Closer To Heaven
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Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 2 – The Burning Bush. It’s the fastest hour of the week!
(0)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/the-burning-bush-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/
Daily Lesson for Thursday 10th of July 2025
Bible students are shocked when they read that, after Moses obeyed the Lord and started his journey back to Egypt, the Lord “was about to kill him” (Exodus 4:24, NIV). From the context of the story, it is evident that the issue was circumcision. His youngest son was not circumcised, as the Abrahamic covenant demanded (Genesis 17:10-11).
Image © Jim Howard at Goodsalt.com
Moses, as the leader of God’s people, needed to show his perfect submission and obedience to God, in order to be qualified to lead other people to be obedient. He had to be a model of that total surrender to God. His wife, Zipporah, was a woman of action and circumcised her son in order to save the life of her husband. She touched Moses with the “bloody foreskin,” and this blood represents atonement, life, and the sealing of the covenant. The fact that it was done so quickly added to the drama of the situation.
An important lesson can be learned from this episode: never fail to do what we know is right.
“On the way from Midian, Moses received a startling and terrible warning of the Lord’s displeasure. An angel appeared to him in a threatening manner, as if he would immediately destroy him. No explanation was given; but Moses remembered that he had disregarded one of God’s requirements . . . he had neglected to perform the rite of circumcision upon their youngest son. He had failed to comply with the condition by which his child could be entitled to the blessings of God’s covenant with Israel; and such a neglect on the part of their chosen leader could not but lessen the force of the divine precepts upon the people. Zipporah, fearing that her husband would be slain, performed the rite herself, and the angel then permitted Moses to pursue his journey. In his mission to Pharaoh, Moses was to be placed in a position of great peril; his life could be preserved only through the protection of holy angels. But while living in neglect of a known duty, he would not be secure; for he could not be shielded by the angels of God.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, Pages 255, 256.
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What should this story say to you if you are indeed guilty of neglecting what you know you should be doing? What changes do you need to make, even right now? |
(1)Daily Lesson for Wednesday 9th of July 2025
Moses again tried to excuse himself from the task God asked of him (see Exodus 3:11).
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
He did not want to go to Egypt and confront Pharaoh. After all, he had already failed when he previously tried, on his own, to help the Hebrews. Also, his own people didn’t believe in or accept him as their leader. That’s why he formulated a third objection: “ ‘What if they do not believe me or listen to me?’ ” (Exodus 4:1, NIV). This was not a question to learn something new; it was an attempt to say no to the responsibility that God asked him to undertake.
Two miraculous signs are given to Moses to perform before the elders of Israel and, later, before Pharaoh: (1) his staff turning into a snake and then back into a staff, and (2) his hand becoming leprous but then instantly healed. Both miracles should convince the elders that God is at work for them. But if not, the third miracle, that of turning water into blood, was added (Exodus 4:8-9).
Although God gave Moses these mighty wonders, he still expresses another excuse, the fourth: he is not a good speaker.
Read Exodus 4:10-18. How does the Lord respond to Moses, and what lessons can we take from that for ourselves, in whatever situation we believe God calls us to?
This set of four excuses shows Moses’ reluctance to follow God’s call. With “reasonable” objections, he masks his unwillingness to go. The first three excuses are in the form of questions: (1) Who am I? (2) Who are You? and (3) What if they do not believe me? And the fourth objection is (4) the statement: “I am not eloquent.” God reacted to all of them and brought a powerful solution. To these excuses God presents many uplifting promises.
Then Moses delivers his fifth and final plea and directly asks: “ ‘O my Lord, please send someone else’ ” (Exodus 4:13, NRSV). In response, God tells him that He is already sending his brother, Aaron, to meet him for support. Finally, Moses silently concedes and asks Jethro for his blessing before departing for Egypt.
(0)Daily Lesson for Tuesday 8th of July 2025
God presents Himself to Moses as “’ehejeh ’asher ’ehejeh,” which literally means “I will be who I will be,” or “I am who I am.” In Exodus 3:12, God uses the same verb ’ehejeh as in verse 14, when He states to Moses, “I will be” (with you). It means that God is eternal. He is the transcendent God, as well as the immanent God, and He dwells with those “who are contrite and humble in spirit” (Isaiah 57:15, NRSV).
Image © Lifeway Collection at Goodsalt.com
The proper name of God, “Yahweh” (translated in English Bibles usually as “the Lord”), was known to God’s people from the beginning, even if they didn’t know its deeper meaning. Moses also knew the name Yahweh, but, like others, he did not know the real meaning. His question, “What is your name?” is a query about that deeper meaning.
A helpful hint is in Exodus 6:3, where God stated: “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them” (Exodus 6:3, NIV). It does not signify that Adam, Noah, Abraham, and the patriarchs did not know the name “Yahweh” (see Genesis 2:4,9; Genesis 4:1,26; Genesis 7:5; Genesis 15:6-8; etc.). It means, instead, that they did not know its deeper meaning.
His name, Yahweh, points to the fact that He is the personal God, the God of His people, the God of the covenant. He is a close, intimate God who intervenes in human affairs. The Almighty God (Genesis 17:1) is the God who miraculously intervened by His power. But Yahweh is a God who demonstrates His moral power by love and care. He is the same God as Elohim (“mighty, strong, transcendent God,” the “God of all people,” “the Ruler of the universe,” “the Creator of everything”), but different aspects of His relationship to humanity are revealed by the name Yahweh itself.
Knowing the name or calling on God’s name is not something magical. It is about a proclamation of His name, which means teaching others the truth concerning this God and the salvation that He offers to all who come in faith. As Joel says: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32, NIV).
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In what ways in your own life have you experienced the closeness and intimacy with Yahweh that He seeks to have with all who are surrendered to Him? |
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Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dr. Jiří Moskala, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson.”
(0)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/2-the-burning-bush-it-is-written-dicussions-with-the-author/
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