Israel

Bible Study Guides – The Plagues of Egypt

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October 18 – 24, 2020

Key Text

“Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed” (1 Samuel 6:6)?

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 265–272.

Introduction

“God destroys no man. Everyone who is destroyed will have destroyed himself. Everyone who stifles the admonitions of conscience is sowing the seeds of unbelief, and these will produce a sure harvest.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 84.

Sunday

  1. A PROTEST AGAINST SENSELESS WORSHIP

  • What was the first plague, and why was it sent? Exodus 7:14–21.

Note: “During the plagues on Egypt Pharaoh was punctual in his superstitious devotion to the river, and visited it every morning, and as he stood upon its banks he offered praise and thanksgiving to the water, recounting the great good it accomplished, and telling the water of its great power; that without it they could not exist; for their lands were watered by it, and it supplied meat for their tables.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4A, 54, 55.

  • What was the second plague, and how did God choose to remove the effects of this plague? Exodus 8:2–14.

Note: “The frog was regarded as sacred by the Egyptians, and they would not destroy it; but the slimy pests had now become intolerable. …

“The Lord could have caused them to return to dust in a moment; but He did not do this lest after their removal the king and his people should pronounce it the result of sorcery or enchantment, like the work of the magicians. The frogs died, and were then gathered together in heaps.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 265, 266.

Monday

  1. GOD CARES FOR HIS OWN

  • How did the Lord make a distinction in those affected by the fourth plague? Exodus 8:20–24.

Note: “Flies filled the houses and swarmed upon the ground, so that ‘the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies’ (Exodus 8:24). These flies were large and venomous, and their bite was extremely painful to man and beast. As had been foretold, this visitation did not extend to the land of Goshen.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 266.

  • What further distinction was made by God in the fifth and ninth plagues? Exodus 9:1–6; 10:22, 23.

Note: “A more terrible stroke followed—murrain upon all the Egyptian cattle that were in the field. Both the sacred animals and the beasts of burden—kine and oxen and sheep, horses and camels and asses—were destroyed. It had been distinctly stated that the Hebrews were to be exempt; and Pharaoh, on sending messengers to the home of the Israelites, proved the truth of this declaration of Moses. ‘Of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one’ (Exodus 9:6). Still the king was obstinate.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 267.

“Suddenly a darkness settled upon the land, so thick and black that it seemed a ‘darkness which may be felt’ (Exodus 10:21, last part). Not only were the people deprived of light, but the atmosphere was very oppressive, so that breathing was difficult. ‘They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings’ (Exodus 10:23). The sun and moon were objects of worship to the Egyptians; in this mysterious darkness the people and their gods alike were smitten by the power that had undertaken the cause of the bondmen.” Ibid., 272.

  • What care did the Lord promise to have for His people? Deuteronomy 32:43?

Note: “Yet fearful as it was, this judgment [during the ninth plague] is an evidence of God’s compassion and His unwillingness to destroy. He would give the people time for reflection and repentance before bringing upon them the last and most terrible of the plagues.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 272.

TUESDAY

3 . THE MAGICIANS ADMIT DEFEAT

  • What was the reaction of the magicians to the third plague? Exodus 8:18, 19.

Note: “At the command of God, Aaron stretched out his hand, and the dust of the earth became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh called upon the magicians to do the same, but they could not. The work of God was thus shown to be superior to that of Satan. The magicians themselves acknowledged, ‘This is the finger of God’ (Exodus 8:19). But the king was still unmoved.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 266.

  • How did God instruct Moses to introduce the plague of boils? Exodus 9:8–10. What was the significance about the ashes coming from the furnace?

Note: “Moses was next directed to take ashes of the furnace, and ‘sprinkle it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh’ (Exodus 9:8). This act was deeply significant. Four hundred years before, God had shown to Abraham the future oppression of His people, under the figure of a smoking furnace and a burning lamp. He had declared that He would visit judgments upon their oppressors, and would bring forth the captives with great substance. In Egypt, Israel had long languished in the furnace of affliction. This act of Moses was an assurance to them that God was mindful of His covenant, and that the time for their deliverance had come.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 267.

  • What effect did the boils have upon the magicians? Exodus 9:11.

Note: “As the ashes were sprinkled toward heaven, the fine particles spread over all the land of Egypt, and wherever they settled, produced boils ‘breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast’ (Exodus 9:10). The priests and magicians had hitherto encouraged Pharaoh in his stubbornness, but now a judgment had come that reached even them. Smitten with a loathsome and painful disease, their vaunted power only making them contemptible, they were no longer able to contend against the God of Israel. The whole nation was made to see the folly of trusting in the magicians, when they were not able to protect even their own persons.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 267.

WEDNESDAY

  1. THE EGYPTIANS ARE FEARFUL

  • How did God warn the Egyptians in mercy concerning the seventh plague, and what were the results? Exodus 9:18–21.

Note: “Rain or hail was unusual in Egypt, and such a storm as was foretold had never been witnessed. The report spread rapidly, and all who believed the word of the Lord gathered in their cattle, while those who despised the warning left them in the field. Thus in the midst of judgment the mercy of God was displayed, the people were tested, and it was shown how many had been led to fear God by the manifestation of His power. …

“Ruin and desolation marked the path of the destroying angel. The land of Goshen alone was spared. It was demonstrated to the Egyptians that the earth is under the control of the living God, that the elements obey His voice, and that the only safety is in obedience to Him.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 269.

  • After God warned the Egyptians of the eighth plague of locusts, what showed that Pharaoh’s servants were afraid of God? Exodus 10:7.

Note: “The counselors of Pharaoh stood aghast. The nation had sustained great loss in the death of their cattle. Many of the people had been killed by the hail. The forests were broken down and the crops destroyed. They were fast losing all that had been gained by the labor of the Hebrews. The whole land was threatened with starvation. Princes and courtiers pressed about the king and angrily demanded, ‘How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed’ (Exodus 10:7)?” Patriarchs and Prophets, 271.

  • After all that had happened thus far, how did Pharaoh show that he was still not willing to let all of Israel go? Exodus 10:8–11.

Note: “Pharaoh had endeavored to destroy the Israelites by hard labor, but he now pretended to have a deep interest in their welfare and a tender care for their little ones. His real object was to keep the women and children as surety for the return of the men.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 271.

THURSDAY

  1. REBELLION IS A CHOICE

What was the effect upon Pharaoh of each successive judgment of God? Exodus 9:7, 35; 10:3.

Note: “God speaks to men through His servants, giving cautions and warnings, and rebuking sin. He gives to each an opportunity to correct his errors before they become fixed in the character; but if one refuses to be corrected, divine power does not interpose to counteract the tendency of his own action. He finds it more easy to repeat the same course. He is hardening the heart against the influence of the Holy Spirit. A further rejection of light places him where a far stronger influence will be ineffectual to make an abiding impression.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 268.

  • As Pharaoh chose to be in rebellion to God, to what is this sin likened, and what is always the result of such a choice? 1 Samuel 15:23, first part; Proverbs 28:14.

Note: “He who manifests an infidel hardihood, a stolid indifference to divine truth, is but reaping the harvest of that which he has himself sown. It is thus that multitudes come to listen with stoical indifference to the truths that once stirred their very souls. They sowed neglect and resistance to the truth, and such is the harvest which they reap.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 268, 269.

FRIDAY

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1     How were the gods of Egypt shown to be inferior to the God of heaven during the first and second plagues?

2     During the plagues, how did God show His care of both His people and the Egyptians?

3     How did the lice and the boils defeat the magicians?

4     How did the Egyptians show that they believed God’s word concerning the coming plague of hail? How do we show belief in God’s word?

5     What two attitudes lead to unbelief?

Copyright 2019, Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24019-5048, U.S.A.

Bible Study Guides – Stubbornness, a Fruit of Pride

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October 11 – 17, 2020

Key Text

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6.7).

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 257–265.

Introduction

“Pharaoh sowed obstinacy, and he reaped obstinacy. He himself put this seed into the soil. There was no more need for God by some new power to interfere with its growth, than there is for Him to interfere with the growth of a grain of corn.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1100.

Sunday

  1. PHARAOH RESISTS GOD

  • When Moses and Aaron came before the king of Egypt, what request did they present to him, and how did he respond? Exodus 5:1–3.
  • Why is it dangerous to ignore or resist a Divine warning? Hebrews 3:12–14; John 12:35.

Note: “Those who exalt their own ideas above the plainly specified will of God, are saying as did Pharaoh, ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice’ (Exodus 5:2, first part)? Every rejection of light hardens the heart and darkens the understanding; and thus men find it more and more difficult to distinguish between right and wrong, and they become bolder in resisting the will of God.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1100.

“Let all be warned by the messages sent from heaven that when any man shall exalt his own ways and his own judgment as supreme, he will come under Satan’s jurisdiction and will be led blindfold by him until his spirit and his methods will conform to the archdeceiver, little by little, until his whole mind is under the influence of the spell. The serpent keeps its eye fixed upon a man, to charm him, until he has no power to go from the snare.” The Publishing Ministry, 175.

Monday

  1. PHARAOH ADDS GREATER BURDENS

  • What accusation did the king bring against Moses and Aaron? Exodus 5:4, 5. To what “rest” was he referring?

Note: “In their bondage the Israelites had to some extent lost the knowledge of God’s law, and they had departed from its precepts. The Sabbath had been generally disregarded, and the exactions of their taskmasters made its observance apparently impossible. But Moses had shown his people that obedience to God was the first condition of deliverance; and the efforts made to restore the observance of the Sabbath had come to the notice of their oppressors.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 258.

  • What was the purpose of God in bringing Israel out of Egypt? Psalm 105:43–45. What implications does this have for us?

Note: “As the Sabbath was the sign that distinguished Israel when they came out of Egypt to enter the earthly Canaan, so it is the sign that now distinguishes God’s people as they come out from the world to enter the heavenly rest. The Sabbath is a sign of the relationship existing between God and His people, a sign that they honor His law. It distinguishes between His loyal subjects and transgressors. …

“The Sabbath given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that re-creates the soul in His own likeness.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 349, 350.

“And when the law of God is thus exemplified in the life, even the world will recognize the superiority of those who love and fear and serve God above every other people on the earth.” Ibid., 12.

  • What was the result of the interview with Pharaoh? Exodus 5:6–14.

Note: “The king, thoroughly roused, suspected the Israelites of a design to revolt from his service. Disaffection was the result of idleness; he would see that no time was left them for dangerous scheming. And he at once adopted measures to tighten their bonds and crush out their independent spirit.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 258.

Tuesday

  1. GOD TESTS THE FAITH OF ISRAEL
  • With what reproach did the officers of the children of Israel come to Moses and Aaron? Exodus 5:19–21.
  • What part do trials have in preparing a people for deliverance? James 2:1–4.

