Discussion Questions

Glenn said Paul’s “whatever things were written before were written for our learning” refers specifically to the Old Testament “for our admonition…that we can grow in our obedience”; what does it look like to read Exodus in a way that actually produces obedience rather than mere insight or inspiration? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can you read Exodus in a way that leads you to actually obey God, not just learn facts or feel inspired?

Glenn warned that when reading Egypt’s devastation, “you might sense some pity…resist that temptation,” calling Egypt “the place of evil” that “killed the innocents and enslaved the righteous”; what does that claim reveal about God’s justice, and where do modern Christian instincts about “niceness” or sympathy collide with that portrait? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Egypt is shown as deeply evil and not mainly deserving pity, what does that teach about God’s justice? Where does our modern idea of being “nice” clash with that?

Glenn emphasized that God chose *midnight*—“when everything was quiet, everything was dark”—for the final blow on Egypt and the “birth of a new nation”; what do you think God is communicating by repeatedly acting when human strength, visibility, and control are at their lowest? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Why do you think God chose midnight—when it’s darkest and people feel weakest—for the final plague and Israel’s new beginning? What might God be showing by acting when we have the least control?

In using John 3, Matthew 6, and John 12, Glenn argued that “light is good, darkness is bad” is not just metaphor but “biblical precedent”; how does that biblical use of darkness/light challenge modern habits of making “darkness” mainly about mood, trauma, or aesthetics rather than moral rebellion? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the Bible treats light and darkness as moral realities, not just feelings, how does that challenge the way we use “darkness” today (as mood, trauma, or style) instead of rebellion against God?

Glenn leaned heavily on Wisdom of Solomon’s pattern: God “punished…by the same means by which you called and glorified us,” where one event is judgment for the wicked and deliverance for the righteous; where does evangelical Christianity tend to separate those two realities (judgment vs salvation), and what gets distorted when we do? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do evangelicals tend to split apart God’s judgment and God’s rescue, instead of seeing them happen together in the same event? What goes wrong when we separate them?

Wisdom of Solomon 18 describes God’s “all-powerful word (logos)” leaping from heaven “a relentless warrior…carrying the sharp sword of your irrevocable command”; what picture of God do those phrases demand, and what parts of that picture do you find yourself wanting to edit or soften? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What kind of God is shown by the picture of God’s word as a warrior with a sharp sword and an unchangeable command? What parts of that picture do you want to soften or leave out?

Glenn concluded from the logos language that “Jesus is the angel of death to the world system and an angel of life to his own,” and noted some may object because “Jesus came to give life and not death”; how do you reconcile “peace, goodwill toward men” with Jesus as Judge and destroyer of the devil’s works without shrinking either theme? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can Jesus bring peace and life, while also being Judge and the one who destroys the devil’s works? How do you hold both truths without weakening either one?

Glenn argued the “midnight” tradition behind hymns (e.g., “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”) likely comes from Wisdom of Solomon and typology; what does that suggest about early Christian assumptions regarding typology, intertestamental writings, and reading the Old Testament as a prophetic pattern pointing to Christ? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Christian “midnight” hymns come from Wisdom of Solomon and typology, what does that say about how early Christians used typology and other Jewish writings to read the Old Testament as pointing to Christ?

Glenn listed every biblical “midnight” reference he could find (Exodus, Samson, Judith, Paul & Silas, Eutychus) and claimed “in 100% of these cases…God’s side” is liberated; where in your life do you resist believing that God often waits until “no humanly possible way” remains—and what does that resistance expose about your functional view of God? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where in your life do you struggle to believe God may wait until you have no human way out before he acts? What does that show about how you really view God?

Glenn moved from corporate deliverance to personal deliverance: “God wants to come into our darkest midnight and set us free…there’s no need to hide,” yet the group raised the skeptic’s complaint that “in their darkest hour, Jesus didn’t show up”; how should a serious Christian respond to that objection in a way that preserves God’s justice, acknowledges real suffering, and doesn’t offer cheap answers? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How should a serious Christian answer someone who says, “In my darkest hour, Jesus didn’t show up,” while still honoring God’s justice, taking suffering seriously, and not giving shallow answers?