Lesson 8.In the Psalms: Part 1

8.6 Summary
In the Light of the Sanctuary – The Psalms as Guides to God’s Presence

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Introduction

The Psalms are more than songs. They are prayers, laments, hymns of praise—and often prophetic windows into God’s great plan of redemption. In Lesson 8 – In the Psalms, Part 1, we embark on a spiritual journey through five key themes that draw us deep into questions like: Who is Jesus for us today? How does His grace work? What does it mean to live righteously? And how does forgiveness turn into mission?

This lesson invites us not only to worship God but to know Him in our innermost being—as our High Priest, our King on Zion, our Law-giver in the heart, our Judge in mercy, and our Commission-giver in the world.

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Bible Study

8.1 Our High Priest (Psalm 110)
Psalm 110 presents Christ as priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. He sits at God’s right hand—a picture of power and of mediation. Jesus is not only King but our Advocate. He rules not from a distance but in love—with pierced hands interceding for us each day.

8.2 On Mount Zion (Psalm 2 & Revelation 14)
Mount Zion symbolizes God’s kingship. The powers of the world rebel, but God has enthroned His King. In Revelation 14, the redeemed stand with the Lamb on Zion—people who bear God’s name on their foreheads, purified and faithful. Zion is not just a place but the community of those redeemed and following the Lamb.

8.3 The Law in Our Hearts (Psalm 119 & Exodus 34)
God’s law is not merely a moral code. It expresses His character—His righteousness, love, and faithfulness. When the law is written on our hearts, our lives are transformed. God desires not just obedience but relationship. The end-time remnant are faithful because they love, not because they fear.

8.4 Psalm 5 – The Language of Judgment
David recognizes that the wicked cannot endure God’s presence, but the righteous may enter by grace. God is holy. And because He is holy, there is judgment. But because He is gracious, we may stand—through the Lamb. Revelation 14 shows the same contrast: the world is tested, yet those who follow Christ stand—not by their own strength but because they are redeemed.

8.5 Teaching Transgressors Your Ways (Psalm 51)
David had sinned deeply. Yet after cleansing he pledges:
“I will teach transgressors your ways.”
Redemption does not silence us; it sends us as messengers of grace. In Revelation 14, everything begins with the “eternal gospel.” Before judgment, before Babylon falls, before warning—there is always the good news.

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Spiritual Principles

• Jesus is our High Priest—daily interceding for us.

• Zion is not geographical but the fellowship of the redeemed.

• God’s law in the heart leads to joyful obedience, not religious duty.

• Judgment brings accountability—but in Christ also hope.

• Those redeemed become ambassadors of grace.

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Daily Application

• Pray with the Psalms. They bring your feelings, doubts, praise, and hope before God—honestly and deeply.

• Recognize your calling. If you have known forgiveness, you also carry the mission to tell others.

• Trust Christ in the judgment. When fear comes, remember: He is your High Priest.

• Live as a witness. People don’t listen to perfect Christians but to honestly redeemed ones.

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Conclusion

The Psalms teach us not just theology but relationship.
God is righteous, yes—but also gracious. He is King—but also near.
When He enters our hearts, He transforms us: from guilty to witnesses. From sufferers to messengers. From pray-ers to proclaimers.

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Thought of the Day

Those who see themselves forgiven will call others to grace. Those touched by the Lamb will sing the song of the redeemed—on Zion, even today.

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Illustration – The Sound of Grace: A Journey through Guilt, Redemption, and Commission

It was an ordinary Monday night in Munich when Lina Köhler sat alone in her studio, headphones on, eyes closed, fingers hovering over her keyboard. The air smelled of cold coffee and creative fatigue. A red light flickered on her recorder—waiting.

Lina, 34, was a musician, producer—and above all: a seeker. Her songs were heard on TV series, ads, streaming platforms. Yet something was missing: depth, truth, soul.

She’d grown up in a Christian home—mealtime prayers, Sunday services, Advent readings. Yet by sixteen she had mentally checked out. Too much morality, not enough authenticity, she thought. For years God had been a distant idea.

Then things began to change—slowly, quietly.

It started with a letter.

Her brother Daniel sent it. Handwritten. No text, no link—just ink on paper. “I know why you’ve pulled away,” he wrote. “But I think you’ll soon hear a voice you’ve long ignored. Don’t run when it comes.”

