Sabbath AfternoonRead for This Week’s Study: Genesis 1–3, Acts 17:28, Psalm148, Ps. 24:1, Gen. 4:1–9, Matt. 22:37–39, Rev. 14:7.
Memory Text: “He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker,but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy” (Proverbs 14:31,NKJV).
Have you ever worked to create something—perhaps an item ofart or craft, a meal, or some other creative work—only to haveit broken or rejected by the person you gave it to? If so, youmight have just a small glimpse of what God experienced when Hemade this world and gave human beings life, only then to see what Hecreated broken by sin.
The Bible says that the world was created carefully and created “verygood.” How God felt about His creation is evident in the accounts ofCreation in Genesis 1 and 2. This is the context in which we should readthe story of the Fall in Genesis 3 and the heartbrokenness of God as Heconfronts the people He has made.
Remarkably, our world continues to be something that God loves,even despite millennia of sin, violence, injustice, and outright rebellion. And even more remarkably, while God set in motion His planfor redeeming and re-creating the world, He has given us, as believers, roles to play in the fulfillment of His larger plans. Yes, we are therecipients of His grace; but, from the grace we have received, we havebeen given our work to do as colaborers with our Lord. What a solemn,sacred responsibility!
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 6.
This world and all life on it, our own life and all we do with it, thelives of everyone around us and how we interact with others, life itselfand how it is best lived—all these begin with God, “ ‘for in Him we liveand move and have our being’ ” (Acts 17:28, NKJV).
Here’s where the Bible’s story begins: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1, NKJV). And the fact thatHe spoke it into existence points to a power and a process that we can’teven begin to imagine.
And yet, God didn’t create from a distance; He was intimatelyinvolved, especially when it came to creating the first human being(see Gen. 2:7).
Read the story of the creation of the first human beings in Genesis1:26–31. What important things does this account tell us aboutGod? What important things does it tell us about people?
It has often been said that we can learn a lot about God from spendingtime in nature, from looking at His creation, and seeing in it glimpsesof the character of the Creator Himself. But we also can see glimpsesof how God created the world to be from examining our understanding of God Himself. For example, if God is a God of order, we shouldexpect to find order in His creation. Or if we believe that God is a Godof creativity, we should not be surprised to find incredible examples ofthat creativity in the world He made.
Similarly, we believe that God is a God of relationships, and so, wefind relationships as a core element in how God put the world together.He created each element of the world in relation to the rest of creation.He created animals in relational harmony. He created human beings inrelationship with Himself, with each other, and with the rest of creation.
While our understanding of God is limited in many ways, what wecan see of His character should prompt us to reconsider how the worldshould be.
How helpful is it to your understanding of the world to see it asa reflection of the character of God, even with the ravages of sinso readily apparent?
It is easy to feel homesick for Eden. There is something in the briefdescriptions of the Garden that God created as the home for Adam andEve that sparks a note of longing in our hearts. We may not understandhow such a world would work, but we feel we would like to experience it.
It seems the sense of satisfaction and completeness also was something that God felt: “God saw all that he had made, and it was verygood” (Gen. 1:31, NIV). God made something that was both beautiful and functional. It was exquisite in its design, in both form andpracticality. It was vibrant with life and color—but also filled witheverything necessary for life to flourish. No wonder God kept pausingto muse that this world that He was making was good.
Read Genesis 1. What do you think is meant by the repeated statements that “God saw that it was good”? See Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18,25, and 31.
Even though written entirely after the Fall, the Bible is filled withcelebrations of the natural world, such as in Job 38 to 41 and Psalm 148.And we must remember that these are not written as a glimpse lookingback to how the world was when first created and before sin; they arewritten in the present tense, celebrating the goodness that is still evidentin our world.
Jesus, too, drew examples of God’s goodness and care from the natural world (see, for example, Matt. 6:26, 28–30), commending both ourreliance on God and an appreciation of the simple gifts that surround uswith wonder. If we open our eyes and look at the marvels of creation,we can see that we are truly the recipients of marvelous gifts from ourCreator. Our response, even amid trials, should be one of gratitude,thankfulness, and humble surrender to the Gift-Giver.
As Seventh-day Adventists—those who both celebrate Creation andanticipate God’s coming kingdom—we should realize that the beauties,joys, and goodness we see and experience in the world are glimpses ofwhat our world once was and what it will again be.
In your experience of the natural world, what do you especiallyappreciate about the wonders of Creation? In your daily life, howmight you be able to know the Lord better through the wondersof the natural world?
According to the Bible’s record, the Garden of Eden and the newlycreated earth were places of abundance, created for life to flourish andparticularly for human beings to enjoy.
But God also gave the first man and woman—and the rest of uswho would come after them—a role to play in His creation. It quicklybecame obvious—and not just from His method of creation—thatAdam and Eve were to have a special status in this new world.
Adam was first given the job of naming the animals and birds (seeGen. 2:19). Then he was given another role, presented as a blessingfrom God Himself: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitfuland increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fishin the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature thatmoves on the ground’ ” (Gen. 1:28, NIV).
Read and compare Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 2:15. How wouldyou characterize the human job description in a sentence ortwo?
Too often in Christian history, Genesis 1:28 has been used by someas a license to exploit, even to the point of destroying the natural world.Yes, the world obviously was created for human life, benefit, andenjoyment. But the human responsibility is to “work it and take care ofit”—in the words of Genesis 2:15 (NIV).
When we talk about stewardship, our first thought is often about money,but the first command for stewardship in the Bible is to care for the earththat God has created and entrusted to us. The command to Adam and Evealso foresaw that the earth would be shared with their children and withfuture generations. In the original plan for the world, the created worldwould continue to be a source of life, goodness, and beauty for all humanbeings, and Adam and Eve would have a big role in taking care of it.
The earth is still the Lord’s (see Ps. 24:1), and we are still called tobe stewards of all that God has given us. Perhaps we could conclude,as well, that in a fallen world our responsibility as stewards is evengreater.
What does it mean to you to be a steward of the earth today, ina fallen world? How should the realization of this responsibilityaffect how you live on a day-to-day basis?
One thing God gave Adam and Eve that He didn’t give anythingelse on earth was moral freedom. They were moral beings in waysthat plants, animals, and trees could never be. God valued this moralfreedom so much that He allowed the possibility that His people wouldchoose to disobey. In doing so, He risked all that He had created for thelarger goal of a relationship with His human creatures based on loveand free will.
But there was also a destroyer (this moral freedom existed forangels, as well), one who wanted to disrupt the good and completeworld God created and sought to use God’s special creation onearth—human beings—to do that. Speaking through the serpent, thedevil questioned the completeness and sufficiency of what God hadprovided (see Gen. 3:1–5). The primary temptation was to covet morethan God had given them, to doubt the goodness of God, and to relyon themselves.
In that choice and that act, the relationships that were integral tothe creation as God had designed it were broken. No longer did Adamand Eve enjoy the relationship with their Creator that they had beendesigned for (see Gen. 3:8–10). These two human beings suddenlyrealized they were naked and ashamed, and their relationship with eachother was almost irreparably altered. Their relationship with the rest ofthe earth also was strained and broken.
Read Genesis 3:16–19. What do these verses tell us about the changedrelationships between human beings and the natural world?
Because of the reality of sin, life suddenly got a lot harder for Adam,Eve, and the rest of creation. The consequences of sin are real, particularly as they affect humanity and our relationships. In a sense, we aredistant from God our Creator. Our families also are affected in manyways, and our relationships with others are often a challenge. We evenstruggle in relation to the natural environment and the world in whichwe live. All aspects of our lives and our world show the brokennesscaused by sin.
But this is not how God created the world to be. The “curses” ofGenesis 3 also come with a promise that God would make a way to recreate our world and to repair the relationships that had been broken bysin. While we continue to struggle with sin and its effects in our lives,we are called to uphold the original goodness of the world and to seekto live out in our lives the plan God has for this world.
With the arrival of sin, it did not take long for the world to breakdown further. Sparked by jealousy, misunderstanding, and anger, thefirst murder involved the first pair of brothers. When God questionedCain about his sin, his reply was ironic and rhetorical—“ ‘Am I mybrother’s keeper?’ ” (Gen. 4:9)—and the answer implied by God’sinitial question was, “Yes, absolutely, you are your brother’s keeper.”
Read Proverbs 22:2. What is implied in this apparently simple statement? What does it tell us about our relationship to our fellowhuman beings?
Everyone we meet is one of God’s creatures, created in His image,and part of the network of relationships that connects us all in God’screation, fractured and broken though it might be. “We are all woventogether in the web of humanity. The evil that befalls any part of thegreat human brotherhood brings peril to all.”—Ellen G. White, TheMinistry of Healing, p. 345. Like it or not, because of this commonlink, we have a God-given responsibility to God and to each other (seeMatt. 22:37–39).
Throughout the Bible, the claim that God is our Creator is recurring. For example, it is one of the reasons given for remembering theSabbath (see Exod. 20:11) and for worshiping God in the end time (seeRev. 14:7). It also is a primary motivation given for caring about others,for being concerned for the less fortunate.
We are all linked by the bond of our common origins in God.Whoever “oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, butwhoever is kind to the needy honors God” (Prov. 14:31, NIV). Howmuch clearer could that link be?
God as our Creator has a claim on us that demands our entire life,including our worship and our service and care for others. As difficultand frustrating and inconvenient as it might be at times, we are, indeed,our “brother’s keeper.”
Why do you think God’s claims as Creator are such a recurringtheme throughout the Bible? Why is this so important, and howshould this reality affect how we treat others?
Friday July 5
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Creation,” pp. 44–51, inPatriarchs and Prophets.
“ ‘God is love.’ . . . His nature, His law, is love. It ever has been; itever will be. ‘The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,’ whose‘ways are everlasting,’ changeth not. With Him ‘is no variableness,neither shadow of turning.’ . . .
a“Every manifestation of creative power is an expression of infinitelove. The sovereignty of God involves fullness of blessing to all createdbeings.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 33.
“If men would do their duty as faithful stewards of their Lord’s goods,there would be no cry for bread, none suffering in destitution, none nakedand in want. It is the unfaithfulness of men that brings about the stateof suffering in which humanity is plunged. . . . God has made men Hisstewards, and He is not to be charged with the sufferings, the misery, thenakedness, and the want of humanity. The Lord has made ample provision for all.”—Ellen G. White, Welfare Ministry, p. 16.
Discussion Questions:
1 Look carefully at the last Ellen White statement above. What isshe saying? Who is she saying is ultimately responsible for so much ofthe poverty we see? What should this tell us about the importance offaithful stewardship?
2 After thousands of years of the brokenness caused by sin, howpossible is it for us still to see the goodness of creation? As peoplewho believe in the Creator God, what can we do to help others seethe goodness of His creation?
3 What do you understand by the word stewardship? Has anything in this week’s lesson expanded your thinking about what itmeans to be a steward, particularly as we are called by God?
4 How might it change the way we relate to and treat others if wewere to see a sign on every person we met that reminded us thatthis person is “created by God in His image and loved by Him”?
Summary: God created a good and complete world, and He appointed humanbeings, created in His image, to “tend and care for” His creation.Though sin broke the relationships that God originally had intended forus, we still have a role to play as stewards of the goodness of creationand caretakers of our fellow human beings. Fulfilling this role is oneway we can honor God as our Creator.
Sabbath AfternoonRead for This Week’s Study: Exod. 3:7, Matt. 22:37–40,Exod. 22:21–23, Deut. 14:22–29, 26:1–11, Lev. 25:8–23.
Memory Text: “ ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudgeagainst the children of your people, but you shall love your neighboras yourself: I am the Lord’ ” (Leviticus 19:18, NKJV).
In His mercy, God has always had people with whom He hasmaintained a special relationship. In the stories of Enoch, Noah,Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—among others—we see God yearningto rebuild the broken relationship with human beings. But this was notjust for the benefit of these few individuals and their families. When theywere connected with God and blessed by Him, it was part of a larger planto repair that relationship and share the blessing with others. As God saidto Abraham, “ ‘I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing . . . and allpeoples on earth will be blessed through you’ ” (Gen. 12:2, 3, NIV). Ashe was blessed, he could be a blessing to others.
This blessing was to come through the nation of Israel and, ultimately,the Messiah, who would come from that nation. With the creation of thepeople of Israel, God was now working with an entire nation. So, He setabout giving them laws, regulations, festivals, and practices that wouldbe a way to live so that those who were blessed by God would be ableto bless others, as well.
No doubt this principle still exists today.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 13.
“ ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heardthem crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concernedabout their suffering’ ” (Exod. 3:7, NIV).
Four hundred years is a long time to wait, especially when waitingin conditions of increasingly harsh slavery. God had promised that Hewould return to His people and bring them out of Egypt, but for generation after generation they were left to build the wealth and prestige oftheir idolatrous oppressors, and all the while God seemed silent.
Then God manifested Himself in a unique way. He appeared in aburning bush out in the remote desert to an unlikely leader, a fugitive prince and humble shepherd named Moses. He gave the reluctantMoses a job to do, and the first part of that job was to go back to theIsraelites in Egypt with the message that God had heard and seen theiroppression—and, yes, He did care. In fact, He was about to do something to change their situation dramatically.
Read Exodus 3:16, 17. Why was it important for God to begin outlining His plan for these people with this specific message? Whatcatches your attention about this statement from God?
But God does not stop there. Not only does He have a plan for abetter land, He does not intend for the people to escape from Egyptdestitute. For hundreds of years, they had contributed to the wealth ofthe Egyptian Empire. God foresaw the initial resistance from Pharaoh,but He assured Moses that the Israelites would be compensated fortheir years of hard labor: “ ‘And I will make the Egyptians favorablydisposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not goempty-handed’ ” (Exod. 3:21, NIV).
After their years of oppression, God took the opportunity to establish a new kind of society with these former slaves. He wanted themto live in a different way and to establish a society that would continueto be sustainable and viable. His plan was that this new kind of societywould be a model for the surrounding nations and, like Abraham, thatthe blessings they received from God also would bless the whole world.
How important is it to you that God is a God who sees the suffering of people in the world and hears their cries for help? Whatdoes this tell you about God? Consider Exod. 4:31.
Read Matthew 22:37–40 and then Exodus 20:1–17. How does Jesus’summary of the commandments help your understanding as youread each of the Ten Commandments?
The Ten Commandments read like a constitution. After a brief preamble that sets out the basis on which these statements are made—inthis case, the fact of God’s deliverance of His people—the documentlists the core principles on which the nation is founded. In this case,there were specific commands about how human beings could best liveout their love for God and love for each other. It is little wonder thatmany nations with a Christian heritage have drawn the basis of theirlaws from these guiding principles.
While many of these statements are brief, we should not underestimate the breadth of their impact and the comprehensiveness of the TenCommandments as the law of life. For example, the sixth commandment—“ ‘You shall not murder’ ” (Exod. 20:13, NIV)—summarizesand includes “all acts of injustice that tend to shorten life” as well as “aselfish neglect of caring for the needy or suffering.”—Ellen G. White,Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 308. Similarly, the prohibition against stealing (see Exod. 20:15) condemns “slave dealing, and forbids wars ofconquest.” It “requires the payment of just debts or wages,” as well asprohibiting “every attempt to advantage oneself by the ignorance, weakness, or misfortune of another.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 309.
We can easily tell ourselves that we are not bad people. For example,if we are not directly involved in murder or obvious stealing, it mightseem we are doing OK. But when Jesus talked about the commandments, He made it clear that the commandments are not fulfilled simplyby not doing a few specific acts. Rather, our thoughts, motivations, andeven failure to do things we know we should can break the law of God(see Matt. 5:21–30).
So, imagine a society in which each of the Ten Commandments wastaken seriously and lived out fully. It would be an active, vibrant societyin which everyone enthusiastically acted on their love for God by lovingand caring for one another.
Why do we tend to read the Ten Commandments “narrowly,” oftenignoring the broader applications of these important principles toour lives? Why is the narrower reading easier to follow in practice?
Read Exodus 23:9. What is God’s message to Israel here?
As newly freed slaves, the Israelites knew what it was to be oppressed,exploited, and marginalized. And while they celebrated their freedom,God was concerned that they not forget where they had come from,what it was like to be excluded, and what He had done to rescue them.He instituted the Passover as a memorial event and an opportunity toretell the story: “With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt,out of the land of slavery” (Exod. 13:14, NIV).
Read Exodus 22:21–23. How important was the memory of their ownslavery in the instructions about how the people should treat theleast fortunate in their new society?
Barely had the echoes died away after the giving of the TenCommandments when Moses is called to spend more time with God,who gives him detailed instructions as to how these grand commandsshould be lived out in Israelite society. Even before the instructions forbuilding the tabernacle, God gives three chapters of laws about suchthings as the appropriate treatment of slaves, laws that would havestood out in stark contrast to the treatment many of the Israelites hadexperienced. There were laws dealing with violent crimes, laws relatedto property, laws for everyday living, and principles for establishingcourts to implement these laws and to administer justice (see Exodus21 to 23).
Prominent among these laws was concern for fellow citizens in thisnew society, as well as concern for the outsiders and those most vulnerable. These people were not to be exploited; they were even given rightsto access food in ways that would respect their dignity, such as gleaningleftover crops from the harvested fields. Such treatment for “outsiders”and foreigners was not common in the ancient world. Even today someseem to forget the important moral principles found here regarding thetreatment of others.
What memory in your experience makes you more compassionate and concerned about the suffering or injustice of others?
Many Christians recognize and follow the Bible’s instructionson returning tithe. Usually referenced from Malachi 3:10, it is asimple formula, with believers giving 10 percent of their income—or“increase”—to support the work of the church in spreading the gospel.Entrusted with these tithes, churches usually have strict guidelinesabout how to use these funds, primarily applying them to support directministry and evangelism.
Read Deuteronomy 14:22–29. In these instructions, what is the primary purpose of tithing?
The temptation is to think we have fulfilled our giving when wegive that 10 percent. But the instructions given to the Israelites suggestthat the 10-percent figure was a starting point. Studies suggest that anancient Israelite living and giving according to the guidelines in theLevitical laws would on average give almost one fourth of the year’sincome to the work of God, to support the priests and sanctuary, andto help the poor.
Some scholars describe this giving—particularly to support theforeigners, orphans, and widows—as a second tithe. It is obvious thatthe people were to enjoy the results of their work and to celebrate theirharvests. God promised to bless them, particularly in their new land,but they were not to take that blessing for granted or to forget thosewho were not so blessed.
In regular years, this portion of the harvest was to be brought to thesanctuary and shared from there. But every third year, there was tobe a special focus on sharing their blessings in their own community.In these harvest celebrations, there was a special focus on those whomight easily have been overlooked or forgotten: “You shall give it to theLevite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eatin your towns and be satisfied” (Deut. 26:12, NIV).
According to God’s instructions, at least some portion of theIsraelites’ giving was to be focused on providing financial and practical assistance to those who most needed it. Again, this was based onthe people’s memory and appreciation of how God had been mercifuland just to them.
