Monday Bible Study recap

Sibling Relationships
“How good and pleasant is it when brothers live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1

Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16)
· God did not look with favor on Cain’s offering
· God did look with favor on Abel’s offering
· Cain became jealous of Abel
· Cain allowed his jealousy to get so strong that he killed Abel
· Cain’s jealousy toward Abel caused him to be a “restless wonderer on the earth” (v. 12)

Miriam, Aaron, and Moses (Numbers 12)
· God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt (Exodus 3:10)
· God used Aaron’s voice to speak (Exodus 4:14-16)
· Moses was faithful to God
· Aaron and Miriam got together and talked about Moses behind his back
· Aaron and Miriam became jealous of Moses
· Their jealousy toward Moses caused Miriam to become leprous (v. 10)

Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
· The younger brother foolishly left home and spent all his money
· The older brother worked hard and obeyed his father
· The younger brother came home and repented
· The father forgave the younger son and threw him a great banquet
· The older brother became jealous of the younger brother
· The older brother became angry and didn’t go to the younger brothers banquet (v. 28)

Cain, Aaron, Miriam, and the older brother were all jealous of their siblings. They wanted something the other sibling had. When they let their jealousy turn into anger, God scolded and disciplined them.

The older brother had a hard time forgiving his younger brother. He didn’t see his younger brothers’ sins. We want to find fault in our siblings. We know our siblings’ weak spots, so it’s easy to make them angry. Sometimes we even try to correct them and tell them what to do or what they’re doing wrong.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)

God wants us to live in unity with our brothers and sisters. (Psalm 133:1)

Living in unity
· Loving our siblings (Hebrews 13:1)
· Humility (Philippians 2:3-4)
· Forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32)
· Encourage your siblings to love God (Hebrews 10:24-25)
· Pray for your siblings (James 5:16)

Discussion Questions

How can you love your sibling(s) more? If you don’t have any brothers or sisters, how can you love your brothers and sisters in Christ more?

What are some ways that you can consider your sibling(s) better than you? What are your siblings’ interests? How can you love them by being interested in they want to do, even if you don’t like what they want to do?

Are there any grudges that you’re holding against your sibling(s)? If so, what do you need to do to forgive them?

How can you encourage your sibling(s) to love God more?