by Jen | Apr 8, 2025 | 1-24, DISO studies, Joshua 2
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Can you believe we’re almost done with this study? I’m so grateful you’re checking in with me, and I hope you’ve had a chance to do a little digging on your own in this amazing story of Rahab. There is no better way to get to know our awesome God than to spend time in His Word!
Here’s the treasure I uncovered this past week.
Last Week’s Work
CROSS-REFERENCES
When I sat down to work through the cross-references for Joshua 2 this week, the Spirit first sent me in another direction: to search for other “biblical sightings” of Rahab. I knew from before she’s mentioned in Matthew 1:5 in the genealogy of Jesus. I felt like I’d encountered her name in other parts the New Testament at some point but couldn’t remember where or why.
Using her name to search cross-references, I saw she’s also included in the Hebrews 11 list of Jewish heroes (among them Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses) who demonstrated their faith in amazing ways. After the author extolls their faith, he adds one Gentile woman, Rahab, who “by faith … did not perish with those who were disobedient.” (Hebrews 11:31, emphasis mine) This is how amazing our God is!
By His own law, a prostitute was obviously disobedient, yet God chose to give her alone the opportunity to help the spies that night. And, even though she was afraid of them, by faith she leaned into that chance.
James also found her faith remarkable. In his argument that faith can’t be separated from works (James 2:19-26) he cites just two examples: Abraham—the Father of the faith—and Rahab—a woman whose exemplar work of faith was “a friendly welcome.”
But perhaps most interesting, I found six other cross-refs (Job 9:13 and 26:12, Psalms 87:4 and 89:10, and Isaiah 30:7, 51:9) containing the word rahab that didn’t refer to a woman at all. I dug into the interlinear tools for both words and discovered though spelled the same, there are separate entries in Strongs for each. Rahab the woman is H7343, and the other is H7293. In context, the latter refers to pride or strength, the opposite of how Rahab described herself and her countrymen in my treasure verses!
As I thought this through, the Spirit revealed a paradox: though Rahab acknowledged her weakness, God made her strong enough to lie to the king’s guard and negotiate with men representing a nation poised to wipe out her people. This reminded me of Paul’s telling the Corinthians about a conversation he had with the Lord: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 ESV (emphasis mine).”
OTHER TRANSLATIONS
I compared the ESV, AMP, NIV, and Good News translations, but didn’t find anything remarkable there. As previously noted, the inhabitants of Jericho and surrounding area were quite intimidated by the Israelites. This came from what they’d heard about the Lord giving His people victory over other fierce warriors in Canaan.
Dig-In Challenges
This week, let’s wrap up our study of Joshua 2 and align with what we’ve discovered in this passage:
- PRAY: Read the prayer created in Step 1.
- ALIGN: Review our study notes and other work, focusing specifically on what we’ve learned in this process.
- ALIGN: Then, considering those “lessons learned,” think about how the Spirit has convicted us through this study. In other words, where has He shown us misalignment between what we’ve discovered and how we practice our faith?
- ALIGN: Next, let’s look to God’s Word for guidance to correct that misalignment. This is often—but not always—a verse from the study text or from one of the cross-references.
- ALIGN: And finally, I’ll reflect on how I can change my thoughts or actions to align more closely with what I’ve discovered here. To really make this work, I commit to changing something and do my best to act on that commitment every day for at least three weeks.
That may seem like a lot to consider in one week. If you’re working with the Spirit, remember it’s okay to work at your own pace. Don’t worry about where you are—just do what you can when you can. I know the Lord will bless any time you spend in His Word!
GO TO WEEK 8 >
by Jen | Apr 15, 2025 | 1-24, DISO studies, Joshua 2
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Welcome to the last segment of my 2025 Joshua 2 study. This post will appear during Holy Week, and I hope you can take the time to pause and remember Jesus’s sacrificial death this Friday. Many saw it as the permanent silencing of another would-be messiah, but God knew it was the necessary first step to His plan of redemption for all who would believe. Though many claimed immortality, Jesus is the only man who died yet lives, and the Bible we’re studying contains eyewitness testimony to that fact.
Moreover, we have the same hope of living after our earthly deaths simply by confessing Jesus as Lord with our mouths and believing in our hearts He was indeed raised from the dead (see Romans 10:9). In the meantime, let’s keep digging and treasuring what we discover.