Read Deuteronomy 26:1–11. What is the Lord saying to them?How should we apply this to our own attitude toward giving tothose in need?
Thursday July 11
The Year of Jubilee
Meeting the Israelites as a people who had no home of their ownand who were waiting for their arrival in the Promised Land, Godknew the importance that the land would take on as they establishedtheir new society in Canaan. Under the leadership of Joshua, Godoversaw an orderly distribution of the land by tribe and family groups.
But He also knew that over time the wealth, opportunity, andresources that were connected with landholding would tend tobecome concentrated in the hands of the few. Family difficulties, illhealth, poor choices, and other misfortune might cause some landholders to sell their lands for short-term gain or simply to survive,but this would mean the family might be dispossessed for successivegenerations.
God’s solution was to decree that land could never be sold absolutely. Instead, land would be sold only until the next “year of jubilee,” at which time the land would revert to its allotted family, andany land sold could be redeemed by the seller or another memberof the seller’s family at any time. Again, God reminds the people oftheir relationship to Him and how that affects their relationships withothers: “ ‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the landis mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers’ ” (Lev.25:23, NIV).
Read Leviticus 25:8–23. How do you imagine society would be different if these principles were applied, especially the words “you shallnot oppress one another”?
“The regulations that God established were designed to promotesocial equality. The provisions of the sabbatical year and the jubileewould, in a great measure, set right that which during the interval hadgone wrong in the social and political economy of the nation.”—EllenG. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 534.
Bible historians are unsure as to whether these economic and socialrhythms were ever fully followed for any significant period of time(see 2 Chron. 36:21). Even so, these rules offer an intriguing glimpseinto how the world might work if God’s laws were fully followed.Moreover, they underline God’s particular concern for the poor andthe marginalized, as well as His concern that fairness be manifestedin practical ways in our world.
Friday July 12
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Law Given to Israel,”pp. 303–314; “God’s Care for the Poor,” pp. 530–536, in Patriarchs andProphets.
“There is nothing, after their recognition of the claims of God, thatmore distinguishes the laws given by Moses than the liberal, tender, andhospitable spirit enjoined toward the poor. Although God had promisedgreatly to bless His people, it was not His design that poverty should bewholly unknown among them. He declared that the poor should nevercease out of the land. There would ever be those among His peoplewho would call into exercise their sympathy, tenderness, and benevolence. Then, as now, persons were subject to misfortune, sickness, andloss of property; yet so long as they followed the instruction given byGod, there were no beggars among them, neither any who suffered forfood.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 530, 531.
“These regulations were designed to bless the rich no less than thepoor. They would restrain avarice and a disposition for self-exaltation,and would cultivate a noble spirit of benevolence; and by fosteringgood will and confidence between all classes, they would promotesocial order, the stability of government. We are all woven together inthe great web of humanity, and whatever we can do to benefit and upliftothers will reflect in blessing upon ourselves.”—Pages 534, 535.
Discussion Questions:
1 Of the blueprint God gave to Moses and the Israelites for thekind of society they were to establish, what feature, law, or regulation most catches your attention (whether it be specifically mentioned in this week’s study or from your wider reading)?
2 Why do you think God seems so focused on the most vulnerable in the laws He gave to His people?
3 How should we understand and relate to these laws today?How do we choose which of these are applicable and relevant to ustoday? What is the most important thing we can learn from thesedetailed instructions as to how the Israelites were to order theirsociety and lives?
Summary: God heard the cries of the suffering people of Israel in Egypt andintervened to rescue them. He sought to build a special covenant relationship with them and to work with them to establish a new societythat would be a blessing to all, even those often forgotten, marginalized,and vulnerable.
Sabbath AfternoonRead for This Week’s Study: Exod. 16:16–18, 20:8–11, Deut.5:12–15, Matt. 12:9–13, Lev. 25:1–7.
Memory Text: “And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made forman, and not man for the Sabbath’ ” (Mark 2:27, NKJV).
God created the Sabbath as the final act of the Creation week.It has been said that on the seventh day, God not only rested,but He created rest as an integral part of the way that the worldwas to be. The Sabbath was a demonstration of how we were created tointeract with God and with each other.
So, it is hardly surprising to find the Sabbath, as one of the commandments in God’s plan for His people, appearing early on in theestablishment of the new Israelite nation. It was to have a pivotal rolein the life of the Hebrews.
Often when we talk about the Sabbath, the conversation quicklymoves to how to keep it. What are the things that we should not do, andthe like? However important these questions are, we need to understandthe integral role that the Sabbath was designed to play in the world andin the lives of God’s people as a symbol of God’s grace and provision.As Jesus said, the seventh-day Sabbath was created for all humanity.When we truly “remember the Sabbath day,” it will change us everyday of the week, and—as Jesus demonstrated—it can be a means ofblessing others, as well.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 20.
After generations of slavery and the social degradation that such acondition could inflict on His oppressed people, God sought to lift upthe newly freed Israelites, pointing them to a better way of living andgiving them laws for the best ordering of their new society. But oneof the first parts of this process came in the form of a practical andinstructive object lesson.
Continuing for the full 40 years of their wilderness wanderings,this rhythm of life, visible evidence of God’s provision and practicedunselfishness, should have become part of the culture of Israelite society. It came in the form of manna, a food that appeared each morningon the ground around the Israelites’ camp.
Read Exodus 16:16–18. What do you think is the significance of thespecific measure for each person emphasized in these verses?
In 2 Corinthians 8:10–15, Paul references this story as an exampleof how Christians should give: “At the present time your plenty willsupply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what youneed. The goal is equality” (2 Corinthians 8:14, NIV).
The lesson for the Israelites, and us, was that God has providedsufficiently for His people and His creation. If we take only whatwe need and are prepared to share our excess with others, all will becared for and provided for. Taking only enough for the day requiredthe people to trust that there would be more the following day.Oppressed people, such as the Israelite slaves, tend to focus on theirown survival, but God wanted to demonstrate to them a life of trust,generosity, and sharing.
But there was also another, more remarkable, dimension to this practice. Each Friday a double portion of manna appeared on the ground,and on that day—and only that day—the people were to collect theextra manna in preparation for the Sabbath. The special provision forthe Sabbath became an additional way for them to learn to trust theLord for all their needs. This extra portion of manna, an act of grace onGod’s part, enabled them to enjoy even more fully the rest that God hadpromised them on the seventh-day Sabbath.
What can we do on Fridays that will help us better enjoy whatGod offers us on Sabbath?
Read Exodus 20:8–11 and Deuteronomy 5:12–15. How do these twoversions of the fourth commandment complement each other?
Remembering is an important part of the relationship that God seeksto reestablish with His people, a relationship centered on the fact thatGod is our Creator and Redeemer. Both roles appear in the two versionsof the fourth commandment and are thus linked closely with Sabbathand its practice.
Coming out of a land dominated by so many false gods, the Israelitesneeded to be reminded of the true God’s role as the Creator. The Sabbathwas a crucial way to do that, made all the more significant in the context ofthe weekly cycle of providing extra manna on Friday, a powerful exampleof His creative power. In the Exodus 20 version of the fourth commandment, God as our Creator is revealed most clearly.
By contrast, their rescue, redemption, and salvation is the focus ofthe fourth commandment in Deuteronomy 5. This was a story that theIsraelites were to retell regularly; they could reconnect with it especiallyevery Sabbath. Their first story was one of actual, physical rescue fromslavery in Egypt, but as their understanding of God and His salvationgrew, Sabbath also would become a weekly symbol and celebration of theirspiritual salvation.
Both of these motivations for Sabbath were about restoring the relationship between God and His people: “ ‘ “I gave them my Sabbaths as a signbetween us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy” ’ ” (Ezek.20:12, NIV). And, as we have seen, this was never about this group ofpeople only. On the foundation of this relationship, they were to establisha new kind of society, one that was kind to outsiders and a blessing to thewider world.
“ ‘Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe theSabbath day’ ” (Deut. 5:15, NIV). By keeping the Sabbath as a way ofremembering and celebrating both our creation and redemption, we cancontinue to grow in our relationship, not only with the Lord but with thosearound us. God is gracious to us; therefore, we need to be gracious to others.
In what ways should Sabbath keeping make us better, kinder,more caring, and compassionate people?
One of the things obvious from a quick reading of the Ten Commandmentsin Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 is that the fourth commandment is themost detailed by far. Whereas some of the commandments are recordedin as few as three words in some versions (in the Hebrew some can beexpressed in only two words), the fourth commandment gives space to thewhy, how, and who of remembering the Sabbath day.
Read Exodus 20:8–11. What does it say about the servants and strangers, even animals, and what does it mean?
Notable among these Sabbath details is the focus on others. SigveK. Tonstad argues that this kind of command is unique among all thecultures of the world. The Sabbath commandment, he explains, “prioritizes from the bottom up and not from the top looking down, givingfirst considerations to the weakest and most vulnerable members ofsociety. Those who need rest the most—the slave, the resident alien,and the beast of burden—are singled out for special mention. In therest of the seventh day the underprivileged, even mute animals, findan ally.”—The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day (Berrien Springs, MI:Andrews University Press, 2009), pp. 126, 127.
The commandment has a special focus on urging that the Sabbath isa day to be enjoyed by everyone. In the light of the Sabbath, we are allequal. If you are an employer during the week, you have no authorityto make your employees work on Sabbath. And that’s because God gavethem, too, a day of rest. If you are an employee—or even a slave—forthe rest of your days, the Sabbath reminds you that you are equallycreated and redeemed by God, and God invites you to celebrate thisin ways other than your usual duties. Even those outside the Sabbathkeeping people—“any foreigner residing in your towns” (Exod. 20:10,NIV)—should benefit from the Sabbath.
This idea would have been a remarkable change of perspective for theIsraelites, fresh from their own experiences of slavery and marginalization. Now that they were to be established in a new land, God did not wantthem to adopt the habits of their former oppressors. As well as giving themdetailed laws for their society, He gave them (all of us, actually) a weeklyreminder, in a powerful way, of just how equal we all are before God.
How can you share the Sabbath in your community, meaninghow can others in your community benefit from your Sabbathkeeping?
While the original vision for the Sabbath and Sabbath keeping wasbroad and inclusive, the Sabbath had become something quite differentfor many of the religious leaders by the time Jesus came to earth. Insteadof a day of freedom and equality, Sabbath had become a day of human,traditional rules and restrictions. In His day, Jesus stood up against suchattitudes, especially as they were imposed on others.
How interesting that He did this most significantly by performing anumber of healings on Sabbath. It seems that Jesus intentionally performed these miracles on Sabbath, as opposed to any other day, to demonstrate something important about what the Sabbath should be. Often inthese stories, Jesus made comments about the appropriateness of healingon Sabbath, and often the Pharisees used His statements as an excuse tofurther their plots to have Jesus killed.
Read the stories of Jesus’ Sabbath healings in Matthew 12:9–13, Mark1:21–26, 3:1–6, and John 9:1–16. What are the most significantthings you notice in these stories?
Jesus confirmed that the Sabbath is important. We need to put boundariesaround Sabbath time to keep it special and to allow this weekly time tobe an opportunity to grow our relationships with God, our families, ourchurch, and our community. But Sabbath keeping should not be selfishlyabout just us. As Jesus said, “ ‘It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath’ ”(Matt. 12:12, NKJV).
Many church members do much good work to care for others. Butmany of us also feel that we should do more to help. We know God caresabout those who are hurting, oppressed, or forgotten, and that we shouldcare, too. Because we are commanded not to pursue our regular work andare freed from the pressures of the week, on Sabbath we are given timeto focus on this concern for others as one of the ways of true and activeSabbath keeping: “According to the fourth commandment the Sabbathwas dedicated to rest and religious worship. All secular employment wasto be suspended, but works of mercy and benevolence were in accordancewith the purpose of the Lord. . . . To relieve the afflicted, to comfort thesorrowing, is a labor of love that does honor to God’s holy day.”—EllenG. White, Welfare Ministry, p. 77.
What do you do for the good of others on Sabbath?
As we have seen, Sabbath was an ingrained part of the life cycle of theIsraelite nation. But the Sabbath principle was not just about a day eachweek. It also included a special rest each seventh year, culminating in theyear of jubilee after seven sets of seven years, meaning each 50th year.
Read Leviticus 25:1–7. What is remarkable about this kind of instruction? In what possible ways could you incorporate this kind ofprinciple into your life and work?
The Sabbath year allowed the farmland to lie fallow for the year. It isa remarkable act of stewarding the land, and the wisdom of this as anagricultural practice has been recognized widely.
The seventh year also was significant for slaves (see Exod. 21:1–11).In the event that any of the Israelites became so indebted as to sellthemselves into slavery, they were to be freed in the seventh year.Similarly, outstanding debts were to be canceled at the end of the seventh year (see Deut. 15:1–11).
Like the manna God provided to the Israelites in the wilderness, notplanting crops for a season was an act of trust that God would provideenough in the previous year and from what the ground produced byitself in the Sabbath year. Similarly, to release slaves and cancel debtswas an act of mercy but also an act of trust in the power of God toprovide for our needs. In a sense, the people needed to learn that theydidn’t have to oppress others in order to provide for themselves.
The principles and pattern of the Sabbath were to be closely tied tothe structure of the Israelite society as a whole. Similarly, contemporary Sabbath keeping should be a spiritual discipline that transforms allour other days. In a practical sense, the Sabbath is one way of living outJesus’ instructions to seek first His kingdom: “ ‘Your heavenly Fatheralready knows all your needs . . . and he will give you everything youneed’ ” (Matt. 6:32, 33, NLT).
What difference should keeping the Sabbath make to the othersix days of your week? After all, if you are greedy, selfish, anduncaring from Sunday through Friday, what does it really matter if you are none of these things on Sabbath? (Or truly can younot be those things on Sabbath even if you are that way the restof the week?)
Friday July 19
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “From the Red Sea to Sinai,”pp. 295–297, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “The Sabbath,” pp. 281–289,in The Desire of Ages; Sigve K. Tonstad, “The Social Conscience of theSeventh Day,” pp. 125–143, in The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day.
“Jesus stated to them that the work of relieving the afflicted was inharmony with the Sabbath law. It was in harmony with the work ofGod’s angels, who are ever descending and ascending between heavenand earth to minister to suffering humanity. . . .
“And man also has a work to perform on this day. The necessities oflife must be attended to, the sick must be cared for, the wants of the needymust be supplied. He will not be held guiltless who neglects to relievesuffering on the Sabbath. God’s holy rest day was made for man, and actsof mercy are in perfect harmony with its intent. God does not desire Hiscreatures to suffer an hour’s pain that may be relieved upon the Sabbathor any other day.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 206, 207.
Discussion Questions:
1 In what ways have you experienced the Sabbath as a demonstration of your trust in God? Have you had a manna-like experience in your life, where God has provided in response to your trustin Him? If so, share it with the class and tell them what you havelearned.
2 As we have seen in the fourth commandment as found inExodus 20:8–11 and Deuteronomy 5:12–15, God emphasized different aspects of Sabbath. What is the one aspect of Sabbath thatyou most appreciate?
3 In class or individually, brainstorm some ways you can share theblessings and benefits of the Sabbath in your community.
4 What are some of the ways the Sabbath changes your life? Arethere other parts of your life in which the patterns and principlesof the Sabbath should have a greater impact?
Summary: God gave the Sabbath as a way of remembering Creation andRedemption, but it also has many practical benefits. It teaches us totrust in God’s provision for us; it teaches us to practice equality; andit can become a spiritual discipline that can transform all our relationships. Jesus demonstrated His ideal for the Sabbath by healing the sickand emphasizing the Sabbath as a day to benefit those in need.
Sabbath AfternoonRead for This Week’s Study: Ps. 9:7–9, 13–20; Psalm 82;Psalm 101; Psalm 146; Prov. 10:4; 13:23, 25; 30:7–9.
Memory Text: “Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to theafflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from thehand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:3, 4, NKJV).
Psalms and Proverbs depict the experience of living with God inthe common things of life, not just in times of worship or in otherreligious activities. While the book of Proverbs offers a rangeof practical wisdom—from relationships and families to business andgovernment—Psalms is a collection of songs that cover a variety ofemotions and spiritual experiences from laments to exultant praise andeverything in between. It is easy to see that our faith should make a difference in every aspect and experience of our lives, because God caresabout every aspect of our lives.
Meanwhile, any reflection on life in this fallen world could hardlyignore the injustice that so permeates the human condition. In fact,injustice is repeatedly described as something that our Lord cares aboutand seeks to relieve. It is He who is the hope of the hopeless.
Though we can only touch on what these books say about this topic,perhaps this lesson might inspire you to be more proactive in ministering to the needs of the poor, the oppressed, and the forgotten who existall around us and whom we are obligated to help.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 27.
As we have already noted, God sees and hears people who are indistress and trouble. Most often in the Psalms we hear those cries frompeople who have trusted in God but are not seeing justice done. Theaffirmations of the goodness, justice, and power of God can seem overwhelmed by the injustice and oppression that the voices in these songsexperience or observe.
Yet, these are the songs of those who are still singing. Neither their lifenor their faith has been quenched. There is still hope; and the urgencyis for God to act before it is too late, before evil triumphs, before theoppressed are destroyed by the weight of the evil brought against them.In this way, the writers of the Psalms try to bridge the gap between theaffirmations of their faith and the trials and tragedies of life.
Read Psalm 9:7–9, 13–20. Can you imagine the circumstances David—the writer of the psalm—was in? Can you feel the tension betweenhis faith in God’s goodness and his present experience? How haveyou dealt with the struggle of faith in God amid times of severe trial?
Throughout the Psalms, the repeated answer to this tension is thehope and promise of God’s good and just judgment. Evil and injusticemay seem triumphant for now, but God will judge the evildoers and theunjust. They will be punished, while those they have hurt and oppressedwill be restored and renewed.
In Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis describes his initial surprise at the excitement and longing for God’s judgment as expressedrepeatedly in the Psalms. Observing that many Bible readers todayconsider judgment something to be feared, he considers the originalJewish perspective and writes, “Thousands of people who have beenstripped of all they possess and who have the right entirely on their sidewill at last be heard. Of course they are not afraid of judgment. Theyknow their case is unanswerable—if only it could be heard. When Godcomes to judge, at last it will.”—C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms(New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1958), p. 11.
In the Psalms, we see hope for the oppressed, even now, even amidtheir present sufferings and disappointments.
What reasons do we have to view the idea of judgment as positive,and not something to be feared?
Despite the ordering and rules of society that God gave to them, atvarious times in their history the Israelites failed to live up to this plan.They too easily became like the nations around them, living by a pattern of injustice and oppression. Leaders and judges looked after onlythemselves, and their favor could be purchased with bribes. Withoutcourts to protect them, ordinary people, and the poor especially, weresubject to exploitation.