Note: “The Hebrews had expected to obtain their freedom without any special trial of their faith or any real suffering or hardship. But they were not yet prepared for deliverance. They had little faith in God, and were unwilling patiently to endure their afflictions until He should see fit to work for them. Many were content to remain in bondage rather than meet the difficulties attending removal to a strange lane; and the habits of some had become so much like those of the Egyptians that they preferred to dwell in Egypt. Therefore the Lord did not deliver them by the first manifestation of His power before Pharaoh. He overruled events more fully to develop the tyrannical spirit of the Egyptian king and also to reveal Himself to His people. Beholding His justice, His power, and His love, they would choose to leave Egypt and give themselves to His service. The task of Moses would have been much less difficult had not many of the Israelites become so corrupted that they were unwilling to leave Egypt.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 260.

“The children of Israel were addicted to licentiousness, idolatry, gluttony, and gross vices. This is ever the result of slavery. But the Lord looked upon His people, and after their deliverance He educated them. They were not left uncared for.” The Southern Work, 43.

  • As Moses complained to the Lord when new trials came upon Israel, what did the Lord promise to do for His people? Exodus 5:22, 23; 6:1–8.

Note: “In mercy to us, He [God] does not always place us in the easiest places; for if He did, in our self-sufficiency we would forget that the Lord is our helper in time of necessity. But He longs to manifest Himself to us in our emergencies, and reveal the abundant supplies that are at our disposal, independent of our surroundings; and disappointment and trial are permitted to come upon us that we may realize our own helplessness, and learn to call upon the Lord for aid, as a child, when hungry and thirsty, calls upon its earthly father.” Reflecting Christ, 353.

Wednesday

  1. THE PEOPLE ARE DISHEARTENED

  • When Moses spoke to the children of Israel the second time, how did they receive the message of the Lord? Exodus 6:9. What promises should have been a source of hope for all the Israelites? Genesis 15:13, 14; 50:24.

Note: “The elders of Israel endeavored to sustain the sinking faith of their brethren by repeating the promises made to their fathers, and the prophetic words of Joseph before his death, foretelling their deliverance from Egypt. Some would listen and believe. Others, looking at the circumstances that surrounded them, refused to hope. The Egyptians, being informed of what was reported among their bondmen, derided their expectations and scornfully denied the power of their God. They pointed to their situation as a nation of slaves, and tauntingly said, ‘If your God is just and merciful, and possesses power above that of the Egyptian gods, why does He not make you a free people?’ They called attention to their own condition. They worshiped deities termed by the Israelites false gods, yet they were a rich and powerful nation. They declared that their gods had blessed them with prosperity, and had given them the Israelites as servants, and they gloried in their power to oppress and destroy the worshipers of Jehovah. Pharaoh himself boasted that the God of the Hebrews could not deliver them from his hand.

“Words like these destroyed the hopes of many of the Israelites. The case appeared to them very much as the Egyptians had represented. It was true that they were slaves, and must endure whatever their cruel taskmasters might choose to inflict. Their children had been hunted and slain, and their own lives were a burden. Yet they were worshiping the God of heaven. If Jehovah were indeed above all gods, surely He would not thus leave them in bondage to idolaters. But those who were true to God understood that it was because of Israel’s departure from Him—because of their disposition to marry with heathen nations, thus being led into idolatry—that the Lord had permitted them to become bondmen; and they confidently assured their brethren that He would soon break the yoke of the oppressor.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 259, 260.

  • With what argument did Moses try to excuse himself when the Lord told him to speak to Pharaoh again? Exodus 6:10–12.

Thursday

  1. GOD SENDS SIGNS AND WONDERS

  • As the Lord encouraged Moses to return to Pharaoh, what did He say He would multiply in Egypt, and what would be the reaction of the Egyptians? Exodus 7:1–5.

Note: “Before the infliction of each plague, Moses was to describe its nature and effects, that the king might save himself from it if he chose. Every punishment rejected would be followed by one more severe, until his proud heart would be humbled, and he would acknowledge the Maker of heaven and earth as the true and living God. … God would glorify His own name, that other nations might hear of His power and tremble at His mighty acts, and that His people might be led to turn from their idolatry and render Him pure worship.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 263.

  • How were God’s and Satan’s powers contrasted before Pharaoh? Exodus 7:8–12. What was Satan’s purpose in trying to counterfeit the work of God?

Note: “By counterfeiting the work of God through Moses, he [Satan] hoped not only to prevent the deliverance of Israel, but to exert an influence through future ages to destroy faith in the miracles of Christ. Satan is constantly seeking to counterfeit the work of Christ and to establish his own power and claims. He leads men to account for the miracles of Christ by making them appear to be the result of human skill and power. In many minds he thus destroys faith in Christ as the Son of God, and leads them to reject the gracious offers of mercy through the plan of redemption.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 265.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1     How do we sometimes show the same pride as Pharaoh?

2     In what way is the Sabbath a distinguishing sign for God’s people today?

3     Why were so many of the Israelites unwilling to leave Egypt? Why are so many of us unwilling to let go of worldly customs and ideas today?

4     Why had God allowed the Israelites to become slaves?

5     Why did Satan try to counterfeit the miracles of God?

Copyright 2019, Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24019-5048, U.S.A.

Bible Study Guides – A Message of Deliverance

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October 4 – 10, 2020

Key Text

“And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs” (Exodus 4:17).

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 251–256.

Introduction

“The time for Israel’s deliverance had come. But God’s purpose was to be accomplished in a manner to pour contempt on human pride. The deliverer was to go forth as a humble shepherd, with only a rod in his hand; but God would make that rod the symbol of His power.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 251.

Sunday

  1. COMMUNICATION FROM GOD

  • While Moses was tending Jethro’s flocks, what was happening in Egypt? Exodus 2:23–25.
  • What experience did Moses have at the burning bush? Exodus 3:1–5.
  • What important lesson can we learn from this experience? Psalm 89:7.

Note: “Humility and reverence should characterize the deportment of all who come into the presence of God. In the name of Jesus we may come before Him with confidence, but we must not approach Him with the boldness of presumption, as though He were on a level with ourselves. There are those who address the great and all-powerful and holy God, who dwelleth in light unapproachable, as they would address an equal, or even an inferior. There are those who conduct themselves in His house as they would not presume to do in the audience chamber of an earthly ruler. These should remember that they are in His sight whom seraphim adore, before whom angels veil their faces.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 252.

Monday

  1. GOD CALLS MOSES

  • What was the Lord about to do in behalf of His people? Exodus 3:7–9.
  • How did Moses fit into God’s plan to accomplish this? Exodus 3:10; Acts 7:34, 35.    
  • How did Moses respond to God’s call and what did the Lord want him to realize? Exodus 3:11–15.

Note: “Amazed and terrified at the command, Moses drew back, saying, ‘Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt’ (Exodus 3:11)? The reply was, ‘Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain’ (verse 12).

“Moses thought of the difficulties to be encountered, of the blindness, ignorance, and unbelief of his people, many of whom were almost destitute of a knowledge of God. ‘Behold,’ he said, ‘when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them’ (Exodus 3:13)? The answer was—“ ‘I AM THAT I AM.’ ‘Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you’ (verse 14)” Patriarchs and Prophets, 252, 253.

“Moses did not expect that this was the manner in which the Lord would use him to deliver Israel from Egypt. He thought that it would be by warfare. And when the Lord made known to him that he must stand before Pharaoh, and in His name demand him to let Israel go he shrank from the task.

“The Pharaoh before whom he was to appear, was not the one who had decreed that he should be put to death. That king was dead, and another had taken the reins of government. Nearly all the Egyptian kings were called by the name of Pharaoh. Moses would have preferred to stand at the head of the children of Israel as their general, and make war with the Egyptians. But this was not God’s plan. He would be magnified before his people, and teach not only them, but the Egyptians, that there is a living God, who has power to save, and to destroy.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 189, 190.

Tuesday

  1. GOD ASSURES MOSES

  • What message was Moses to give the elders of Israel? Exodus 3:16–20?
  • How was God going to fulfil His promise that His people would not leave Egypt empty-handed? Exodus 3:21, 22.

Note: “The Egyptians had been enriched by the labor unjustly exacted from the Israelites, and as the latter were to start on the journey to their new home, it was right for them to claim the reward of their years of toil. They were to ask for articles of value, such as could be easily transported, and God would give them favor in the sight of the Egyptians. The mighty miracles wrought for their deliverance would strike terror to the oppressors, so that the requests of the bondmen would be granted.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 253.

  • As Moses was reluctant to accept God’s calling, what further evidence did the Lord give him of His providence? Exodus 4:1–9. How should we respond to God’s calling today?

Note: “Moses saw before him difficulties that seemed insurmountable. What proof could he give his people that God had indeed sent him? ‘Behold,’ he said, ‘they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee’ (Exodus 4:1). Evidence that appealed to his own senses was now given. He was told to cast his rod upon the ground. As he did so, ‘it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it’ (verse 3). He was commanded to seize it, and in his hand it became a rod. He was bidden to put his hand into his bosom. He obeyed, and ‘when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow’ (verse 6). Being told to put it again into his bosom, he found on withdrawing it that it had become like the other. By these signs the Lord assured Moses that His own people, as well as Pharaoh should be convinced that One mightier than the king of Egypt was manifest among them.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 253, 254.

“Who is ready at the call of Providence to renounce cherished plans and familiar associations? Who will accept new duties and enter untried fields, doing God’s work with firm and willing heart, for Christ’s sake counting his losses gain?” Ibid., 127.

Wednesday

  1. GOD CONTINUES TO ENCOURAGE MOSES

  • What shows that Moses was still unwilling to obey God’s call? Exodus 4:10–13.

Note: “But the servant of God was still overwhelmed by the thought of the strange and wonderful work before him. In his distress and fear he now pleaded as an excuse a lack of ready speech. … He had been so long away from the Egyptians that he had not so clear knowledge and ready use of their language as when he was among them. …

“These excuses at first proceeded from humility and diffidence; but after the Lord had promised to remove all difficulties, and to give him final success, then any further shrinking back and complaining of his unfitness showed distrust of God. It implied a fear that God was unable to qualify him for the great work to which He had called him, or that He had made a mistake in the selection of the man.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 254.

  • What help did God provide for Moses, as He patiently tried to encourage His servant? Exodus 4:14–17. How does God encourage His people today?

Note: “Let them [the members of God’s church] realize that the work in which they are engaged is one upon which the Lord has placed His signet. … He bids us go forth to speak the words He gives us, feeling His holy touch upon our lips.” God’s Amazing Grace, 275.

  • With what further assurance did God provide Moses? Exodus 4:18–23.

Note: “A man will gain power and efficiency as he accepts the responsibilities that God places upon him, and with his whole soul seeks to qualify himself to bear them aright. However humble his position or limited his ability, that man will attain true greatness who, trusting to divine strength, seeks to perform his work with fidelity. Had Moses relied upon his own strength and wisdom, and eagerly accepted the great charge, he would have evinced his entire unfitness for such a work. The fact that a man feels his weakness is at least some evidence that he realizes the magnitude of the work appointed him, and that he will make God his counselor and his strength.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 255.

