Rebellion
There are several Hebrew and
Greek words which are translated into English as rebellion, rebellious, and
rebel. The first Hebrew word is “marad”, meaning “the refusal of the
inferior to carry out his responsibilities to the superior (whether to royal power or to God Himself) and thus is an attempt
to void the relationship. The second
Hebrew word is “marah” signifying “
an opposition to someone motivated by pride; to disobey.” The third Hebrew word is “sarar”, meaning “to be stubborn”.
The fourth Hebrew word is “pasa”,
meaning “to transgress or revolt” indicating a violation of an established
relationship by a subordinate. – Dr. L. Richards, Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, pp. 512, 513; W.
Vine, An Expository Dictionary of
Biblical Words, pp. 315, 316.
The first Greek word is “apostrepho”,
meaning “to turn away”. The second Greek
word is “anupotaktos”, meaning “not
subject to rule”. And the third Greek
word is “antilogia”, meaning
“dispute, contradiction, or hostility”.
1 Tim. 1:9, 10 For whom is (all and
any) law (that reflects morals)
made?
Would you consider yourself
rebellious (i.e., not subject to
rule/laws), and why?
If so, would applying 2 Cor. 10:5
help to deal with this problem, and how?
Num. 14:9 What do Joshua and Caleb tell the
Israelites to not do?
How were the Israelites rebelling
against the Lord (13:2; 14; 2-4, 27, 30;
Deut.
Are you ever
rebellious toward God by not believing and doing what He says (e.g., Deut.9:23) in His Word, the
Bible, as well as by grumbling against the spiritual leader(s) He’s placed over you, who is (are) instructing you to obey Him?
Why?
Deut. 1:41-46 After the
Israelites rebelled against God by not going in to take the promised
land and were, therefore, disciplined (Num.
Do you ever rebel against God’s
commands, are disciplined by Him, and then turn right around and rebel against
Him again? Why?
1 Sam. 8:4-8 In what way did the Israelites rebel against the LORD?
Do you ever rebel against the LORD by
not wanting Him to rule over you because you want to be like everybody else (vs. 5) and how they do things or what
they do? Why?
1 Sam.
And what would happen to these
Israelites if they rebelled against the command of the LORD?
Because the Israelites rebelled
against God by asking for a king so they could be just like all the other
nations, how did God discipline them and show His dislike for their rebellion (vss. 17, 18)?
Even though God may give you what you
want in spite of your rebellion against His perfect will, He may also
discipline you for doing so (like He did
here in destroying their wheat harvest with rain).
Psa. 78:17 What is rebellion against the
Most High called?
How
did
[What made this request rebellion is that
God’s perfect will was for them to have/eat manna, Ex. 16:4, but they weren’t
satisfied with God’s perfect will, Num. 11:4-6, and instead wanted meat.]
Though God gave them the meat they
wanted (Psa. 78:27), how did God feel
about their rebellion (78:21), and
what did He do to some of them (78:31)?
Are you ever dissatisfied with God’s
perfect will for you, and so complain to God about it?
And if so, did God grant you your
request, but disciplined you later for your rebellion?
Besides getting God righteously
angry, how else does our rebellion/sin affect Him (78:40; Isa. 63:10)?
In spite of God’s continued goodness
toward Israel, how did they respond to Him (78:56)?
In spite of God’s goodness to you, do
you continue to rebel against God and not obey His commands (such as to evangelize the spiritually lost,
Matt. 28:19, 20; to build up spiritually other Christians, Rom.
How did God respond to Israel’s
continued rebellion (Psa. 78:59-64)?
How do you think God feels about your
rebellion (i.e., disobedience to His
commands), and why?
What do you plan to do about your
rebellion toward God and His commandments to you in the Bible and His will for
your life, and why?
Isa. 1:1, 5-20 If
these Israelites refused to obey God and rebelled instead, what did the LORD
say would happen to them (vs. 20)?