Psalm 82 is a response to such a situation. It describes God’s role asSupreme Judge, and it depicts a scene in which He judges the leadersand even the judges of the people. This psalm emphasizes that thosewho fill such roles in society “are appointed to act as judges underHim.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 198. They hold theirposition and conduct their work as representatives and subordinatesof God. In the psalmist’s view, the justice of God is a model for howearthly justice should function, and it also provides the measure againstwhich such justice or injustice—and those who dispense it—will bejudged.
The psalm concludes with a specific call for God to act (Ps. 82:8),to intervene and to stop the injustice that is so prevalent in the nation.Like many of the psalms, this one gives a voice to the voiceless andto the oppressed, those whose voices have been silenced by the unjustsystems in which they live and work.
Psalm 82 makes an appeal to God in His position of Supreme Judgeand Sovereign Ruler of the universe and of all the nations. There is nohigher court or authority to which such an appeal could be made. Theassurance comes that when earthly courts do not hear or uphold thecries of the poor and oppressed, which is so often the case here, thereis still an undeniable opportunity to call for help.
At different times in our lives we might find ourselves as victims ofinjustice, but at other times we might be the one committing or profiting from injustice. In passages such as Psalm 82, we can find insightand wisdom, whether we are the oppressed or the oppressor. God isconcerned for the unjust judges, too, describing them as His childrenand wanting them to choose to live better (see Ps. 82:6). Thus, there’shope even for those on the wrong side of oppression, if they will allowthemselves to be changed.
Read Psalm 101. Though written for leaders, what important counselcan we take from it for ourselves, whatever our position in life?
Psalm 101 is a text for leaders. It is thought that these verses werecomposed by David in the early days of his reign as king of Israel.They may even have been adapted from vows that he made at the timeof becoming king. In his experiences as a warrior for Saul and then afugitive from him, he had witnessed for himself how a king who loseshis way could damage the nation and his family. David determined thathe was going to be a different kind of leader.
Few of us might be political or national leaders, but we all have roles inlife in which we have the opportunity to influence and encourage others.These might be in our working life, community involvement, family, orchurch. As Ellen G. White comments on one of these settings of leadership, “the vows of David, recorded in the 101st psalm, should be the vowsof all upon whom rest the responsibilities of guarding the influences ofthe home.”—Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p. 119.
As we have opportunity, we should be prepared to suggest anduphold these principles to those who fill positions of leadership overus. And all of us, in our leadership and places of influence, have theopportunity to apply David’s leadership principles in order to help usbe a blessing to others.
The starting point for David is honoring God for His mercy andjustice (Ps. 101:1), which became the foundation for everything Davidsought to uphold by his leadership. He sought to learn and practicethese same characteristics in his life and work. To do this, he mustresist the temptations toward wrongdoing, corruption, and dishonesty,all of which are particular traps for those in positions of power andleadership.
Knowing how important good counselors were to help him to doright, David pledges to seek out trustworthy advisers and to appointhonest officials. Justice and mercy were to mark his leadership, evenamong those who worked with and for him.
We might not be in a position to have advisers and officials, buthow can we fill our lives with influences that help us to live andto lead (where we can) with justice and mercy for those who needit?
As we near the end of the book of Psalms, the exclamations of praiseseem to grow in crescendo after crescendo. The final five psalms beginwith a simple and direct command to “Praise the Lord!” but the firstof these—Psalm 146—has a particular focus on God’s concern for thepoor and oppressed as a primary reason for such praise.
Read Psalm 146. What is the message here to us? What is the psalmistsaying, especially in Psalm 146:5–9?
As surely as God is Creator of this world (see Ps. 146:6), this psalmdescribes God’s continuing work in the world as judge, provider, liberator, healer, helper, and defender—all of these focused on people inspecific need of these kinds of help. It is an inspiring vision of what Goddoes and seeks to do in our lives, in our communities, and in our world.
Sometimes we think of caring for the needy as something we oughtto do because God said so. But Psalm 146 says this is something Godalready does—and we are invited to join with Him. When we workagainst poverty, oppression, and disease, we are truly working with Godand His purposes. What greater privilege can there be than partneringwith God in fulfilling something as inspiring as Psalm 146?
But there also are benefits for us. Christians often talk about theirsearch for God and their desire to have a closer relationship with Him.Yet, verses such as Psalm 146:7–9, and so many others throughout theBible, indicate to us that one way to find God is to join in with what Hedoes. So, if He is working to lift up the poor, sick, and oppressed, asPsalm 146 says He is, we should be working with Him, as well. “Christcame to this earth to walk and work among the poor and suffering. Theyreceived the greatest share of His attention. And today, in the person ofHis children, He visits the poor and needy, relieving woe and alleviatingsuffering.
“Take away suffering and need, and we should have no way of understanding the mercy and love of God, no way of knowing the compassionate, sympathetic heavenly Father. Never does the gospel put on an aspectof greater loveliness than when it is brought to the most needy and destituteregions.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 226.
What has been your experience in how we become close to Godby serving others?
As a collection of wisdom sayings, the book of Proverbs toucheson a diverse range of topics and life experiences. Among these arereflections on poverty, riches, contentment, justice, and injustice—and sometimes from differing angles. Life is not always simple andstraightforward, and Proverbs alerts us to the different circumstancesand choices that influence how life is lived, even among those who arefaithful to God.
Read and compare Proverbs 10:4; 13:23, 25; 14:31; 15:15, 16; 19:15,17; and 30:7–9. What are these texts saying that is relevant towealth, poverty, and helping those in need?
Proverbs emphasizes the concern and attention God has for the poorand vulnerable. Sometimes people are poor because of circumstances,poor choices, or exploitation, but whatever the causes of their situation, the Lord is still described as their Creator (see Prov. 22:2) andDefender (see Prov. 22:22, 23). These people are not to be oppressedor taken advantage of, whatever their mistakes.
While Proverbs does offer a better life through choosing wisdomand obeying God, riches are not always the result of God’s blessing.Faithfulness to God is always seen as more important and ultimatelymore rewarding than material gain: “Better a little with righteousnessthan much gain with injustice” (Prov. 16:8, NIV).
Another concern in Proverbs is honesty and fair dealing in business,government, and in administering justice (see Prov. 14:5, 25; 16:11–13; 17:15; 20:23; 21:28; 28:14–16). Proverbs is not only concernedwith the lives of individuals but also offers insight as to how societyas a whole should function for the benefit of all, particularly for thosewho need protection. We are reminded again that at their best, thosewho govern and lead do so with the help of God (see Prov. 8:15, 16)and should be acting as agents of His grace and compassion towardthose in need.
It’s easy for anyone to feel sorry for those in bad situations. How,though, can we take that feeling of sorrow and turn it into action?
Friday July 26
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Last Years of David,”pp. 746–755, in Patriarchs and Prophets; C. S. Lewis, “‘Judgment’ in thePsalms,” pp. 15–22, in Reflections on the Psalms.
“The psalms of David pass through the whole range of experience,from the depths of conscious guilt and self-condemnation to the loftiest faith and the most exalted communing with God. His life recorddeclares that sin can bring only shame and woe, but that God’s love andmercy can reach to the deepest depths, that faith will lift up the repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of God. Of all the assuranceswhich His word contains, it is one of the strongest testimonies to thefaithfulness, the justice, and the covenant mercy of God.”—Ellen G.White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 754.
Referring to the wisdom in the book of Proverbs: “These are principles with which are bound up the well-being of society, of both secular and religious associations. It is these principles that give securityto property and life. For all that makes confidence and cooperationpossible, the world is indebted to the law of God, as given in His word,and as still traced, in lines often obscure and well-nigh obliterated, inthe hearts of men.”—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 137.
Discussion Questions:
1 In what ways would you consider yourself a leader or in a position of influence? How can you be an agent of justice in that aspectof your life?
2 Think about the culture and social structures of the placewhere you live. In what way can you work within the existing system to better the lot of those in need?
3 Why are the principles of justice and fairness so important forbuilding a strong society?
4 While the book of Proverbs is focused on wisdom for livingwell, what does it tell us about what God is like?
Summary: Psalms and Proverbs are two books particularly tuned to the challenges of living faithfully amid life’s common experiences and trials.Both offer insights into God’s vision for society and His special concern for the poor and oppressed. The cry of the Psalms and the wisdomof Proverbs are that God does notice and will intervene to protect thosetoo often ignored or exploited. And if that’s what God’s about, it’s whatwe should be about, as well.
Sabbath AfternoonRead for This Week’s Study: 1 Sam. 8:10–18, Amos 5:10–15, Mic. 6:8, Gen. 19:1–13, Ezek. 16:49, Isa. 1:15–23.
Memory Text: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and whatdoes the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and towalk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, NKJV).
The Old Testament prophets are among the most interesting characters in the Bible. Their strident voices, their bold messages,their sense of grief, anger, and outrage, and the occasionalperformances of their messages made them people who couldn’t beignored, even if they might not have always been comfortable to bearound.
Sent primarily to Israel and Judah, they were beckoning the chosen people back to faithfulness to God. The people and their leaderswere too easily swept up by the idols and lifestyles of the surroundingnations. It was the prophets’ thankless task to urge them to repent,sometimes by reminding them of God’s love for them and His pastaction on their behalf and sometimes by warning of the consequencesif they continued to walk away from God.
As we will see, too, that among the sins and evils that they warnedthe leaders and people against, one of the biggest was the oppression ofthe poor, the needy, the helpless among them. Yes, worshiping idols wasbad; yes, following false religious practices was bad; but, yes, takingadvantage of the weak and poor was worthy of condemnation, as well.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 3.
Despite God’s clearly detailed plan for the Israelite nation, theIsraelite people rarely lived up to their calling. Not many generationsafter they were established in the land, they asked Samuel, the prophetand judge, to appoint a king to lead their nation, “ ‘such as all the othernations have’ ” (1 Sam. 8:5, NIV).
Read 1 Samuel 8:10–18. What was Samuel’s warning to the people inresponse to their request for a king?
Samuel recognized this as a step toward being like the other nations inother ways, as well. While Samuel sought to counsel the first king, Saul,it was not long before his prophecy began to become reality. Even at theheight of the Israelite kingdom, David and Solomon did not escape thetemptations, corruption, and excesses of their power.
Throughout the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah, one of God’sresponses was to send prophets to speak His will and to remind theIsraelite leaders and people of their God-given responsibilities to theforgotten members of their society.
In the writings of the Hebrew prophets, we see a continuing andrecurring call to live justly and to do justice in society. Confrontingthe unfaithfulness of Israel and its leaders, the prophets were a regularand urgent voice for the voiceless, particularly those who were hurt byIsrael’s failure to follow God’s will.
Reflecting on the passion of the Old Testament prophets, AbrahamJoshua Heschel contrasts our complacency with their urgent calls forjustice: “The things that horrified the prophets are even now dailyoccurrences all over the world. . . . Their breathless impatience withinjustice may strike us as hysteria. We ourselves witness continuallyacts of injustice, manifestations of hypocrisy, falsehood, outrage, misery, but we rarely grow indignant or overly excited. To the prophetseven a minor injustice assumes cosmic proportions.”—The Prophets(New York: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1962), pp. 3, 4.
What these prophets offer us is an insight into the heart and mind ofGod. Speaking on behalf of God, they can help us see the injustice andsuffering of our world through God’s tear-filled eyes. But this passionis also a call to action, to work with God to relieve and remedy theoppression and sorrow of those around us.
How do we sometimes seek to be like “all the other nations” inways that might be harmful to us and others?
“ ‘I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took mefrom tending the flock and said to me, “Go, prophesy to my peopleIsrael” ’ ” (Amos 7:14, 15, NIV).
Amos was quite open in admitting his lack of qualifications for beinga prophet, but as he presents his message to the Israelite nation, he showsan obvious ability to draw his hearers into what he wants to tell them.
He begins on a popular note, listing off the surrounding nations—Syria, Philistia, Phoenicia, Edom, Ammon, and Moab—and detailing their crimes, outrages, and atrocities for which God will punish them (see Amos 1:3–2:3). It is easy to imagine the Israelitesapplauding these indictments of their enemies, particularly asmany of the crimes of these nations had been directed against theIsraelites themselves.
Then Amos moves a little closer to home, declaring God’s judgment against the people of Judah, Israel’s southern neighbors in thenow-separated kingdoms. Speaking on behalf of God, Amos cites theirrejection of God, their disobedience to His commands, and the punishments that would come to them (see Amos 2:4, 5). Again, we can imagine the people in the northern kingdom applauding as Amos points outthe wrongdoing of those around them.
But then Amos turns on his audience. The rest of the book focuses onIsrael’s evil, idolatry, injustice, and repeated failures in the sight of God.
Read Amos 3:9–11; 4:1, 2; 5:10–15; and 8:4–6. What sins is Amoswarning against?
While Amos is not diplomatic in his language and his warnings arethose of doom, his message is seasoned with entreaties to turn back totheir God. This will include a renewal of their sense of justice and carefor the poor among them: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24, NIV). The last few versesof Amos’ prophecy point to a future restoration for God’s people (seeAmos 9:11–15): “In their hour of deepest apostasy and greatest need,God’s message to them was one of forgiveness and hope.”—Ellen G.White, Prophets and Kings, p. 283.
Are there times we need to be prepared to speak harshly to correct wrong? How do we discern when such language might beappropriate?
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does theLord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walkhumbly with your God?” (Mic. 6:8, NKJV). What are ways, rightnow, that you can live out these words?
Micah 6:8 is perhaps one of the best-known texts in Scripture. Yet, likemany of the verses we make into slogans or “posters,” we are probablyless familiar with the context of the verse than we might admit.
Read Micah 2:8–11 and 3:8–12. What were the people doing that Micahcondemned?
The reign of Ahaz as king in Judah saw God’s people reach a newlow in the history and spirituality of their nation. Idolatry and its various evil practices were increasing. At the same time, as other prophetsof the time also noted, the poor continued to be exploited and preyedupon.
Micah is no less a prophet of doom than were his contemporaries. Mostof his first three chapters express God’s anger and sorrow at the evil Hispeople had done, as well as the destruction that was coming their way.
But God had not given up on His people. Even the strident voices andharsh messages of the prophets were an indication of God’s continuedinterest in His people. He gave them warnings because of His love andcare for them. He longed to forgive and restore them. He would not stayangry forever (see Mic. 7:18–20).
Such is the context of the well-known “formula”—act justly, lovemercy, walk humbly. It might sound simple, but living such a faithin practical ways is much more challenging, especially when to doso seems so out of step with the surrounding society. Acting justly,loving mercy, and walking humbly requires courage and perseverancewhen others profit from injustice, scoff at mercy, and ride proudly.Yet, we don’t do this alone; when we act this way, we are walkingwith our God.
What is the link between doing justice, loving mercy, and walkinghumbly before God?
If we were to ask a group of Christians about the “sins of Sodom,”chances are many would launch into a description of its various sexualsins and other forms of depravity. After all, Genesis 19:1–13 doesdepict a sick and warped society more than ripe for destruction.
Interestingly enough, though, the answer is more complicated thanjust that. Consider Ezekiel’s description: “ ‘ “Now this was the sin ofyour sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed andunconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy” ’ ” (Ezek. 16:49,NIV). Though clearly the Lord was not going to overlook the otherforms of depravity found in the city, Ezekiel’s focus here was on economic injustice and a lack of care for those in need.
Could it be that, in the eyes of God, these economic sins were just asbad as the sexual ones?
Coming after the time of Amos, Micah, and Isaiah, Ezekiel’s earlyprophecies sound a similar note of warning of the coming destruction.However, after Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians and its people aretaken captive, Ezekiel’s focus shifts more fully to God’s promises ofrestoration.
Read Ezekiel 34:2–4, 7–16. Compare God’s assessment of the corruptleaders of Israel with His own shepherding. How does their treatment of the weakest “sheep” contrast with His methods?
Even as bad as they have been, so as to be compared to Sodom, theLord still was reaching out to them in hopes of turning them away fromtheir wickedness. In God’s renewed plan for His people, they would beback in their land, Jerusalem would be restored, and the temple would berebuilt. The festivals God gave would again be celebrated, and the landwould again be divided equally among the people as their inheritance(see Ezek. 47:13–48:29). It seems obvious that God’s intention was thatHis plan for His people, as first given to Moses and the people of Israelafter their rescue from Egypt, would be restarted with the return of Hispeople from captivity. This included concern for the weakest members ofsociety, as well as those who might be considered outsiders.
How important is it to you that our God is a God who offerssecond chances—and more—even to His people who have donewrong after having had the chance to make better choices?
Read Isaiah 1:15–23; 3:13–15; and 5:7, 8. How would you describethe prophet’s response to what he observes in society around him?
Isaiah’s opening sermon—the first five chapters—is a mix of scathingcriticism of the kind of society God’s people had become, warnings ofimpending judgment in response to their rejection of God and continuedwrongdoing, and offers of hope if the people would turn back to Godand reform their lives and society. But perhaps the strongest emotion thatcomes through his words is a sense of grief. Based on his understandingof who God is and what He wants for His people, the prophet is mourning what has been lost, the countless forgotten people who are being hurt,and the judgment that is to come on the nation.
Isaiah continues this pattern through his prophetic ministry. He urgesthe people to remember what God has done for them. He also offersthese people the hope of what God wants to do for them in the future.Thus, they should seek the Lord now, for this renewed relationship withHim will include repenting of their current wrongdoing and changingthe way that they treat others.
In chapters 58 and 59, Isaiah specifically returns to the concern forjustice. He again describes a society in which “justice is driven back,and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets,honesty cannot enter” (Isa. 59:14, NIV). But he also affirms that God isaware of it and that God will rescue His people—the “ ‘Redeemer willcome’ ” (Isa. 59:20, NIV).
Throughout the book of Isaiah, a significant part of the prophet’sattention is given to proclaiming the coming Messiah, one who wouldultimately reestablish God’s reign on earth and would bring justice,mercy, healing, and restoration with Him.
Read Isaiah 9:6, 7; 11:1–5; 42:1–7; and 53:4–6. How do theseprophecies fit with what you understand of the life, ministry,and death of Jesus? What do these prophecies suggest about thepurpose of His coming to this world?
Friday August 2
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Assyrian Captivity,”pp. 279–292; “The Call of Isaiah,” pp. 303–310, in Prophets and Kings.
“Against the marked oppression, the flagrant injustice, the unwontedluxury and extravagance, the shameless feasting and drunkenness, thegross licentiousness and debauchery, of their age, the prophets liftedtheir voices; but in vain were their protests, in vain their denunciationof sin.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 282.
For Isaiah, “the outlook was particularly discouraging as regards thesocial conditions of the people. In their desire for gain, men were adding house to house and field to field. . . . Justice was perverted, and nopity was shown the poor. . . . Even the magistrates, whose duty it was toprotect the helpless, turned a deaf ear to the cries of the poor and needy,the widows and the fatherless. . . .
“In the face of such conditions it is not surprising that when, duringthe last year of Uzziah’s reign, Isaiah was called to bear to Judah God’smessages of warning and reproof, he shrank from the responsibility.He well knew that he would encounter obstinate resistance.”—Pages306, 307.