Thursday

  1. MOSES RETURNS TO EGYPT

  • As Moses accepted God’s call and went to Egypt, what happened along the way? Exodus 4:24–26. What solemn parallel can be drawn from this event?

Note: “He [Moses] had failed to comply with the condition by which his child could be entitled to the blessings of God’s covenant with Israel; and such a neglect on the part of their chosen leader could not but lessen the force of the divine precepts upon the people. … In his mission to Pharaoh, Moses was to be placed in a position of great peril; his life could be preserved only through the protection of holy angels. But while living in neglect of a known duty, he would not be secure; for he could not be shielded by the angels of God.

“In the time of trouble just before the coming of Christ, the righteous will be preserved through the ministration of heavenly angels; but there will be no security for the transgressor of God’s law. Angels cannot then protect those who are disregarding one of the divine precepts.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 256.

  • When Moses and Aaron arrived in Egypt and gathered together the elders, how did the people react to the message of deliverance? Exodus 4:29–31.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1     What does the account of Moses at the burning bush teach us regarding the manner in which we should approach God in prayer and in the sanctuary?

2     How did Moses expect God to deliver Israel from Egypt? Why didn’t God deliver Israel in this manner?

3     Why are we sometimes reluctant to accept God’s call to labor for Him?

4     What is a sign of the true greatness in those who serve God?

5     In the time of trouble before us, what do those who disregard just one of the divine precepts forfeit?

Copyright 2019, Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24019-5048, U.S.A.

Bible Study Guides – God’s Chosen Leader

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Wilderness Wanderings

September 27 – October 3, 2020

Key Text

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:24, 25).

Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 241–251.

Introduction

“The strength of Moses was his connection with the Source of all power, the Lord God of hosts. He rises grandly above every earthly inducement, and trusts himself wholly to God. He considered that he was the Lord’s.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1098.

Sunday

  1. SATAN TRIES TO DEFEAT GOD’S PURPOSE

  • As the children of Israel, dwelling in the land of Egypt, were fast becoming a numerous race, what did Pharaoh propose to do, fearing they would one day turn against him? Exodus 1:15–17, 22.

Note: “The king and his counselors had hoped to subdue the Israelites with hard labor, and thus decrease their numbers and crush out their independent spirit. Failing to accomplish their purpose, they proceeded to more cruel measures. Orders were issued to the women whose employment gave them opportunity for executing the command, to destroy the Hebrew male children at their birth. Satan was the mover in this matter. He knew that a deliverer was to be raised up among the Israelites; and by leading the king to destroy their children he hoped to defeat the divine purpose. But the women feared God, and dared not execute the cruel mandate. The Lord approved their course, and prospered them. The king, angry at the failure of his design, made the command more urgent and extensive.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 242.

Monday

  1. PREPARING A LEADER

  • What was Moses’ heritage? Exodus 2:1; 6:20.

Note: “[Exodus 1:22 quoted.] While this decree was in full force a son was born to Amram and Jochebed, devout Israelites of the tribe of Levi. The babe was ‘a goodly child’ (Exodus 2:2); and the parents, believing that the time of Israel’s release was drawing near, and that God would raise up a deliverer for His people, determined that their little one should not be sacrificed.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 242, 243.

  • What did Moses’ mother do to save his life? Exodus 2:2–4.
  • How did God overrule the plans of Satan to destroy God’s planned deliverer? Exodus 2:5–10. What can we learn from the way Moses’ mother fulfilled her sacred trust in training her son for God?

Note: “God had heard the mother’s prayers; her faith had been rewarded. It was with deep gratitude that she entered upon her now safe and happy task. She faithfully improved her opportunity to educate her child for God. She felt confident that he had been preserved for some great work, and she knew that he must soon be given up to his royal mother, to be surrounded with influences that would tend to lead him away from God. All this rendered her more diligent and careful in his instruction than in that of her other children. She endeavored to imbue his mind with the fear of God and the love of truth and justice, and earnestly prayed that he might be preserved from every corrupting influence. She showed him the folly and sin of idolatry, and early taught him to bow down and pray to the living God, who alone could hear him and help him in every emergency. …

“The lessons learned at his mother’s side could not be forgotten. They were a shield from the pride, the infidelity, and the vice that flourished amid the splendor of the court.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 243, 244.

“Every child born into the home is a sacred trust. God says to the parents, ‘Take this child, and bring it up for Me, that it may be an honor to My name, and a channel through which My blessings shall flow to the world.’ ” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 145.

Tuesday

  1. AN EGYPTIAN EDUCATION

  • Following his early education in the home, what did the second phase of Moses’ education involve? Acts 7:22. Why do you think God placed him in Pharaoh’s palace?

Note: “From the humble home in Goshen the son of Jochabed passed to the palace of the Pharaoh, to the Egyptian princess, by her to be welcomed as a loved and cherished son. In the schools of Egypt, Moses received the highest civil and military training. Of great personal attractions, noble in form and stature, of cultivated mind and princely bearing, and renowned as a military leader, he became the nation’s pride. The king of Egypt was also a member of the priesthood; and Moses, though refusing to participate in the heathen worship, was initiated into all the mysteries of the Egyptian religion.” Education, 62.

  • Because of the faithful early training from his parents what choice was Moses led to make later in his life? Hebrews 11:24–26.

Note: “Moses was fitted to take pre-eminence among the great of the earth, to shine in the courts of its most glorious kingdom, and to sway the scepter of its power. His intellectual greatness distinguishes him above the great men of all ages. As historian, poet, philosopher, general of armies, and legislator, he stands without a peer. Yet with the world before him, he had the moral strength to refuse the flattering prospects of wealth and greatness and fame, ‘choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season’ (Hebrews 11:25).

“Moses had been instructed in regard to the final reward to be given to the humble and obedient servants of God, and worldly gain sank to its proper insignificance in comparison. The magnificent palace of Pharaoh and the monarch’s throne were held out as an inducement to Moses; but he knew that the sinful pleasures that make men forget God were in its lordly courts. He looked beyond the gorgeous palace, beyond a monarch’s crown, to the high honors that will be bestowed on the saints of the Most High in a kingdom untainted by sin. He saw by faith an imperishable crown that the King of heaven would place on the brow of the overcomer. This faith led him to turn away from the lordly ones of earth and join the humble, poor, despised nation that had chosen to obey God rather than to serve sin.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 246.

Wednesday

  1. FROM A PRINCE TO A SHEPHERD

  • When Moses tried to work out God’s plan for Israel in his own way, what were the results? Exodus 2:11–15; Acts 7:23–29.

Note: “Moses had supposed that his education in the wisdom of Egypt fully qualified him to lead Israel from bondage. Was he not learned in all those things necessary for a general of armies? Had he not had the advantages of the best schools in the land? Yes, he felt that he was able to deliver his people. He set about his work by trying to gain their favor by redressing their wrongs. He killed an Egyptian who was imposing upon one of the Israelites. In this he manifested the spirit of him who was a murderer from the beginning, and proved himself unfit to represent the God of mercy, love and tenderness.

“Moses made a miserable failure of his first attempt; and, like many another, he immediately lost confidence in God and turned his back on his appointed work. He fled from the wrath of Pharaoh. He concluded that because of his great sin in taking the life of the Egyptian, God would not permit him to have any part in the work of delivering his people from their cruel bondage. But the Lord allowed these things that He might teach Moses the gentleness, goodness, and long-suffering that it is necessary for every laborer for the Master to possess in order to be a successful worker in His cause.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 407.

“It was not God’s will to deliver His people by warfare, as Moses thought, but by His own mighty power, that the glory might be ascribed to Him alone. Yet even this rash act overruled by God to accomplish His purposes. Moses was not prepared for his great work. He had yet to learn the same lesson of faith that Abraham and Jacob had been taught—not to rely upon human strength or wisdom, but upon the power of God for the fulfillment of His promises.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 247.

  • How did Moses find a home in the land of Midian, and who became his family? Exodus 2:16–22; 18:2–4.
  • What was Moses’ occupation in the land of Midian? Exodus 3:1.

Thursday

  1. TRAINING IN THE SCHOOL OF HARDSHIP

  • What was later said of Moses, which showed the great change brought about by the years of training in the wilderness? Numbers 12:3. What lessons had he learned in the wilderness?

Note: “The education received by Moses, as the king’s grandson, was very thorough. Nothing was neglected that was calculated to make him a wise man, as the Egyptians understood wisdom. This education was a help to him in many respects; but the most valuable part of his fitting for his life work was that received while employed as a shepherd. As he led his flocks through the wilds of the mountains and into the green pastures of the valleys, the God of nature taught him the highest and grandest wisdom. In the school of nature, with Christ Himself for teacher, he contemplated and learned lessons of humility, meekness, faith, and trust, and of a humble manner of living, all of which bound his soul closer to God. In the solitude of the mountains he learned that which all his instruction in the king’s palace was unable to impart to him—simple, unwavering faith, and constant trust in the Lord.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 342.

“In the school of self-denial and hardship he was to learn patience to temper his passions. Before he could govern wisely, he must be trained to obey. His own heart must be fully in harmony with God before he could teach the knowledge of His will to Israel. By his own experience he must be prepared to exercise a fatherly care over all who needed his help.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 247.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1     How did Satan know that a deliverer was to be raised up from among the Israelites, and what did he do to try to prevent this?

2     How did Moses’ mother train the child whom she was sure had some great destiny? For what purpose should children be trained today?

3     What led Moses to choose poverty over worldly gain?

4     Why did Moses have to be re-educated in a desert place?

5     What did Moses learn in his years as a shepherd? What things can we learn from the trials we experience in our own lives?

Copyright 2019, Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24019-5048, U.S.A.

Bible Study Guides – Deliverance from the Education of Egypt

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April 19 – 25, 2020

Key Text

“Learn not the way of the heathen” (Jeremiah 10:2).

Study Help: Education, 45–50; The Adventist Home, 181–190.

Introduction

“I beg of parents to place their children where they will not be bewitched by a false education. Their only safety is in learning of Christ. He is the great central Light of the world. All other lights, all other wisdom, are foolishness.” The Review and Herald, August 17, 1897.

Sunday

THE INFERIORITY OF THE WISDOM OF EGYPT

  • How did Solomon’s wisdom compare to that of Egypt? 1 Kings 4:30.

 Note: “There is an education which is essentially worldly. Its aim is success in the world, the gratification of selfish ambition. To secure this education many students spend time and money in crowding their minds with unnecessary knowledge. The world accounts them learned; but God is not in their thoughts.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 64.

  • According to Solomon, what is the basis of true wisdom? Proverbs 9:10; 8:13; 15:33.

