Daily Lesson for Sunday 4th of February 2024

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These hymns praise the Lord for His awesome power over the evil forces that threaten His people. They portray God in His majesty as Warrior and Judge. The image of God as Warrior is frequent in the Psalms and highlights the severity and urgency of God’s response to His people’s cries and suffering.

“The Lord thundered from heaven, / And the Most High uttered His voice, / Hailstones and coals of fire. / He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, / Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. / Then the channels of the sea were seen, / The foundations of the world were uncovered /At Your rebuke, O Lord, / At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils” (Psalms 18:13-15, NKJV).

The sheer determination and magnitude of God’s action should disperse any doubt about God’s great care and compassion for the sufferers or about His ability to defeat evil. We just need to wait for Him to do it.

In the end, even when God’s people, such as David, were involved in war, deliverance did not come from human means. In his many battles against the enemies of God’s people, King David praised God as the only One who achieved all the victories. It would have been easy for David to take credit for what happened, for his many successes and triumphs, but that was not his frame of mind. He knew where the Source of his power came from.

Although David states that the Lord trains his hands for war (Psalms 18:34), nowhere in the Psalms does he rely on his battle skills. Instead, the Lord fights for David and delivers him (Psalms 18:47-48).

In the Psalms, King David, who was known as a successful warrior, assumes his role as a skilled musician and praises the Lord as the only Deliverer and Sustainer of His people (Psalms 144:10-15). Praise and prayer to the Lord are David’s sources of strength, which are more power­ful than any weapon of war. God alone is to be trusted and worshiped.

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Daily Lesson for Saturday 3rd of February 2024

Read for This Week’s Study

Image © Pacific Press

Psalms 18:3-18, Psalms 41:1-3, Deuteronomy 15:7-11, Psalms 82:1-8, Psalms 96:6-10, Psalms 99:1-4, Romans 8:34.

Memory Text:

“ ‘For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise,’ says the Lord; ‘I will set him in the safety for which he yearns’ ” (Psalms 12:5, NKJV).

Our age is not the only age in which evil, injustice, and oppression rage. The psalmists lived in such a time, as well. And so, whatever else they are, the Psalms are also God’s protests against the violence and oppression in the world, in our world, and that of the psalmists, as well.

Yes, the Lord is long-suffering and holds His wrath in His great forbearance, not wanting anyone to perish but to repent and change their ways (2 Peter 3:9-15). And though God’s proper time for His intervention does not always coincide with human expectations, the day of God’s judgment is coming (Psalms 96:13, Psalms 98:9). We just need to trust in Him, and in His promises, until that day comes.

Only the Creator, whose throne is founded on righteousness and justice (Psalms 89:14, Psalms 97:2), can provide, with His sovereign judgment, stability and prosperity to the world. The twofold aspect of divine judgment includes deliverance of the oppressed and destruction of the wicked (Psalms 7:6-17).

This is what we have been promised, and this is what will, indeed, one day come—but in God’s time, not ours, a point that the psalmist emphasizes.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 10.

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Key Thought: The Psalms are uttered in an imperfect world; one of sin, evil, suffering, and death. The Psalmists are at times perplexed by the apparent absence of God.
February 3, 2024

1. Have a volunteer read Psalm 41:1-4, Psalm 88:3-12.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What experiences do these texts describe? What can you relate to in what is said?
3. Personal Application: Does focusing on the suffering Jesus endured on the cross help us keep faith amid times of suffering and trial?” Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “What tensions have you faced in evil and how have you dealt with them? How do you maintain your faith in the face of evil?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Psalm 42:1-3, 63:1, 68:1-3, 102:1-7.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What causes great pain to the Psalmist?
3. Personal Application: How do you respond to times when God does seem silent? What sustains you in times of trouble? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “What answers can we find when our faith in God is tested by trials or by people whose sufferings cause them to question the goodness of God?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Psalm 77.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What experience is the author going through?
3. Personal Application: Has the Lord worked in your life in the past? How can that truth help you deal with present trials? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “How come there is so much evil in this world if it is created and sustained by an all-powerful God of love?” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Psalm 37:1,8; 49:5-7; 94:3-7.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What struggles does the Psalmist face?
3. Personal Application: Does the knowledge of God’s judgment upon the world and all its evil give you comfort when so much evil now goes unpunished? 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).