“These plain utterances of the prophets . . . should be received by usas the voice of God to every soul. We should lose no opportunity of performing deeds of mercy, of tender forethought and Christian courtesy,for the burdened and the oppressed.”—Page 327.
Discussion Questions:
1 We often understand the function of prophecy as predictingthe future. How does the recognition of the Old Testament prophets’ focus on the world in which they lived change your perceptionof the role of a prophet?
2 The lives and message of the prophets demonstrate how difficult and dangerous it can be to stand up for truth. Why do youbelieve they did what they did and spoke in the way they did?
3 In the writings of the prophets, God seems to alternate betweenbeing angry and showing deep concern for His people. How do youfit together these two aspects of God’s character?
Summary: The Old Testament prophets were passionate and often angry andupset defenders of the way and will of God to their people. Reflectingthe expressed concern of God Himself, this passion included a strongfocus on justice for the poor and oppressed. The prophets’ calls toreturn to God included putting an end to injustice, something God alsopromised to do in His visions for a better future for His people.
Sabbath AfternoonRead for This Week’s Study: Ps. 115:1–8, Deut. 10:17–22,Ps. 101:1, Isa. 1:10–17, Isaiah 58, Mark 12:38–40.
Memory Text: “ ‘Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose thebonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressedgo free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your breadwith the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who arecast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hideyourself from your own flesh?’ ” (Isaiah 58:6, 7, NKJV).
Even a quick reading of the Old Testament prophets alerts us totheir concerns about the mistreatment of the poor and oppressed.The prophets and the God for whom they spoke were outragedabout what they saw being done in all the surrounding nations (see, forexample, Amos 1 and 2). But they also had a particular sense of angerand grief at the acts of iniquity done by God’s people themselves,those who had been the recipients of so many divine blessings. Giventheir history, as well as their God-given laws, these people should haveknown better. Unfortunately, that wasn’t always the case, and prophetshad a lot to say about this sad state of events.
It is interesting to discover, too, that many of the best-known statements concerning justice and injustice from the Old Testament prophetsare actually given in the context of instructions about worship. As wewill see, true worship is not just something that happens during a religious ritual. True worship also is about living a life that shares God’sconcerns for the well-being of others and that seeks to lift up those whohave been downtrodden and forgotten.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 10.
Soon after God led the people of Israel out of Egypt, He met withthem at Mount Sinai, giving them the Ten Commandments in writtenform, including the first two commandments about not worshipingother gods and not making idols (see Exod. 20:2–6). In response, thepeople promised to do everything they had been commanded and tolive as His people (see Exod. 24:1–13).
But then Moses was gone up the mountain and stayed there for almostsix weeks and the people began to wonder what had become of him. Underpressure from the mob, Aaron made a golden calf and led the people inmaking sacrifices before it, after which “they sat down to eat and drink andgot up to indulge in revelry” (Exod. 32:6, NIV). Both the Lord and Moseswere outraged at how quickly the people had turned away from God to idolworship—and it seemed that it was only Moses’ intercession that savedIsrael from its deserved punishment (see Exod. 32:30–34).
Idolatry, however, was a temptation God’s people fell into way toooften. The history of the kings of Israel and Judah is punctuated byperiods of idolatry, which include the outrageous acts some of thekings led their people to commit in the worship of these gods. Suchunfaithfulness was a recurring focus of the prophets God sent in orderto call the people back to Him. Often, too, amid the calls for revival andreformation were calls for better treatment of the poor, the needy, andthe helpless among them.
Read Psalm 115:1–8. What crucial point is the author making there?
It is a human tendency that we become like the thing or person weworship and focus on. So, it was only natural that concern for others andfor justice would diminish when God’s people turned from worshiping aGod of justice to worshiping the false gods of the surrounding nations,who were often styled as beings of war or fertility. When they chose othergods, the people changed their attitude in a lot of things, including howthey treated others. Had they been faithful to the Lord, they would haveshared His concern for those in need among them.
Dwell more on this idea of becoming like what we worship. Howdo we see contemporary manifestations of this principle?
Throughout the Bible, God’s people are urged to worship God, but wealso are repeatedly offered reasons for doing so. We are told to worshipHim because of who He is, what He has done, and because of His manyattributes. Among these are His goodness, justice, and mercy. When weare reminded of what God is like, what He has done for us (especiallyin the cross of Christ), and what He promises to do, none of us shouldever be without reason to worship and praise God.
Read Deuteronomy 10:17–22, Psalm 101:1, 146:5–10, Isaiah 5:16, and61:11. What are the motivations for worship and praising Godgiven in these verses?
Such reasons for worship were not new to God’s people. Some of themost enthusiastic times of worship of the newly freed Israelites happened in response to the obvious intervention of God on their behalf.For example, after being brought out of Egypt and crossing the RedSea, Moses and Miriam led the people in singing praise to God for whatthey had just seen and been rescued from (see Exodus 15).
God’s justice and mercy, as revealed in such events, were not to beforgotten. As the people kept these stories alive by retelling them regularly, the acts and justice of God continued to be an inspiration for theirworship years later and in following generations. One example of thisretelling and worship is recorded in Deuteronomy 10:17–22.
God’s justice is, first, simply part of who He is, a core componentof His essential character. “It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,that the Almighty would pervert justice” (Job 34:12, NIV). God is justand is concerned with justice—and that is a reason to worship andpraise Him.
Second, God’s justice is seen in His just and righteous acts on behalfof His people and on behalf of all who are poor and oppressed. Hisjustice is never merely a description of His character. Rather, the Bibleportrays a God who “heard the cry of the needy” (Job 34:28, NIV) andis active and anxious to right the wrongs that are so obvious in ourworld. Ultimately, this will be fully realized in God’s final judgmentand His re-creation of the world.
If ancient Israel had reason to praise the Lord, how much moreso do we, after the Cross, have reasons to praise Him?
During the better times of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, thepeople would return to the temple and the worship of God, althougheven then, their worship was often mixed with inroads from idolatryand the religions of the surrounding nations. But according to theprophets, even their best attempts at religion were not enough to turnthem from the evils perpetrated in the land in their daily lives. And nomatter how hard they worked at being religious through their rituals ofworship, the music of their hymns could not drown out the cries of thepoor and oppressed.
Amos described the people of his day as those who “trample theneedy and do away with the poor of the land” (Amos 8:4, NIV). He sawtheir desire to get done with their rituals so they could reopen the market and get back to their dishonest trade, that of “buying the poor withsilver and the needy for a pair of sandals” (Amos 8:6, NIV).
Read Isaiah 1:10–17, Amos 5:21–24, and Micah 6:6–8. What was theLord telling these religious people about their rituals?
Through His prophets, God uses strong language to ridicule religionand worship that is disconnected from and in contrast with the sufferingand oppression of those around them. In Amos 5:21–24 (NIV), we readof God saying that He “hates,” “despises,” and is generally disgusted bytheir worship. Their gatherings are described as a “stench,” and theirofferings and music are dismissed as less than worthless.
In Micah 6, we see a series of increasingly inflated, even mocking, suggestions as to how they can most appropriately worship God.The prophet mockingly offers the suggestion of burnt offerings, thenincreases the offering to “thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil” (Mic. 6:7, NIV) before going to the horrific—but notunknown—extreme of suggesting sacrificing his firstborn child to gainGod’s favor and forgiveness.
In the end, though, what the Lord truly wanted for them was to “act justlyand to love mercy and to walk humbly with [their] God” (Mic. 6:8, NIV).
Have you ever found yourself guilty of being more concernedabout religious forms and rituals than about helping those inneed right around you? What did you learn from that experience?
In their explanation of the relationship between worship and justice,there is another step urged by the prophets: that an active concern forrelieving the poor and oppressed and helping those in need is an importantpart of worship itself. Isaiah 58 is one chapter that makes this link obvious.
Read Isaiah 58. What has gone wrong in the relationship between Godand His people as described in the early part of this chapter?
As we have seen previously, this criticism is addressed to peoplewho are actively religious. They seem to be earnestly seeking God, butapparently it is not working. So, God says they should try changinghow they worship, to try a different way of serving God. If He wereto choose how they would worship, it would be “to loose the chains ofinjustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free andbreak every yoke” (Isa. 58:6, NIV). They also would feed the hungry,give shelter to the homeless, and help those in need.
Such activities are not presented as the only way to worship, butGod does urge them as a way to worship—and a form of worship thatmight be preferable to some of the people’s more traditional worshippractices. As such, worship is not only inwardly focused but somethingthat brings blessing to all those around the worshipers of God. “Thetrue purpose of religion is to release men from their burdens of sin, toeliminate intolerance and oppression, and to promote justice, liberty,and peace.”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 306.
In Isaiah 58:8–12, God promises blessings in response to this formof worship. In effect, God is saying that if the people were to be lessfocused on themselves, they would find God working with them andthrough them to bring healing and restoration.
Interestingly, this chapter also connects this kind of worship with arenewal of “delight”-filled Sabbath keeping. We have already considered some of the strong connections between Sabbath and ministry, butthese verses include both these activities in this call for the people torevitalize their worship and to discover God’s blessing. Reflecting onthese verses, Ellen G. White commented, “Upon those who keep theSabbath of the Lord is laid the responsibility of doing a work of mercyand benevolence.”—Welfare Ministry, p. 121.
When Jesus was confronted by some of the religious leaders of Hisday who criticized Him for eating with “sinners,” He quoted the prophetHosea, telling them to go back to their books and discover what Godreally meant when He said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matt. 9:13,NIV, quoting Hos. 6:6).
As we will see, Jesus lived a life of caring and service. His interactions with others, His healing miracles, and many of His parablesdemonstrated and urged that a life lived in such a way was the bestway to express true devotion to God. The religious leaders were Hisgreatest critics but also were the target of His harshest criticism. Likethe religious people of Isaiah’s day, they believed that they ensuredtheir special relationship with God because of their religious practices,while at the same time they were exploiting the poor and ignoring theneedy. Their worship was out of step with their actions, and Jesus wasnot reserved in His condemnation of such hypocrisy.
Read Mark 12:38–40. Does Jesus’ comment that they “devour widows’houses” seem out of place in this list, or is that the point Jesus istrying to make? How would you explain why “these shall receivegreater damnation”?
Perhaps Jesus’ most frightening sermon—particularly for religiouspeople—is that found in Matthew 23. Not only did Jesus describe theirreligion as not helping people who are disadvantaged in life, He considered such religion as adding to their burdens. By their actions or attimes their lack of action and caring, Jesus said, they “ ‘shut the door ofthe kingdom of heaven in people’s faces’ ” (Matt. 23:13, NIV).
But echoing the prophets of centuries earlier, Jesus also directlyaddressed the gap between their serious religious practices and the injustices they condoned and profited from. “ ‘Woe to you, teachers of the lawand Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dilland cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of thelaw—justice, mercy and faithfulness’ ” (Matt. 23:23, NIV). Jesus wasquick to add that the religious practices and observances are not wrongin themselves, but they should not take the place of treating others fairly.
How can we avoid the trap of thinking that having and knowingthe truth is enough?
Friday August 9
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Isaiah 58—A Divine Prescription,” pp. 29–34, in Welfare Ministry; “Woes on the Pharisees,” pp.610–620, in The Desire of Ages.
“In urging the value of practical godliness, the prophet was onlyrepeating the counsel given Israel centuries before. . . . From age toage these counsels were repeated by the servants of Jehovah to thosewho were in danger of falling into habits of formalism and of forgettingto show mercy.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 326, 327.
“I have been instructed to refer our people to the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. Read this chapter carefully and understand the kind ofministry that will bring life into the churches. The work of the gospelis to be carried by means of our liberality as well as by our labors.When you meet suffering souls who need help, give it to them. Whenyou find those who are hungry, feed them. In doing this you will beworking in lines of Christ’s ministry. The Master’s holy work was abenevolent work. Let our people everywhere be encouraged to have apart in it.”—Ellen G. White, Welfare Ministry, p. 29.
Discussion Questions:
1 Have you ever thought about doing justice and loving mercy asacts of worship? How might this change your approach to caringfor others? How might this change your approach to worship?
2 How can we guard against neglecting the “more importantmatters of the law” (Matt. 23:23, NIV) in our Christian lives, bothindividually and as a church community? Can you recognize someexamples in your own experience where you might have strainedout a gnat but swallowed a camel (see Matt. 23:24, NIV)?
3 Why is hypocrisy considered such a sin? Isn’t it better at leastto try to look like we are doing good?
4 How does God’s vision and passion for the poor and needy, asexpressed through the prophets, change how you view the world?How might you read or hear your local news reports in a differentway if you saw and heard with the eyes and ears of a prophet?
Summary: While the prophets were concerned about evil in the land, theywere particularly focused on the evil committed by people who claimedand worshiped God as their own. For the prophets and for Jesus, worship is inconsistent with injustice, and such religion is hypocrisy. Thereal worship that God seeks includes working against oppression andcaring for the poor and needy.
Sabbath AfternoonRead for This Week’s Study: Luke 1:46–55, 4:16–21, 7:18–23,Matt. 12:15–21, Matt. 21:12–16, Mark 11:15–19, Isa. 53:3–6.
Memory Text: “ ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because Hehas anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Meto heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives andrecovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord’ ” (Luke 4:18, 19, NKJV).
A mong other reasons for His incarnation, Jesus came to show uswhat God is like. He did this by His teaching, by His sacrifice,and by His life; that is, by how He interacted with ordinarypeople. Many of His actions made immediate, real-world changes inthe lives of others.
This aspect of the Messiah’s ministry had been predicted by the OldTestament prophets, by Jesus’ mother, Mary, and even by Jesus Himselfwhen He defined His mission in His first recorded sermon (Luke 4).In addition, the Gospel writers often used the language of the OldTestament prophets to explain what Jesus was doing as they narratedHis story. In this way, Jesus’ life was seen clearly in the tradition ofthese prophets, including their compassion for the poor and oppressed.
The religious leaders, however, perceived Jesus as a threat. In a horrible example of injustice and cruelty, they had Jesus arrested, unjustlytried, and crucified. In Jesus, God knows what injustice feels like—and,in His death, He exposed the horror of evil. In His resurrection, though,He triumphed for life, goodness, and salvation.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 17.
Imagine the scene: Mary had received a message from the angelGabriel just a few days earlier. He had told her that she was to be themother of Jesus, the Son of the Most High. She has not yet told anyonebut goes to visit Elizabeth, her older relative, who also is expecting amiracle baby. With spiritual insight Elizabeth recognizes Mary’s newsbefore Mary has a chance to say anything, and together they celebratethe promises and goodness of God.
Read Luke 1:46–55. Notice the mix of praise between what was meantonly for her—“ ‘for the Mighty One has done great things for me’ ”(Luke 1:49, NIV)—to the much more general. Why should our praiseand worship to God include both personal and general emphases?
This is a remarkable song that could fit well among the psalms or inthe writings of the Hebrew prophets. Mary is overflowing with a senseof wonder and gratitude to God. She has obviously seen God workingin her own life, but she also is well aware of the larger implications ofGod’s plan for her nation and for the human race.
But in Mary’s understanding, not only is God powerful and praiseworthy, He also is merciful and seems to have a particular regard forthe humble, the downtrodden, and the poor. The angel had barely leftafter announcing the “good news” of the impending birth to Marybefore she was singing the following: “ ‘He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled thehungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty’ ” (Luke1:52, 53, NIV).
Right at the beginning of the story of Jesus’ life on earth, He is introduced as a ruler (see Luke 1:43)—but as the ruler of a different kindof kingdom. As many commentators have described it, the kingdom ofGod that Jesus came to inaugurate and establish was to be an “upsidedown kingdom” when compared to the usual social ordering of thekingdoms of this world. In the descriptions we have of Jesus’ kingdom,the powerful and wealthy of this world are the least, and the poor andoppressed are liberated, “filled,” and lifted up.
If the church should be an expression of the kingdom of God,how well does the church do in modeling the “upside-down kingdom” that Mary described? How could something such as this bemodeled—but without being unfair to the rich and powerful, aswell, who also are recipients of Christ’s love?
Whether it was the prescribed reading for the day or whether Jesusintentionally found the relevant verses (Isa. 61:1, 2) in the scroll Hewas given to read, it was no coincidence these verses were the textfor His first public sermon. Neither is it a coincidence that the storyof Jesus’ short sermon in Luke 4:16–21—“ ‘Today this scripture isfulfilled in your hearing’ ” (Luke 4:21, NIV)—begins Luke’s record ofJesus’ public ministry.
Jesus seemed to be picking up the tune from Mary’s song of an“upside-down kingdom” and beginning to put it into effect in Hisministry. Jesus—and Luke in his retelling of Jesus’ story—used theprophecy of Isaiah to explain what Jesus was doing and was aboutto do, but it also was another way of expressing what Mary haddescribed 30 years earlier. The poor, the hurting, and the oppressedare the special focus and recipients of the good news that Jesus wasbringing.
Jesus adopted these verses from Isaiah 61 as His mission statement.His ministry and mission were to be both spiritual and practical, andHe would demonstrate that the spiritual and practical are not as farapart as we sometimes assume. For Jesus and His disciples, caring forpeople physically and practically were at least part of caring for themspiritually.
Read and compare Luke 4:16–21 and 7:18–23. Why do you thinkJesus answered in this way? How would you respond to similarquestions about the divinity and Messiahship of Jesus?
When Jesus sent out His disciples, the commission He gave to themalso was in accord with this mission. While they were to announce that“ ‘ “the kingdom of heaven has come near” ’ ” (Matt. 10:7, NIV), Jesus’further instructions to His disciples were to “ ‘heal the sick, raise thedead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely youhave received; freely give’ ” (Matt. 10:8, NIV). Their ministry in Hisname was to reflect and enact the values and principles of Jesus’ ministry and the kingdom He invited people to. The disciples, too, were tojoin with Jesus in His mission to lift up the last, the least, and the lost.
How do we balance this work with the crucial message of preaching the three angels’ messages to a lost world, as well? Why mustall that we do be related, in one way or another, to the proclaiming of “present truth”?
The Gospels are peppered with the stories of Jesus’ miracles, particularly those of healing. As Isaiah had prophesied, He healed the blindand released those who had been held captive by disease, sometimesafter many years of suffering (see, for example, Mark 5:24–34, John5:1–15). But He did more than this: He made the lame walk again;He healed lepers—not just by word but by touching them, “unclean”though they were; He confronted demons who were possessing people’sminds and bodies; and He even raised the dead.
We might expect these miracles to have been about attracting crowdsand proving His powers to His many doubters and critics. But this wasnot always the case. Instead, often Jesus gave instructions to the personhealed not to tell anyone about it. While it seems the just-healed peoplewere unlikely to follow these instructions and keep their wonderfulnews to themselves, Jesus was trying to show that His miracles wereabout something more significant than a spectacle. The ultimate goal,of course, was for the people to receive salvation in Him.