Note: “The great work of life is character building, and a knowledge of God is the foundation of all true education.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 596.

“The experimental knowledge of true godliness, found in daily consecration and service, ensures the highest culture of body, mind, and soul. This consecration of all our powers to God prevents self-exaltation. The impartation of divine power honors our sincere striving after wisdom that will enable us to use our highest faculties in a way that will honor God and bless our fellow men.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 63.

Monday

MOSES FORSAKES EGYPT

  • How extensive was Moses’ training, considering Egypt was the most highly civilized nation of his time? Acts 7:22.

Note: “In the schools of Egypt, Moses received the highest civil and military training. Of great personal attractions, noble in form and stature, of cultivated mind and princely bearing, and renowned as a military leader, he became the nation’s pride. The king of Egypt was also a member of the priesthood; and Moses, though refusing to participate in the heathen worship, was initiated into all the mysteries of the Egyptian religion.” Education, 62.

  • When confronted with the choice between worldly honors and serving God, what did Moses choose? Why? Hebrews 11:24–27.

  •  What was necessary in order for Moses to unlearn the negative aspects of his Egyptian education? Exodus 3:1, first part.

 Note: “In the wilds of Midian, Moses spent forty years as a keeper of sheep. Apparently cut off forever from his life’s mission, he was receiving the discipline essential for its fulfillment. Wisdom to govern an ignorant and undisciplined multitude must be gained through self-mastery. The influences that had surrounded him in Egypt, the affection of his foster mother, his own position as the grandson of the king, the luxury and vice that allured in ten thousand forms, the refinement, the subtlety, and the mysticism of a false religion, had made an impression on his mind and character. In the stern simplicity of the wilderness all this disappeared.” Education, 62, 63.

“Many have, as had Moses, very much to unlearn in order to learn the very lessons that they need to learn. He had need to be self-trained by severest mental and moral discipline, and God wrought with him before he could be fitted to train others in mind and heart.” This Day With God, 321.

“It was not the education received in Egypt that enabled Moses to triumph over his enemies, but an ever-abiding, unflinching faith, which did not fail under the most trying circumstances.” The Signs of the Times, July 12, 1905.

Tuesday

FREEDOM FROM THE EDUCATION OF EGYPT

  • What counsel should we listen to when educating our children? Jeremiah 10:2; Proverbs 19:27.

Note: “In turning from God’s word to feed on the writings of uninspired men, the mind becomes dwarfed and cheapened. It is not brought in contact with deep, broad principles of eternal truth. The understanding adapts itself to the comprehension of the things with which it is familiar, and in this devotion to finite things it is weakened, its power is contracted, and after a time it becomes unable to expand.

“All this is false education. The work of every teacher should be to fasten the mind of the youth upon the grand truths of the word of Inspiration. This is the education essential for this life and for the life to come.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 41, 42.

  • What is God’s purpose for us, just as it was for ancient Israel? Deuteronomy 14:2. What do we, like Israel, desire instead? 1 Samuel 8:5.

Note: “The discipline and training that God appointed for Israel would cause them, in all their ways of life, to differ from the people of other nations. This peculiarity, which should have been regarded as a special privilege and blessing, was to them unwelcome. The simplicity and self-restraint essential to the highest development they sought to exchange for the pomp and self-indulgence of heathen peoples. To be ‘like all the nations’ (1 Samuel 8:5) was their ambition. God’s plan of education was set aside, His authority disowned.” Education, 49, 50.

  • What danger should we guard against? John 12:43. Can Christ dwell in a divided heart? Matthew 6:24.

Note: “It is not His [God’s] design that those whose services He has purchased, shall be trained to serve mammon, trained to receive human praise, human glorification, or to be subservient to the world.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 470.

“We cannot be half the Lord’s and half the world’s. We are not God’s children unless we are such entirely.” Steps to Christ, 44.

Wednesday

NEW TRAINING NEEDED

  • Why do we need to be re-educated by God? Judges 17:6; Isaiah 53:6. Why did the parents among the Israelites need re-education after they left Egypt? How are we any different to them today?

Note: “When brought out of Egypt there were among the Israelites few prepared to be workers together with Him in the training of their children. The parents themselves needed instruction and discipline. Victims of lifelong slavery, they were ignorant, untrained, degraded. They had little knowledge of God and little faith in Him. They were confused by false teaching and corrupted by their long contact with heathenism.” Education, 34.

“Parents will have need of patience and moral strength, in order that in the fear of God they may unlearn the customs of the world.” The Review and Herald, November 13, 1894.

  • What happened to those Israelites who did not accept the training God wanted them to have? 1 Corinthians 10:5, 6. To which sins were they more prone due to their education in Egypt?

Note: “The Lord did not forsake His people in their wanderings through the wilderness, but many of them forsook the Lord. The education they had had in Egypt made them subject to temptation, to idolatry, and to licentiousness, and because they disregarded the commandments of the Lord, nearly all the adults who left Egypt were overthrown in the wilderness; but their children were permitted to enter Canaan.” The Review and Herald, December 17, 1895.

  • What are we to keep in mind as we seek to educate our children and youth? 1 John 2:15–17; Romans 12:2.

Note: “The great lesson to be given to the youth is that, as worshipers of God, they are to cherish Bible principles, and hold the world as subordinate. God would have all instructed as to how they can work the works of Christ, and enter in through the gates into the heavenly city. We are not to let the world convert us; we are to strive most earnestly to convert the world.” The Review and Herald, August 17, 1897.

Thursday

FOLLOWING GOD’S PLAN

  • How was God’s original plan for education shown in the life of Abraham? What was the intended result of this education? Genesis 18:19.

Note: “In the divine plan of education as adapted to man’s condition after the fall, Christ stands as the representative of the Father, the connecting link between God and man; He is the great teacher of mankind. And He ordained that men and women should be His representatives. The family was the school, and the parents were the teachers.

“The education centering in the family was that which prevailed in the days of the patriarchs. For the schools thus established, God provided the conditions most favorable for the development of character. … The men who held fast God’s principles of life dwelt among the fields and hills. They were tillers of the soil and keepers of flocks and herds.” The Adventist Home, 181.

    • Why is communion with God an essential part of education? Job 22:21.

Note: “When the mind of man is brought into communion with the mind of God, the finite with the Infinite, the effect on body and mind and soul is beyond estimate. In such communion is found the highest education. It is God’s own method of development.” The Acts of the Apostles, 126.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1    Instead of gratifying selfish ambition, what does true education lead us to do?

2    How can we forsake Egypt today? Why do we need to do this?

3    In what ways are we imitating the world in the way we educate our children?

4    Why do many parents today need to be trained in God’s methods of education? What do they need to unlearn?

5    Where were the first schools, and how can we return to God’s plan for education today?

Copyright 2019, Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24019-5048, U.S.A.

Bible Study Guides – “We Have Sinned and Committed Iniquity”

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May 5, 2001 – May 11, 2001

MEMORY VERSE

“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.” Isaiah 42:6.

STUDY HELP: Prophets and Kings, 367–372.

Introduction

“They (Israelites) rendered outward service to God as the means of attaining to national greatness. They did not become the light of the world, but shut themselves away from the world in order to escape temptation to idolatry. In the instruction given through Moses, God had placed restrictions upon their association with idolaters; but this teaching had been misinterpreted. It was intended to prevent them from conforming to the practices of the heathen. But it was used to build up a wall of separation between Israel and all other nations. The Jews looked upon Jerusalem as their heaven, and they were actually jealous lest the Lord should show mercy to the Gentiles.” The Desire of Ages, 28, 29.

“A Light to the Gentiles”

  1. What was God’s purpose in selecting Israel as His people? Isaiah 60:1–6; Isaiah 49:6.

NOTE: “It was in order that the Israelites might be a blessing to the nations, and that God’s name might be made known ‘throughout all the earth’ (Exodus 9:16), that they were delivered from Egyptian bondage. If obedient to His requirements, they were to be placed far in advance of other peoples in wisdom and understanding; but this supremacy was to be reached and maintained only in order that through them the purpose of God for ‘all nations of the earth’ might be fulfilled.” Prophets and Kings, 368, 369.

  1. What made it impossible for Israel to fulfill God’s purpose? Jeremiah 3:6–8. Compare Revelation 18:1–4.

NOTE: “When I study the Scriptures, I am alarmed for the Israel of God in these last days. They are exhorted to flee from idolatry. I fear that they are asleep and so conformed to the world that it would be difficult to discern between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. The distance is widening between Christ and His people, and lessening between them and the world. The marks of distinction between Christ’s professed people and the world have almost disappeared. Like ancient Israel, they follow after the abominations of the nations around them.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 277.

“Rising Up Early”

  1. By what means did God seek to bring His people back to Himself? Jeremiah 7:23–26.

NOTE: “Jerusalem had been honored of God above all the earth. The Lord had ‘chosen Zion,’ He had ‘desired it for His habitation.’ Psalm 132:13. There, for ages, holy prophets had uttered their messages of warning. There priests had waved their censers, and the cloud of incense, with the prayers of the worshipers, had ascended before God. There daily the blood of slain lambs had been offered, pointing forward to the Lamb of God. There Jehovah had revealed His presence in the cloud of glory above the mercy seat. There rested the base of that mystic ladder connecting earth with heaven (Genesis 28:12; John 1:51)—that ladder upon which angels of God descended and ascended, and which opened to the world the way into the holiest of all. Had Israel as a nation preserved her allegiance to Heaven, Jerusalem would have stood forever, the elect of God. Jeremiah 17:21–25. But the history of that favored people was a record of backsliding and rebellion. They had resisted Heaven’s grace, abused their privileges, and slighted their opportunities.” The Great Controversy, 19.

  1. What was Israel’s response to the prophets God sent to her? Matthew 21:33–36; Matthew 23:29–35.

NOTE: “Grievously had the children of Israel ‘sinned against the Lord their God, . . . and wrought wicked things.’ ‘They would not hear, but . . . rejected His statutes, and His covenant that He made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He testified against them.’ It was because they had ‘left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal,’ and refused steadfastly to repent, that the Lord ‘afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until He had cast them out of His sight,’ in harmony with the plain warnings He had sent them ‘by all His servants the prophets.’” Prophets and Kings, 291.

“Because Ye Have Not Heard My words”

  1. Because of their failure to fulfil His purpose, what did God allow to happen to His people? Amos 7:16, 17; Jeremiah 25:8–11.

NOTE: “The Lord graciously revealed Himself. He spread before Israel the things that were for the welfare of the nation. ‘I have written to him the great things of My law,’ He declared through Hosea, ‘but they were counted as a strange thing.’ ‘I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.’ Hosea 8:12; 11:3. Tenderly had the Lord dwelt with them, instructing them by His prophets line upon line, precept upon precept. Had Israel heeded the messages of the prophets, they would have been spared the humiliation that followed. It was because they had persisted in turning aside from His law that God was compelled to let them go into captivity. ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,’ was His message to them through Hosea. ‘Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee: . . . seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God.’ Hosea 4:6.” Prophets and Kings, 296, 297.

