Daily Lesson for Thursday 25th of December 2025

In the epilogue reporting on the deaths of Joshua and Eleazar, the high priest brings the book of Joshua to a sobering end. By recounting together the burial of Joshua, the burial of Eleazar, and the burial of Joseph’s bones, the author creates a contrast between the life outside the land and the beginning of life in the land. There is no need to wander anymore.

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

The earthly remains of the leaders don’t have to be carried along with them. The patriarchs buried their relatives in a cave (Genesis 23:13,19; Genesis 25:9-10), on a plot purchased at Shechem (Genesis 33:19). Now the nation buries its leaders in the territory of their own inheritance, thus having a sense of permanence. The promises given to the patriarchs have been fulfilled. Yahweh’s faithfulness constitutes the historical thread that links Israel’s posterity to its present and future.

As the concluding paragraphs of the book link the whole narrative to a larger story in the past, they also open the way for the future. Ex-archbishop of Canterbury Lord George Cary, in a keynote speech delivered at Holy Trinity Church in Shrewsbury, declared that the Anglican Church was “one generation away from extinction.”

In fact, the church is always one generation away from extinction, and so it was with the Old Testament people of God. A great chapter in the history of Israel comes to an end. Its future depends on what kind of answers it will give to the many questions that concern the future. Will Israel be loyal to the Lord? Will they be able to continue the unfinished task of possessing the whole land? Will they be able to cling to Yahweh and not get entangled in idol worship? A generation under Joshua has been faithful to the Lord, but will the next generation maintain the same spiritual direction that has been traced by its great leader? Each successive generation of God’s people, reading the book of Joshua, must face these same questions. Their success depends on the nature of the answers they provide in their everyday lives and how they relate to the truths they have inherited.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-13-finishing-well/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-13-finishing-well

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dr. Barna Magyarosi, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson.”

<

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/13-choose-this-day-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=13-choose-this-day-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author

Daily Lesson for Wednesday 24th of December 2025

The threat of idolatry is not a theoretical one. Earlier, on the plains of Moab, in a similar context, Moses asked for the same decision (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). The gods that are in view now are not the ones of Egypt or those beyond the river, but they are found “among them.” Therefore, Joshua pleads with his people to incline their hearts to the Lord.

Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com

The Hebrew term used here, natah, means “to stretch,” “to bend.” It describes a God who is expected to bend down and listen to prayers (2 Kings 19:16; Psalms 31:2-3; Daniel 9:18), and it is also the attitude required of Israel later by the prophets (Isaiah 55:3, Jeremiah 7:24). It is employed to indicate the apostasy of Solomon when his heart inclined toward foreign gods (1 Kings 11:2,4,9). The sinful human heart does not have the natural tendency to bend and listen to God’s voice. It takes conscious decisions on our part to incline it toward fulfilling God’s will.

The Israelites’ answer literally reads: “We will listen to His voice.” This expression emphasizes the relational aspect of obedience. Israel is not asked to routinely follow lifeless rules. The covenant is about a living relationship with the Lord, which cannot be fully expressed by mere regulations. Israel’s religion was never intended to be legalistic; rather, it was to be a constant conversation in faith and love with a holy and merciful Savior.

Even after the people’s threefold promise to serve the Lord, which implies, as Joshua commanded, the removal of foreign gods from among them, there is no report that it actually happened. Throughout the entire book, it became customary to report on the fulfillment of Joshua’s commands (or those of Moses) as examples of obedience. The lack of it now at the end of the book leaves the plea of Joshua open-ended. The central appeal of the book to serve the Lord is not only for Joshua’s generation but also for each new generation of God’s people who would read or hear this message.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-13-the-dangers-of-idolatry/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-13-the-dangers-of-idolatry

View an in-depth discussion of Choose this Day! in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris.
Click on the image below to view the video:

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

Daily Lesson for Tuesday 23rd of December 2025

As a true and faithful leader, Joshua respects the free will of his people and wishes that Israel would serve the Lord out of free choice rather than compulsion. That was exactly the point made by the deliberate use of the verb “chosen” (see Joshua 24:22). In other passages baḥar, “to choose,” describes Yahweh’s election of Israel (Deuteronomy 7:6-7; Deuteronomy 10:15; Deuteronomy 14:2). Israel is free to say “no” to Yahweh after their divine election, but that would be nonsensical and absurd. Israel can say “yes” to God and continue to live, or they can turn their backs on Him and cease to exist.

Image © Providence Collection at Goodsalt.com

In their categorically positive answer, the Israelites recognize that the God of the patriarchs and of their fathers is now also “our God” (Joshua 24:17-18, NKJV), whom they are willing to serve with undivided allegiance. After such an unquestionable affirmation of their loyalty, we would expect words of affirmation and encouragement from Joshua. However, this is not the case. The dialogue between Joshua and the people takes a radical turn in which Joshua seems to play the role of the devil’s advocate. He shifts from speaking about God’s gracious providence in the past to threatening the Israelites with a picture of a God who is not easy to serve.

Joshua knows the instability of the first generation, who promised to obey God in similar terms (Exodus 19:8, Exodus 24:3, Deuteronomy 5:27) yet who forgot their promises while the words were still on their lips (Exodus 32:1-35). Thus, Joshua, by means of rhetoric, wants to make the Israelites aware of several things. First, the decision to serve God is a serious one. It will have to shape the entire nation according to God’s revelation. The blessings of pursuing that goal are evident, but the consequences of disobedience must also be fully understood. Forgiveness of sins is not an unalienable right of humanity but a miracle of God’s grace.

Second, the decision of the Israelites to serve God must be their own decision, not something imposed by a leader, even Joshua.

Third, Israel must realize that humans cannot serve God in their own strength. Serving God is not achieved by a mechanical adherence to the stipulations of the covenant but by a personal relationship with the saving Lord (compare with Exodus 20:1-2; Deuteronomy 5:6-7).

<–Monday Wednesday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-13-free-to-serve/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-13-free-to-serve