Yet, the healing miracles of Jesus were an expression of His compassion. For example, in the lead-up to the feeding of the 5,000, Matthewnarrates, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (Matt. 14:14, NIV). Jesus felt thepain of those who were hurting and did what He could for the peopleHe came into contact with to help them and lift them up.
Read Isaiah’s prophecy in Matthew 12:15–21. In what ways do Isaiahand Matthew identify what Jesus was doing as something largerthan healing a few—or even a few hundred—sick people?
“Every miracle that Christ performed was a sign of His divinity. Hewas doing the very work that had been foretold of the Messiah; but tothe Pharisees these works of mercy were a positive offense. The Jewishleaders looked with heartless indifference on human suffering. In manycases their selfishness and oppression had caused the affliction thatChrist relieved. Thus His miracles were to them a reproach.”—Ellen G.White, The Desire of Ages, p. 406.
Jesus’ healing miracles were acts of compassion and justice. But inall cases, they were not an end in and of themselves. Ultimately all thatChrist did was for the purpose of leading people to eternal life (seeJohn 17:3).
When we read the stories of Jesus in the Gospels, we are oftenattracted to the gentle images of Jesus—His care for the sick and forchildren, His stories of searching for the lost, and His talk about thekingdom of God. This might be why other stories in which we see Himacting forcefully and bluntly—particularly against the religious leadersof His day and some of their practices—can take us by surprise.
Read Matthew 21:12–16, Mark 11:15–19, Luke 19:45–48, and John2:13–17. What is the significance of the fact that these similar stories are told in every one of the Gospel accounts?
It is hardly surprising that this incident is included in each of theGospels. It is a story filled with drama, action, and passion. Jesus wasobviously concerned about the use of the temple in this way and aboutthe replacement of true worship with the sale of sacrificial animals.What a desecration of all that those sacrifices were to represent, whichwas His substitutionary death for the sins of the world!
Such direct action fits well in the tradition of the Hebrew prophets. This point is suggested in each of the Gospel accounts byeither Jesus or the Gospel writers quoting from Isaiah, Jeremiah,or Psalms to explain what was happening in this story. The peoplerecognized Jesus as a prophet (see Matt. 21:11) and came to Him asHe healed and taught in the temple court after He had driven out themerchants and money changers. It was the people who found healing in His touch and hope growing in their hearts as they listenedto His teaching.
The religious leaders also recognized Jesus as a prophet—as someone who was dangerous to their power and the stability of their socialorder—and went away to plot to kill Jesus, in the same way as theirpredecessors had plotted against the prophets in previous centuries (seethis contrast in Luke 19:47, 48).
As church members, how can we do our part to make sure thatour local churches never become places that need what thetemple needed in Christ’s day? How can we avoid those spiritualdangers? What might some of them be, in fact?
That God is a God who sees and hears the cries of the poor andoppressed is comforting. That God is a God who, in Jesus, has experienced and endured the worst of our world’s inhumanity, oppression,and injustice is astounding. Despite all the compassion and goodnessJesus demonstrated in His life and ministry, His death came as a resultof hatred, jealousy, and injustice.
From Jesus’ anguished prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane to Hisarrest, “trials,” torture, mocking, crucifixion, and death, He endured agrueling ordeal of pain, cruelty, evil, and oppressive power. All of thiswas exacerbated by the innocence, purity, and goodness of the One whosuffered it: “He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of aservant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearanceas a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—evendeath on a cross!” (Phil. 2:7, 8, NIV). Through the lens of salvation’sstory, we see the beauty of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, but we should notforget the brutality of the suffering and injustice He experienced.
Read Isaiah 53:3–6. What does this tell us about what happened toJesus, the innocent suffering for the guilty? How does this help usunderstand what He went through in our behalf?
In Jesus, God knows what it feels like to be a victim of evil andinjustice. The execution of an innocent man is an outrage; the murder ofGod more so. God has so identified Himself with us in our broken andfallen condition that we cannot doubt His empathy, compassion, andfaithfulness: “For we do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable toempathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been temptedin every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Heb. 4:15, NIV). Whata revelation of the character of our God! How do we even begin to wrapour minds around the good news about God that the Cross represents?
In all that we do for the Lord, especially in reaching out tothe needy, why must we always keep the death of Jesus, as ourSubstitute—not just for ourselves but for those whom we help—at the center of our mission and purpose?
Friday August 16
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “In the Footsteps of theMaster,” pp. 117–124, in Welfare Ministry; “Days of Ministry,” pp. 29–50,in The Ministry of Healing; “The Temple Cleansed Again,” pp. 589–600;“In Pilate’s Judgment Hall,” pp. 723–740, in The Desire of Ages.
“God has given in His word decisive evidence that He will punishthe transgressors of His law. Those who flatter themselves that He istoo merciful to execute justice upon the sinner, have only to look to thecross of Calvary. The death of the spotless Son of God testifies that ‘thewages of sin is death,’ that every violation of God’s law must receive itsjust retribution. Christ the sinless became sin for man. He bore the guiltof transgression, and the hiding of His Father’s face, until His heartwas broken and His life crushed out. All this sacrifice was made thatsinners might be redeemed. In no other way could man be freed fromthe penalty of sin. And every soul that refuses to become a partaker ofthe atonement provided at such a cost must bear in his own person theguilt and punishment of transgression.”—Ellen G. White, The GreatControversy, pp. 539, 540.
Discussion Questions:
1 Read the Ellen G. White statement above. Talk about the realityof injustice: Christ, the innocent, suffering the penalty of theguilty! Why is it so important to keep this crucial truth before us?
2 Jesus never advocated political reform in order to bring aboutthe kind of “kingdom” He referred to. After all, history is filledwith very sad stories of people who used violence and oppression,all in the name of helping the downtrodden and the oppressed. Sooften all that had been accomplished was the replacement of oneoppressive class with another one. Though Christians can andshould work with the powers that be in order to try to help thedowntrodden, why must they always be wary of using politics toachieve these ends?
3 Think about what the plan of salvation entailed. Jesus, the just,suffering for the unjust—which means each one of us. Why shouldthis great sacrifice, in our behalf, make us new people in Christ?
Summary: In the Gospels, Jesus’ ministry is introduced and explained with reference to the work of the Old Testament prophets. Good news to the poor,freedom for the oppressed, and healing for the broken were proclaimed asmarkers of the Messiah—and something Jesus demonstrated throughoutHis ministry. Yet, in His death, He also suffered the brunt of injusticeand ultimately overcame the worst of fallen humanity and inhumanity.Thanks to His unjust death in our behalf, our sins can be forgiven, andwe have the promise of eternal life.
Sabbath AfternoonRead for This Week’s Study: Matt. 5:2–16, 38–48; Rom.12:20, 21; Luke 16:19–31; 12:13–21; Matt. 25:31–46.
Memory Text: “ ‘And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly,I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these Mybrethren, you did it to Me” ’ ” (Matthew 25:40, NKJV).
After seeing that Jesus lived a life concerned about others, particularly those who were hurting and lost, we should expect thatJesus also would have a lot to say about care for others. He did.Jesus’ teaching is practical, focused on what it means to live as afollower of God. As such, we can see that Jesus urges us toward actsof justice, kindness, and mercy, like those that Jesus Himself did whilehere on earth. If we follow His example, we will minister to others, asHe did.
Jesus also talked about the kingdom of heaven. In Jesus’ description,the kingdom of heaven is a reality that we can be part of, even now. Itis a way of life that functions with a different set of priorities and valuesand morals than are found in earthly kingdoms. Jesus’ teachings set outthe blueprint for this kingdom, and it includes a strong focus on howwe serve God and, in serving Him, how we are to relate to others. Wealso discover that serving others—caring for their needs and upliftingthem—is one way in which we can directly offer service to God.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 24.
Jesus’ longest sermon—or collection of teachings—is the Sermon onthe Mount. His three-chapter survey of life in God’s kingdom beginswith a statement of values that has come to be known as the Beatitudes.
Read Matthew 5:2–16. What are the common features of these ninevalues or kinds of people described by Jesus as “blessed”?
Along with the deep spiritual application of these words, we must notmiss the practical reading of them, as well. Jesus talked about recognizing the poverty in ourselves and in our world. He also talked aboutrighteousness (translated as “justice” in some Bible versions), humility,mercy, peacemaking, and purity of heart. We should take note of thepractical difference that these qualities will make in our lives and in ourworld when they are lived out. Such a practical reading is emphasizedin Jesus’ following statements in which He urged His disciples to besalt and light in the world (Matt. 5:13–16).
When used appropriately, salt and light are to make a difference in thecontexts in which they are added. Salt brings out flavors, as well as preserves the foods it is added to; it is symbolic of the good that we shouldbe for those around us. Similarly, light pushes back the darkness, revealingobstacles and hazards, making a house or city safer, and providing a pointto navigate by, even when some distance away. Like a light on a dark night,Jesus said, “ ‘Let your light shine before others, that they may see yourgood deeds and glorify your Father in heaven’ ” (Matt. 5:16, NIV).
Both these salt and light symbols point us to the responsibility ofdisciples to influence and improve the lives of those around them. Weare salt and light when we live lives that mourn appropriately, havepurity of heart, practice humility, show mercy, make peace, and endureoppression. So, Jesus begins this sermon with the call to embody thesesometimes “undervalued values” of His kingdom.
In what ways does your church community work as salt andlight in your community? How is your community a better placebecause your church is at work there? On the other hand, if youwere to disband, what difference would it make in your community?
When we consider the teaching of Jesus, it is worthwhile to keepin mind the people He was talking to and the circumstances in whichthey lived. Jesus had begun to attract large crowds of people from theregions where He had ministered (see Matt. 4:25, 5:1). Most were common people, living under the imperial rule of the Roman Empire, butsome were the Jewish rulers and religious leaders. The existence of thecommon people was difficult. They had few choices for their own lives,burdened by heavy taxation and weighed down by religious tradition.
In teaching these people, Jesus was obviously concerned with offering them a way to live well, to live with dignity and courage, whatevertheir circumstances. One example of this is found in Matthew 5:38–48.In the English language, these instructions—“turn the other cheek,”“give them the shirt off your back,” and “go the extra mile”—are sowell known as to be clichés. But this familiarity belies the radicalactions and attitudes that Jesus is teaching here.
The scenarios Jesus described were common experiences for many ofHis listeners. They were often violently assaulted by their “superiors” ormasters. They were often indebted and lost their property to the landlordsand lenders. They were often pressed into labor by the occupying Romansoldiers. Jesus taught the people to respond with integrity, to treat theoppressors better than they deserved, and, by so doing, to resist the lossof their humanity. While these oppressors tried to exert their power, thepeople always had the freedom to choose how they would respond, andby resisting nonviolently and responding generously, they exposed theevil of the oppression and injustice that was being done.
Compare Matthew 5:38–48 with Romans 12:20, 21. How are we tolive out these radical principles in our lives?
Jesus summarized all of “the law and the prophets”—all of thesacred writings we often describe as the Old Testament—in asimple principle that has come to be known as the golden rule:“ ‘So in everything, do to others what you would have them do toyou’ ” (Matt. 7:12, NIV). In what ways, right now, can you makean effort to do what He commands us here, regardless of the cost?
Read Luke 10:25–27. The lawyer who questioned Jesus offered a standard summary of the Old Testament commands for living a lifeacceptable to God. How are these two commands linked?
When Jesus was questioned, He often concluded His answers with anoutcome quite different from what the questioner was seeking. In responseto the instruction in Leviticus 19:18 (NIV) to “love your neighbor as yourself,” it seems many of the religious people of His day had spent muchtime and energy debating the extent and limits of this “neighbor” principle.
Jesus had already sought to expand His followers’ understanding ofthis term, urging that not only should they love their neighbors, butthey should do good to everyone: “ ‘But I tell you, love your enemiesand pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of yourFather in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good,and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous’ ” (Matt. 5:44, 45,NIV).
But when an expert in religious law sought to test Jesus, he fell backon the much-debated question: “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29).In response, Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan, but the ultimateresponse to the lawyer’s question was not to define the “neighbor”terminology. Instead, Jesus said—in effect—“Go and be a neighbor toanyone who needs your help” (see Luke 10:36, 37).
Read Luke 10:30–37. What is the significance of the contrast Jesusmakes between the three characters who see the man on the side ofthe road needing their help?
As was common in Jesus’ teaching, His harshest criticism wasaimed at those who claimed to be religious but showed little concernfor the suffering of others. “In the story of the good Samaritan, Christillustrates the nature of true religion. He shows that it consists not insystems, creeds, or rites, but in the performance of loving deeds, inbringing the greatest good to others, in genuine goodness.”—Ellen G.White, The Desire of Ages, p. 497.
In Jesus’ teaching, He points to an outsider, someone consideredunfaithful to God, to demonstrate what the call of God is to all whoclaim to be His followers. Like His first hearers, when we come toJesus asking what we need to do to inherit eternal life, He ultimatelyinstructs us to go and be a neighbor to anyone in need.
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (see Luke 16:19–31), Jesuscontrasts the lives of two men—one rich, one desperately poor. In theabsence of social welfare, community hospitals, or soup kitchens, it wasa common practice for those in need, disabled, or otherwise disadvantaged, to beg outside the homes of the wealthy. It was expected that therich would be generous in sharing a little of their wealth to alleviate thesuffering. But in this story, the rich man was “selfishly indifferent to theneeds of his suffering brother.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons,p. 261. In life, their respective circumstances remained unchanged; butin death, as judged by God, their positions were dramatically reversed.
Compare Luke 16:19–31 with Luke 12:13–21. What are the similarities and differences between these two stories, and what do theyteach us?
There is no evidence in either of these stories that the men becamerich by doing anything wrong. Perhaps they had both worked hard,managed carefully, and been blessed by God. But something seems tohave gone wrong in their attitudes toward life, God, money, and others,and this cost them significantly and eternally.
Drawing from popular afterlife imagery of Jesus’ day, the story ofthe rich man and Lazarus teaches that the choices we make in this lifematter for the next one. How we respond to those who seek or needour help is one way our choices and priorities are demonstrated. As“Abraham” points out to the suffering rich man, the Bible providesmore-than-adequate direction for choosing better: “They have Mosesand the Prophets; let them listen to them” (Luke 16:29, NIV).
Jesus taught that the temptations of wealth—whether having it, keeping it, or seeking it—can draw us away from His kingdom, away fromothers and toward self-centeredness and self-reliance. Jesus called us toseek His kingdom first and to share the blessings we receive with thosearound us, particularly those in need.
Whatever your financial status, how can you be careful not to letmoney or the love of money distort your perspective about whatChristians should focus on in life?
Another occasion when Jesus was asked a question and gave ananswer quite different from what might have been anticipated is foundin the sermon recorded in Matthew 24 and 25. The disciples came toJesus and asked about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem andthe time of Jesus’ return (see Matt. 24:1–3). The conclusion of Jesus’extended answer to this question referred to feeding the hungry, givinga drink to the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, caringfor the sick, and visiting those in prison. He assured them, “When youdid it to—or refused to help—one of the least of these my brothers andsisters, you were doing it to me!” (see Matt. 25:40, 45).
This is connected with the questions that began this teaching as apicture of the final judgment. Throughout Matthew 24, Jesus presentedmore direct answers to the disciples’ questions, giving signs and warnings about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age; but Heemphasized the need to “keep watch” and live well in light of the promiseof His second coming. In the first part of Matthew 25, the story of thewise and foolish virgins urged the need for preparation for an unexpectedor delayed return; the story of the three servants introduces the need tolive well and productively while waiting; then the parable of sheep andgoats is much more specific about the tasks God’s people should be busywith.
Read Matthew 25:31–46. What is Jesus telling us here? Why is this notsalvation by works? But what do His words here teach about whatit truly means to have a saving faith?
Jesus’ statement—that when we serve others, we are doing it to Him—should transform all our relationships and attitudes. Imagine being able toinvite Jesus for a meal or visit Him in the hospital or prison. Jesus said thatwe do this when we offer that service to people in our community. Whatan incredible opportunity He offers to us in this way!
Read prayerfully what Jesus said in these verses. How do weunderstand the idea that He all but equated Himself with thehungry, the naked, the imprisoned? What powerful obligationdoes this put on us and how we live?
Friday August 23
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Good Samaritan,”pp. 497–505, and “ ‘The Least of These My Brethren,’ ” pp. 637–641, inThe Desire of Ages; “ ‘A Great Gulf Fixed,’ ” pp. 260–271, and “ ‘Who IsMy Neighbour?’ ” pp. 376–389, in Christ’s Object Lessons.
“Christ tears away the wall of partition, the self-love, the dividingprejudice of nationality, and teaches a love for all the human family.He lifts men from the narrow circle that their selfishness prescribes;He abolishes all territorial lines and artificial distinctions of society.He makes no difference between neighbors and strangers, friends andenemies. He teaches us to look upon every needy soul as our neighbor and the world as our field.”—Ellen G. White, Thoughts From theMount of Blessing, p. 42.
“The standard of the golden rule is the true standard of Christianity;anything short of it is a deception. A religion that leads men to place alow estimate upon human beings, whom Christ has esteemed of suchvalue as to give Himself for them; a religion that would lead us to becareless of human needs, sufferings, or rights, is a spurious religion.In slighting the claims of the poor, the suffering, and the sinful, we areproving ourselves traitors to Christ. It is because men take upon themselves the name of Christ, while in life they deny His character, thatChristianity has so little power in the world.”—Pages 136, 137.
Discussion Questions:
1 Which is your favorite of the passages studied this week? Why?
2 Look at what Ellen G. White wrote about how a faith that“would lead us to be careless of human needs, sufferings, or rights,is a spurious religion.” Why must we be careful to avoid the easytrap of thinking that because we have the “truth” (which we do),nothing else matters?
3 How do the verses in Thursday’s study show us what having the“truth” also entails?
Summary: Jesus’ teachings set out a different way of living for those who arecitizens and agents of the kingdom of God. Building on the foundationof the Old Testament Scriptures, He echoed and broadened the focus oncaring for the poor and oppressed, emphasizing that His followers willlive as people of compassion and mercy while they wait for His return.
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Acts 2:42–47; 4:32–37; Matt.25:38, 40; Acts 9:36; 2 Cor. 8:7–15; Romans 12; James 2:1–9.
Memory Text: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and theFather is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and tokeep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27, NKJV).
The verses known as the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18–20) areamong the best known in the Bible, at least by Christians. Thetexts often have been described as our mission statement andhave been the inspiration for all kinds of mission and evangelistic projects. Indeed, inspired by these texts, Christians have gone all over theworld, sometimes at great personal cost, in order to spread the gospel.
And what did Jesus say in the Great Commission? To make disciples,to baptize, and to teach people “to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20, NKJV). And, as we have seen, so much ofwhat Jesus commanded us has to do with taking care of those in need,those hurting, those who are unable to take care of themselves. As such,we need to remember that these instructions to Jesus’ first discipleswere not so much a new assignment, something that they hadn’t heardor seen before, but more a continuation of the mission Jesus alreadyhad been working among them. This aspect of Jesus’ teaching can beseen clearly in the lives of the new church community as part of fulfilling the Great Commission.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 31.
