Daily Lesson for Thursday 28th of March 2024

In the Psalms, morning is typically the time when God’s redemption is anticipated. Morning reveals God’s favor, which ends the long night of despair and trouble (Psalms 130:5-6).

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

In Psalms 143:1-12, God’s deliverance will reverse the present darkness of death (Psalms 143:3) into the light of a new morning (Psalms 143:8), and from being in the pit (Psalms 143:7) into residing in “the land of uprightness” (Psalms 143:10).

The resurrection morning of Jesus Christ opened the way for the eternal morning of God’s salvation for all who believe in His name. Jesus’ disciples experienced the full strength of the promise in Psalms 30:5: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,” when they met the resurrected Lord. It is only by God’s favor and unconditional love that our weeping is transformed to joy (Psalms 30:5,7).

As the morning star announces the birth of a new day, so faith heralds the new reality of eternal life in God’s children (2 Peter 1:19). Jesus is called the bright and morning star (Revelation 22:16), whom we eagerly await to establish His kingdom in which there will be no more night, evil, and death (Revelation 21:1-8,25). In the end, more than anything else, this is what we are waiting for when we talk about waiting on the Lord. And, surely, the wait is worth it.

“Over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, Christ had proclaimed in triumph, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life.’ These words could be spoken only by the Deity. All created beings live by the will and power of God. They are dependent recipients of the life of God. From the highest seraph to the humblest animate being, all are replenished from the Source of life. Only He who is one with God could say, I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again. In His divinity, Christ possessed the power to break the bonds of death.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 785.

(1)

The post Thursday: Joy Comes in the Morning appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-13-joy-comes-in-the-morning/

Daily Lesson for Wednesday 27th of March 2024

The praise of God for the great works of His hands (Psalms 92:4-5) and the Eden-like portrayal of the righteous (Psalms 92:12-14) clearly point to Creation, the first aspect that the Sabbath commemorates. The psalm also magnifies the Lord for His victory over enemies as the God of justice (Psalms 92:7-15) and so reinforces the second Sabbath theme—­redemption from evil (Deuteronomy 5:12-15). Thus, Psalms 92:1-15 extols God for His past Creation and present sustaining of the world, and it points to the end-time hope in eternal divine peace and order.

Image © Review & Herald Publishing from GoodSalt.com

The people can enjoy Sabbath rest because God is the “Most High” (Psalms 92:1, NKJV); His superior position on the high places gives Him an unparalleled advantage over their enemies.

Yet, although He is the Most High, the Lord readily reaches down to rescue those who call on Him. The Lord’s work of creation and especially redemption of that creation should inspire people to worship God and love Him. After all, living in a fallen creation, without the hope of redemption, isn’t anything to be particularly thrilled about. We love, we suffer, we die—and do so without any hope. Hence, we praise the Lord, not only as our Creator but as our Redeemer, as well.

“Fresh oil” conveys the psalmist’s renewed devotion to serve God as His reconsecrated servant (Psalms 92:10). The anointing with oil was done for consecration of chosen people such as priests and kings (Exodus 40:15, 1 Samuel 10:1). Yet, the psalmist chose an unusual Hebrew word, balal, to describe his anointing that does not typically depict anointing of God’s servants but denotes “mixing” of oil with other parts of the sacrifice (Exodus 29:2, NKJV; Leviticus 2:4-5). The psalmist’s unique use of balal implies that the psalmist wishes to present himself as a living sacrifice to the Lord and to consecrate his whole self to God (Romans 12:1).

It is not surprising to find thoughts about consecration in a psalm that is dedicated to the Sabbath because the Sabbath is the sign that the Lord sanctifies His people (Exodus 31:13). The images of palm trees and cedars of Lebanon portray God’s people growing in faith and true appreciation of God’s wonderful purposes and love. The Sabbath is the sign of the Lord’s eternal covenant with His people (Ezekiel 20:20). Thus, the Sabbath rest is essential to God’s people because it empowers them to trustingly wait upon the Lord to fulfill all His covenantal promises (Hebrews 4:1-10).

(0)

The post Wednesday: Waiting in God’s Sabbath Rest appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-13-waiting-in-gods-sabbath-rest/

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dragoslava Santrac, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson, “The Lord Reigns.”

(0)

The post 13: Wait on the Lord – It is Written – Discussions with the Author appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/13-wait-on-the-lord-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/

View an in-depth discussion of Wait on the Lord 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.

(0)

The post 13: Wait on the Lord – HopeSS Video Discussion appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/13-wait-on-the-lord-hopess-video-discussion/

Daily Lesson for Tuesday 26th of March 2024

The Lord’s miraculous deliverances in the past are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for God’s people and their source of hope for the future. The past deliverance was so great that it could be described as a dream-come-true experience (Isaiah 29:7-8). Notice that the generation that praises the Lord in Psalms 126:1-6 for His past deliverance of His people from captivity (Psalms 126:1) is presently in captivity (Psalms 126:4).

Image © Ideals Collection at Goodsalt.com

Yet, the past joy and relief are relived through songs and appropriated in present experience. The new generations keep biblical history alive by counting themselves as present among those who saw the events firsthand. Thus, a living faith cherishes God’s great deeds for His people in the past as something that the Lord has done for us and not simply things that the Lord did only for them (the past generations of believers).

In fact, the memory of the past spurs renewed hope for the present. The image of “the streams in the south” (Psalms 126:4) is a powerful metaphor of God’s acting suddenly and powerfully on behalf of His people. The very south of Judah was an arid desert region. The streams were formed suddenly and filled with rushing waters after heavy rainfalls during the rainy season. The early and late rains played a crucial role in the success of the agricultural year (Deuteronomy 11:14, Deuteronomy 28:12). Similarly, the image of sowing in tears and reaping in joy (Psalms 126:5-6) is a powerful promise of divine leading from a difficult present to a happy future.

The end of the harvest season was the time when the ancient Hebrew pilgrimages brought the fruits of the season to God’s temple in Jerusalem (Exodus 34:22,26). The harvest motif provided a potent spiritual lesson to the people at that time. Just as the hard labor of sowing and caring for the fields, orchards, and vineyards is rewarded with the joy of a plentiful harvest, so the present trials of God’s people will be crowned with the joy of salvation at the end of time. The image of the great harvest points to God’s restoration of His kingdom on earth at Christ’s second coming (Amos 9:13-15, Matthew 9:37). Here, too, however, the theme of waiting arises. As with the harvest, we must wait to see the fruit and results of our labor.

(0)

The post Tuesday: Bringing in the Sheaves appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-13-bringing-in-the-sheaves/