Daily Lesson for Tuesday 12th of March 2024

Psalms 87:1-7 is a hymn celebrating Zion as God’s specially chosen and beloved city. The foundation of God’s temple is on Mount Zion (Psalms 2:6, Psalms 15:1). At the end of time, Zion will rise above all mountains, signifying the Lord’s sovereign supremacy over the whole world (Psalms 99:2, Isaiah 2:2, Micah 4:1). Psalms 87:1-7 refers to Zion as “mountains” to highlight its majesty (Psalms 133:3).

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God loves the gates of Zion “more than all the dwellings of Jacob” (Psalms 87:2, NKJV), expressing the superiority of Zion over all other places in Israel that were special gathering places of God’s people in the past, such as Shiloh and Bethel. Thus, the psalm affirms that true worship of God is in His chosen place and in His prescribed way.

The glory of Zion draws all the nations to God, and so, the borders of God’s kingdom are extended to include the whole world. Notice that God does not treat the other nations as second-level citizens, even if Zion is portrayed as the spiritual birthplace of all peoples who accept the Lord as their Savior.

The registering of individuals was done according to their birthplace (Nehemiah 7:5, Luke 2:1-3). Three times the psalm states that the nations are born in Zion, meaning that the Lord provides them with a new identity and grants them all the privileges of lawfully born children of Zion (Psalms 87:4-6).

Psalms 87:1-7 points to salvation of both the Jews and the Gentiles and their being united in one church through Christ’s redeeming ministry (Romans 3:22; Romans 10:12; Galatians 3:28-29; Colossians 3:11). The psalm’s portrayal of the prosperity of Zion is reminiscent of Daniel’s vision of God’s kingdom becoming an enormous mountain that fills the whole earth (Daniel 2:34-35,44-45) and of Jesus’ parable about God’s kingdom growing into a huge tree that hosts the birds of the air (Matthew 13:32).

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Key Thought: Zion represents God’s living presence among His people. Zion is a place of Divine blessings and refuge. Zion is interchangeable with Jerusalem and the sanctuary – the center of salvation.
March 16, 2024

1. Have a volunteer read Psalm 84:1-4; 122:1-9.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. Why does the psalmist long to dwell in the sanctuary? Who else can be blessed by the sanctuary?
3. Personal Application: What are some practical ways that we can strive for harmony among us as a people now? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of you relatives states, “In ancient Israel and even in today’s Jews in countries around the world, their focus, time, and efforts are in the synagogue. Should our focus, time, and efforts be in the church and our fellow believers more? How is our church worship similar and different from the Jewish synagogue and the tabernacle?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Psalm 87:1-7.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What makes Zion such an esteemed place? Where are the glorious things that are spoken of in Zion?
3. Personal Application: How does Zion’s readiness to adopt all people fit in the church’s call from Christ to preach the gospel to every nation? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Why do you Adventists focus so much on the book of Revelation and the antichrist and the mark of the beast? Shouldn’t you just focus on the gospel and Christ’s love for everyone?.” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Psalm 46:1-11.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How is the world poetically depicted here?
3. Personal Application: How do we learn to have peace and to trust God amid a world that has so much turmoil? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “What doe God think about all the violence and destruction in the world? If He is a loving God, how can He let it go on so long? It seems like it is getting more and more frequent and intense.” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Psalm 125:1-5..

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How are those who trust God portrayed here?
3. Personal Application: How are the righteous tempted? What is the lesson for us here? 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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The beautiful picture on the front of our lesson pamphlet brings us our theme hymn for this quarter with its two variations in melody:
Hym 552/546 – The Lord’s My Shepherd.

Psalm 9:11
“Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion!
Declare His deeds among the people.”

Zion that beautiful Heavenly place is found in 
Hymn 450 – Beautiful Zion which encourages us to keep 
Marching to Zion – Hymn 422.

“In Psalm 84 unparalleled happiness is achieved in relationship with God” (Sunday): 
Hymn 579 – ‘Tis Love That Makes Us Happy and this “consists of praising Him (Ps 84:12)”: 
Hymn 249 – Praise Him! Praise Him! “Strength increases the nearer they come to the sanctuary”: 
Hymn 629 – O Happy Band of Pilgrims.

The peace that is found for Jerusalem (Monday) says 
Jerusalem, My Happy Home – Hymn 420 where there is 
Wonderful Peace – Hymn 466.

