Daily Lesson for Sunday 26th of October 2025

We need to look beyond the book of Joshua to completely understand what was meant by the iniquity of the nations inhabiting Canaan. These nations’ abhorrent practices of child sacrifice, divination, sorcery, witchcraft, necromancy, and spiritualism give us a hint (Deuteronomy 18:9-12).

Image © Stefan pavel at Goodsalt.com

The discovery of the ancient Ugaritic texts (from Ras Shamra) provides more insight into the Canaanite religion and society, and they demonstrate that condemnation of this culture was not only understandable but—according to Old Testament moral standards—also justified.

The Canaanite religion was based on the belief that natural phenomena, which assured fertility, were controlled by the sexual relationships between gods and goddesses. Thus, they envisioned the sexual activity of the deities in terms of their own sexual behavior and engaged in ritual sexual practices in order to incite the gods and goddesses to do likewise. This concept resulted in the institution of “sacred” prostitution, involving both male and female prostitutes engaging in orgiastic rites, again all as part of their own religious practices!

A nation cannot rise to a moral ground that is higher than that of the gods its people worship. As a result of such an understanding of their deities, it is no wonder the Canaanites’ religious practices included child sacrifice, which the Bible warned specifically against.

Archaeological evidence confirms that the inhabitants of Canaan regularly sacrificed their firstborn children to the gods, really demons, whom they worshiped. Little skeletons found crushed into large jars with votive inscriptions testify to their degrading religion and what it meant for many of their children.

The eradication of the Canaanites, then, was not an afterthought, something that emerged in the wake of God’s decision to give the land of Canaan to the Israelites. The inhabitants of Canaan were granted a time of probation, a time of additional mercy during which they had the opportunity to discover God and His character through the witness of the patriarchs living among them. They had the chance, but obviously they squandered it and continued in their horrific practices until the Lord finally had to put a stop to them.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-05-the-canaanites-iniquity/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-05-the-canaanites-iniquity

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 25th of October 2025

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 15:16; Leviticus 18:24-30; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Exodus 23:28-30; Deuteronomy 20:10,15-18; Isaiah 9:6.

Memory Text: “And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel” (Joshua 10:42, ESV).

The book of Joshua contains some disturbing scenes. Serious questions are raised by the concept of a divine or holy war portraying a group of people with a God-given mandate to destroy another group.

The issue of divine war in the Old Testament is challenging. God appears in the Old Testament as the sovereign Lord of the universe; therefore, everything that happens must, somehow, be related to His direct or indirect will. So, the question “How can God allow such things?” becomes inevitable. Last week, we saw that God Himself is involved in a conflict that is far greater than any war or battle fought in human history, a battle that permeates every aspect of our lives. We saw, too, that the events of both biblical and secular history can be fully understood only in light of this conflict.

This week, we continue to explore the complexity of divinely sanctioned wars, the limitations and conditions of divine war, the final vision of peace offered by the Old Testament prophets, and the spiritual implications of such wars.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 1.

Sunday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-05-god-fights-for-you/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-05-god-fights-for-you

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.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-october-25/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mission-spotlight-for-october-25

Inside Story for Friday 24th of October 2025

By Laurie Denski-Snyman

A missionary and his local partner were selling Christian books in a non-Christian neighborhood in a large city in southern Asia. They could see residents’ religious devotion by their clothing. Women wore scarves; men had long beards. Some people even had dark spots on their foreheads from bowing their faces to the floor for long prayers.

At one house, a man with an angry face came to the front gate. “What do you want?” he asked gruffly, without opening the gate.

“We are working on a project in your community and selling books,” said the missionary, David. “Would you be willing to take a few minutes to look at these books?”

“I’ll be back in just a minute,” the man said harshly and left.

The missionary’s local partner, Maria, was afraid. “Let’s pray,” she said. “He looks scary. I think he’s a fanatic, a radical member of his faith.“

“Maybe he’s just hungry,” David said. It was the time of the year when devout religious men fasted for a month during the daytime.

Then the man returned. “Why don’t you come in?” he said.

Inside the house, he spoke abruptly. “What do you want?” he said.

David pulled several health books from his bag.

The man looked intrigued. “My wife will be interested in these because she’s a nutritionist,” he said, and called her to come and look at the books.

As he and his wife thumbed through the books, he commented with enthusiasm, “Wow, this is really good,” and “This looks really helpful.”

Then he asked bluntly, “Who are you working for?“

“We are Seventh-day Adventists,” David replied.

Abruptly, the man stood up and walked away. Then he returned and sat down. He stared at the visitors. The silence grew uncomfortable.

His wife broke the silence. “You know, I have Adventist clients,” she said. “They are very good people. But I really don’t know much about them.”

The man started to pace. He seemed agitated. Then he sat down again.

“What are those other books that you have?” his wife asked.

David opened his bag and pulled out The Great Controversy. “This book is all about true love, true forgiveness, and true peace,” he said.

She looked through it excitedly. David also showed her Steps to Christ and Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing. The man stood up, stared at the visitors, and sat down. His wife asked, “What do you believe?”

The man stood up again and walked over. He seemed determined to hear every word. Pulling out his cell phone, he started to record the conversation.

Pray for missionaries as they seek to proclaim the gospel around the world. Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offering that supports missionaries. Read the rest of this mission story next week.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-04-inside-story-what-do-you-want/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-04-inside-story-what-do-you-want

Daily Lesson for Friday 24th of October 2025

Read Ellen G. White, “The Fall of Jericho,” Pages 487–493, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

When rebellion against God’s authority arose in the universe, either God was going to cease to be what He essentially, immutably, and eternally is and give away the leadership of the whole universe to one of His rebellious creatures, or He was going to be the holy, righteous, loving, and merciful Father of all that exists. The Bible presents the second picture, and in this case, the clash between the forces of evil and His power is inevitable.

When political or sociohistorical powers associated with chaotic and rebellious cosmic forces manifested the same defiant attitude against Yahweh, He, as the Sovereign Lord of the universe, intervened. The motif of Yahweh as a warrior becomes a prefiguration of that ultimate victory, which will finally put an end to the ongoing cosmic conflict between good and evil (Revelation 20:8-10). Moreover, Israel’s divine wars not only reflect a glimpse of the cosmic conflict as in a mirror but are part and parcel of the same controversy, anticipating God’s end-time judgment in the sphere of present history.

“God had made it their privilege and their duty to enter the land at the time of His appointment, but through their willful neglect that permission had been withdrawn. . . . It was not His purpose that they should gain the land by warfare, but by strict obedience to His commands.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 392.

Discussion Questions

<–Thursday

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-04-further-thought-the-conflict-behind-all-conflicts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-04-further-thought-the-conflict-behind-all-conflicts