Daily Lesson for Tuesday 21st of October 2025

During their long sojourn in Egypt, the Israelites have forgotten the true God of their ancestors. As many episodes of their travels through the wilderness demonstrated, their knowledge of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob faded, and they had mixed pagan elements into their religious practices (compare with Exodus 32:1-4). Under the oppression of the Egyptians, they cried to the Lord (Exodus 2:23-25), and at the right time, the Lord intervened on their behalf.

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However, the conflict described in the first 12 chapters of Exodus was greater than a simple power struggle between Moses and the pharaoh. According to ancient Near Eastern war ideology, conflicts between peoples were ultimately considered as being conflicts between the respective gods. Exodus 12:12 declares that the Lord inflicted judgment, not only on the pharaoh but also on the gods of Egypt, those powerful demons (Leviticus 17:7, Deuteronomy 32:17) that stood behind the oppressive power and unjust social system of Egypt.

Ultimately, God is at war with sin and will not tolerate this conflict forever (Psalms 24:8; Revelation 19:11; Revelation 20:1-4,14). All the fallen angels, as well as the human beings who have definitely and irrecoverably identified themselves with sin, will be destroyed. In light of this, the battles against the inhabitants of the land have to be perceived as an earlier stage of this conflict, which will reach its apex on the cross and its consummation at the final judgment, when God’s justice and character of love will be vindicated.

The concept of the total destruction of the Canaanites must be understood on the basis of the biblical worldview, in which God is involved in a cosmic conflict with the exponents of evil in the universe. Ultimately, God’s reputation and His character are at stake (Romans 3:4, Revelation 15:3).

Since sin has entered human existence, nobody can stand on neutral ground. One must be either on God’s side or on the side of evil. Hence, with this background in mind, the eradication of the Canaanites should be viewed as a preview of the final judgment.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-04-the-lord-is-a-warrior/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-04-the-lord-is-a-warrior

Daily Lesson for Monday 20th of October 2025

God populated the universe with responsible creatures to whom He gave free will, a prerequisite for them being able to love. They can choose to act in accordance with, or against, God’s will. The most powerful of angels, Lucifer, rebelled against God, and took a lot of angels with him.

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Isaiah and Ezekiel refer to the conflict, although some commentators try to restrict the meaning of Isaiah 14:1-32 and Ezekiel 28:1-26 to the king of Babylon and to a ruler in Tyre. However, there are clear indicators in the biblical text that point to a transcendent reality. The king of Babylon is presented to have been in heaven at the throne of God (Isaiah 14:12-13), and the king of Tyre is said to have resided in Eden as a protective cherub on God’s holy mountain (Ezekiel 28:12-15). None of this is true about the kings of Babylon and Tyre.

Neither can it be said about the earthly kings that they were blameless and the “signet ring of perfection.” Consequently, these characters point beyond the literal kingdoms of Babylon and Tyre.

Isaiah presents a “parable” (Heb. mashal) that conveys a meaning beyond the immediate historical context. In this case, the king of Babylon becomes a paradigm of rebellion, self-sufficiency, and pride. Similarly, Ezekiel makes a distinction between the prince of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2) and the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:11-12), where the prince, being active in the earthly realm, becomes the symbol of a king who acts in the heavenly one.

According to Daniel 10:12-14, these rebellious heavenly beings obstruct the fulfillment of God’s purposes on earth. It is in light of this connection between heaven and earth that we have to understand the divinely sanctioned wars of Israel. We need to recognize them as earthly manifestations of the great conflict between God and Satan, and between good and evil—all ultimately with the purpose of restoring God’s justice and love in a fallen world.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-04-war-in-heaven/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-04-war-in-heaven

Daily Lesson for Sunday 19th of October 2025

The Israelites have just crossed the Jordan and stepped onto the enemy’s ground. The fortress of Jericho lies in front of them, its gates firmly shut (Joshua 6:1). At this point, the people are unaware of any battle strategy. What is even more concerning is that Israel has only slings, spears, and arrows to take on a city fortified to withstand a long siege.

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Joshua’s questions regarding the identity of the strange visitor receive a rather obscure answer: “No.” The visitor’s answer reveals that He is unwilling to step into the categories defined by Joshua. In other words, the ultimate question is not whether He is on Joshua’s side; rather, is Joshua on His side?

While the expression “commander of the army of the Lord” is unique in the Hebrew Bible, the combination of the terms “commander” and “hosts” always refers to a military leader. The word “host” in Scripture can refer to military troops, to the angels, or to celestial bodies.

The pre-incarnate Christ appears to Joshua not merely as an ally nor even as the true Commander of Israel’s army but as the Commander of the unseen yet real army of angels involved in a far greater conflict than that of Joshua with the Canaanites. Joshua’s answer clearly indicates his understanding of the Commander’s identity. He is equal to God, and Joshua falls prostrate in front of Him as a sign of profound respect and worship (Joshua 5:14, Genesis 17:3, 2 Samuel 9:6, 2 Chronicles 20:18). Joshua is ready to receive the battle strategy for a military campaign that is an intrinsic part of a far greater conflict in which the God of hosts Himself is involved.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Daily Lesson for Sabbath 18th of October 2025

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Read for This Week’s Study: Joshua 5:13-15; Isaiah 37:16; Revelation 12:7-9; Deuteronomy 32:17; Exodus 14:13-14; Joshua 6:15-20.

Memory Text: “There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel” (Joshua 10:14, ESV).

Reading the pages of Joshua, we are confronted with the aggressive military campaigns carried out at the command of God, in the name of God, and with the help of God. The idea that God was behind the conquest of Canaan pervades the book of Joshua, and it is expressed in the assertions of the narrator (Joshua 10:10-11), in God’s own words (Joshua 6:2, Joshua 8:1), in Joshua’s addresses (Joshua 4:23-24; Joshua 8:7), by Rahab (Joshua 2:10), by the spies (Joshua 2:24), and by the people (Joshua 24:18). God claims to be the initiator of these violent conflicts.

This reality raises unavoidable questions. How can we understand that God’s chosen people carried out such practices in Old Testament times? How is it possible to reconcile the image of a “warlike” God with His character of love (for example, Exodus 34:6, Psalms 86:15, Psalms 103:8, Psalms 108:4) without diluting the credibility, authority, and historicity of the Old Testament?

This week and next, we are going to explore the difficult question of divinely commanded wars in the book of Joshua and elsewhere.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 25.

Sunday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-04-the-conflict-behind-all-conflicts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-04-the-conflict-behind-all-conflicts

Our Sabbath School program has always been linked to the support of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission program. This video provides a little insight into this important work.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-october-18/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mission-spotlight-for-october-18