Last Week’s Work
LESSON(S) LEARNED
In my study notes review, the Spirit called my attention to two gifts from God I hadn’t noticed before:
- The opportunity He gave a non-Israelite whose work made her totally unworthy (Rahab) to save herself and her family; and
- The conquest of Jericho He provided for His people, without a single Israelite casualty!
CONVICTION
I feel convicted that the recipients of the above gifts are so very different, yet they had one thing in common—faith. Rahab showed her faith in God and in the Israelites by trusting they’d keep their promise to her. And the Israelites showed their trust by following God’s commands to march around and make a lot of noise rather than waging a normal war against Jericho. Taken with His previous command in Genesis 3 not to eat from a certain tree, doesn’t it seem God asks the strangest things of believers sometimes?!
Next to Rahab and the Israelites, I’m clearly in Adam and Eve’s camp, convicted of feeble faith, and so often subdued by fear.
As I write this, I’m reminded of the black-and-white “Faith/Fear” signs that began popping up all over the Florida town where I lived during the early months of the COVID-19 pan[dem]ic.
At first, I didn’t recognize the graphic’s real message. Not until I realized the importance of where the words were placed. Then I got it: “Faith over fear.” Rahab, the woman whose heart melted at the thought of the Israelites, was the ancient poster woman for that message!
CORRECTION
These last eight weeks, I’ve moved steadily toward several big changes in my life. If they all come to fruition as envisioned, I will be blessed beyond all measure. In all but one instance, though, execution of the plans lies outside my control. Unlike Rahab, none of the changes are matters of life and death, but I still feel some connection with her as she waited for the siege of Jericho, wondering if the spies would keep their promise.
As I mulled over my hopes with the Spirit, He brought three passages from other current projects to mind:
- “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10 ESV, Emphasis mine).
- “‘… be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might’” (Ephesians 6:10). I know God’s strength. I pray the Lord pour His powerful, mighty faith into my heart till there’s no room for fear or anything except confidence in what He will do in the circumstances.
- “‘So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ’” (Romans 10:17). Rahab’s story reminds me He didn’t just spare her life, He intertwined it with the Israelite clan from whom He brought forth Jesus, the man.
ACTION PLAN
Does this mean the changes will turn out in my favor? Only God knows how He plans to work them out. But I do believe whatever happens, I can rest assured what He does bring will be sufficient for me. I intend to keep praying for faith that displaces all the fear with confidence in Him.
Our Next Study
Next week we’ll start our third “blast from the past” study. This time I’m opening up the New Testament, John 3:1-21. Like my other studies this year, these files were also lost when my old website went down in late 2023. By studying the same verses again, I hope to refresh my mind about the earlier study and discover new treasure from the text—treasure the Spirit knows I need for today. I hope you’ll join me again next week as we revisit my 2020 study of God’s Greatest Gift!
by Jen | Dec 31, 2024 | 1-24, DISO studies, Genesis 3, Introduction
Welcome to this Digging into Scripture Ourselves (DISO) study of Genesis 3. Thanks for joining me here!
As I mentioned last week, this is the first of a series of seven studies I’m calling Restoration. These are passages I studied years ago using the original “20 Questions” version of DISO, but those posts are no longer available online. To avoid confusion, I’ve decided to work through the passages again with the newer process rather than simply republishing those old posts. I’m excited to see what the Holy Spirit reveals now and compare that to what I discovered previously!
Let’s Study Genesis 3!
This week, I’ll begin by praying and surveying Genesis 3. If you want to work along with me, here’s what I recommend you have ready:
- A copy of Genesis 3, plus access to the entire book of Genesis.
I like to refer often to the text I’m studying and sometimes make notes on it, so I copy the passage from www.blueletterbible.org, paste it into a word processing program like Google Docs or MS Word, change the formatting to suit my preferences, and print it out. If you want to use the ESV translation, here’s a pdf of my Scripture study sheet with lots of room for doodles and notes.
- A study journal.
We’ll spend the next seven weeks immersed in and learning about Genesis 3, and the work we’ll do each week builds on what came before, so plan to record at least some highlights from your work over the coming weeks. I’m old-school and like the pen-and-paper method for journaling my studies, but it’s okay if that doesn’t work for you. If you don’t have time to write out or type your notes, consider dictating them into a notes app, or recording audio files, instead.
Or, you may decide to just read the posts I publish here. That’s good, too because it will help you become more familiar with the process and show you how the Spirit speaks to my situation. You may find that’s enough to make it worth your while to keep checking in with me, even if you can’t dig into Genesis 3 yourself this time.