After Jesus’ ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit atPentecost, the group of believers grew rapidly and created the earlychurch, a new kind of community among the followers of Jesus, andinitially led by His original disciples. However, this new communitywas not just something that they made up among themselves; rather, itwas built on the teachings and ministry of Jesus and drew on the longhistory of the Hebrew Scriptures and their prophets.
Read Acts 2:42–47 and 4:32–37. What do you identify as the key elements in these descriptions of the early church community?
While it seems the Israelites had failed to ever fully live out the blueprintfor a just and generous society, the early church community took seriouslythe instruction that “ ‘there need be no poor people among you’ ” (Deut.15:4, NIV). One of the practical expressions of their faith was sharing theirmaterial resources—even selling land and contributing the funds raised(see Acts 4:34–5:2)—to meet the needs of their fellow believers, as wellas to be a blessing to those outside the fledgling community, particularlythrough the ministry of healing (see Acts 3:1–11, 5:12–16).
Yet, this community was not a utopian society by any stretch of theimagination. As the number of believers increased, tensions grew aboutthe administration of these resources, particularly in relation to the dailydistribution of food to widows (see Acts 6:1). The disciples, who werethe natural leaders of the group, wanted to focus on preaching the gospel. In order to deal with the situation at hand, they needed to do somereorganizing.
Thus, seven people were appointed to focus on the practical mattersof the church community. This was perhaps the first recognition ofthe different ministries and abilities to be exercised in the church; atthe same time, it demonstrated the importance of practical ministryfor the church’s life and witness. “The same principles of piety andjustice that were to guide the rulers among God’s people in the timeof Moses and of David, were also to be followed by those given theoversight of the newly organized church of God in the gospel dispensation.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 95.
Try to envision what it must have been like in that early community. How can we reflect those same principles today?
As the church began to spread—as Jesus predicted—“ ‘in Jerusalem,and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ ” (Acts 1:8,NIV), new believers took up the faith and ministry of Jesus. Amongthese was Dorcas—also known as Tabitha—in the city of Joppa. Sheobviously took seriously Jesus’ particular instruction that when clothing the naked, she was doing it for Jesus Himself (see Matt. 25:38, 40).
Read the description of Dorcas and her ministry in Acts 9:36. Howmight your life and ministry be described in a similar format to thisverse? How would you like to be described?
It seems that Dorcas’s ministry was such that the description of heras a “disciple” (see Acts 9:36) and her faithfulness, energy, and focuson others were recognized even beyond her hometown.
Peter was visiting the nearby town of Lydda, and the people of Joppaasked him to come in response to Dorcas’s untimely death (see Acts9:37–41). On his arrival in Joppa, Peter was met by many of the peopleDorcas had helped through her work for the poor. They showed him theclothes that she had made and undoubtedly told him many stories ofhow she had helped them and others.
That Peter then prayed for Dorcas and God returned her to life is,of course, no guarantee that life will always work out well for thosewho devote their lives to serving others. After all, Dorcas had alreadysuffered illness and death; and Stephen, one of those first deaconsappointed to minister to the widows in the church, also had become thefirst martyr (see Acts 7:54–60). A life of service is not a smooth path;at times it could even be the rougher road.
However, in this story God used the recognition of His love andpower in both Dorcas’s life and death to make a strong impact on thepeople of Joppa: “This became known all over Joppa, and many peoplebelieved in the Lord” (Acts 9:42, NIV).
If you were to pass away, would your contribution be mournedand missed like the ministry of Dorcas was remembered andmourned? How can we leave a better legacy of service? Whatpractical skills do you have—such as Dorcas’s skills of makinggarments—that you might use in service to others?
After his conversion, the apostle Paul took up the mission to bringthe gospel to the Gentile world. The success God gave him raised significant questions about the relationship between the Jewish roots ofthe emerging Christian faith and the new Gentile followers of Jesus.A council of Jewish and Gentile Christian leaders met in Jerusalem todiscuss the matter and seek God’s guidance in relation to these complicated questions. The meeting and its outcomes are recorded in Acts 15.
However, in Paul’s report of this meeting found in Galatians 2, headds another important element to the instructions he received from theJerusalem Council for his continuing ministry among the Gentiles: “Allthey asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the verything I had been eager to do all along” (Gal. 2:10, NIV).
And Paul continued to pursue this focus personally (see, for example,Acts 20:35) and throughout his ministry. Like the early church inJerusalem, Paul expanded the vision of the Christian community toembrace all fellow believers.
Read 2 Corinthians 8:7–15. How does Paul link the gospel and givinggenerously?
Paul also drew on two Old Testament references to urge the believersto generosity and care for their fellow believers in difficult circumstances. He cited the story of God’s generous provision of manna tothe Israelites in the wilderness as a model of giving and sharing amongthe wider church community (see 2 Cor. 8:15). He also quoted fromPsalm 112:9—“ ‘They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; theirrighteousness endures forever’ ” (2 Cor. 9:9, NIV).
Paul urged his readers to be intentional about giving, to put asideregularly a portion of their income so that it would be easy to give whenhe or Titus visited their church to collect their offerings and deliverthem to the Christians in need in Jerusalem. He used the example ofone church to encourage other churches to similar generosity. “Becauseof the service by which you have proved yourselves,” Paul wrote, “others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confessionof the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with themand with everyone else” (2 Cor. 9:13, NIV).
How should we prioritize giving when we are unable to give toevery cause or need presented to us?
Paul’s letter to the Romans is best known for its in-depth explanations of the great doctrine of salvation by faith through the death ofChrist. But after 11 chapters of such teaching, there is a change ofemphasis. Paul offers a practical guide to living and loving well, basedon the grace and love of God as revealed in Jesus and the gospel story:“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, tooffer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—thisis your true and proper worship” (Rom. 12:1, NIV). In effect, Paul issaying that because of what God has done for us in Jesus, this is howwe should live.
Read and summarize Romans 12, particularly noticing the instructions to love and care for others, especially those in need.
In a sense, Romans 12 acts as a summary of many of the topicsPaul gives more detailed attention to in some of his other letters. Hetalks about the different roles and gifts within the church body, including serving and encouraging others, and giving generously (see Rom.12:3–8). But not only should these things be done, they should be donewell, with enthusiasm and—above all—with love (see Rom. 12:9–11).
Paul describes in practical terms what this kind of life is about. Heurges the believers to be patient in difficulties and persecution, to carefor the needy, to be peacemakers wherever and whenever possibleand—as we have seen previously—to respond to evil and injustice withkindness, overcoming evil by doing good (see Rom. 12:20, 21).
This chapter outlines what it means to live as a new person, servingGod individually and as part of a community of faith. Paul told thesenew followers of Jesus that their lives, priorities, and actions shouldbe changed because of their response to what Jesus had done for themby His death on the cross and the hope of eternal life. Living as theywere in an oppressive and often cruel society in the heart of the RomanEmpire, Paul instructs them to live differently: “Do not conform to thepattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”(Rom. 12:2, NIV).
What are some attitudes and practices you need to resist in yourcommunity to help you live and love well as a follower of Jesustoday?
Christian tradition suggests that James, the brother or stepbrother ofJesus, became a leader of the early church in Jerusalem and was theJames who acted as chairman for the Jerusalem Council (see Acts 15,as well as Galatians 1 and 2). If so, it is likely that he was the authorof the letter preserved in the Bible as the book of James.
James was a common name at the time, but if these were the sameperson, he also may have been the church leader known as James “theJust,” which suggests a wise leader who properly prioritized his treatment of others and cared for those often forgotten or downtrodden. Thebook that bears his name has been described as “the New Testament’sbook of Proverbs,” focused on practical godliness and living wisely asfollowers of God.
The author of James was anxious to remind his Christian readers to“not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what itsays” (James 1:22, NIV), and that the religion that matters—that is pureand lasting in God’s sight—is focused on caring for the needy and theoppressed and resisting the corrupting influences of the society aroundthem (see James 1:27).
Read James 2:1–9 and 5:1–5. How is James’s attitude toward thosewho are rich different from that commonly held in most societies?What are his particular instructions regarding how rich and poorare to be treated within the church community?
James argues that wishing someone well—even wishing them God’sblessing—will be of little comfort if they are suffering from cold andhunger. The provision of real food and clothing will be far more useful in expressing and demonstrating our concern for them than all thenoble sentiments and good wishes (see James 2:14–16). James usesthis as an example of the interaction between faith and works in thecontext of our relationship with God. He also repeats (James 2:8) whatJesus taught about loving your neighbor as yourself, showing how thiscommandment is to be obeyed in daily life. It is lived out in service toGod and to others, not to earn salvation but because it is the manifestation of true faith.
Why is it so easy, even subconsciously, to prefer the rich over thepoor?
Friday August 30
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Dorcas—Her Ministry andIts Influence,” pp. 66, 67, in Welfare Ministry; “A Liberal Church,” pp.335–345, in The Acts of the Apostles; “This Is Pure Religion,” pp. 35–41,in Welfare Ministry.
“The Saviour has given His precious life in order to establish achurch capable of caring for sorrowful, tempted souls. A company ofbelievers may be poor, uneducated, and unknown; yet in Christ theymay do a work in the home, the neighborhood, the church, and evenin ‘the regions beyond,’ whose results shall be as far-reaching as eternity.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 640.
“Unselfish liberality threw the early church into a transport of joy; forthe believers knew that their efforts were helping to send the gospel message to those in darkness. Their benevolence testified that they had notreceived the grace of God in vain. What could produce such liberality butthe sanctification of the Spirit? In the eyes of believers and unbelievers itwas a miracle of grace.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 344.
Discussion Questions:
1 How can your church community become more like the onedescribed in the first few chapters of the book of Acts? Whatmight be some practical steps your church leadership could taketo encourage the church in this direction?
2 The Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide uses some of theprinciples discussed in this week’s study to dictate how tithes andofferings are shared between different parts of the world. What arethe benefits of this kind of system of worldwide resource sharing?
3 Are instructions for living, such as those summarized inRomans 12, for example, realistic, practical ways to live? Do theywork in the “real world”? Or do they feel more like idealized pictures for stained-glass window “saints”?
4 James 5:1–5 uses strong language that echoes the kind of harshwarnings given by the Old Testament prophets. Why is such strongexpression appropriate and necessary?
Summary: Spurred by Jesus’ commission and the power of the Holy Spirit, thedisciples and the early believers set out to share the message and missionof Jesus as widely as possible. Drawing from the teachings of Jesus and theHebrew Scriptures, the members of the early church formed a new kindof community, sharing what they had with those in need, both within andbeyond their community. By their example and their teaching recorded intheir letters to these churches, the first Christian leaders urged the believersto lives of faithfulness and service, particularly to those in need.
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Rom. 8:20–23; John 3:16, 17;Matt. 9:36; Eph. 2:8–10; 1 John 3:16, 17; Rev. 14:6, 7.
Memory Text: “For by grace you have been saved through faith,and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lestanyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in ChristJesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that weshould walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8–10, NKJV).
As soon as we talk about God’s commands, requirements, orinstructions, we run the risk—or even face the temptation—ofthinking that somehow what we do can earn or contribute toour salvation or otherwise gain favor with God. But the Bible tells usrepeatedly that we are sinners saved by God’s grace through Jesus andHis substitutionary death for us on the cross. What could we possiblyadd to this in any way? Or, as Ellen G. White has written: “If you wouldgather together everything that is good and holy and noble and lovely inman and then present the subject to the angels of God as acting a partin the salvation of the human soul or in merit, the proposition would berejected as treason.”—Faith and Works, p. 24.
Thus, too, even our works of mercy and compassion toward those inneed should not be seen as legalistic. On the contrary, as we grow inour understanding and appreciation of salvation, the link between God’slove and His concern for the poor and oppressed will be passed on tous, recipients of His love. We have received, so we will give. When wesee how God so loved us, we also see how much He loves others andcalls us to love them, as well.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 7.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world . . .” (NIV; emphasissupplied)—and the original Greek word is kosmos, meaning “the worldas a created, organized entity.”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5,p. 929. This verse is about salvation for humanity, but the plan of salvation has implications for the whole of creation too.
Read Romans 8:20–23. What does this teach about the broader issuesin the plan of salvation?
Of course, on one level, salvation is about each one of us in our personalrelationship with the Lord. But there’s more. Justification is really notjust about getting our sins forgiven. Ideally, it also should be about how,through Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord creates the familyof God, the members of which celebrate their forgiveness and assuranceof salvation by, among other things, being witnesses to the world throughtheir good works.
Read John 3:16, 17. How does verse 17 contribute to a broader understanding of verse 16?
We can accept that God loves people other than just ourselves. Heloves those we love, and we rejoice in that. He also loves those wereach out to, and our recognition of this truth is often our motivationfor our own reaching out to them. But He also loves those whom weare uncomfortable with, or even afraid of. God loves all people, everywhere, even those whom we might not particularly like.
Creation is one way we see this demonstrated. The Bible consistentlypoints to the world around us as evidence of God’s goodness: “ ‘Hecauses his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on therighteous and the unrighteous’ ” (Matt. 5:45, NIV). Even life itself is agift from God, and regardless of the individual’s response or attitude toGod, every person is a recipient of that gift.
How should it change our attitude toward others and their circumstances when we recognize them as beings created and loved by God?
The intermingled stories of salvation and the great controversy callus to acknowledge a truth about life that is foundational for our understanding of our world and ourselves, and that is: we and our world arefallen, broken, and sinful. Our world is not what it was created to be,and though we still bear the image of the God who created us, we arepart of the world’s brokenness. The sin in our lives is of the same natureas the evil that causes so much pain, oppression, and exploitation allover the world.
Thus, it is right for us to feel the hurt, discomfort, sorrow, andtragedy of the world and of the lives around us. We would have tobe robots not to feel the pain of life here. The laments in the book ofPsalms, the sorrows of Jeremiah and the other prophets, and the tearsand compassion of Jesus demonstrate the appropriateness of this kindof response to the world and its evil, and particularly to those who areso often hurt by that evil.
Read Matthew 9:36; 14:14; Luke 19:41, 42; and John 11:35. What wasit in each of these verses that moved Jesus with compassion? Howcan we have a heart that is softened to the pain around us?
We also need to remember that sin and evil are not just “out there,” orthe result of someone else’s brokenness: “If we claim to be without sin,we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8, NIV). In theunderstanding of the biblical prophets, sin was a tragedy not primarilybecause someone had broken “the rules,” but because sin has brokenthe relationship between God and His people, and also because our sinhurts other people. This may take place on a small or large scale, butit is the same evil.
Selfishness, greed, meanness, prejudice, ignorance, and carelessness areat the root of all the world’s evil, injustice, poverty, and oppression. Andconfessing our sinfulness is a first step in addressing this evil, as well as afirst step toward allowing the love of God to take its rightful place in ourhearts: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us oursins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NIV).
Look at yourself (but neither too closely nor for too long). Inwhat ways are you broken and part of the bigger problem?What’s the only answer and the only place to look?
Summarize Ephesians 2:8–10 in your own words. What do theseverses tell us about the relationship between grace and good works?
The Bible tells us that among other things, we were created to worship God and to serve others. Only in our imagination can we try tounderstand what these acts would be like in a sinless environment.
For now, because of sin, we know only a broken and fallen world.Fortunately for us, God’s grace, expressed and enacted in Jesus’sacrifice for the sins of the world, opens the way for forgiveness andhealing. Thus, even amid this broken existence our lives becomemore fully God’s workmanship, and God uses us to partner with Himto seek to heal and restore the damage and hurt in the lives of others(see Eph. 2:10). “Those who receive are to impart to others. Fromevery direction are coming calls for help. God calls upon men tominister gladly to their fellow men.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministryof Healing, p. 103.
Again, we do not do good works—care for the poor, lift up theoppressed, feed the hungry—in order to earn salvation or standing withGod. In Christ, by faith, we have all the standing with God we will everneed. Rather, we recognize ourselves as both sinners and victims of sinwho are, nonetheless, loved and redeemed by God. While we still battlewith temptations to self-centeredness and greed, the self-sacrificingand humble grace of God offers a new kind of life and love that willtransform our lives.
When we look at the Cross, we see the great and complete sacrificedone for us and realize that we can add nothing to what it offers usin Christ. But this does not mean that we shouldn’t do something inresponse to what we have been given in Christ. On the contrary, wemust respond, and what better way to respond to the love that has beenshown us than by showing love to others?
Read 1 John 3:16, 17. How do these verses so powerfully capturewhat our response to the Cross should be?
By His ministry and His teaching, Jesus urged a radical inclusiveness. All who sought His attention with honest motives—whetherwomen with bad reputations, tax collectors, lepers, Samaritans, Romancenturions, religious leaders, or children—He welcomed with genuinewarmth and care. As the early church was to discover in transformativeways, this included the offer of the gift of salvation.
As the first believers slowly recognized the inclusiveness of the gospel, they were not merely adding good works for others onto their faithas a “nice” thing to do. It was core to their understanding of the gospel,as they had experienced it in the life, ministry, and death of Jesus. Asthey wrestled with the issues and questions that arose, first individuallyfor leaders such as Paul and Peter (see, for example, Acts 10:9–20), thenas a church body at the Jerusalem Council (see Acts 15), they began torealize the dramatic shift this good news had brought into their understanding of God’s love and inclusiveness and how that should be livedout in the lives of those who profess to follow Him.
What do each of the following texts teach us about our commonhumanity? How should each idea influence our attitude toward others?
Galatians 3:28 is a theological summary of the practical story Jesustold about the good Samaritan. Rather than arguing about whom weare obligated to serve, just go and serve, and perhaps even be preparedto be served by those we might not expect to serve us. The commonelement of the global human family is realized at a higher level in thecommon family of those who are bound together by the gospel, bythe saving love of God that calls us to oneness in Him: “For we wereall baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews orGentiles, slave or free” (1 Cor. 12:13, NIV).
The transforming invitation and appeal of the gospel “to everynation, tribe, language and people” (Rev. 14:6, NIV) has continuedthroughout Christian history. However, Revelation describes a renewedproclamation of this message—the good news about Jesus and all thatentails—at the end of time.
Read Revelation 14:6, 7. How is the common understanding of thegospel—most commonly summarized by John 3:16—included inthe angel’s specific message in verse 7?
Revelation 14:7 brings together three key elements we have alreadynoted in this study of God’s concern about evil, poverty, and oppressionthroughout the Bible story:
Judgment. The appeal for judgment—for justice to be done—hasbeen a repeated call of those who have been oppressed throughout history. Fortunately, the Bible portrays God as One who hears the cries ofthose in distress. As often expressed in the Psalms, for example, thosewho are being treated unfairly regard judgment as good news.