The Safety and Peace of Zion (Wednesday) tells us “this is the great hope that Christians have, which will occur at the second coming of Jesus: 
Hymn 214 – We Have This Hope.

“Those who trust in the Lord are compared to Mount Zion, the symbol of steadfastness and strength”: 
Hymn 510 – If You But Trust In God To Guide You as ”the call for God’s people to remain immovable in faith and trust in the Lord…” Thursday).

Friday encourages us to “never accept this world” but to 
Take The World, But Give Me Jesus – Hymn 329.

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.”

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Daily Lesson for Monday 11th of March 2024

Psalms 122:1-9 expresses the pilgrims’ excitement upon their arrival at Jerusalem.

Image © Jim Howard at Goodsalt.com

The pilgrimages to Jerusalem were joyful occasions when God’s people joined together three times during the year to commemorate God’s goodness toward them in the past and present (Deuteronomy 16:16). Jerusalem was the center of the nation’s life because it contained “the Testimony of Israel” (Psalms 122:4, NKJV) and the thrones for judgment (Psalms 122:5). “The Testimony of Israel” refers to the sanctuary that was at times called “the tabernacle of the Testimony” (Numbers 1:50, NKJV) and contained the “ark of the Testimony” (Exodus 25:22, NKJV). The thrones set for judgment depict the judicial system in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 8:15). Pilgrimage was thus the time when one could seek and obtain justice. Faithfulness to God and administering justice to people were never to be separated.

Praying for the peace of Jerusalem invokes God’s blessings upon the city and its inhabitants, and it unites the worshipers, causing peace to spread among them (Psalms 122:8). Jerusalem could be the city of peace only if peace existed between God and His people, and among God’s children themselves. Thus, prayer for the peace of Jerusalem conveys an appeal to God’s people to live in peace with God and one another. In Jerusalem’s peace, the people will prosper (Psalms 147:12-14).

The psalm teaches us that the prayer for the well-being of the community of faith should be the main subject of the prayers of God’s children because only the strong and united people of God can proclaim the good tidings of God’s peace and salvation to the world (John 13:34-35).

Praying for the peace of Jerusalem is still a privilege and responsibility of the believers because it keeps alive the hope in the end-time coming of God’s kingdom of peace, which will embrace not only the city of Jerusalem but the whole world (Isaiah 52:7; Isaiah 66:12-13; Revelation 21:1-27; Revelation 22:1-21).

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Daily Lesson for Sunday 10th of March 2024

The psalmist “longs” and “faints” to make the sanctuary his permanent abode so that he can be near God forever (Psalms 84:1-2). God’s living presence (Psalms 84:2) makes the sanctuary a unique place. In the sanctuary, worshipers can “behold the beauty of the Lord” (Psalms 27:4, NKJV; also, see Psalms 63:2) and be “satisfied with the goodness of [His] house” (Psalms 65:4, NKJV).

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

In Psalms 84:1-12, unparalleled happiness is achieved in relationship with God, which consists of praising Him (Psalms 84:4), finding strength in Him (Psalms 84:5), and trusting Him (Psalms 84:12). The sanctuary is the place where such a relationship is nourished through worship and fellowship with fellow believers. The living presence of God in the sanctuary gives the worshipers a glimpse of God’s glorious kingdom and a taste of eternal life.

God’s blessings are described as radiating from the sanctuary, bestowed first on those who serve in the sanctuary (Psalms 84:4), then on the pilgrims on their way to the sanctuary (Psalms 84:5–10), and finally reaching as far as the ends of the earth. The expectation of meeting God in the sanctuary strengthens the faith of the pilgrims (Psalms 84:7). Whereas the strength of the ordinary traveler weakens under the burden of the tiresome journey, with the pilgrims to the sanctuary, their strength increases the nearer they come to the sanctuary.

Even when physically removed from the sanctuary, God’s children continue to bear a stamp of God’s sanctuary by living a worthy life (Psalms 84:11), which characterizes the righteous who enter the Lord’s sanctuary (Psalms 15:1-2). The Lord is called “a sun,” showing that the blessings from the sanctuary, like the sunrays, extend to the ends of the earth (Psalms 84:11). Thus, those who abide with God through faith receive His grace, regardless of the place where they are.

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