Daily Lesson for Monday 29th of September 2025

The first chapter of Joshua serves as an introduction to the whole book. It comprises four speeches that correspond to the four main sections of the book: crossing (Joshua 1:2-9); conquering (Joshua 1:10-11); dividing the land (Joshua 1:12-15); and serving by obedience to the law (Joshua 1:16-18).

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

The book of Joshua can be seen as a series of divine initiatives. In each initiative, God gives a specific task to Joshua related to the conquest of Canaan, and each one is acknowledged later in the book after its successful completion.

In the end, the promises of God concerning the occupation of the land would be fulfilled. From then on, the responsibility of keeping the land lay in the hands of the Israelites and could be accomplished only by true faith and by the obedience that such faith always engenders.

God’s initiatives, expressed by the three verbs—“cross,” “take,” and “divide”—receive a proper answer in the people’s obedience, which derives from the final initiative: service.

Again, the book of Joshua has four major sections, each characterized by a specific concept expressed through the dominating presence of a Hebrew word:

1. Cross (Joshua 1:1-18; Joshua 2:1-24; Joshua 3:1-17; Joshua 4:1-24; Joshua 5:1-12)

2. Take (Joshua 5:13-15; Joshua 6:1-27; Joshua 7:1-26; Joshua 8:1-35; Joshua 9:1-27; Joshua 10:1-43; Joshua 11:1-23; Joshua 12:1-24)

3. Divide (Joshua 13:1-33; Joshua 14:1-15; Joshua 15:1-63; Joshua 16:1-10; Joshua 17:1-18; Joshua 18:1-28; Joshua 19:1-51; Joshua 20:1-9; Joshua 21:1-45)

4. Service (Joshua 22:1-34; Joshua 23:1-16; Joshua 24:1-33)

Thus, the structure of the book itself conveys its main message: God’s initiatives are not accomplished automatically. Instead, they require the faithful response of His people. That is, with all that God has done for us—including all that He has done for us that we cannot do for ourselves—we are then called to do what we can do for ourselves, which is to obey what God commands us to do. This is how it has always been in all of sacred history, and it remains so today. For example, the depiction of God’s end-time people in Revelation 14:12 conveys the same idea: faith in what God has done for us, which leads to obedience.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-01-cross-take-divide-serve/

As we work our way through the book of Joshua this quarter, we will see that he is ready to 
Fight The Good Fight – Hymn 613 and to move forward into the Promised Land. We may still use last quarter’s theme hymn as this will pop up throughout this quarter as well:
Hymn 620 – On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand. These two hymns will resound throughout the quarter.

 Sabbath afternoon’s introduction to the book of Joshua shows that the new generation with Joshua and Caleb are “willing to obey God”: 
Hymn 590 – Trust And Obey. This also happens during Thursday’s lesson time.

 Monday shows us we can be like Joshua and say 
I’ll Go Where You Want Me To Go – Hymn 573 and be found 
Standing On The Promises – Hymn 518. The latter of these two hymns is seen in Tuesday’s study, as well. Just as God gave so much to the people with Joshua, so today 
Lord, Who Dost Give To Thy Church – Hymn 346.

“Be Strong!” says the title on Wednesday, all because
God Is My Strong Salvation – Hymn 339. We are to be strong and courageous, as “the challenge for us is to know the Lord well enough to trust in Him and His promises to us”: 
Hymn 279 – Only Trust Him.

 Please continue to search the scriptures this week to be blessed, and to bless others.

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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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/1-recipe-for-success-singing-with-inspiration/

Daily Lesson for Sunday 28th of September 2025

Image © Lifeway Collection at Goodsalt.com

Though Moses had died and a new leader, Joshua, had been appointed by God, there are parallels between them. Both men had been told by God that they would lead their people into the land promised to their fathers. As the Lord said to Joshua: “ ‘Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses’ ” (Joshua 1:3, NKJV). Joshua would finish the work that had originally been given to Moses. He was, really, a new Moses.

At this stage, the promise that God would “raise up” a prophet similar to Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15) is only a possibility rather than an accomplished reality. The opening words of the book of Joshua remind the reader of this promise and, at the same time, create an expectation to see it fulfilled.