Though
the Israelites brought sacrifices, burnt offerings, and incense to the LORD (vss. 11-13) and celebrated religious
holidays and prayed to God (vss. 13-15),
yet they lived in unrepentant (failure to
change their thinking about not committing) sin and failed to obey God’s
moral laws/commands (vs. 17).
Do you ever go through the motions of
religious/Christian activities or service (e.g.,
evangelism, attending or teaching Bible studies, praying, singing or playing
Christian music, etc.), but are living in sin (i.e., disobeying God’s commands to love Him supremely, to love your fellow
Christian as Christ loves you, and/or to live a holy/pure life)?
How does God feel/think about
people’s religious activities or service when they are in rebellion to His
moral commands (vss. 11, 13-15)?
Do you think God has had enough of
your religious activities and service and takes no pleasure in them, thinks
they’re worthless and an abomination, hates them, is weary of them, and won’t
listen to your prayers if you’ve been rebelling against God and His moral
commands such as: to do good, seek justice, reprove the ruthless, and help the
helpless (vs. 17), and instead are
living in sin (vs. 16)?
In what ways did the Israelites rebel
against the glorious LORD?
Do ever rebel against the LORD either
by your words, attitudes, or actions, and why?
If so, what will you do to ensure
that it won’t happen again?
Num. 20:23-26 Because Moses and Aaron rebelled against
God’s command at the waters of Meribah (vss.
7-12), what long awaited expectation did they forfeit due to God’s
discipline of them (vs. 24; 27:12-14)?
[Often God disciplines spiritual or
religious leaders more harshly because of their position, influence, and
example, e.g. James 3:1. Just because
you’ve served God a long time or have done a lot of good, it doesn’t mean you
have the liberty to rebel against God even once as a spiritual leader.].
Do you see how serious God takes the
sin of rebellion no matter who commits it?
Psa. 106:7 The
Israelites’ disbelief in God’s promise to take them into the Promised Land and
deliver them from
Had you realized that to disbelieve
any of God’s promises in the Bible that are for you is an act of rebellion?
Why do you think God views disbelief
in His promises as rebellion (Prov. 3:5;
Psa. 4:5; Heb. 11:6; 2 Chron.
Psa. 107:10-12 Prison, being near death, in misery, and
humbled were all consequences the Israelites suffered because they had done what?
Have you ever been in misery and hard
circumstances because you rebelled against God’s words as found in the Bible?
Lam. 3:40-42 People who have transgressed/sinned
and rebelled against God should do what (vs.
40)?
When you rebel against God by
disobeying what He commands of you in the Bible, do you stop to examine your
life to see in what way/areas you’ve specifically disobeyed Him?
And then once you’ve discovered in
what way(s) you’ve disobeyed Him, do
you return to Him by confessing your sin(s)
and by choosing to not do it (them)
again, and why?
Ezek. 2:3, 4 Do you see
how transgressing/sinning against/disobeying God is rebellion? What other characteristic usually
accompanies rebellion (vs.4)?
Would you consider yourself stubborn
when it comes to disobeying God’s commands in the Bible, and why?
Ezek. 20:7, 8 How had the
Israelites rebelled against God while they were yet in
And what was God’s initial attitude
toward them because of this?
Do you have any detestable things or
idols in your life (i.e., things that are
more important to you than God as evidenced by your devotion to them in terms
of your time, thoughts, energy, resources, etc.) that you’re refusing to
get rid of (e.g., the gods of: sports,
martial arts, weight lifting, materialism, money, cars, career, a non-Christian
dating partner, video games, computers, pornography, rock music, cell phones, etc.),
and why?
Hosea 7:13, 14 When Israel was suffering God’s
discipline for their rebellion against God, how didn’t they cry to Him?
God would have redeemed them, but
what did they speak?
After you are disciplined by God for
your rebellion, do you insincerely repent (change
your thinking and, therefore, your words) to God and thus lie to Him, and why?