Worship. The writings of the Hebrew prophets often link the subjectsof worship and good deeds, particularly when comparing the worshipof those who claimed to be God’s people with the wrongs that theycommitted and continued. In Isaiah 58, for example, God explicitlystated that the worship He most desired was acts of kindness and carefor the poor and needy (see Isa. 58:6, 7).
Creation. As we have seen, one of the foundational elements of God’scall for justice is the common family of humanity, that we are all createdin His image and loved by Him, that we all have value in His sight andthat no one should be exploited or oppressed for the unjust gain and greedof another. It seems clear that this end-time proclamation of the gospel isa broad and far-reaching call to accept the rescue, redemption, and restoration that God wants for fallen humanity. Hence, even amid the issuesregarding true and false worship, and persecution (see Rev. 14:8–12), Godwill have a people who will stand for what is right, for the commandmentsof God and the faith of Jesus, even amid the worst of evil.
How can we find ways of ministering to those in need while at thesame time sharing with them both the hope and the warning thatare found in the three angels’ messages?
Friday September 6
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘God With Us,’ ” pp.19–26, in The Desire of Ages; “Saved to Serve,” pp. 95–107, in TheMinistry of Healing.
“God claims the whole earth as His vineyard. Though now in the handsof the usurper, it belongs to God. By redemption no less than by creation itis His. For the world Christ’s sacrifice was made. ‘God so loved the world,that He gave His only begotten Son.’ John 3:16. It is through that one giftthat every other is imparted to men. Daily the whole world receives blessing from God. Every drop of rain, every ray of light shed on our unthankfulrace, every leaf and flower and fruit, testifies to God’s long forbearance andHis great love.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 301, 302.“In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free. All are broughtnigh by His precious blood. (Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:13.)
“Whatever the difference in religious belief, a call from sufferinghumanity must be heard and answered. . . .
“All around us are poor, tried souls that need sympathizing words andhelpful deeds. There are widows who need sympathy and assistance. Thereare orphans whom Christ has bidden His followers receive as a trust fromGod. Too often these are passed by with neglect. They may be ragged,uncouth, and seemingly in every way unattractive; yet they are God’s property. They have been bought with a price, and they are as precious in Hissight as we are. They are members of God’s great household, and Christiansas His stewards are responsible for them.”—Pages 386, 387.
Discussion Questions:
1 In seeking to do good works and help others, how can we resistthe temptation to think that this somehow makes us better and gainsus merit that God should recognize?
2 Is your church a community in which there is “no difference”—but all are one in Christ? How can it become more so? How inclusiveof others is your church?
3 How do we find the right balance in doing good for those in need,if for no other reason than that they are in need and we can helpthem, while at the same time reaching out to them with the truths ofthe gospel? How can we learn to do both, and why is it always betterto do both?
Summary: God’s love as expressed in the plan of salvation and enacted in the lifeand sacrifice of Jesus offers us forgiveness, life, and hope. As recipientsof this grace, we seek to share this with others, not to earn salvation, butbecause it is what we have been created and re-created to do. As such, thegospel transforms relationships and moves us to serve, particularly thosemost in need.
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 18:1–8; Matthew 24–25;1 Cor. 15:12–19; Eccles. 8:14; 12:13, 14; Rev. 21:1–5; 22:1–5.
Memory Text: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that yourlabor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58, NKJV).
Jesus announced the kingdom of God as a present reality thatwe can be part of today. He sent His disciples to make the sameannouncement and to enact His kingdom through preaching thegospel and by serving others; that is, by giving as freely as they hadreceived (see Matt. 10:5–8).
But Jesus also was clear that His kingdom was a different kind ofkingdom: “not of this world” (John 18:36)—and yet to come in full. ByHis incarnation, ministry, death, and resurrection, the kingdom of Godwas inaugurated, but Jesus also looked forward to a time His kingdomwould fully replace the kingdoms of this world, and God’s reign wouldbe made complete.
By definition, Adventists—those who await this coming and thiskingdom—are people of hope. But this hope is not only about a futurenew world. While hope looks to the future, hope transforms the present now. With such hope, we live in the present as we expect to in thefuture, and we begin working to make a difference now in ways that fitwith how we expect the world will one day be.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 14.
Throughout the Bible’s story, there is a repeated call from God’speople—particularly those experiencing slavery, exile, oppression,poverty, or other injustice or tragedy—for God to intervene. The slavesin Egypt, the Israelites in Babylon, and many others called out to Godto see and hear their suffering and to right these wrongs. And the Bibleoffers significant examples of God’s actions to rescue and restore Hispeople, at times even taking revenge on their oppressors and enemies.
But these rescues were usually short-lived, and the variousprophets continued to point forward to a final intervention, whenGod would put an end to evil and lift up the downtrodden. At thesame time, these prophets continued the cry, “How long, O Lord?”For example, the angel of the Lord asked about the exile of theIsraelites, “Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy”?(Zech. 1:12, NIV).
The Psalms are full of laments about the apparent prosperityand good fortune of the wicked while the righteous are abused,exploited, and poor. The psalmist repeatedly calls on God to intervene, trusting that the world is not presently ordered in the way Godcreated it or desires it, and taking up the cry of the prophets andoppressed, “How long, O Lord?” (see, for example, Ps. 94:3–7).
In a sense, injustice is more difficult to endure among those whobelieve in a just God who desires justice for all His people. Thepeople of God will always have a sense of impatience about evil inthe world—and God’s seeming inaction is another source of impatience. Thus, the sometimes harsh questions of the prophets: “Howlong, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out toyou, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save?” (Hab. 1:2, NIV).
A similar cry is taken up in the New Testament, where even creationitself is portrayed as groaning for God to rescue and re-create(see Rom. 8:19–22). In Revelation 6:10, this cry—“How long, OLord?”—is taken up on behalf of those who have been martyred fortheir faith in God. But it is the same cry, calling on God to interveneon behalf of His oppressed and persecuted people.
Read Luke 18:1–8. What is Jesus saying about God’s responseto the repeated cries and prayers of His people for Him to act intheir behalf? How is this linked to the need for faith?
Religion has often been criticized for a tendency to draw believersaway from life here and now toward some better afterlife. The criticism is that the focus on another realm becomes a form of sanctifiedescapism and renders the believer of less benefit to the world and tosociety. At times, believers have left themselves open to such criticism,sometimes even cultivating, preaching, and practicing these kinds ofattitudes.
And, too, we have terrible examples of those in power telling thepoor and oppressed just to accept their sad lot now because, when Jesusreturns, all will be made right.
Yes, our world is a fallen, broken, and tragic place—and there isnothing wrong or misplaced in longing for when God will set theworld right; when He will bring an end to injustice, pain, and sorrow;and when He will replace the current disorder with His glorious andrighteous kingdom. After all, without that hope, without that promise,we really have no hope at all.
In His sermon on the end of the world (see Matthew 24 and 25),Jesus spent the first half of His discourse detailing the need for escape,even getting to the point of saying that “ ‘if those days had not been cutshort, no one would survive’ ” (Matt. 24:22, NIV). But this is more anintroduction to His explanation of the significance of these promisesof God. To focus solely—or even primarily—on the “escape” aspect ofthe Christian hope for the future is to miss some of the deeper pointsJesus was making.
Read Matthew 24 and 25. What are the most important points fromyour reading of this sermon of Jesus? How would you summarize Jesus’ instructions for how we are to live as we wait for Hisreturn?
What we believe about the future has important implications for howwe live now. A healthy reliance on the promises of God about His futurefor our world should be the catalyst for energetic engagement, the sparkfor a life that is rich and deep and makes a difference to others.
How can and should the hope and promise of Jesus’ returnimpact how we live now, especially in the context of helping thosein need?
The Christian hope in the second coming of Jesus is not just aboutlooking forward to a bright future. For the early Christians, the bodilyresurrection of Jesus gave the promise of His return a solid reality.If He could come back from the dead—which they had witnessed forthemselves—He would surely come back to complete the project ofremoving sin and its effects and renewing the world (see 1 Cor. 15:22, 23).
For the apostle Paul, the resurrection was the key element of theAdvent hope. He was prepared to stake the credibility of everything hepreached on this crowning miracle in the story of Jesus: “If Christ hasnot been raised, your faith is futile” (1 Cor. 15:17, NIV). Think abouthis words here and how important the resurrection of Christ is to allthat we hope for.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:12–19. How would you explain to an interested nonbeliever why the truth of the Resurrection is so pivotal toChristian hope?
Witnessing the resurrected Jesus transformed the first disciples. Aswe have seen, Jesus had previously sent them out to announce andenact the kingdom of God (see Matt. 10:5–8), but Jesus’ death shattered their courage and smashed their hopes. Their later commission(see Matt. 28:18–20), given by the resurrected Jesus and poweredby the coming of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:1–4), set them on thepath of changing the world and living out the kingdom that Jesus hadestablished.
Freed from the power and fear of death, the early believers lived andshared courageously in the name of Jesus (see, for example, 1 Cor.15:30, 31). The evil that brings death is the same evil that brings suffering, injustice, poverty, and oppression in all their forms. Yet, becauseof Jesus and His victory over death, all of this will one day end. “Thelast enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26, NIV).
In the end, no matter whom we help now, they will all eventually die anyway. What does this harsh truth teach us about howimportant it is to let others know of the hope they can find in thedeath and resurrection of Jesus?
Read Ecclesiastes 8:14. In what ways do you see the stark and powerful reality of what is written here?
While suffering, oppression, and tragedy are hard enough to bearin their own right, the injury or insult is harder still if it appears tobe meaningless or unnoticed. The possible meaninglessness of sorrow is heavier than its initial burden. A world without record or finaljustice is the ultimate in cruel absurdity. No wonder atheist writersin the twentieth century lamented about what they believed was the“absurdity” of the human condition. With no hope of justice, no hopeof judgment, no hope of things being made right, ours would indeedbe an absurd world.
But the cry of Ecclesiastes 8:14 is not the end of the story. At the endof his protests, Solomon takes a sudden turn. In the midst of his lamentsabout meaninglessness, he says, essentially: Hold on a minute—God isgoing to judge. So, everything is not meaningless; in fact, now everything and everyone matters.
Read Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14. What does this tell us about just howimportant all that we do here is?
The hope of judgment comes down to what one believes about thecore nature of God, life, and the world in which we live. As we haveseen, the Bible insists that we live in a world that God created and loves,but a world that has gone wrong and in which God is working towardHis plan for re-creation, all through the life and death of Jesus. God’sjudgment is a key part of His setting our world right. For those on thereceiving end of so many of the world’s wrongs—those who have beenmarginalized, brutalized, oppressed, and exploited—the promise ofjudgment is surely good news.
What does it mean to you to know that, one day, and in wayswe can’t imagine, the justice that we so much long for now willfinally come? How can we draw hope from this promise?
Read Revelation 21:1–5 and Revelation 22:1–5 and spend some timetrying to imagine what life will be like as described here. Why is itdifficult to imagine life without sin, death, pain, and tears?
The Bible’s descriptions of our life after sin are unquestionablywonderful and glorious and no doubt barely represent what is awaiting us. Even in these verses, the descriptions are almost as muchabout what won’t be there as what will be. When this world is all wehave known, it can be hard to imagine life without pain and suffering,death and fear, injustice and poverty.
Not only is there no more of these things, but this description addsa personal touch: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 21:4,NIV). In the context of those who have been saved, God’s compassion for those who have suffered throughout human history reaches aclimax in this single sentence. Not only does He bring an end to theirsuffering, but He personally wipes away their tears.
Battered and scarred by a life of sin and a world of injustice andtragedy, we can see in the book of Revelation hints at a process ofhealing for all of us who have been victims of sin in many differentways. Describing the tree of life, John explains that “the leaves of thetree are for the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22:2, NIV). Again, Godshows His understanding of, and compassion for, what it has meantto be human, to feel, experience, witness, and even participate in theevil of this world. His plan for re-creating our world includes restoring and healing each of us.
Until then, we seek to be all that we can be in Christ, doing our part,as faltering and small as our parts might be, to minister to those aroundus who need what we have to offer. Whatever it is we can do—kindwords, a warm meal, medical help, dental work, clothing, counseling—we should be doing with the kind, self-abnegating, self-denying,self-sacrificing love that Jesus manifested when He was here.
Of course, the world is still going to get worse and worse, despiteour best efforts. Jesus knew that; yet, this truth didn’t stop Him fromministering to others, and it shouldn’t stop us, either.
Friday September 13
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Called to Reach a HigherStandard,” pp. 309–322, in The Acts of the Apostles; “Desolation of theEarth,” pp. 653–661, in The Great Controversy.
“When the voice of God turns the captivity of His people, there is aterrible awakening of those who have lost all in the great conflict of life.While probation continued they were blinded by Satan’s deceptions,and they justified their course of sin. The rich prided themselves upontheir superiority to those who were less favored; but they had obtainedtheir riches by violation of the law of God. They had neglected to feedthe hungry, to clothe the naked, to deal justly, and to love mercy. . . .They have sold their souls for earthly riches and enjoyments, and havenot sought to become rich toward God. The result is, their lives are afailure; their pleasures are now turned to gall, their treasures to corruption.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 654.
“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. Theentire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beatsthrough the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life andlight and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. Fromthe minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God islove.”—Page 678.
Discussion Questions:
1 Explain how what you have studied this week demonstratesthat life, here and now, matters. Compare this with the belief somehold that we need not worry about this life and this world becauseGod will destroy it all and start again. How can we be careful, too,not to use this truth of the promise of new existence to neglectthose in need (after all, in the end, God will make it all right)?Even more important, how can we make sure we don’t become oneof those who have used this truth to exploit others?
2 The Seventh-day Adventist understanding of Bible prophecyexpects evil, trouble, and suffering to increase as we get nearerto the return of Jesus. When such things happen, we often referto Matthew 24. How should we view these tragedies in light ofMatthew 25?
Summary: Our God will not allow evil to continue forever. The Bible’s greathope is the return of Jesus to bring an end to evil, to heal injustice andcreate a new world as it was meant to be. Built on the resurrection ofJesus, this hope transforms today and gives courage to our service forGod and others as we wait for His return.
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 6:25–33; James 1:5–8;2:15, 16; Isa. 52:7; 1 John 3:16–18; Isa. 58:1–10.
Memory Text: “Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. A good mandeals graciously and lends; he will guide his affairs with discretion”(Psalm 112:4, 5, NKJV).
As we have seen, the Bible is filled with passionate descriptionsof God’s concern for the poor and oppressed, as well as calls forHis people to work in their behalf. Despite the attention givento these issues, this biblical mandate has seen just sporadic and partialfulfillment and will be made complete only with the return of Christand the supernatural events that follow.
Until then evil persists in many forms, fueled by the dark spiritualinfluences of the devil and his angels. This evil is often made mostvisible in poverty, violence, oppression, slavery, exploitation, selfishness, and greed. In such a world, our communities, our churches, andour families need to stand up against these evils no matter how hard attimes it is to do so. In response to the love and commands of God, living in light of the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus and empowered andguided by the presence of the Holy Spirit, we must be compassionate,creative, and courageous in seeking “ ‘to act justly and to love mercyand to walk humbly with [our] God’ ” (Mic. 6:8, NIV).
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 21.
As was made clear in the teachings of Jesus and the New Testamentwriters, those who choose to live as members of the kingdom of Godlive by a different set of values and priorities than does the world.
Read Matthew 6:25–33. What is the reassurance we are given in theseverses, and how should this reassurance impact our priorities?
Jesus taught that “ ‘life [is] more than food, and the body more thanclothes’ ” (Matt. 6:25, NIV). These things are important, of course,but we must see them in light of the kingdom of God, which meanswe must reprioritize our lives in real and practical ways. When werecognize the call throughout the Bible to lift up and care for others,this call also becomes one of our priorities as we who seek to followin the footsteps of Jesus. Ideally this call should help us focus less onourselves and more on others.
This different set of priorities also changes our relationship withthose in power over us and over the oppressed. While the Bible instructsChristians to respect and obey their governments, as far as possible(see, for example, Rom. 13:1–7), there comes a point where we needto echo the words of Peter: “ ‘We must obey God rather than humanbeings!’ ” (Acts 5:29, NIV). Jesus put these two principles in balance inHis answer to those trying to trick Him on this question: “ ‘Give backto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s’ ” (Matt. 22:21,NIV).
Those who have power, whether in government or otherwise, oftenenforce and maintain that power by threats or force. As we have seen inthe life of Jesus, faithful living does not always and in every situationrequire passivity in the face of evil. For example, dealing with slaveryin America, Ellen G. White wrote: “When the laws of men conflict withthe word and law of God, we are to obey the latter, whatever the consequences may be. The law of our land requiring us to deliver a slave tohis master, we are not to obey; and we must abide the consequences ofviolating this law. The slave is not the property of any man. God is hisrightful master, and man has no right to take God’s workmanship intohis hands, and claim him as his own.”—Testimonies for the Church,vol. 1, pp. 201, 202.
Where is the line between obedience to authorities and standingup for those who might be victims of an oppressive authority?
Resisting the possibility of letting our good intentions be overwhelmed by “all the trouble in the world,” many of us would liketo do more to make a difference in the lives of the suffering. Thereare a number of attitudes and actions that can help us make positiveresponses to those in need.
Compassion: As we have seen, recognizing and empathizing withthe pain of those who are hurting are first steps toward action. Weneed to grow and maintain our sensitivity to the suffering. Today, people talk about “compassion fatigue,” the idea that we are so exposedto sorrow and tragedy that many of us become weary of the manycauses that call for our emotional energy and financial support. Jesuswas keenly aware of the evil and pain around Him; yet, He remainedcompassionate. So must we.
Education: Because many situations of injustice and poverty arecomplicated, listening and learning what we can about these situations is important. There have been many examples in which wellintentioned people have caused damage to other people’s lives bytrying to help. While this is not an excuse for inaction, we should seekto get involved in ways that are informed and thoughtful.
Prayer: When we see a problem, our first thought is to take “practical” action. But the Bible reminds us that prayer is practical. We canmake a difference in the lives of the poor and oppressed by our prayersfor them and for those who have power over them (see 1 Tim. 2:1, 2),as well as seeking God’s guidance for how we can best respond furtherin offering help (see Prov. 2:7, 8).
Expectations: Another important element in working to alleviate suffering is to have proper expectations, given the complexity of social,political, and personal circumstances. Our hope should be to give people choices and opportunities that they might not have had otherwise.Sometimes what people do with these opportunities will disappoint us,but we must respect those choices. In whatever way we might try towork in behalf of the suffering, our guiding principle must be to “ ‘doto others what you would have them do to you’ ” (Matt. 7:12, NIV).
Read James 1:5–8. What role should prayer play in Christianaction? What does James 2:15, 16 suggest about how we can contribute to answering our prayers for others?
“God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7, NIV), and generous givingis an important aspect of the Christian life. While we must allow theBible to challenge our giving and financial priorities, generosity ismore than just throwing money at a cause, no matter how worthy.
Instead, generosity is one of the largest of life attitudes and a keyquality of “those who fear the Lord,” as noted a number of times inPsalm 112: “Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,who conduct their affairs with justice” (Ps. 112:5, NIV).