  1. How did Daniel acknowledge the reason for the captivity? Daniel 9:5, 6.

NOTE: “The prophet Daniel was an example of true sanctification. His long life was filled up with noble service for his Master. He was a man ‘greatly beloved’ (Daniel 10:11) of Heaven. Yet instead of claiming to be pure and holy, this honored prophet identified himself with the really sinful of Israel as he pleaded before God in behalf of his people: ‘We do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousness, but for Thy great mercies.’ ‘We have sinned, we have done wickedly.’ He declares: ‘I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people.’” The Great Controversy, 470.

  1. Whom especially did the Lord hold accountable for His people’s apostasy? Ezekiel 34:7–10.

NOTE: “The shepherds who lead the sheep in false paths will hear the charge made against them, ‘It was you who made light of truth. It was you who told us that God’s law was abrogated, that it was a yoke of bondage. . . . The blood of our souls is upon your priestly garments. . . . Now will you pay the ransom for my soul? . . . What shall we do who listened to your garbling of the Scriptures and your turning into a lie the truth which if obeyed would have saved us?’ When Christ comes to take vengeance on those who have educated and trained the people to trample on God’s Sabbath, to tear down His memorial, and tread down with their feet the feed of His pastures, lamentations will be in vain. Those who trusted in the false shepherds had the word of God to search for themselves, and they find that God will judge every man who has had the truth and turned from the light because it involved self-denial and the cross. Rocks and mountains cannot screen them from the indignation of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.” Maranatha, 290.

“As a Shepherd Seeketh Out His Flock”

  1. What was God’s purpose in permitting the captivity of His people? Jeremiah 24:1–10.

NOTE: “Among the children of Israel who were carried captive to Babylon at the beginning of the seventy years’ captivity were Christian patriots, men who were as true as steel to principle, who would not be corrupted by selfishness, but who would honor God at the loss of all things. In the land of their captivity these men were to carry out God’s purpose by giving to heathen nations the blessings that come through a knowledge of Jehovah. They were to be His representatives. Never were they to compromise with idolaters; their faith and their name as worshipers of the living God they were to bear as a high honor. And this they did. In prosperity and adversity they honored God, and God honored them.” Prophets and Kings, 479.

  1. What promise did the Lord make concerning those who would return from the captivity? Jeremiah 31:10, 31–33.

NOTE: “Humbled in the sight of the nations, those who once had been recognized as favored of Heaven above all other peoples of the earth were to learn in exile the lesson of obedience so necessary for their future happiness. Until they had learned this lesson, God could not do for them all that He desired to do. ‘I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished,’ He declared in explanation of His purpose to chastise them for their spiritual good. Jeremiah 30:11. Yet those who had been the object of His tender love were not forever set aside; before all the nations of earth He would demonstrate His plan to bring victory out of apparent defeat, to save rather than to destroy. To the prophet was given the message: [Jeremiah 31:10–14, 23–25, 31–34 quoted].” Prophets and Kings, 475.

“Seventy Weeks are Determined upon Thy People”

  1. What period of probationary time did the Lord allocate to Israel? Daniel 9:24.

NOTE: “God gives nations a certain time of probation. He sends light and evidence, that, if received, will save them, but if refused as the Jews refused light, indignation and punishment will fall upon them. If men refuse to be benefited, and choose darkness rather than light, they will reap the results of their choice. ‘Behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.’ The professed Christian world is advancing, as did the Jewish nation, from one degree of sinfulness to a greater degree, refusing warning after warning, and rejecting a Thus saith the Lord, while crediting the fables of men. The Lord God will soon arise in His wrath, and pour out His judgments upon those who are repeating the sins of the inhabitants of the Noachic world. Those whose hearts are fully set in them to do evil, as were the hearts of the inhabitants of Sodom, will like them be destroyed. The fact that God had long forbearance, patience and mercy, the fact that His judgments have been long delayed, will not make the punishment any less severe when it does come.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1143, 1144.

  1. How did Jesus prophesy the end of Israel’s probation? Matthew 21:43. Compare Matthew 23:37, 38.

NOTE: “Christ came to save Jerusalem with her children; but Pharisaical pride, hypocrisy, jealousy, and malice had prevented Him from accomplishing His purpose. Jesus knew the terrible retribution which would be visited upon the doomed city. He saw Jerusalem encompassed with armies, the besieged inhabitants driven to starvation and death, mothers feeding upon the dead bodies of their own children, and both parents and children snatching the last morsel of food from one another, natural affection being destroyed by the gnawing pangs of hunger. He saw that the stubbornness of the Jews, as evinced in their rejection of His salvation, would also lead them to refuse submission to the invading armies. He beheld Calvary, on which He was to be lifted up, set with crosses as thickly as forest trees. He saw the wretched inhabitants suffering torture on the rack and by crucifixion, the beautiful palaces destroyed, the temple in ruins, and of its massive walls not one stone left upon another, while the city was ploughed like a field. Well might the Saviour weep in agony in view of that fearful scene.” The Desire of Ages, 577.

“Lo, We Turn unto the Gentiles”

  1. What events signalled the end of the probation of the Jewish people? Acts 7:57–59; Acts 9:1–6, 15; Acts 11:5–9, 15–17.

NOTE: “Then, said the angel, ‘He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [seven years].’ For seven years after the Saviour entered on His ministry, the gospel was to be preached especially to the Jews; for three and a half years by Christ Himself; and afterward by the apostles. ‘In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.’ Daniel 9:27. In the spring of A.D. 31, Christ the true sacrifice was offered on Calvary. Then the veil of the temple was rent in twain, showing that the sacredness and significance of the sacrificial service had departed. The time had come for the earthly sacrifice and oblation to cease. The one week—seven years—ended in A. D. 34. Then by the stoning of Stephen the Jews finally sealed their rejection of the gospel; the disciples who were scattered abroad by persecution ‘went everywhere preaching the word’ (Acts 8:4); and shortly after, Saul the persecutor was converted, and became Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.” The Desire of Ages, 233.

  1. What lesson may we learn from God’s rejection of the Jews as His chosen people? Romans 11:18–22.

NOTE: “The branches represent the believers in Jesus Christ. Those who truly believe, will do the same works that He did. They are united to Christ by the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. As the branch is nourished by the sap which flows from the parent stock, so the believer in Christ is sustained by the life of Christ. The branches represent the very youngest of the followers of Christ, as the branch includes all the tiny tendrils that belong to it. Jesus is our center. He is the parent stock that bears the branches. In Him our eternal life is centered. The words that He has spoken unto us are spirit and life, and those who feed upon His word, and are doers of His word, represent Him in character. His patience, meekness, humility, and love pervade their hearts.” Review and Herald, January 14, 1896.

Ask the Pastor – Israel, No Longer a Nation?

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Question:

Could you please help me understand Jeremiah 31:36, which says, “If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, [then] the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.” I know we do not believe that the nation of Israel will play a part in the last days, but what does this mean?

Answer:

Jeremiah 31 is a communication from God to the children of Israel designed to create hope and confidence that nothing is going to interfere with His plan for complete restoration from the ravages of sin.

Verse 36 is an assurance from God that nothing will stop the promise of fulfillment from taking place. But we must remember that all promises of God are based on conditions. Exodus 19:5–6 tells us, “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” Deuteronomy 11:26–28 comes to bear on this subject also.

God makes it very clear to Israel, from the very beginning of their existence, that His promises to them are based upon the condition of obedience. Having said all this, when we come to a passage which says that they will continue being a nation as long as the sun shines during the day and the moon and stars shine at night [Jeremiah 31:35], we see that this was said to let them know that nothing would stop God from keeping them from any mischief that the devil and all his host could bring against them—if they were living up to their end of the bargain. It was their part to be obedient to the commandments. If they failed in that, then they would become cursed and no longer be able to claim God’s protective care.

The interesting thing is that this whole passage is in the setting of the New Covenant. If only Israel would have understood that along with the promise of God to call them His people, He would make it possible for them to keep His commandments! Jeremiah 31:33 says: “But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Here God is promising that He would put things together in such a way that it would be entirely possible to keep His law. He would write it upon the tables of their hearts. That is, He would give them such a love for Him, that obedience would be second nature to them. Love would be the motivating factor.

But the children of Israel rejected the plan of God and did their own thing, rather than working with God and His plan. As a sure result, when He came, they crucified Him. While the sands of their probation were trickling through the glass of time, they stoned Stephen, and probation closed upon them as a nation, forever closing the door to their being a nation again.

The promise found in Jeremiah 31:36 now passes on to the church. What we do with it will determine our future with God also.

Pastor Mike Baugher is Associate Speaker for Steps to Life Ministry. If you have a question you would like Pastor Mike to answer, e-mail it to: landmarks@stepstolife.org, or mail it to: LandMarks, P. O. Box 782828, Wichita, KS 67278.

Lessons From the Book of Amos – Part VII

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As we study the Book of Amos, we need to pray for God’s eyesalve to look not only at what was transpiring in the past but to also see what is happening in the time in which we live.

Too often we find ourselves reading God’s Word for an immediate answer to some problem or difficulty that we might have at the time—a solution that will answer the questions for the here and now. But this is not really the way to study God’s Word. Ellen White tells us that the prophets wrote more for our day than for the day in which they themselves lived, so our study of Amos is timely. (See Selected Messages, Book 3, 338, 339.)

Sad Judgment

Reading the contents of Amos 8 is like reading the obituary at the funeral of a friend, because we realize the finality of the deceased one’s life. Amos 8 is a sad chapter. What makes it even sadder is that the same dire consequences and circumstances will fall upon God’s people at the end of time as fell upon God’s people, Israel, in the Northern kingdom. Those who have had the benefit and the privileges of knowing the Three Angels’ Messages will, we are told, leave by the millions. We boast today, in Seventh-day Adventism, a membership of over 12 million, but one day, millions of these members will leave. Many, we are told by the Pen of Inspiration, will leave this truth and join the ranks of the opposition. (See The Great Controversy, 608; Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 195, 196.)

The story does not end there. “Standard after standard was left to trail in the dust as company after company from the Lord’s army joined the foe and tribe after tribe from the ranks of the enemy united with the commandment-keeping people of God.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 41. We are told that “the broken ranks will be filled up by those represented by Christ as coming in at the eleventh hour.” Last Day Events, 182.

The circumstances in the Northern kingdom were bleak, and it was into this situation that Amos came. He was not a citizen of Israel. He had come from the Southern kingdom of Judah. When he arrived, Amos began to deliver to the nations around Israel the message he had been given, declaring that it would not be long until the wrath of God would fall upon them.