Dig-In Challenges
So, here’s how I’ll be studying this week:
- PRAY: I’ll be creating a prayer that I can pray every time I study Genesis 3. I’m going to write it in my study journal, so I’ll have it handy each time I study.
- SURVEY: And then I’ll read Genesis 3, noting anything that makes me say, “huh?” (as in, “I wonder what that means?”) or “wow” (as in, “that is so awesome!”). I’ll record these and later ask the Spirit to direct me to the one I should dig more deeply into right now.
If you’d like more information about these steps, check out this printable summary of the process I’ll be using over the next eight weeks. Or, you can always reach out to me with your questions through my contact page or at [email protected]. I’m looking forward to sharing what I discover in this process with you, along with snippets of my previous study from 2020 as appropriate—I hope you’ll keep checking in with me each week!
GO TO WEEK 2 >
by Jen | Jan 7, 2025 | 1-24, DISO studies, Genesis 3
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Hello again. I hope your new year has already been full of blessings! Mine has, and I’m giving God all the glory for that!
Last Week’s Work
MY PRAYER
For this study, the Spirit inspired me to pray:
Father God, thank You for the chance to re-explore this favorite chapter of mine with Your Holy Spirit. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand the treasure You’ll show me in this passage. I love You and I love Your Word! Help me use it to grow so others can see its treasure in my life. I ask this in Jesus’s name. Amen.
HUH? and WOW! MOMENTS
Next, I read Genesis 3, focused on my reactions, and noted what caught my attention. Here are most of the points I recorded:
HUH?s
- Did the serpent really think God had told the man and woman they couldn’t eat any fruit in the garden (v1)?
- Did God really tell them not to touch the fruit (v4)?
- They knew good through their experience of God. How did opening their eyes give them knowledge of evil (v5)?
- How did the woman see “the tree was to be desired to make one wise” (v6)?
- Did God really not know where the man was (v9)? But if He did know, why did He ask where they were?
WOW!s
- Verse 1 seems to imply God made the serpent, too.
- Maybe they could “not die” (v4). I know of two biblical men who didn’t: Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11).
- The first thing they “knew” was their vulnerability (nakedness) (v7). And they immediately tried to overcome it on their own.
- Hiding from God seems to be an acknowledgement that their fig leaves weren’t enough to protect them (v8).
- The man was honest about his fear (v10).
- God wanted to know who changed their perception of their circumstances and whether they’d disobeyed Him (v11), though surely, He already knew they had.
- In verses 9-13, God doesn’t accuse, He asks questions.
- Serpent’s punishment: he became the lowest of all creatures, the woman and her offspring were above him (vv14-15).
- Woman’s punishment: she must perpetuate the species through childbearing (which will be painful); she’ll disagree with the man; but he’ll prevail (v16). And she will die. (v3).
- Man’s punishment: he had to provide their food (v18), and he will also die (v3).
- Animal(s) died when God made clothing from skins to cover their nakedness. Apparently, covering wasn’t necessary before they disobeyed (v21).
- Once they knew good and evil, God prevented them from eating from the tree of life (v22).
Even though I’ve studied this chapter before, the Spirit has shown me so much more this time! I can’t study it all, though. By next week, I know the He will help me figure out where to concentrate my attention.
Dig-In Challenges
If you’re studying the passage, too, listen to the Spirit this week, and choose a personal Huh? or Wow! to dig more deeply into. Going forward, I’ll refer to this as your personal treasure from Genesis 3. It can be something you noticed in your study, one of the items I’ve listed above, or anything else the Holy Spirit has laid upon your heart as you think about Genesis 3. Write this treasure in your study journal and note the verse(s) most relevant to it. As we study, we’ll consider everything in the chapter, but we’ll gradually narrow the focus to the relevant verse(s).
Then:
- PRAY.
- MINE: Dig into the facts recorded in Genesis 3. This week, we’ll focus specifically on the setting (who’s involved, and where and when the action took place). Note anything the Spirit emphasizes.
I’m looking forward to sharing what I discover with you next week!
GO TO WEEK 3 >
by Jen | Jan 14, 2025 | 1-24, DISO studies, Genesis 3
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Welcome back and thank you for checking in with me this week! In addition to studying, I have been praying for those in the path of severe weather and wildfires here in the United States, that they may see God’s love even in the pain of suffering and loss.
I can’t help but think about how wonderful this world would be if Eve had found a way to ignore that serpent. Yet I realize it happened to her so that we can learn from it and not perpetuate the same mistakes. So here are a few things I discovered from Genesis 3 in the past week.