Lina frowned. She unfolded a Psalm 51 bookmark he’d enclosed. “Create in me a clean heart,” it read. “I will teach transgressors your ways.”

Skeptical yet moved, she began to read—one Psalm a day. Sometimes she cried, sometimes she raged, but always she drew nearer to God.

One pivotal night she returned to the studio. Alone. And felt, not a vision but an inner clarity:
You’re not just an artist. You’re called.

She whispered, “To what?”
And the answer formed in her heart, Psalm-like:
“To teach transgressors your ways—by what I’ve learned, by what I’ve been forgiven.”

The next morning she called Daniel:
“I want to know more,” she said.

They met weekly, reading Psalms 2, 5, 110, 119. The words became bread for her soul. She realized:

• Psalm 110: Jesus is not only King—He is my High Priest interceding for me.

• Psalm 5: I cannot stand before God—but by grace I may enter.

• Psalm 119: His law is not a burden but a song that reshapes my heart.

• Psalm 51: I was lost—but now I am sent to show others the way.

She laughed through tears: “God used the Psalms to call me back. I thought they were outdated poetry, but they were my mirror.”

Then came Zion—not the mountain, but the vision.

Reading Revelation 14’s picture of the Lamb on Mount Zion—redeemed, pure, faithful—struck her like an arrow:
“They follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”
“In their mouth was found no deceit.”
“They bear God’s name on their foreheads.”

She knew: this was her calling. Not to be perfect but to be redeemed—and not to keep it to herself.

Her first fruit was a song titled Zion Calls:
Soft strings, a pulsing rhythm, and her raw, honest voice:

“I stood in an empty field, hands torn and bare,
Condemned and lost, my guilt laid bare.
Then a voice rose high, a mercy’s plea—
The cross was there, where I let go of me.

And now—Zion calls.
And now—I follow on.
And now—I teach the way I’ve known.”

Today Lina may not be a secular star—but she’s renowned in heaven. She travels to churches, leads music workshops, plays in rehab centers. Always with guitar in hand, Bible in pocket—and a heart that knows:
I’m here only because Someone rescued me.

Her story ends the same every time:
“I thought I wanted fame. Now I’m a witness. I thought I’d lost my voice—God gave me a new song. And this song will not be silenced.”

May 23, 2025

DAILY BIBLE READING

Genesis 37 – Joseph: The Hated Dreamer and the Beginning of a Divine Calling

Envy, Betrayal, and God’s Guidance in Suffering

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Bible Text – Genesis 37 (KJV)

¹ And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

² These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

⁴ And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

⁵ And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

⁶ And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

⁷ For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

⁸ And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

⁹ And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

¹⁰ And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

¹¹ And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

¹² And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.

¹³ And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

¹⁴ And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

¹⁵ And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

¹⁶ And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.

¹⁷ And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

¹⁸ And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

¹⁹ And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.

²⁰ Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

²¹ And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.

²² And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.

²³ And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;

²⁴ And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

²⁵ And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

²⁶ And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

²⁷ Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

²⁸ Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

²⁹ And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

³⁰ And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

³¹ And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

³² And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.

³³ And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

³⁴ And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

³⁵ And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

³⁶ And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.

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Introduction

Chapter 37 marks the beginning of one of the Bible’s most poignant life stories: the story of Joseph. It is shaped by human envy, family division, and divine providence. Joseph’s dreams reveal his calling but provoke rejection and betrayal. Yet through every hardship, God is already at work on a larger plan to bring salvation and deliverance—not just for Joseph, but for many.

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Commentary

1. Joseph’s Special Position and Dreams (vv. 1–11)

   • Favoritism: Jacob loves Joseph most (v.3) and gives him a richly ornamented robe as a sign of distinction.

   • Envy: His brothers resent him for this favoritism and for reporting them to their father (vv.2,4).

   • Dreams: Joseph receives two prophetic dreams foretelling his future exaltation (vv.5–10).

   • Reactions: His brothers’ hatred intensifies; his father ponders the meaning (v.11).

2. Betrayal by His Brothers (vv. 12–28)

   • Sent Away: Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers in Shechem/Dothan (vv.13–17).

   • Plot to Kill: The brothers plan to kill him, calling him “the dreamer” (vv.18–20).

   • Reuben’s Rescue: Reuben intervenes, suggesting they only throw him into a pit (vv.21–22).