The people of Israel, upon hearing Amos’ message, said, “Amen, brother, preach on. Preach it like it is.” He was naming the sins of the other countries and declaring that they and even the Southern kingdom, where he was from, would receive punishment. None of this got Amos in trouble. I suspect this part of his preaching brought a lot of applause and praise.

Amos saved Israel, the Northern kingdom, for his last message. When he began to preach, “You people of Israel, your sins are as bad as or worse than the rest; God is going to destroy you,” he was no longer the popular preacher that he had been. The people then told him to mind his own business and to go back to where he had come from!

Themes Used

In our previous studies, we have learned that God uses theme devices as He inspires His prophets to bring His word to us. As we endeavor to study the Word of God, we must understand God’s theme devices, or we are going to get off track in our interpretation of God’s Word. God uses theme devices for learning, so we will remember the lessons that are taught and will stay on track.

When Amos began his book, with the pronouncements of judgments on Israel and Judah as well as the surrounding nations, the theme device was, for three transgressions and for four. (See Amos 1.) Amos used this theme device to get their attention. The reasons were given as to why the judgments were coming. Then again, in chapters 7 and 8, this theme device surfaces in all of its full-blown glory.

No Escape

God repented of the first two of four visions of judgment. God was willing to overlook, for the greater benefit of the nation, their first two follies. That tells us something about God: He is willing, through His mercy, to overlook many of our faults, but we should never presume that because He does not punish us immediately, we can take advantage of that mercy by continuing to sin. If we do, we will find that God will ultimately bring judgment instead of mercy upon us.

God was willing to overlook things—for three transgressions and for four,—but the third and the fourth visions of judgment are very soon to kick in.

God has laws of operation that govern everything He does, including how He presents His messages to His people. If we are going to stay on track, we must understand how these laws operate. Let us study this further.

The fourth vision of Amos tells of the final judgment of Israel. As we read the words of this Old Testament prophet, we cannot escape the depicted concept of judgment. Judgment is not a comfortable topic. It is the very opposite of being comfortable. We are so disturbed by the topic that we often deny that God is bringing judgment upon a land or upon His people. We miss the point that God has for us, because we do not want to discuss judgment. Judgment denotes the idea that something really dreadful is going to take place, and the human psyche cannot cope with it.

We all remember 9/11—the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, New York, and on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001. This generation will probably never forget 9/11. We may forget a lot of things, but that date is going to stay with us. When we saw the pictures on television showing the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center burning and then collapsing, we could not believe that such a horrendous thing was taking place. We were in a state of disbelief that something like this could happen on American soil. Of all the words that have been spoken regarding 9/11, I do not remember hearing anything said that this was a judgment of God. Thousands of lives were lost; hundreds of millions of dollars in damage was done. Could it have been a judgment from God? I believe so, because Ellen White tells us that such terrible disasters are indeed judgments of God upon the land. (See Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, 1.)

Most people’s minds will not allow them to process that kind of thought. Many people are in a state of shock, because some things are so awful they cannot cope with them. It is no surprise that many minds find it difficult to grasp the reality of the judgment of God, but it is important that we do think about it. The Bible makes sure that we do, because without judgment, all systems of human morality collapse. People want to do away with punishment. They manipulate laws so that punishment becomes less and less because of this concept of judgment in their minds. They do not want to deal with judgment. They do not want to deal with harshness, because they know that at some point in time—if indeed there is a God—they are going to have to face the judgment themselves. They somehow think that if they are merciful, then God will be merciful to them in their sin.

Amaziah’s Actions

In a way, this was the case with the High Priest, Amaziah. (See Amos 7:10–13.) He did not want to face the fact that judgment would come. As a result, he tried to silence Amos. This story is particularly intriguing, because it tells of an attempt by a religious official to stifle the preaching of a prophet whose message was unpleasant, embarrassing, and even threatening to the religious and governmental establishment.

From a purely human point of view, Amaziah’s actions were reasonable. He wanted to silence Amos. He viewed him as a prophet who was not authorized to be in the Northern kingdom. He did not appreciate being told that they were not following God. The reality of it is, however, that when you try to silence a prophet of God, you are, in fact, trying to silence God.

We know that this is not something new. There is nothing new under the sun! In the New Testament, we see this phenomenon was raised up again and again. Those whose fathers had killed the prophets also thought that they could silence John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul, and the other prophets. Sadly, they had failed to learn this lesson outlined in Amos. They thought that it applied to someone else, not to them. In reality, is not that the tendency of human beings today?

History tells us that religion always tries to have peace and harmony prevail above the truth that God demands justice and faithfulness. I have heard people say, “When we hear the governments in the Middle East crying peace and safety, that is then the sign of the end.” No, that is not the sign of the end.

The sign of the end is when religious pressure becomes so great that it forces all religious groups into a uniformity—not a unity, but into a uniformity—where there are no longer the variances that now exist. That is the peace and safety that needs to be carefully watched, because it has always been the plan and purpose of religion to bring peace and harmony into the lives of those who are following their religion.

This God is going to judge, and ignorance is not bliss. Refusal to consider the reality of God’s wrath against evil amounts to willingness to condone evil. The truth, today, is that people do not consider what is right or wrong. They do, however, consider how they feel about something.

How we feel, most of the time, is wrong, because we base our feelings, for the most part, upon our sinful natures. The sad story is that Amaziah, who wanted to protect his king and countrymen from hearing the predictions of their doom, would inevitably be unable to escape the effects of that doom himself. Amos’ message did not come from some manifestation of his own will but was a direct message from God. Amaziah, along with his fellow Israelites, was destined to experience the penalty of ignoring and opposing the message.

Summer Fruit

Consider now this vision of the summer fruit in Amos 8: “Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.” Verses 1, 2.

God asked Amos, “What do you see?”

Amos replied, “A basket of summer fruit.” The vision of summer fruit brings the message that it is over for Israel.

One of the things that my wife, Judy, and I like is tree-ripened, summer fruit. There is nothing quite like it. When we go to the grocery store, the fruit we buy there has been picked green and shipped across the country. It looks good, but it has little taste, and we often wish we had never bought it. There is nothing like tree-ripened, sweet, summer fruit.

What God is presenting to Amos in this vision of summer fruit is the idea that summer fruit does not last long. It is ripe. When we obtain tree-ripened, summer fruit, we had better eat it or preserve it immediately, or it will turn to mush. God is communicating the fact that the time is ripe. Their cup is full. They have presumed upon the mercy of God long enough.

“What did you see, Amos?”

“I saw some summer fruit. It was ripe, and it was ready to have some-thing done with it.”

God said, “You are right. It has to have something done with it. It has to be dealt with.”

After the plumbline of Amos 7, and then the rejection of God’s Word by the priest, Amaziah, the end of the line has come for God’s people—the summer fruit. God is not going to spare them any longer.

Picture of Disaster

Amos 8:3 depicts the awful picture of disaster: “And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: [there shall be] many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast [them] forth with silence.”

They were singing these songs at the temple in Bethel—a temple that was in a state of high apostasy, and had been from its very beginning. They would find that even though they received pleasure in the past from their songs, they now would be turned to howlings, to songs of lamentation. Dead bodies were going to be everywhere.

This is why I say that Amos 8 is such a sad chapter. It is like attending a funeral, because there is death and carnage and disaster in every place. God says, “I want you to pay close attention, because this is a type of the disaster that is going to take place at the end of the world.”

Often we have the idea that the disaster at the end of the world will be terrible because of so much bloodshed, but that is not the disaster with which we need to be concerned. The disaster at the end of the world is the fact that God’s people—those who have professed God—are going to be the ones slaughtered.

The world will get what it has coming, but God’s people have made a profession. They have said, “All that the Lord has said, we will do.” (Exodus 19:8; 24:3, 7.) They have the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this, if they will. The tragedy, the disaster, is not that the world is going to be destroyed; the tragedy is that those who have taken the name of the Lord upon their lips are going to be destroyed.

Amos 8:3 is not talking about the dead bodies of the surrounding nations. It is referring to those who are at the temple singing the songs and worshiping. There will be many dead bodies.

New Moon

“Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; [yea,] and sell the refuse of the wheat? The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as [by] the flood of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only [son], and the end thereof as a bitter day.” Verses 4–10.

The new moon heralded the coming of the new month, and it was a time to come before the Lord. The people of Israel had watchmen set to watch for the new moon. When the new moon came, they blew the trumpet, announcing that a new month was on its way.

We read in Isaiah 66 that the Lord is going to come, and He is going to create new heavens and a new earth. “And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” Verse 23. Somehow most of us have a tendency to zero in on this Sabbath promise to the neglect of the new moon promise. I would like to suggest to you that the new moon spoken of in this text is going to be just as much a reality in the new earth as will the Sabbath issue, because it is qualified by saying that the Lord is going to create new heavens and a new earth.

How do we as Seventh-day Adventists relate to the new moon concept? In Amos, the people were saying, “Get this new moon thing out of the way so that we can sell our corn. Get the Sabbath over with so we can sell our wheat.”

What about the new moon? Does it have significance for us? It most certainly does. Do you remember what is going to take place in the new earth concerning the tree of life? We are going to eat the fruit of that tree, how often? Every month. (See Revelation 22:2.) Isaiah’s prophetic vision reveals that he saw God’s people coming once a month to worship before the Lord and to partake of the fruit that will continue to sustain immortality. They will come Sabbath by Sabbath as well.

The Burden of Sabbath

The people of the Northern kingdom could not wait for the new moon to be gone. They could not wait for the Sabbath to be over. They would say, “Jeremiah, go out and look at the sundial in the garden. See how long the shadow is. Is the sun down yet?” What did they have on their minds? They wanted to get going with the worldly things of their lives. They had forgotten about God. The Sabbath was a burden.

There are Seventh-day Adventists today in the same situation. If they are keeping the Sabbath, it is a burden. They want it to be gone, so they can do their own things. They do not consider the Sabbath to be a time of spiritual blessing and refreshing. They cannot wait for the sun to go down.

There are others who make no pretense about the Sabbath at all. They just do their own things anyway. Maybe they are refrained a little bit. I remember hearing a teacher in one of the church’s academies stating that their family would go window-shopping on Sabbath. This teacher thought that as long as they did not buy anything, they were not breaking the Sabbath. Then, when the sun went down, they were ready to go into the stores to buy the items they had seen on Sabbath. They were “cultural Adventists.” Although they had grown up in the system, they had never really understood what a blessing the Sabbath day is.

God Sees It All

In Amos 8:7, the Lord says, “I will never forget anything that they have done.” God sees it all. God sees not only what takes place on the surface, but He is also able to look into the heart when you are keeping your eye on your watch, thinking that that action is not breaking the Sabbath. God knows that down in your heart you are hoping that you can make it to the store just before the sun goes down, so you will be ready to purchase when the clock strikes. Is that Sabbath keeping? Not at all. God says, “I see it all.”