Last Week’s Work
MY PERSONAL TREASURE
I had a lot of observations from my survey of Genesis 3 last week. As I read through them the last few days, I felt the Spirit directing me to the phrase “your eyes will be opened, and you will… [know] good and evil” in verse 5. As I thought about that knowledge, the Spirit nudged me that Adam and Eve already knew “good” because they knew life walking with God, taking care of the garden, and otherwise enjoying life. What they didn’t know was “evil.” So I’ll be focusing on that, especially in verses 7-8, 10, 12-13, 16-19, and 21-22. These, plus verse 5, will be my target verses for this study. That’s about half the passage! But I feel the Spirit with me on this, and I know He won’t ask me to do more than I’m able.
WHO (CHARACTERS)
These are the characters I noticed in Genesis 3:
- Serpent. Introduced and described, then interacted with woman, contradicting God’s warning (vv1-4); first to be punished by God: cursed over all livestock and beasts: no legs, eat dust (v14); enmity with woman and her offspring: “he shall bruise your head [mortal wound] and you shall bruise his heel [non-mortal wound]” (v15).
- God. Bad press from the serpent (surprise!) in v5; confronted man and woman with questions (vv9, 11, 13); punished the serpent first (v14), then Eve (v16), then Adam (v17-19); reasoned the man might override death with tree of life (v22), so drove him out of the garden (v23) [and Eve and the serpent, too based on their punishments (vv15-16)], and placed cherubim and flaming sword to guard the tree (v24).
- The woman. Told by the serpent eating the fruit will open her eyes, make her like God (v5), so she ate and gave it to her husband (v6); accused of providing the fruit by the man (v12); asked about it by God and admits deception by the serpent (v13); punished by multiplied pain in childbirth, contrary desire to man, subordinate to him (v16); named Eve by man (v20).
- The man. Not mentioned till v 6 when the woman [whom he “was with,” so it’s possible he witnessed the exchange with the serpent and her disobedience?] gave him fruit to eat; LORD God asked him “Where are you?” (v9); responds he was afraid because he was naked, and hid (v10); identified as Adam (v21); kicked out of the garden (vv23-24).
- Both [Adam and Eve]. Eyes opened and nakedness discovered, made loincloths from fig leaves (v7); heard God walking in the garden and hid themselves (v8); God made superior garments (of skins [dead animal(s)]) and clothed them (v21).
WHERE (LOCATIONS)
- The main location is the garden. It’s where all the action happens in this chapter.
- Adam’s punishment included eating from the field because the ground was cursed (vv17-18). I don’t know if these are two distinct places or maybe the field is a particular portion of the ground? In verses 19 and 23, Adam is sentenced to return to the ground from which he was taken.
WHEN (TIMEFRAMES)
- in the cool of the day (v8), when God was walking in the garden and the man and woman hid from him; and
- all the days of your life (vv14, 17), how long the serpent’s and Adam’s punishments last.
I also created a simple timeline diagram of significant events with verse references. Feel free to download and use it if you like.
Dig-In Challenges
Here’s what I plan to do this week:
- PRAY before I study using my prayer from last week.
- MINE: Look for repeated concepts in this passage, including synonyms and pronouns referring to those concepts.
- MINE: Locate any special statements (blessings, commands, curses, prayers, promises, requests, and/or warnings) in the passage. This time, I’m also going to notice another category: questions.
- MINE: Note any lists (3 or more similar items) mentioned in Ruth 4.
If you’d like more detail about these challenges, download this printable summary of the DISO process. Hope you’ll join me next week!
GO TO WEEK 4 >
by Jen | Jan 21, 2025 | 1-24, DISO studies, Genesis 3
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Hi, again: check out what I found this week!
Last Week’s Work
REPETITION
- Eat and related terms appear in more than half the verses in this chapter!
It appears in the rule discussed between the serpent and Eve (vv1-3, 5), and in v6 when they disobeyed.
In vv11-13, it’s mentioned three times as Adam, Eve, and God discuss what they’ve done.
In v14, God cursed the serpent saying he will eat dust the rest of his life.
In vv17-19, God declared Adam must work hard to eat for the rest of his life. So, every time they ate, they’d be reminded of their transgressions.
Finally, in v22, God was concerned they might also eat from the tree of life.
