Daily Lesson for Tuesday 16th of December 2025

Using the same words that were addressed to him at the beginning of the book (Joshua 1:7-8), Joshua states that the task that lay ahead of Israel is not primarily military in nature. It is spiritual. It has to do with obedience to God’s revealed will in the Torah.

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The danger facing Israel is not the threat of the remaining nations’ animosity but the risk of their friendship. Their weapons might not represent any challenge to Israel; however, their ideology and values (or counter-values) could prove to be more harmful than any military force. Joshua draws the attention of the leaders to the crucial fact that the conflict they have been involved in is first, and ultimately, spiritual. Therefore, Israel has to maintain its unique identity.

The prohibition of invoking the name of a god, swearing by it, and serving or bowing to it has to do with idolatry. In the ancient Near East, the name of a deity represented his or her presence and power. Invoking or mentioning the names of foreign gods in everyday greetings or business transactions meant recognizing their authority and helped lead the Israelites to seek their power in time of need (compare with Judges 2:1-3,11-13).

The danger of intermarriage with the remaining Canaanites consisted in losing Israel’s spiritual purity. The intent of Joshua’s admonition is not to promote racial or ethnic purity but rather to avoid idolatry, which can lead to the spiritual collapse of Israel. The case of Solomon is a dramatic example of the sad spiritual consequences of intermarriage (1 Kings 3:1, 1 Kings 11:1-8); in the New Testament, Christians are openly warned against seeking marital relationships with nonbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14), although, in the case of existing marriages, Paul does not advise divorce from the unbelieving spouse but calls them to live an exemplary Christian life in hope of winning the spouse to the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:12-16).

<–Monday Wednesday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-12-clear-boundaries/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-12-clear-boundaries

As we work our way through the book of Joshua this quarter, we will see that he is ready to 
Fight The Good Fight – Hymn 613 and to move forward into the Promised Land. We may still use last quarter’s theme hymn as this will pop up throughout this quarter as well: 
Hymn 620 – On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand. These two hymns will resound throughout the quarter.

The title of this week’s lesson studies give us our first hymn:
Hymn 100 – Great Is Thy Faithfulness. This hymn returns a number of times throughout the week.

Sabbath afternoon’s introduction we find that “on earth God’s work must truly be our own” so that we can 
Work For The Night Is Coming – Hymn 375 and be 
Working, O Christ With Thee – Hymn 582. . Joshua chapters 23 and 24 “focus more on the future and on how to worship God”, giving us two wonderful hymns: 
Hymn 6 – O Worship The Lord and 
Hymn 83 – O Worship The King.

Obedience to God’s Word in presented to us on Monday and Tuesday where we learn to 
Trust And Obey – Hymn 590.

Faith Is The Victory – Hymn 608 is an “unchangeable reality for Israel” (Monday).

Aside from God’s wrath against the straying Israelites, “Whoever believes in Him will not have to face God’s wrath (John 3:36, Eph. 2:3, 1 Thess. 1:10)”: 
I Know Whom I Have Believed –Hymn 511 and 
Hymn 486 – I Do Believe.

When we Cling To God (Thursday) we can sing 
I Love Thee – Hymn 236 as there is “the command to love God”.

Please continue to search the scriptures this week to be blessed, and to bless others.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org/Search and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/12-god-is-faithful-singing-with-inspiration/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=12-god-is-faithful-singing-with-inspiration

Key Thought: Joshua, near the end of his life, glances back at the victories of Israel, but at the same time, the path of future success for the Israelites.
December 20, 2025

1. Have a volunteer read Joshua 23:1-5.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What are the major focal points of Joshua’s introduction?
3. Personal Application: With so many promises before us, why is it so easy to sin? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “If Israel conquered Canaan. Is it possible for Christians to conquer sin in their lives?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Joshua 23:6-8. 12-13.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. Why did Joshua take such a strong stand concerning Israel’s relations with the surrounding nations?
3. Personal Application: How can we find a balanced relationship with the society surrounding us? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Is it possible for a Christian to be true to God and still be friends with the world and comfortable with the society they live in? How can we live a holy life in an unholy and anti-Christian society?.” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Joshua 23:15,16.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How should we interpret God’s wrath and justice in Joshua?
3. Personal Application: How do you respond when things don’t go the way you hoped for and prayed for when claimed promises are met with silence?. Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “How can you present the wrath of God as part of good news? Why aren’t we supposed to fear God because we aren’t living the way He wants us to? Doesn’t His wrath go against sin?” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Joshua 23:11 and Deuteronomy 6:5.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. Joshua tells Israel to love the Lord your God, and love can’t be forced. So in what sense can love be commanded?
3. Personal Application: How can you share God’s love with others? How can we show our love for God? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared. ”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/12-god-is-faithful-teaching-plan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=12-god-is-faithful-teaching-plan