Daily Lesson for Sunday 2nd of February 2025

Throughout Scripture, love and justice go together. True love requires justice, and true justice can be governed by and meted out only in love. We are not used to thinking of these two concepts together, but that is only because both love and justice have been greatly perverted by humanity.

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

These texts explicitly declare that God loves justice (Psalms 33:5, Isaiah 61:8). In Scripture, the ideas of love and justice are inextricably linked. God’s love and God’s righteousness go together, and He is deeply concerned that righteousness and justice be done in this world.

For good reason, then, the prophets consistently decry all kinds of injustice, including unjust laws, false scales, and injustice and oppression of the poor and the widows or anyone vulnerable. Though people perpetrate many evils and injustices, God is the one constantly “ ‘exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth’ ” (Jeremiah 9:24, NKJV). Accordingly, throughout Scripture, those faithful to God greatly anticipate divine judgment as a very good thing because it brings punishment against evildoers and oppressors, and it brings justice and deliverance for the victims of injustice and oppression.

In fact, righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s government. God’s moral government of love is just and righteous, quite different from the corrupt governments of this world, which often perpetuate injustice for personal gain and personal power. In God, “mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed” (Psalms 85:10, NKJV).

And God makes it clear what He expects of us. “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, NKJV). If there is anything that we should reflect of God’s character, love—and the justice and mercy that stems from it—would be central.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

(1)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-06-love-and-justice/

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 1st of February 2025

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: Psalms 33:5, Psalms 85:10, Deuteronomy 32:4, James 1:17, Titus 1:2, Exodus 32:14, Matthew 5:43-48.

Memory Text:

“ ‘But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:24, NKJV).

In the ancient Near East, the “gods” of the nations were not only fickle, immoral, and unpredictable, but they also commanded atrocities, such as child sacrifice. And even then, the pagan masses could not count on their favor, and so they dared not cross their tribal “deities.”

According to Deuteronomy 32:17, behind such “gods” were demons (see also 1 Corinthians 10:20-21). And their forms of worship were ripe for exploitation, leaving the people in great spiritual and moral darkness.

The God of the Bible could not be more different from these demonic forces. Yahweh is perfectly good and His character changeless. And it is only because of God’s constant goodness that we can have any hope, now and for eternity.

In stark contrast to the false gods of the ancient world, and even to the modern “gods” of today, as well, Yahweh is deeply concerned about evil, suffering, injustice, and oppression—all of which He constantly and unequivocally condemns. And, most important, He will one day eradicate them all, as well.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 8.

Sunday–>

(1)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-06-gods-love-of-justice/

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.

(0)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-february-1/

Inside Story for Friday 31st of January 2025

By Andrew McChesney

American missionary Joanne (Park) Kim locked herself in her apartment after being attacked by four drunken strangers in Mongolia. She was hurt, scared, and crying. She wanted to return home to the United States.

Image © Pacific Press

After two days, another missionary came to see her. She thought that he had come to comfort her, but instead he scolded her. “Seriously, Joanne, did you come all the way over here to witness to your closet?” he said. “Do you want Satan to win?”

It was just what Joanne needed to hear. If the missionary had comforted her, she would probably have wallowed in her misery, given up, and gone home. But now she reflected on why she had come to Mongolia. Initially, she had planned to go to Uzbekistan, so she had started learning Russian, including the Cyrillic alphabet. When the plan had fallen through, she had ended up in Mongolia, where the Cyrillic alphabet was the same, but she couldn’t understand a word. For the first couple of months, she had tried unsuccessfully to learn Mongolian. Without the language, she was struggling to witness. Without the language, she couldn’t ask for help or speak up for herself when she was attacked by drunken strangers nearly every week. Complicating matters, people kept assuming that she was Mongolian and spoke Mongolian because of her Korean ethnicity.

Joanne still wanted to share the love of Jesus in Mongolia, but she didn’t feel that she had any love left to share after multiple drunken attacks.

“Lord,” she prayed, “if You are serious about me staying here, please give me a way out of this mess. You need to protect me, or give me a way to handle these situations, or get rid of these drunken men.”

She decided to stay in Mongolia and wait on God.

The drunken attacks didn’t stop. But God gave Joanne a tool to defend herself. Within just three months, she learned to speak Mongolian fluently. It was a miracle. Joanne was able to give Bible studies in Mongolian, and she could speak up for herself and ask for help when she was attacked. But she couldn’t love like Jesus. The pain from the attacks ran very deep.

This mission story offers an inside look at American mis­sionary Joanne (Park) Kim, who helped start the Seventh-day Adventist work in post-Communist Mongolia and continues to serve as a missionary there. You also can participate in the mission work through this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering, part of which will help open a recreation center where children can grow spiritually, mentally, socially, and physically in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Read more about Joanne next week.

(3)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-05-inside-story-do-you-want-satan-to-win/

Daily Lesson for Friday 31st of January 2025

Read Ellen G. White, “Idolatry at Sinai,” Pages 315–330, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

In the context of the sin of the golden calf, Ellen G. White wrote: “The Israelites had been guilty of treason, and that against a King who had loaded them with benefits and whose authority they had voluntarily pledged themselves to obey. That the divine government might be maintained justice must be visited upon the traitors. Yet even here God’s mercy was displayed. While He maintained His law, He granted freedom of choice and opportunity for repentance to all. Only those were cut off who persisted in rebellion.

“It was necessary that this sin should be punished, as a testimony to surrounding nations of God’s displeasure against idolatry. By executing justice upon the guilty, Moses, as God’s instrument, must leave on record a solemn and public protest against their crime. As the Israelites should hereafter condemn the idolatry of the neighboring tribes, their enemies would throw back upon them the charge that the people who claimed Jehovah as their God had made a calf and worshiped it in Horeb. Then though compelled to acknowledge the disgraceful truth, Israel could point to the terrible fate of the transgressors, as evidence that their sin had not been sanctioned or excused.

“Love no less than justice demanded that for this sin judgment should be inflicted. . . . It was the mercy of God that thousands should suffer, to prevent the necessity of visiting judgments upon millions. In order to save the many, He must punish the few.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, Pages 324, 325.

Discussion Questions

<–Thursday

(1)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-05-further-thought-the-wrath-of-divine-love/