Caleb was a Kennizite (a non-Jew!), and, because of his faith and ACTION (in Numbers 13:32) he got the “pick” of the Promised Land.  Moral: It’s not your bloodline or what your background is; it’s God’s grace, your faith, and ACTING on that faith that gets you to the Promised Land.  (If Caleb hadn’t ACTED on his faith, he would have died in the desert with all the others during the 40 Years of Wandering. How are you putting your faith into ACTION? Joshua 24:15 “Decide today whom you will serve.....As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Great wall plaque!)  Who will YOU serve? How? Pray, and make a plan! Judges 1-12 , summed up in 2:6-23.  The people would follow God for awhile, then fall into serious sin, then suffer the consequences, then God would send a Judge to get them back on track, then the cycle would repeat. Break that cycle!  Stay the course!  Use the tools of the Church: the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist, Adoration,  Prayer, Fasting, Scripture, etc. Break a bad habit by adding these to take it’s place.

Chapter 2-Rahab, a prostitute, paved the way for the Israelite conquest of Jericho.  She is also an ancestor of Jesus! (See Mt. 1:5) God can use anybody!  Chapters 3-6 God provided the victory, because the Israelites cooperated with God.  They followed the Ark of the Covenant (prefiguring Mary in the New Testament), and in 6:20 the walls collapsed. 6:21  This was massacre!  The Catholic Church forbids it, per a well-thought-out (and inspired by the Holy Spirit!) doctrine on war, spelled out in CCC paragraphs 2307-2317, especially paragraph 2309. (The “Just War Doctrine.”) The Church “loosed” Joshua 6:24, and other Old Testament passages like it, through the power given it in Mt. 16:17-20. Chapter 7 Achan’s sin (keeping Jericho treasure, against the Lord’s command of 6:18) caused the Israelite defeat at Ai. Our own “personal” sin affects the community of Christ as a whole; slowly, almost imperceptively, our standards as a community erode, as what once brought shame on the individual is now thought to be “not so bad”, and becomes accepted by the community at large.  In that sense, there is no such thing as a purely “personal” sin.  We are to be LIGHT to the world!

27:7 “making merry before the Lord...” Our Mass is a CELEBRATION! We have the Real Presence of Jesus! 27 and 28 Blessings and curses - what we do counts!....Not“Faith Alone” in the Protestant sense. 29:23-28 “Exile-Why us?”  Because the people foresook the covenant!  (Remember, this was written about 600 years AFTER the events described, but written as though it were DURING the events.  The author was looking back to see the cause of the nation’s ruin.) So, do your own daily Examination of Conscience! 32:The Rock is the Father, the Rock is the Son, who guides the people when they are willing to follow God.  The visible representative of God on earth is the Catholic Church.  Jesus conferred the name “Peter” (“Rock”) on his appointed leader. (Mt:16:18).

Deuteronomy 10-26 - "How Will We Recognize The Messiah When He Comes Again?” “Another Anti-Abortion Verse”, “Why Don’t We Have To Follow All Of These Laws?” 13:2-9 On people who claim to be the 2nd Coming of Christ:  When Jesus comes again, it will be as a JUDGE, not as a teacher or as a leader in this world- He will be “coming on a cloud” at the end of time.  (See Mt. 24:30)  All will know who Jesus is; there will be no doubt by anyone! 18:10 Another Anti-Abortion verse. (When there is an abortion, there is a sacrifice to the “God of Convenience.) The laws in these chapters were written to a particular culture for a particular time, though some continue to be applicable today.  The Catholic Church has abrogated some laws in these chapters, as it uses the Authority given it by Christ to bind-and loose. (Mt. 16:17-20)

These chapters repeat much of the history and edicts of the book of Numbers, including the Ten Commandments (Chapter 5). 6:7 “Drill them (the points of our Faith) into your children.” ....The first Church is the home.  Mass attendance should be mandatory for all in the house, including you!!  DISCUSS the Faith with your children.  Teach them that their successes come from God, and that their relationship with God is the Most Important Thing in their lives.  Read bible stories to them.  DRILL them daily on the Faith, as you do for teaching them multiplication tables.  PRAY with them daily, at meal times and before bedtime. 7 Another chapter that says “Don’t do what the pagans do.”  We are to influence the world, not the other way around! 9:5 God will deliver us (to heaven) not because we deserve it or are entitled to it, but because God keeps His promises, and bestows grace to us.

“The Catholic Teaching On The Death Penalty.” Numbers 35:17 (See CCC paragraph 2267.) Though the Church “does not exclude recourse to the death penalty”, it should be limited to cases where other people’s safety (guards, inmates, others) is at stake. The death penalty is not one of the non-negotiables that the Church holds. (Such as : Abortion, euthanasia, fetal stem cell research, human cloning, and homosexual marriage.)  The Church Fathers were divided on this issue.  (But Augustine and Aquinas approved of capital punishment.) Deuteronomy (“2nd Law”) retells the history of Numbers to the next generation.  (We must retell the Faith to OUR next generation!!) Deuteronomy was written by yet another author, between 600-750BC, or at least 500 years after Moses died.  It seeks to answer: “Why did all this bad stuff happen to us?”  The answer:  The people ignored God and His direction.

“Laying On of Hands, (Ordination- Appointed, not Elected!), Israelites’ Genocide of Midianites vs. Our Just War Doctrine, Death Penalty.” 27:18-23 Joshua appointed, not elected, ordained by laying on of hands, just like our priests.  (Apostolic Succession.) 31:16-18  These heinous acts by the Israelites show that the Bible tells the story, “warts and all.”  God had told Moses to win the war, not to slaughter the women and children here.  Compare this to Catholic Just War Doctrine, CCC 2309-2314, which clearly refutes those practices. 33:2 Consider keeping a “spiritual diary” to monitor and reflect on your walk with the Lord. 33:55 Keep away from those who can corrupt you! 35:17 See CCC paragraph 2267 about the Death Penalty.