Not only does God see our Sabbath-keeping, but also He sees every financial deal with which we are involved. He sees every greedy acquisition, every religious act, and every critical thought. Nothing is forgotten. God writes it all down, and our only hope is to come to a point in our lives where nothing matters but our God and the vindication of His character by our own. That is our only hope.

Coming Famine

As we come to the close of this chapter, I would suggest to you that there is a hint in the final verses of how judgment might have been averted.

In verse 11, we read: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread . . . .” No, there was not going to be a famine of bread, because Israel was at the height of its prosperity, but they were at the bottom spiritually.

You know, there will come a time, when the Spirit is being poured out on God’s people, that there will be some sitting in the pews who will not even realize what is happening. Some will receive the Spirit and others will not, but from all appearances, the difference will not be discerned.

But there is coming a famine in the land, “not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.”

That is a sad thing to think about, is it not? We pride ourselves in regard to all of the Bibles we have in the United States, but the day is going to come when there is going to be a famine in the land. That famine will not focus on whether or not you have a Bible. It is going to be more profound than that.

Many people think that if they have the Bible and if they have memorized verses, they are going to be okay. I am sorry to say that they are not going to be okay. When this famine strikes, it is going to be more profound than that. It is going to be so profound that they will not know how to apply the verses they have memorized, unless their hearts have been changed.

Spirit Withdrawn

“And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find [it]. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth: and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.” Verses 12–14.

One of the attributes of judgment is the fact that God withdraws His Spirit. When God withdraws His Spirit, that which you think you have a good handle on, you have no handle on at all. That can be part of judgment, and that is what is described in these last verses. The people are running everywhere, trying to find out what they should do, but they are not able to find it. They take their Bibles down from the shelves, open and leaf through them, but cannot find an answer that satisfies the need of their hearts. They have not paid attention to God’s Word. That is what was wrong in verse 5 when the described religious services were taking place. Instead of treasuring up those things that God had for them, they were wishing the Sabbath hours away.

The Application

How can we apply the lessons in this chapter of Amos to our lives? Part of what makes up God’s judgment is the withdrawing of His Word from His people and the withdrawing of the Holy Spirit so that the Word cannot be understood. It is only the Holy Spirit that guides into all truth. (John 16:13.) A famine of hearing the words of the Lord—what a warning to Seventh-day Adventists today!

Each Sabbath day, across the world, thousands of congregations meet. I wonder what takes place in those church services each Sabbath. I wonder what the Spirit of the Lord sees—not only from a pulpit point of view but also from a congregational point of view. Does He see His Word exalted? Does He see the moving of His Holy Spirit upon the congregations, or is the Spirit grieved away? Are the services frivolous, a time-passer to get people through the hours of the Sabbath day?

The Seventh-day Adventist Church was founded upon the Word of God, and it is the Word that needs to be preached today. It is the Word that needs to be followed, if we are ever going to get out of this world alive.

Mark it down. Amos 8:11 will be fulfilled to Adventists as well as those of other denominations. That day is going to come when there will be a famine in the land—a famine for the Word of God.

Ellen White talks about this day, and she places it near the end of time when judgment is going to fall. “Those who had not prized God’s Word were hurrying to and fro, wandering from sea to sea, and from the north to the east, to seek the Word of the Lord. Said the angel, ‘They shall not find it. There is a famine in the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of the Lord. What would they not give for one word of approval from God! but no, they must hunger and thirst on. Day after day have they slighted salvation, prizing earthly riches and earthly pleasure higher than any heavenly treasure or inducement. They have rejected Jesus and despised His saints. The filthy must remain filthy forever.’ ” Early Writings, 281, 282.

I am convinced, in my own mind, that the fulfillment of Revelation, when it says that they have no rest day and night, applies here. (Revelation 14:11.) Searching, wondering, wondering, searching—no rest day or night. What we see in these verses and in this quotation is another example of the parable of the ten virgins. (Matthew 25.)

Equal Chance

Remember, the Bible says that five of the virgins were wise and five were foolish. Do you know why it uses five and five? Why did Jesus not say there were four and six or three and seven? Why five and five? The reason five and five is used is because it is an equal number on each side, which means there is an equal chance for you to be in one group or the other. You are not in a lop-sided situation where there were two wise virgins and eight foolish. With those numbers, it would be difficult to get into the wise group, but you have an equal chance. The choice rests with you. So the five wise and the five foolish are presented before us.

The parable tells us that all ten virgins fell into the Laodicean condition. They all slumbered and slept, and when the cry was given, the five wise virgins trimmed their lamps and went in to the wedding, but the five foolish went out and began to search for oil. Oil represents the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the guide to God’s Word. It guides us into all truth.

They could not find any Holy Spirit; they could not find any Word. There was a famine in the land, as far as they were concerned. They went out, and they searched and searched.

What would they do? They would come up to someone and ask, “I know that you have an experience with the Lord. Can you please tell me what I need to know so that I can make it into the wedding feast? I am confused; I do not know. Please help me.” This is the plea they give. This is the plea for the oil to put in their lamps—a searching for truth. They knew they needed to have this oil so they could be saved.

While they hesitated, while they looked, while they searched, while they inquired, the door was closed, and it was all over—just like the story Amos relates in chapter 8. The idea is left with us that we need to make hay while the sun shines. We need to make our search now. We need to make our application now. You see, it was never God’s plan that Israel should suffer the fate that they suffered. His plan was perfect.

It is not His plan that we should suffer a similar fate, and we do not have to. Remember the five wise virgins and the five foolish. We have an equal chance to be in either group, if we learn the lessons.

A Land for Us

As this article is written, there is a war going on in Israel. They are fighting over a piece of real estate that has no blessing in it whatsoever. But God has a land for us. It is right now a land that we can see only by faith, but it is a real land nonetheless. If we are faithful, one day God is going to usher us into that land.

We need to make sure that we are learning the lessons that God has for us, because if we do, we will be classed with the five wise virgins and will be invited to go in to the wedding feast. God is going to say, “Come thou, blessed of the kingdom, enter into the joys that the Lord has prepared for thee.”

I am looking forward to hearing that pronouncement, and I know that you are, too. Let us spend time with the Lord and learn the lessons that He has for us in His Word. Do not just read it through on the surface. Dig down a little deeper, and we will be blessed as a result of our efforts.

To be continued . . .

Pastor Mike Baugher is Associate Speaker for Steps to Life Ministry. He may be contacted by e-mail at: mikebaugher@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

A Finished Work—The Method

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A very special promise for our time is given in Romans 9:28: “For he will finish the work, and cut [it] short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.”

The Lord is going to finish His work. In the first article of this series, you may remember that our study concerned the challenge that this presents to us today—the giants and the fortified cities that are in the land even now. In this article, let us look again at the challenge and also at a finished work—the method.

Entering the Promised Land

In the first chapter of the Book of Joshua, we find, in our study of the conquest of the Promised Land, that the children of Israel, having journeyed in the wilderness for 39 additional years, were to enter at last into the Promised Land. God presented the method by which they would finish the work that was given to them.

Notice the Lord’s introduction to Joshua: “Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, [even] to the children of Israel.” Joshua 1:1, 2.

This is the first recorded time that the Lord communicated directly to Joshua. Previously, when the Lord communicated to Moses, Joshua was a minister—a servant or co-worker—with Moses, and had not had that privilege. But now the Lord was communicating directly to Joshua and giving him the methodology he was to follow.

Crossing Jordan

The Lord’s introduction to Joshua was, “Arise, and go over Jordan.” Did the Lord tell him how this was to be done? We do not find it recorded here; we are only given the instruction that the Lord gave: “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, and I will be with you.”

Now, humanly speaking, did this make a lot of sense? Was it a good time to ford the Jordan? No! It was flood season! It was springtime, and the Jordan was a raging torrent. Raging torrents are not what someone would want to venture into, yet this was the direction that God gave to Joshua. He did not tell him how it was going to take place; He did not tell him to build a bridge; He did not tell him to go by another route and bypass the Jordan. He said, “Arise, go over this Jordan.”

The Lord expected Joshua to explicitly follow His directions, even when they made no sense. And they did not make any sense! How could a person cross Jordan at this time? The Lord did not try to explain all of the details of how it was going to happen. He wanted Joshua and the children of Israel to manifest faith that if God gave the directions, He would also supply the means for how the task could be accomplished.

In Joshua 3, we read of the children of Israel marching down into Jordan. The priests advanced first, and we may wonder what they were thinking as they started marching down the banks of the Jordan, far in advance of the rest of the congregation, carrying the symbol of the presence of the Lord. As they drew closer and closer to the raging water, what might have been the thoughts going through their minds? Then, as their feet dipped into the torrent, the waters were cut off. (See Joshua 3:13–17.) God called them to explicitly obey His directions and instructions, and they followed His command.

Another Sign of Obedience

“At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.” Joshua 5:2.

After they obeyed the directions to arise and go over this Jordan, the Lord came to Joshua and said, “Now I want you to again circumcise the children of Israel.” Since their rebellion, 39 years before, circumcision had been stopped—postponed to indicate the withdrawal of God’s favor and blessing. God now asked Joshua to obey Him, to follow His directions—not just when they did not make sense but when they hurt as well.

A Battle Plan

“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, [Art] thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but [as] captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy. And Joshua did so.” Joshua 5:13–15.

His directions are recorded in verses 2 and 3 of chapter 6: “And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, [and] the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all [ye] men of war, [and] go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.”

March Around It

Here we learn that even when it does not make sense to us and even when it hurts, the directions which God gives are to be followed, for the Lord Jesus, Captain of the Lord’s host, directs the battle plan. What was the battle plan for the children of Israel to take Jericho? March around it!

Humanly speaking, is it possible to conquer a city by marching around it? Of course it is not. But here we see God asking Joshua and the children of Israel to explicitly obey His directions even when it seemed impossible. Even when it made no sense, He asked them to explicitly obey His directions. Even when it hurt, He asked them to obey His directions, and even when it seemed like an impossibility, He asked that His directions be obeyed.

The children of Israel could have done a number of other things. They could have taken an alternate course. They could have patterned after what the other contemporary armies were doing at the time, but God said, “In order to conquer Canaan, you have to be operating on a different principle than the Canaanites. To conquer Canaan, you have to operate by explicitly following the directions that I give to you.”

Still Applies Today

If the work is going to be finished today, we have to learn the same lessons as they did. We have to learn that the only way the work of God is going to be finished upon the earth today is by explicitly following the directions that He has given in His Word and in the Spirit of Prophecy.

I recently listened to an audiotape of a sermon that was recorded about 30 years ago. The minister who was speaking said that if God could have finished the work by using a plan other than the blueprint He has given, He would have already done it. The only way that the work is going to be finished today is by explicitly following the directions that God has given.

Forget the Side Issues

The devil brings about many traps. In Ellen White’s day, when she was urging and appealing for the church leaders and members to work the cities, a theological issue arose which resulted in a theological debate. There were prominent men on both sides of the question, debating this issue back and forth, and she counseled, “Do not speak about it. Do not worry about it. Work the cities!”

