Inside Story for Friday 26th of September 2025

By Andrew McChesney

Fernando Joaquim Ge joined a big construction company in Mozambique with the understanding that he wouldn’t work on Sabbath. But after three years, the company boss asked him to go on a business trip on Saturday. Fernando reminded his boss, Alexander, that he didn’t work on Saturdays.

Still, at 5 a.m. Saturday, Alexander pulled up at Fernando’s house to drive to Zimbabwe. When Fernando declined to go, Alexander barred him from returning to work until they had a one-on-one meeting.

At the meeting several days later, Alexander suspended Fernando for seven days without pay. He also gave him three options: resign, work on Saturdays, or forfeit two days’ pay for every Saturday that he missed work. He told Fernando to submit his decision in writing after seven days.

Fernando turned in a 10-page document with his decision. He wrote that he couldn’t resign because he needed the job. He wrote that he couldn’t work on Saturdays because he obeyed God, and he included a number of Bible verses about the Sabbath. He concluded that he was willing to take a pay cut for every Saturday that he missed work, and he also was ready to make up Saturday work on Sundays. Taking the document, Alexander told Fernando to keep working while he discussed it with his management team.

A week passed, and Alexander called Fernando on a Sunday to come to his house. The house was in another town, and Fernando arrived by public bus. Alexander instructed Fernando to drive a company car to a town 70 miles away to inspect a company project. Fernando returned late that night, after the public buses had stopped running, and he slept at Alexander’s house. The next Sunday, Alexander asked Fernando to come over again. This time, he wanted him to take his mother out in the company car.

The following day, on Monday, Alexander called a company meeting and asked Fernando to stand up. “Fernando took a pay cut because of his faith in God,” he said. “But now we see that he is sincere, so he doesn’t need to work on Saturdays.” Then he presented Fernando with keys to a company car. “Use this car for all company business,” he said. “And if you have business for your church, you also can use it freely, and we will pay for the gas. We only have one request. Ask your pastor to pray for our company to prosper.”

From that day in 2003 until today, Fernando has never had any Sabbath problems at work. The company car has proven to be a blessing to the church, and Fernando has used it to visit sick and elderly people, to participate in evangelistic programs, and to engage in other church activities. Every time people see the car, they remember that Fernando keeps the Sabbath. “It is worthwhile to be faithful to God,” Fernando said. “There is a great reward.”

Pray for the gospel to be proclaimed in Mozambique and other countries in the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division, the recipient of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering this week.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25c-13-inside-story-great-reward-of-the-sabbath/

Daily Lesson for Friday 26th of September 2025

Further Thought:

Read Ellen G. White, “The Tabernacle and Its Services,” Pages 353–358, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

“The construction of the sanctuary was preceded by a divine act of redemption, namely, the deliverance of Israel from the enslaving power of Egypt. This, in turn, was followed by God’s willingness to enter into a permanent covenant relationship with His people. He would be their God, and they would become His people (Exodus 6:7). The way they would relate to Him and to each other was defined by the covenant law. The tabernacle was indeed a place of meeting, a place where God and humans came together. It was only after redemption and the establishment of permanent union with God through the covenant that the people had access to God in His dwelling place.”—Andrews Bible Commentary: Old Testament, “Exodus” (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2020), p. 226.

Meanwhile, Ellen G. White describes the purpose of the sanctuary services: “Thus in the ministration of the tabernacle, and of the temple that afterward took its place, the people were taught each day the great truths relative to Christ’s death and ministration, and once each year their minds were carried forward to the closing events of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, the final purification of the universe from sin and sinners.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 358.

Discussion Questions

Central to the worship services in the sanctuary was the shedding of blood. All sorts of animals were sacrificed, and their blood was used in almost all the temple rituals. What did the blood symbolize, and what did all these sacrifices ultimately point to? However amazing it is that God, the Creator of the universe, would in the sanctuary dwell among His people, how much more astonishing is it that He would come to dwell among us as one of us, a human being? That itself would have been an amazing expression of love. But then to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin—that is, to die in our behalf? What does this teach us about the character of God? Also, what does this teach us about how much God wants to see us saved into His eternal kingdom? Read Hebrews 8:1-6. What does it tell us about how the earthly sanctuary reflected what Jesus is doing for us now in the heavenly sanctuary?

<–Thursday

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25c-13-further-thought-the-tabernacle/

Introduction: How important are the requirements and lessons found in Exodus for those of us living today? Yes, we are saved by grace alone. But are we fools or enemies of God if our goal is anything other than doing His will? As we look at what God commands His people in our study of Exodus this week, we find that some of Christianity is doing or advocating just the opposite. Let’s plunge into our study of Exodus and learn more!  

I. The Sabbath

A. Read Exodus 35:1-2. Why is there a death penalty for Sabbath-breaking? Isn’t the death penalty reserved for the most important illegal behavior? (Read Exodus 31:13. This links the Sabbath to the covenant (the agreement) that God and the Hebrews had a special relationship. That relationship sanctifies us. Without this relationship, we will die eternally.)