What do the following texts teach about generosity toward those inneed? Lev. 25:35–37, Ps. 119:36, 2 Cor. 8:12–15, 1 John 3:16–18,1 Tim. 6:17–19.
In his New Testament letters, Paul regularly cited the generosity ofGod—expressed most fully in Jesus’ giving His life for us—as thesource of the Christian hope. In turn, His death for us also was themotivation for our living a life of generosity toward others: “I praythat your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepeningyour understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ”(Philem. 1:6, NIV).
Generosity is an attitude toward life that is large, bold, and embracing. So much in our individual lives, societies, and cultures prompts usto focus on ourselves, to keep as much as we can for ourselves. Andlet’s face it, for most of us the default mode is always self, self, selfanyway.
If it is real, our faith will cause us to die to self and live more forothers. Our faith helps us imagine the world and its people as God seesthem, in both their goodness and their brokenness, and it impels us toseek to help those in need, to whatever degree possible.
As a quality of living, generosity is readily appreciated by fundraisers and charities. Such generosity is measurable and directly practical. But large donations do not necessarily indicate a generous life (seeMark 12:41–44). A generous life is larger and more valuable than anydonation. We need better to appreciate and cultivate a generous spiritin all that we do. For most people, generosity doesn’t come naturally; itis grace that we need to express in our lives proactively and purposely,regardless of the pull of our sinful, selfish humanity.
Besides giving money, even generously, what are other ways thatwe should manifest a generous spirit?
Read Matthew 5:9. In the kind of world we live in, how do we do whatJesus says here? Ultimately, how successful can we be? See Mark 13:7.
Violent conflict is a significant cause of suffering. Included in the costsof war are the direct victims and shattered lives, the attention and resourcesdevoted to military machinery that would be better diverted to alleviatingother human needs and the ongoing suffering of war survivors and veterans, even among the “victors.” Then there are the many smaller conflictsthat scar countless lives in families and communities. As such, a passionfor justice cannot ignore the mandate to peacemaking.
At the heart of the gospel of Jesus is God’s gracious and grand actof peacemaking, reconciling sinful human beings to their Creator (see2 Cor. 5:18–21). And the reconciliation we receive becomes the patternfor us to be “ambassadors” for this reconciliation for others, as well.
Read Isaiah 52:7. How do we live out this text too?
The gospel of peace also becomes the motivation, pattern, andresource for working for peace in our violent world: “The heart thatis in harmony with God is a partaker of the peace of heaven and willdiffuse its blessed influence on all around. The spirit of peace will restlike dew upon hearts weary and troubled with worldly strife.”—EllenG. White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 28.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “ ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’ ” (Matt. 5:9, NIV).Taking this further, not only did He affirm the commandment againstkilling, He said that we should not be angry or hold a grudge (see Matt.5:21–26) and that we should love our enemies and pray for those whopersecute us (see Matt. 5:43–48), meaning that we should take activesteps to seek their good. There are many inspiring stories of people whohave devoted their lives to peacemaking in the world’s trouble spots,bringing glimpses of reconciliation and healing, and often alleviatingmuch of the injustice and suffering these conflicts have brought.
What are ways that your church, at its local level, could act in therole of peacemaker?
Solomon wrote that there is “a time to be silent and a time to speak”(Eccles. 3:7, NIV). He was right, and finding that balance is not simplefor any of us. However, when it comes to speaking for the oppressedand being a voice for the voiceless and seeking to overcome evil withgood, is it possible that as a church we have erred on the side of toomuch silence when our voice should have been heard?
Christians have often talked about being the hands and feet of Jesus,referring to the call to practical service for others as Jesus would haveus do. But in the prophetic role as demonstrated in the Bible, God’s firstcall is for men and women to be His voice—and in speaking on behalfof God, also speaking up on behalf of those God wants to defend (seePs. 146:6–10).
Read Isaiah 58:1–10. What should this message, given in its specifictime and place and context, say to us today in another time, place,and context? How much has really changed between the time Isaiahwrote this and our world today?
The prophets’ call to justice was never a path to popularity. Butmotivated by their commission from God, understanding God’s passionfor justice, sympathizing with the plight of the poor and oppressed, andseeking the best for their society, these prophets dared to be a voice forthe voiceless in their time and place, despite opposition, discomfort,and danger (see 1 Pet. 3:17).
Based on our understanding of the gospel and the call to reflect Jesusto the world, Seventh-day Adventists also have many good things tooffer in regard to dealing with the evil in the world.
Such as: “Seventh-day Adventists believe that actions to reducepoverty and its attendant injustices are an important part of Christiansocial responsibility. The Bible clearly reveals God’s special interest inthe poor and His expectations as to how His followers should respondto those who are unable to care for themselves. All human beings bearthe image of God and are the recipients of God’s blessing (Luke 6:20).In working with the poor, we follow the example and teaching of Jesus(Matthew 25:35, 36). As a spiritual community, Seventh-day Adventistsadvocate justice for the poor and ‘speak up for those who cannot speakfor themselves’ (Proverbs 31:8 NIV) and against those who ‘deprivethe poor of their rights’ (Isaiah 10:2 NIV). We participate with Godwho ‘secures justice for the poor’ (Psalm 140:12 NIV).”—Seventh-dayAdventist Official Statement on Global Poverty, June 24, 2010.
Friday September 20
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “A Higher Experience,”pp. 503–516, in The Ministry of Healing; “Duty to the Unfortunate”and “Man’s Duty to His Fellow Men,” pp. 511–526, in Testimonies forthe Church, vol. 3; “Doing for Christ,” pp. 24–37, in Testimonies forthe Church, vol. 2.
“Search heaven and earth, and there is no truth revealed more powerful than that which is made manifest in works of mercy to those whoneed our sympathy and aid. This is the truth as it is in Jesus. Whenthose who profess the name of Christ shall practice the principles ofthe golden rule, the same power will attend the gospel as in apostolictimes.”—Ellen G. White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 137.
“Supreme love for God and unselfish love for one another—this isthe best gift that our heavenly Father can bestow. This love is not animpulse, but a divine principle, a permanent power. The unconsecratedheart cannot originate or produce it. Only in the heart where Jesusreigns is it found. . . . This love, cherished in the soul, sweetens the lifeand sheds a refining influence on all around.”—Ellen G. White, TheActs of the Apostles, p. 551.
Discussion Questions:
1 As we have seen in this week’s study, the gospel continues to bethe template and motivation for acting on behalf of others as Jesusacted on our behalf. How has this expanded your understandingand appreciation of the good news of what God has done for usand how He shows His love for us?
2 Raising our voices for the voiceless, engaging in peacemaking,and similar activities may draw us into public and political arenas.However, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been a championof the separation of church and state. What is the differencebetween inappropriate political involvement and speaking up andworking to make peace in public ways?
3 What one step or action discussed in this week’s study wouldyou like to take in your life and community? How can you make ithappen?
4 What issue of evil and oppression have you decided to pray forin your community or in the wider world?
Summary: Becoming a follower of Jesus will change our lives in many ways,including producing in us a passion to join in with God’s active concernfor the poor and downtrodden. Never an easy task and rarely popular,this will change our priorities and motivate us to take active steps toheal the hurt in the world around us.
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Cor. 2:14–16, Exod. 32:1–14,1 Pet. 2:12, Phil. 2:15, Eph. 2:19, Heb. 10:23–25.
Memory Text: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope withoutwavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider oneanother in order to stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10:23,24, NKJV).
In seeking to fulfill the Christian mission, we should not underestimate the potential of the church as an organized community ofbelievers. We have already noted the challenges that we can facewhen seeking to deal with injustice and poverty. But by working withfellow believers in a community of faith, we can be a blessing to thosearound us.
The temptation is that when we get together as a church we becomedistracted with keeping the church itself going, forgetting that thechurch exists to serve the world in which God has placed it. As a churchbody, we must not ignore the suffering and evil that exists all around us.If Christ didn’t ignore it, we must not either. We must be faithful to ourmandate to preach the gospel, and along with that preaching comes thework of helping the oppressed, the hungry, the naked, and the helpless.
Together as a church community and organization, we are the bodyof Christ (see 1 Cor. 12:12–20). As such, we as a community shouldwalk as Jesus walked, reach out as Jesus did, and serve as the hands,feet, voice, and heart of Jesus in the world today.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 28.
We have seen in the early chapters of Acts how the first Christianbelievers established a different kind of community, caring for those inneed among them, and together reaching out to those outside the community, offering them help where needed and inviting them to join inwith what God was doing among them.
Adding to Jesus’ descriptions of salt and light, Paul uses a numberof metaphors to portray the church’s action in the world. Amongothers, he describes those who live as God’s people as a sacrifice(see Rom. 12:1), as Christ’s body (see 1 Cor. 12:12–20), as ambassadors (see 2 Cor. 5:18–20), and as perfume (see 2 Cor. 2:14–16).Each of these images talks about a role as representatives or agentsof God’s kingdom even now, even amid a world ravaged by the greatcontroversy.
Review each of these “representative” descriptions above. Whichbest describes how you would like to represent God and His waysin your community, and why?
Each of these images has action associated with them, not as a meansof being acceptable to God but as people already accepted by Godthrough Christ’s sacrifice, who have responded to God’s love and graceby being His agents in a hurt and dying world.
But they also can be considered on a still deeper level: because God’slove and grace is what the kingdom of God is about, when we act insuch a way, reflecting to others in love and grace, we enact and participate in that eternal kingdom, even now.
In international law, a national embassy is considered part of the nationit represents, even when physically located in a foreign country, perhaps along distance from the home nation. In a similar way, enacting the waysof God’s kingdom offers glimpses of that eternal reality here and nowand, as such, points to and is a foretaste of the final defeat of evil. Andby so doing—as Christ’s ambassadors, as Christ’s agents—we can experience the reality of His love and justice in our own lives, in the church,and in the lives of those we seek to serve.
Read 2 Corinthians 2:16. What is the difference between the twoaromas, and how can we know which one we are?
The standard definition of the remnant people identified in Bible prophecy is found in Revelation 12:17: those “who keep the commandments ofGod and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (NKJV; see also Rev. 14:12).In the Bible’s story, these features mark out God’s people in the later stagesof earth’s history. But, also in the Bible stories, we can find examples ofhow such a remnant acts and particularly how such people serve others.
Consider the example of Moses in this regard. Read Exodus 32:1–14. What is the comparison between Moses in this story and theremnant described in Revelation 12:17?
In His anger at the people of Israel, God was threatening to destroy themand transfer the promises given to Abraham—that his descendants wouldbecome a great nation—to Moses and his family (see Exod. 32:10).
But Moses didn’t want that. Instead, Moses had the boldness to arguewith God, suggesting that for the Lord to act as He was threatening toact would make Him look bad (see Exod. 32:11–13). But then Moseswent further and put himself on the line to urge his case with God.
Moses had been struggling to lead these people through the wilderness. They had been complaining and bickering almost from themoment he led them to freedom. And yet, Moses says to God, If Youare not able to forgive them, “ ‘then blot me out of the book you havewritten’ ” (Exod. 32:32, NIV). Moses offered to give up eternity to savethose with whom he had shared his journey.
What a powerful example of self-sacrificing intercession in behalf ofthose who don’t deserve it! And what a powerful symbol of the entireplan of salvation!
“As Moses interceded for Israel, his timidity was lost in his deepinterest and love for those for whom he had, in the hands of God, beenthe means of doing so much. The Lord listened to his pleadings, andgranted his unselfish prayer. God had proved His servant; He had testedhis faithfulness and his love for that erring, ungrateful people, and noblyhad Moses endured the trial. His interest in Israel sprang from no selfishmotive. The prosperity of God’s chosen people was dearer to him thanpersonal honor, dearer than the privilege of becoming the father of amighty nation. God was pleased with his faithfulness, his simplicity ofheart, and his integrity, and He committed to him, as a faithful shepherd,the great charge of leading Israel to the Promised Land.”—Ellen G.White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 319.
What does this tell us about how, to the degree possible, weshould deal with the erring around us?
Church discussions sometimes seem to get stuck on the apparentneed to choose between a focus on social work or gospel work, eithercharity or witnessing, either justice or evangelism. But when we betterunderstand each of these concepts and observe the ministry of Jesus,the difference breaks down, and we realize that preaching the gospeland working to help others are closely linked.
In one of Ellen White’s best-known statements, she explained itlike this: “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching thepeople. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good.He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and wontheir confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me.’ . . .
“The poor are to be relieved, the sick cared for, the sorrowing and thebereaved comforted, the ignorant instructed, the inexperienced counseled. We are to weep with those that weep, and rejoice with those thatrejoice.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 143.
As we have seen, these two kingdom actions—justice and evangelism—were closely entwined, not only in Jesus’ ministry but in Jesus’ firstcommission to His disciples: “ ‘As you go, proclaim this message:“The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Heal the sick, raise the dead,cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you havereceived; freely give’ ” (Matt. 10:7, 8, NIV). In short, one of the bestways to reach others with our message is to minister to their needs.
Read 1 Peter 2:12 and Philippians 2:15. What do Peter and Paul sayabout the witnessing power of good works done by God’s people?
With a broader understanding of God’s good news, evangelism doesnot make sense in the absence of a passion for people. Verses such as1 John 3:16–18 and James 2:16 emphasize the contradiction in preaching the gospel without living it out. At its best, evangelism—bringingthe good news of hope, rescue, repentance, transformation, and God’sall-embracing love—is an expression of justice.
Both evangelism and the desire for justice spring from recognizing God’slove for lost, broken, and hurt people—a love also that grows in our heartsunder the influence of God in our lives. We don’t choose one action oranother; instead, we work with God in working with people, meeting theirreal needs, and using whatever resources God has entrusted us with.
How can we make sure, though, that as we do good works for others, we don’t neglect preaching the good news of salvation, as well?
At the beginning of the book of Job, God points to Job and his faithfulness to Him as a demonstration of the goodness of God’s ways and Hisdealings with fallen humanity (see Job 1:8). It is remarkable that Godallows His reputation to hang on how His people live on this earth. ButPaul expanded this faith God has in some of His “saints” to include thecommunity of the church: “His intent was that now, through the church,the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers andauthorities in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 3:10, NIV).
Read Ephesians 2:19. What do you think is included in the idea ofdescribing the church community as the “household” of God? Howshould this description influence how the organized church operates?
In any community or organization, how that entity treats its membersreflects the foundational values of the group. As the household of God,the body of Christ and the community of the Spirit, the church has thehighest of callings to live out and live up to: “For God is not a God ofdisorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people”(1 Cor. 14:33, NIV).
The values of justice, grace, and love—as demonstrated in God’s justice, grace, and love—should govern all that happens within the church.From local church communities to the worldwide church organization,these principles should guide church leaders in how they lead, makedecisions, and care for the “least of these” among the church community. They also should guide how we resolve the disputes that arise fromtime to time among members. If we can’t treat those among us withfairness and dignity, how are we going to do that with others, as well?
Where the church organization employs people, it should be a generous employer, valuing people before any other consideration andworking against unfair treatment of members. Churches should be safeplaces, with all church members doing what they can to protect thevulnerable. And, as we see in the early church, members of the churchcommunity should be especially prepared to give to support those oftheir church “family” who are suffering or in need.
Jesus gave this as a command, saying that this would not only transform the community of faith, but it also would demonstrate the realityof their faith to those looking on: “ ‘A new command I give you: Loveone another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By thiseveryone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another’ ”(John 13:34, 35, NIV).
Even with the best motivations and intentions, and believing thatwe are on the side of God and goodness, working for the Lord can bedifficult and discouraging. The sadness and pain of our world are real.This is one reason we need a church community. Jesus modeled thiskind of supportive community with His disciples. He rarely sent peopleout on their own, and even when that happened they would soon cometogether again to share their stories and renew their energy and courage.
Read Hebrews 10:23–25. Hebrews 10:25 is the best known of theseverses; so, what do the preceding two verses add to our understanding of the well-known verse? What are some of the ways in whichwe can encourage each other “toward love and good deeds” (NIV)?
In almost any task, cause, or project, a group of people workingtogether can achieve more than all of those people working individually. This reminds us again of the picture of the church as the body ofChrist (see Rom. 12:3–6), in which we all have different but complementary roles to play. When we each do what we do best, but do it ina way that allows our influences to work together, we can trust by faiththat our lives and work will make a difference for eternity.
While results are important when seeking to do what is right—theresults are about people and their lives—we sometimes have to trustGod with what the results might be. At times when working to alleviatepoverty, to protect the vulnerable, to free the oppressed, and to speak upfor the voiceless, we will see little progress. But we have the hope thatwe are working in a far greater and inevitably victorious cause: “Let usnot become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap aharvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let usdo good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family ofbelievers” (Gal. 6:9, 10, NIV; see also Heb. 13:16).
This is why we are called to encourage—literally, to inspire withcourage—one another. Living faithfully is both joyous and difficult.Our God of justice and our community of justice are our greatest supports and what we invite others to join.
Whom do you know or know of who regularly works at alleviating the suffering of others? How could you encourage that personor group in the good work they are doing?
Friday September 27
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “A Faithful Witness,” pp.546–556, in The Acts of the Apostles; “Kindness the Key to Hearts,” pp.81–86, in Welfare Ministry.
“The work which the disciples did, we also are to do. Every Christianis to be a missionary. In sympathy and compassion we are to ministerto those in need of help, seeking with unselfish earnestness to lightenthe woes of suffering humanity. . . .
“We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the suffering and afflicted. We are to minister to the despairing, and to inspirehope in the hopeless.
“The love of Christ, manifested in unselfish ministry, will be moreeffective in reforming the evildoer than will the sword or the court ofjustice. . . . Often the heart that hardens under reproof will melt underthe love of Christ.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, pp. 104,106.
“Slavery, the caste system, unjust racial prejudices, the oppressionof the poor, the neglect of the unfortunate,—these all are set forth asunchristian and a serious menace to the well-being of the human race,and as evils which the church of Christ is appointed by her Lord tooverthrow.”—General Conference president A. G. Daniells, speakingof the work of Ellen G. White at her funeral, in Life Sketches of EllenG. White, p. 473.
Discussion Questions:
1 There are many people, groups, and organizations seeking torelieve need in the world. What unique strengths, insights, andresources can the Seventh-day Adventist Church bring to thistask?
2 Can you remember a time you felt encouraged and supportedby your church community? Learning from that experience, howcan you extend that same encouragement to others?
3 As well as the support of a church community, what otherthings can help you avoid becoming “weary in doing good”?
4 What are some of the justice and poverty projects and initiatives you are aware of that the Seventh-day Adventist Churcharound the world is currently supporting? How might you be ableto contribute to this aspect of the church’s work?
Summary: Yes, as Christians, we are called to minster to the needs of others, especially others who are hurting, suffering, and oppressed. Andthough we have our individual responsibilities in this area, as a community focused on ministering to others, we can be much more effectiveworking together as a church family.