   • Sale into Slavery: Judah proposes selling him; they sell Joseph for twenty silver shekels to Ishmaelite traders bound for Egypt (vv.27–28).

3. Jacob’s Grief (vv. 29–35)

   • Reuben’s Despair: He returns to find the pit empty and is distraught (v.29).

   • Deception: The brothers soak Joseph’s robe in goat’s blood and present it to their father (vv.31–32).

   • Mourning: Jacob identifies the robe and believes Joseph dead. He mourns deeply and refuses comfort (vv.33–35).

4. Joseph in Egypt (v. 36)

   • New Chapter: Joseph is sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh—setting the stage for the next phase of God’s plan.

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Summary

Genesis 37 shows how human envy, hatred, and betrayal fit into God’s grand design. Joseph’s journey into humiliation begins, but behind the scenes, God is already preparing his rise. Jacob’s tragic deception by his other sons highlights sin’s destructive power—and opens the way for divine intervention.

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Message for Us Today

Joseph’s story reminds us that even the deepest pain and injustice are not the final word. God can turn the worst betrayal into a life’s calling. If you feel misunderstood, rejected, or betrayed, remember: the God of Joseph sees you, guides you—and has a greater plan. True greatness often begins in the valley of humiliation. Trust Him even when you cannot see the whole story.

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May 18–24, 2025

WEEKLY SPIRIT OF PROPHECY READING

Ellen G. White │ Patriarchs and Prophets – Chapter 6

Seth and Enoch

Read online here

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Introduction

In an age of growing godlessness, two men stand out as beacons of faith: Seth, the “substitute” for Abel, and Enoch, who “walked with God.” While Cain’s descendants indulged in progress without God and sin spread like a curse across the earth, a godly remnant remained through Seth’s line. Enoch, one of its greatest representatives, was a man of faith and vision. His translation is a prophetic preview of the redemption of the final generation.

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Commentary

1. Seth – a Substitute with a Responsibility
   Seth was no better by nature than Cain, yet he received God’s grace. His task was to carry on Abel’s spiritual legacy. With him began a line of people who consciously invoked God’s name (Gen. 4:26).
2. Two Lines, Two Cultures
   Seth’s descendants remained faithful to true worship, honored the Sabbath, and lived as “sojourners on the earth.” Cain’s offspring built cities and pursued wealth, culture, and pleasure. When the two lines intermingled, moral decay followed.
3. Adam’s Long Life – Testament to Grace and a Warning
   Adam lived nearly a thousand years to teach his descendants God’s will. Yet few listened; many blamed him for the world’s suffering. His death, after centuries of sorrow, was even seen as a mercy.
4. Enoch – the One Who Walked with God
   Enoch’s life of faith intensified after the birth of his son. For 300 years he maintained constant fellowship with God—in family, work, and community. His relationship deepened through prayer, retreat, meditation, and service to others.
5. Enoch’s Ministry – Preacher, Prophet, Example
   He proclaimed God’s judgment, warned of coming doom, and preached God’s love in Christ. He had prophetic insight into Christ’s second coming (Jude 14–15). His holy life and translation attest to divine approval.
6. Translation as a Sign of Hope
   Enoch was taken up before the Flood—a pattern for the righteous being caught up before final judgment. His disappearance shows that a life of obedience leads into eternity, refuting Satan’s lie that one cannot obey God.

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Summary

Seth was Abel’s righteous successor, preserving a godly line through his offspring. Enoch was the shining example of that line: a man of faith who walked with God in a godless world. His preaching, prophecy, and lifestyle bore witness to God’s will. While the masses forgot their Creator, Enoch lived with eternity in view—and did not experience death. His life demonstrates that it is possible to live holy even in dark times.

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Message for Us Today

1. Honor God amid the world. We live in an era like Enoch’s. Faithfulness to God is possible even when society turns away.
2. True faith shows itself in daily conduct. To “walk with God” means to live in relationship with Him every day—in family, community, and service.
3. Separation from evil preserves purity. Seth’s line was corrupted only when it joined with the ungodly—an urgent warning for today.
4. Prayer, meditation, and retreat are wells of strength. Enoch regularly sought God’s presence in silence—a model for anyone growing spiritually.
5. The end is coming—but with hope. Enoch’s translation symbolizes the future of the faithful. Those who walk with God today will be with Him at His return.