Though dead, Moses still dominates the first chapter. His name is mentioned ten times, Joshua’s only four. Moses is called “the servant of the Lord” while Joshua is referred to as “Moses’ assistant” (Joshua 1:1, NKJV). It will take a lifetime of faithful service and obedience for Joshua to receive the title “servant of the Lord” (Joshua 24:29, NKJV).

Even if the first chapter of Joshua captures a transition between two great leaders of Israel, the most important character is the Lord Himself, whose words open the book and whose guidance dominates it. There are no questions as to who is the real leader of Israel.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-01-a-new-moses/

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 27th of September 2025

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study Deuteronomy 18:15-22; Joshua 1:1-18; Hebrews 6:17-18; Ephesians 6:10-18; Psalms 1:1-3; Romans 3:31.

Memory Text: “ ‘Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go’ ” (Joshua 1:7, NKJV).

Benjamin Zander, musical director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, taught a music interpretation class. He observed the students’ anxiety as they faced the evaluation of their performance. In order to put the students at ease and to open them up to their full potential, he announced on the first day of the class that everybody would get an “A.” This “A” was not an expectation to live up to “but a possibility to live into.” The only requirement was for the students to write a letter within the first two weeks of the semester but dated at the end of the class. The letter explained why they deserved the high grade.

The book of Joshua is about new possibilities. Moses, who had dominated 40 years of Israel’s history, belonged in the past. The Exodus from Egypt and the wanderings in the wilderness, tragically marked by rebellion and stubbornness, had ended. A new generation, willing to obey God, was ready to enter the Promised Land, not as an expectation to live up to but as a possibility to live into.

Let’s study the way God opened up a new chapter in Israel’s life and how He can do the same in ours, as well.

Sunday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-01-recipe-for-success/

Image © Pacific Press

The book of Joshua marks the transition from the leadership of Moses to that of Joshua. It begins with the story of Israel entering the Promised Land and ends with them settled in that land.

Joshua, indeed, had a tough act to follow. That is, to pick up where Moses (Moses!) had left off. But that challenge was only the beginning. Joshua was to do what Moses never did: take the nation, after 40 years in the desert, across the Jordan and into Canaan, according to the promise that God had made to the fathers years before.

“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel” (Josh. 1:2, NKJV).

The key to the whole story is found here, in the Lord’s words to Joshua: they are going to enter “the land which I [YHWH] am giving to them.”

Yes, Joshua is not going to do it alone, but only through the power and guidance of the Lord, who would have brought the people into the land a generation earlier had they obeyed their end of the covenant. Unfortunately, they didn’t, and thus, they met the consequences of their actions.

The fact is, during the preceding 40 years, Israel had faced the negative side of the covenant. Because of their rebellion against God, the entire adult generation who experienced the wonders and marvels of Exodus, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, perished in the desert. Four of the five books of Moses deal with what happened to them as they wandered in the desert all that time. Now, under the leadership of Joshua, the second generation was ready to undertake the challenges of possessing the land.

“Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, ‘Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed” (Deut. 31:7, 8, NKJV).

The promises of God given to the patriarchs and to Moses are about to be fulfilled. There is an air of expectation and excitement, a new beginning for the people, long homeless and dispossessed. God has been faithful in delivering them from slavery, and He can certainly be trusted to fulfill His promises concerning the land.

“The primary purpose of the book of Joshua is to describe Israel’s entry into the land of promise, the conquest of the land, and its division among the tribes. This purpose underlies the message of the book, namely, the faithfulness of God in fulfilling the promise of land made to Abraham. The book emphasizes God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises (Josh. 21:43-45).”—Andrews Bible Commentary (Andrews University Press, 2020), p. 365.

We will discover together that, though the book of Joshua was written more than three millennia ago, the world in which we live today is not so different from that of Joshua’s in its spiritual challenges. We might face challenges of a different nature, but nonetheless there are challenges, especially spiritual ones, that threaten our security, our faith, and the fulfillment of the mission God has entrusted to His people. The example of Joshua will certainly inspire us to claim God’s promises concerning our times and to succeed through His power, as he did.

Barna Magyarosi currently serves as the executive secretary of the Inter-European Division and chair of the Biblical Research Committee of the division. He began his service for the church as a pastor and department director in the South Transylvania Conference, Romania, and continued as a theology teacher and president of Adventus University, Romania.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/introduction-second-chances-the-book-of-joshua/