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Inside Story for Friday 2nd of February 2024

By Andrew McChesney

Five-year-old Sekule was frightened by Grandmother’s warnings about hell. “You must be good,” Grandmother said. “If you aren’t good, you’ll end up in hell.”

“What do you mean ‘end up in hell’?” the boy asked.

“You will end up in eternal flames if you lie or steal,” she said. “You will feel the flames for all eternity.”

Grandmother’s words ignited great fear in the young boy’s heart. He was confused. On the one hand, she said God is love. On the other, she said that if Sekule lied, he would end up in hell. Sekule was afraid because he couldn’t help but lie sometimes.

The boy didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t turn to his parents. They were not Christian in then-communist Montenegro. Grandmother was the only Christian whom he knew in his village.

One day, when no one was looking, he hid behind a bush and scolded God. “I don’t know why people say You are love,” he said. “You aren’t love but a monster. Why did You create me to end up in flames? Am I supposed to be faithful and not lie and do bad things? I can’t believe in You, and I won’t believe in You. You are a monster.”

Sekule was finished with God. He was only 5 and had no interest in God.

Nine years later, at the age of 14, Sekule was sent away to a boarding high school in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the 700 boys at the school, he was the only one from Montenegro. Sensing that he faced an uphill battle as an outsider, he resorted to fighting to gain acceptance with his classmates. He fought nearly every day. If someone even touched one of his ears—and they were a temptation to touch because they stuck out like teacup handles—he attacked viciously. One fight left him with a knife scar on a hand. Sekule also was a bully. When a younger boy received a food package from home, Sekule dangled him outside a dorm window by the ankles until he handed over the package.

After three years of fighting, a desire grew in Sekule to know truth. He wondered whether Grandmother had told him the truth about God. But what was truth? Sarajevo had several main religions: Islam, Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Judaism. Sekule wondered, If God is One, why are there so many religions? He decided to become familiar with all religions to find the truth.

Sekule Sekuli´c is an affluent entrepreneur and faithful Seventh-day Adventist in Montenegro. Read more of his story next week. Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help spread the good news of Jesus’ soon coming in Montenegro and around the world.

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Daily Lesson for Friday 2nd of February 2024

Read Psalms 56:1-13; Ellen G. White, “Rejoicing in the Lord,” pages 115–126, in Steps to Christ.

Like the psalmists, God’s people of all times wonder every so often how to sing the Lord’s songs in “a strange land.” Our faith in the sovereign rule of the Lord is challenged, at times severely, and we may ponder whether God is in control or truly as powerful and good as the Scriptures say.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

Biblical faith often implies uncertainty and suspense as much as confidence and assertion. Sometimes uncertainty and suspense, especially in the face of evil and God’s seeming absence, can be almost unbearable. Yet, uncertainty must never be about God or His loving and righteous character and trustworthiness. The psalmists may be uncertain about the future, but they often appeal to God’s unfailing love and faithfulness (Psalms 36:5-10; Psalms 89:2,8).

Likewise, we are to follow the same example. “Summon all your powers to look up, not down at your difficulties; then you will never faint by the way. You will soon see Jesus behind the cloud, reaching out His hand to help you; and all you have to do is to give Him your hand in simple faith and let Him lead you. As you become trustful you will, through faith in Jesus, become hopeful.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 578, 579.

The times when God “hides His face” do not undermine the efficacy of prayer. On the contrary, these occasions cause the psalmists to examine themselves, recall God’s past saving acts, and seek God with confession and humble petitions (Psalms 77:10-12, Psalms 89:46-52). “Faith grows strong by coming in conflict with doubts and opposing influences. The experience gained in these trials is of more value than the most costly jewels.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 555.

Discussion Questions

1. What tensions did the psalmists experience in the face of evil? What similar tensions have you faced, and how have you dealt with them? How do you maintain your faith during these times?
2. Where should we look for answers when our faith in God is tested by trials or by people whose own sufferings cause them to question the goodness and power of God?
3. How do you answer the common question about evil in a world created and sustained by an all-powerful God of love? How does the great controversy motif help answer, at least somewhat, this challenge?

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