- Die appears twice: Eve said disobedience will result in death (v3); the serpent says it won’t (v4). Related terms include return to the ground (v19) and maybe dust? God says the serpent will eat dust all the days of [its] life, which reminded me of “bite the dust,” jargon meaning “to die.”
In v19, God tells Adam he’s dust and to dust he will return. I think this references death of Adam’s physical body.
- Naked in vv7, 10, 11. After Adam and Eve disobeyed, they saw they were naked (7) and tried to cover themselves and hide from God. Adam admits nakedness was partly the reason (with fear) they hid (10), and God’s reaction was to ask how they knew about their nakedness (11).
- Life, in vv14, 17 describes the term of God’s punishment for both the serpent and Adam. In v20, the woman was named Eve because she was the mother of all living. Interestingly, a footnote in the ESV translation says Eve sounds like the Hebrew word for life-giver and resembles the word for living. Ironic considering she’s responsible for all mortality.
In v22 and 24, it describes the tree God wanted to prevent Adam and Eve from eating, because doing so would enable them to live forever.
I can’t wait for the Spirit to reveal more about these concepts!
SPECIAL STATEMENTS
I noticed these special statements:
- One command discussed in vv1-3 and disobeyed in v6: You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree … in the midst of the garden… with a warning: lest you die.
- Several curses:
on the serpent: he’d crawl on his belly, eat dust till he dies, there will be enmity between him and the woman and between their offspring;
on the woman (v16): increased pain in childbirth; contrary desire to her husband, who will rule over her; and
on the ground (vv17-19) so it will yield thorns and thistles, forcing Adam to work hard for food and eat plants of the field until he dies (returns to dust).
NOTE: Eve isn’t told directly she will die as are the serpent and Adam.
- And Five Requests in the form of questions:
Serpent to Eve craftily asking about the tree (v1)
God to the man: where are you? (v9); who told you … you were naked? And have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? (v11)
God to the woman: what [have] you done? (v13)
LISTS
- Three general steps to Eve’s temptation:
Serpent engaged her (v1)
He her she wouldn’t die, her eyes would be opened, and she’d be like God, knowing good and evil. (vv4-5)
She saw the tree was good for food, it was a delight to look at, its fruit was desirable to gain wisdom (v6)
- Six results of disobedience:
Eyes opened
Knew nakedness/vulnerability
Tried to cover themselves (v7)
Heard God
Feared Him
Hid (v10)
- Serpent’s four punishments:
cursed above all other livestock and beasts
made to crawl on belly
eat dust (v14)
enmity w/woman and her offspring (v15)
- Woman’s three punishments:
increased pain in childbearing
contrary desire to husband
subordinate to man (v16)
- Man’s five punishments:
ground is cursed; painful to work it (v17)
will yield thistles and thorns,
forced to eat field plants (v18)
work for food
will return to the dust [which the serpent must eat!] (v19).
It’s interesting to me that this wasn’t specifically mentioned for Eve, too.
Dig-In Challenges
Next week, we’ll wrap up Step 3 by:
- PRAYING: As always, start with the prayer we wrote for Step 1.
- MINING: Read through the passage again looking for comparisons in or related to your focus verses. Look for similarities using like or as, quantitative/qualitative comparisons using more or less, and/or contrasts.
- MINING: Next, look for causes or motives by focusing on key words or phrases I call cause connectors.
- In this chapter, look for the connectors lest, for, and because.
- Then check the text surrounding the connector for an action and the reason for that action.
For example: I went to the store because I was out of milk:
the action = I went to the store because the reason = I was out of milk.
NOTE A: for doesn’t always connect an action and a reason. To determine if it does here, read the sentence replacing for with because. If the new sentence makes sense and means the same as the original, make a note of the action and its cause.
NOTE B: Most often the action will occur before the cause connector and the reason will follow it (like the example above).
If you have questions about this or any other part of the study, please reach out to me at [email protected]!
- MINING: Finally, look for conditions or methods the author describes. For example, does the text say if or when a certain condition is met, some outcome will happen (e.g., whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith (Matt 21:22)? Or does the author describe a particular method by which something happens—for example, specific steps taken to achieve something, or more generally by or through attributes or actions (e.g., saved by grace, through faith (Eph 2:8)? Does he use any adverbs (-ly words) that describe how action was accomplished?
These exercises are more involved, I know, but I’m confident you can do this with the Holy Spirit! Don’t forget to check your How to Dig Into Scripture Ourselves guide, and you can always reach out to me at [email protected] if you have questions.
GO TO WEEK 5 >