1. Look again at Exodus 35:2. Does this require us to work six days a week? (This permits work on six days, and prohibits it on the Sabbath. I read a terrible opinion by a federal court saying that since an employee who wanted to keep the Sabbath did not work during all the six other days, he was insincere in his religious beliefs.)

B. Read Exodus 35:3. I used to think about this text because I loved making a fire in my fireplace Sabbath afternoon when the family came together during winter months. Was I engaged in wrongdoing? (Several commentators noted that the context is secular work on Sabbath. For that reason they concluded that this prohibition on Sabbath work refers to making fires in connection with your job.)

1. In the news is that a prominent young Christian conservative, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated by a young man who did not agree with his political and religious messages. Kirk had recently started keeping the Saturday Sabbath as his day of rest. When I read how he kept the Sabbath, it made me wonder if I’m being too lax. For example, he put his cell phone in a drawer on Sabbath and never consulted it. Is this something that you think everyone should do? (Kirk said that complete isolation from work and politics on Sabbath blessed him in many ways.)

II. Generosity

A. Read Exodus 35:4-5 and Exodus 35:21-22. How had God’s people gotten all of this valuable jewelry? (Read Exodus 12:35-36. They asked the Egyptians for these valuables.)

1. What motivated the Egyptians to give their wealth to the Hebrews? (Read Exodus 12:33. The Egyptians thought that if the Hebrews stayed, more plagues would come and they would all be dead.)

a. Is this blackmail? (The Hebrews had been slaves, and they would have a moral claim for wages. However, they had been working for the state and not for individual Egyptians.)

b. Would the fact that they had recently been given all this wealth make them more generous than, say, you, who work for what you get? (While they could not spend this while on their journey, and they would have had to carry it around, they understood they were going to a new land to live, and they would need this for their future life.)

B. Read Exodus 36:6-7. How generous were the people? (They gave more than enough. They had to be “restrained” from giving more.)

C. Read Exodus 38:24-25 and Exodus 38:29 to see a calculation of the total gold, silver, and bronze given by the people. Assuming the bronze was copper, in today’s valuations, my artificial intelligence friend tells me the total value given was 122.97 million in United States dollars.

1. We are going to turn next to those who converted these valuables into wonderful artistic elements of the tabernacle. These artisans were, according to Exodus 31:1-5, given their talent by the Holy Spirit. For those not given these artistic talents, is the gift of generosity another type of talent given by the Holy Spirit?

D. Exodus 35:30-33. In the context of the Holy Spirit giving us manual skills for our work, should we expect the Holy Spirit to help if we are doing secular work on the Sabbath?

III. Magnificence

A. In Exodus 35:5-9  we find a list of all the valuables given by the people. We will not read Exodus 35:11-19 or Exodus 36:8-38:20, but you might want to review these verses, which tell us of the detailed plans and magnificence of the tabernacle and its furnishings. Because I did not try to value the gems, skins, yarns, linens, or oil in my previous calculation, altogether the gifts had a value of more than 123 million U.S. dollars. Would you support spending more than $123 million for a new church?

1. What if I told you that labor costs would add $90 to 105 million dollars more? While the building materials for the tabernacle were very costly, much of the work was high-skill hand craftsmanship. Would you support building a 225 million dollar church?
2. Since some of this cost went into the exotic clothing of the High Priest, would you support giving your pastor expensive clothing to wear at church?

B. Read Acts 7:48-49. The context is the stoning of Stephen and his recitation of the history of God’s people. Should this text be used to support the idea of modest church buildings?

C. Read Galatians 2:10, James 1:27, and Matthew 25:35-36. I have heard church members argue that we should build modest churches and give the money instead to the poor. Do these texts support that argument?

D. Read 1 Timothy 2:9-10 and 1 Peter 3:3-5. These texts are addressed to women, but are generally cited for modest dress for Christians. If you understand these texts to require you to dress modestly, does that requirement also apply to the building of your church? The clothing of your pastor?

E. Read Deuteronomy 4:2. How does this help us to resolve this discussion? (There is much theological argument that is not based on the Bible. Some members of my church attack the extravagance of cathedrals and the clothing worn by high Catholic officials. Is this attack consistent with the Bible? Or, is this just un-Biblical human opinion?

1. I teach at Regent University. The buildings are gorgeous. The founder, Pat Robertson, believed in excellence. Although he lived a relatively modest life, the university buildings reflect our goal of excellence in promoting Christian education.

IV. God With Us

A. Read Exodus 40:34-35. Recall Exodus 33:3, where God says that He is not coming along. Moses pleads with God to come with them because His presence is essential. What has God decided to do concerning going with His rebellious people? (He comes.)

1. What lesson is there in this for those who sometimes disagree with what some in the church are doing? Should we leave the church? (This suggests that we should not.)
2. What about God leaving you when you rebel?

B. Read Exodus 40:36-38. How important is the leading of God to His people?

1. How important is the leading of God in your life?

C. Friend, our study of Exodus teaches us to trust God. We need to have Him lead. We need to obey His leading in His commandments. Obedience brings peace and blessings. Will you determine, right now, to turn your life over to the leading of God and the Holy Spirit?

V. Next week: We begin a new quarter of studies on the Book of Joshua.

Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/13-the-tabernacle-exodus-35-40-teaching-outline/