She said, “Wherever we go, we shall find men ready with some side issue.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 6, 245. She continued in telling of a man who had come to her with the message that the world was flat. She did not try to show from the Bible that the earth was round. She did not try to show from science that the earth was round; she referred him to Matthew 28:16–20.

Forget the side issues! Forget those minor theological issues. That is not our work. Those are not the directions God has given to us. God has directed for us to work the cities, to look those giants in the face, and advance as quickly and as aggressively as possible.

Worldly Pattern

Are we following the directions today? Are we studying the directions that God has given for the finishing of His work? A wealth of material is available for our use. There are people who tell us that we need new methods and new ideas, but those new methods and those new ideas need to be based solidly on the directions that God has already given us in His Word and in the Spirit of Prophecy.

We see many around us implementing contemporary methods. They look to other churches and pattern after the world, but the work will never be finished by patterning after the world. Joshua could not pattern after the world. If Joshua had patterned after the world, Jericho would still be standing. Are we patterning after the world today? Are we patterning after the world in our work? Are we patterning after the world in our own lives?

This has been one of the problems throughout the history of God’s people. They pattern after the world, without realizing it, because it is so prevalent around them. For example, consider when Sarah encouraged Abraham to lay with her handmaid, Hagar. It did not seem like such a wrong thing to them, because everyone else was doing it. They were just using then known contemporary methods. But, in doing so, they were not following God’s pattern.

There is nothing wrong with contemporary methods—just as long as they are based upon the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. The only way God’s work is going to be finished is if we look at the directions—at the blueprint that God has given—and follow that blueprint. Anything short of this will fail.

Directions Given

Consider briefly some of the directions that God has given to us. In the Book of Colossians, a time is recorded when the work was finished. Paul said that the gospel had been “preached to every creature which is under heaven.” Colossians 1:23. The gospel had been preached to every creature under heaven in a day when there was no Internet, no satellites, no television or radio; there was not even a postal service per se.

Interestingly, when I was in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I noticed that none of those things—electricity, postal service, etc.—existed there. It was amazing, however, when there were no modern methods of communication, how quickly news traveled. When my travel companions and I arrived in a village, a number of hours away from a larger city, it was only 10 or 20 minutes before a secret service agent was right there to get our names, to register us, and to check out what we were doing. Even though they had no telephone service or other modern modes of communication, notification occurred very rapidly. The “bush telegraph” worked better than some e-mails work today!

“And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judæa and Samaria, except the apostles. . . . Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” Acts 8:1, 4. The believers were scattered abroad, and they were preaching the Word. Not just the apostles were preaching the Word, but the believers also were preaching.

The Entire Membership

Sometimes it is easy for us to look to ministers or ministries to finish the work, but it is not going to be ministers and ministries alone that are going to finish it. They have a part to play, yes, and they need to be focused on finishing the work and laying broader and more aggressive evangelistic plans, but what finished the work in the days of the apostles, what took the gospel to the entire world at that time was not just the preaching of the apostles, but the sharing of the Word of God by every believer as well. It was people such as Aquila and Priscilla who, ministering at their workplace, led one of their co-workers, Apollos, into a more perfect way. (See Acts 18.)

“The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 117.

Are the ministers and the church officers going to finish the work? The work will be finished by the entire membership rallying together, each one playing his or her part to complete the task. If we do not do it, God will use other means to finish the work, and He will finish it without us. The entire membership—that is you and me.

I read a statement recently that said, “I am just a nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody who can save anybody!” That is what we need to do! We need to be nobodies trying to tell everybody about Somebody who can save anybody. We have a work to do, but until we unite and do what we can—not just in giving out literature, not just in sending our money to those who are doing big projects, but by ourselves personally taking up the work that lies nearest us—we will never finish the work. God will finish it, but He will pass us by.

A Personal Work

“Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given.” The Great Controversy, 612. [Emphasis supplied.] How many voices? Thousands of voices. It will not just be one or three or ten major evangelists. There will be thousands of voices—the voices of God’s people.

“In visions of the night, representations passed before me [Ellen White] of a great reformatory movement among God’s people. Many were praising God. The sick were healed, and other miracles were wrought. A spirit of intercession was seen, even as was manifested before the great Day of Pentecost. Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting families and opening before them the word of God. Hearts were convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of genuine conversion was manifest.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 126. [Emphasis supplied.]

This will be personal work. It will be personal voices. All of these other mechanisms—the Internet, television, radio, and satellite—are good, and they play a part in finishing the work, but the work is not going to be finished solely through them. It has to be finished by personal voices, by your voice and by mine.

The work will be finished by personal work. As quoted above, hundreds and thousands will be visiting families and opening the Word of God to them. This means we will be going to our neighbors, to our co-workers, and to our friends, giving them Bible studies.

You and I have a work to do. The only way that the work is going to be finished is if we look those giants in the face, if we look at those challenges and are not diverted by the difficulties. We must study and pray to learn what God’s methods are, what the instructions are that He has given for finishing the work. Then, as the Lord leads us to the area of ministry that He has for each of us and as we do our personal work, His work is going to be finished.

When a fire is lit, not just under the ministers but also under the entire church, God’s work is going to be finished. We need to listen, as did Joshua, for the Captain of the hosts’ voice. Listen to His voice; study the directions He has given, and lift up and do the part that God has given to us to perform. May we be faithful in that work.

Cody Francis is currently engaged in public evangelism for Mission Projects International. He also pastors the Remnant Church of Seventh-day Adventist Believers in Renton, Washington. He may be contacted by e-mail at: cody@missionspro.org.

Restoring the Temple – An Example

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The Lord plainly told His people that every blessing would come to them if they would keep His commandments, and be a peculiar people. He warned them through Moses in the wilderness, specifying that health would be the reward of obedience. The state of the mind has largely to do with the health of the body, and especially with the health of the digestive organs. As a general thing, the Lord did not provide His people with flesh meat in the desert, because He knew that the use of this diet would create disease and insubordination. In order to modify the disposition, and bring the higher powers of the mind into active exercise, He removed from them the flesh of dead animals. He gave them angels’ food, manna from heaven.

Rebellion and Its Punishment

God continued to feed the Hebrew host with the bread rained from heaven; but they were not satisfied. Their depraved appetites craved meat, which God in His wisdom had withheld, in a great measure, from them. . . . Satan, the author of disease and misery, will approach God’s people where he can have the greatest success. He has controlled the appetite in a great measure from the time of his successful experiment with Eve, in leading her to eat the forbidden fruit. He came with his temptations first to the mixed multitude, the believing Egyptians, and stirred them up to seditious murmurings. They would not be content with the healthful food which God had provided for them. Their depraved appetites craved a greater variety, especially flesh meats.

This murmuring soon infected nearly the whole body of the people. At first, God did not gratify their lustful appetites, but caused His judgments to come upon them, and consumed the most guilty by lightning from heaven. Yet this, instead of humbling them, only seemed to increase their murmurings. When Moses heard the people weeping in the door of their tents, and complaining throughout their families, he was displeased. He presented before the Lord the difficulties of his situation, and the unsubmissive spirit of the Israelites, and the position in which God had placed him to the people,—that of a nursing father, who should make the sufferings of the people his own. . . .

The Lord directed Moses to gather before him seventy of the elders, whom he knew to be the elders of the people. They were not to be those only in advanced years, but men of dignity, sound judgment, and experience, who were qualified to be judges, or officers. [Numbers 11:16–23, 31–33 quoted.]

In this instance the Lord gave the people that which was not for their best good, because they would have it. They would not submit to receive from the Lord those things which would prove for their good. They gave themselves up to seditious murmurings against Moses, and against the Lord, because they did not receive those things which would prove an injury to them. Their depraved appetites controlled them, and God gave them flesh meats, as they desired, and He let them suffer the results of gratifying their lustful appetites. Burning fevers cut down very large numbers of the people. Those who had been most guilty in their murmurings were slain as soon as they tasted the meat for which they had lusted. If they had submitted to have the Lord select their food for them, and had been thankful and satisfied for food which they could eat freely of without injury, they would not have lost the favor of God, and then been punished for their rebellious murmurings by great numbers of them being slain.

God’s Purpose for Israel

When God led the children of Israel out of Egypt, it was His purpose to establish them in the land of Canaan a pure, happy, healthy people. Let us look at the means by which He would accomplish this. He subjected them to a course of discipline, which, had it been cheerfully followed, would have resulted in good, both to themselves and to their posterity. He removed flesh food from them in a great measure. He had granted them flesh in answer to their clamors, just before reaching Sinai, but it was furnished for only one day. God might have provided flesh as easily as manna, but a restriction was placed upon the people for their good. It was His purpose to supply them with food better suited to their wants than the feverish diet to which many of them had been accustomed in Egypt. The perverted appetite was to be brought into a more healthy state, that they might enjoy the food originally provided for man,—the fruits of the earth, which God gave to Adam and Eve in Eden.

Had they been willing to deny appetite in obedience to His restrictions, feebleness and disease would have been unknown among them. Their descendants would have possessed physical and mental strength. They would have had clear perceptions of truth and duty, keen discrimination, and sound judgment. But they were unwilling to submit to God’s requirements, and they failed to reach the standard He had set for them, and to receive the blessings that might have been theirs. They murmured at God’s restrictions, and lusted after the fleshpots of Egypt. God let them have flesh, but it proved a curse to them.

An Ensample for Us

“Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” [1 Corinthians 10:6, 11.]

The church in general . . . have not honored the light of health reform by carrying it out in their families. The sickness that has visited many families . . . need not have been, if they had followed the light God has given them. Like ancient Israel, they have disregarded the light, and could see no more necessity of restricting their appetite than did ancient Israel. The children of Israel would have flesh meats, and said, as many now say, We shall die without meat. God gave rebellious Israel flesh, but His curse was with it. Thousands of them died while the meat they desired was between their teeth. We have the example of ancient Israel, and the warning for us not to do as they did. Their history of unbelief and rebellion is left on record as a special warning that we should not follow their example of murmuring at God’s requirements. How can we pass on so indifferently, choosing our own course, following the sight of our own eyes, and departing farther and farther from God, as did the Hebrews? God cannot do great things for His people because of their hardness of heart and sinful unbelief.

God is no respecter of persons; but in every generation they that fear the Lord and work righteousness are accepted of Him; while those who are murmuring, unbelieving, and rebellious, will not have His favor or the blessings promised to those who love the truth and walk in it. Those who have the light and do not follow it, but disregard the requirements of God, will find that their blessings will be changed into curses, and their mercies into judgments. God would have us learn humility and obedience as we read the history of ancient Israel, who were His chosen and peculiar people, but who brought their own destruction by following their own ways.

Counsels on Diet and Foods, 375–379.