Read Exodus 19:6. What does this text tell us about the status of ancient Israel? (See also 1 Peter 2:9.)

Israel had been called out of Egypt to be God’s covenant people, the nation through whom, had they stayed faithful, the gospel would have been spread to the world. No question, they were the object of God’s special care and concern, given special privileges, and at the same time, given special responsibilities.

Read Exodus 23:12. What else is going on here? What does this text teach us about how God viewed others besides the Israelites themselves?

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The universality of the Sabbath is something that many people miss. Of course, the most common error is that it was only for the Jews, an error exposed in the first two chapters of Genesis. After all, God created all people; so, all people should remember the Sabbath day.

Though we should always keep in mind what the Sabbath represents to us, we should remember, too, what it should tell us about others, as well. In a sense, our resting and relating to our Creator and Redeemer will drive us automatically to look at others with new eyes, to see them as beings created by the same God as we were, loved by the same God who loves us and who died for them as well as for us. As we have seen (Exodus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:14), the servants, the strangers, even the animals should be given a Sabbath rest.

That even the strangers within their gates, that is even those not (yet) partaking of the covenantal promises given to Israel — that even they should enjoy the Sabbath rest says a lot. Human beings, even animals, should never be exploited, abused, taken advantage of. Every week, the Hebrew people (and we, too) should be reminded in a powerful way of just how much in common we have with other people, and even if we do enjoy blessings and privileges that others don’t, we must remember that we are still part of the same human family, and thus we are to treat others with respect and dignity.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Rest. The word used most frequently in our Sabbath School Lesson pamphlet this quarter. “Thou shalt rest, Thou shalt rest!” These are words repeated each verse of
Hymn 387 – Come, O Sabbath Day, our theme hymn for this quarter.

We could add to the theme
Hymn 529 – Under His Wings. Each week of study this quarter, gives more and more of showing God’s deepest care for us, His children. As God’s children we find out about the Biblical family growing pains, and this still happens today. Yet, we are still “under His wings”.

The title Sabbath Rest is found in
Hymn 381 – Holy Sabbath Day of Rest. We are reminded
Don’t Forget the Sabbath in Hymn 388. The theme of Sabbath is continued in
Hymn 390 – We Love Thy Sabbath, Lord.

During the week of study we find the
Crowning Jewel of Creation – Hymn 385 is the Sabbath Day.

Sabbath and Creation on Sunday, is in
Hymn 386 – The Sacred Anthem. We are able to ask our God to ‘Brighten Thou my Sabbath morning’ in
Hymn 389 – Light of Light, Enlighten Me. It is then that we may enjoy the Sabbath as in
Hymn 390 – We Love Thy Sabbath, Lord.

We give
Praise to the Lord – Hymn 1, the Almighty, the King of Creation. This theme is also in
Hymn 147 – Christ Upon the Mountain Peak (verse 4)

In preparation for the Sabbath Day we sing
Hymn 392 – Dear Lord We Come At Set of Sun and then worship the
Lord of the Sabbath – Hymn 393. We are then
Far From All Care – Hymn 394 and can enjoy the wonders of the Sabbath Day. We again praise the
Lord of Creation – Hymn 320.

Freedom from our earthly bondage is found in
Hymn 292 – Jesus, I Come. We are able to ask
Gracious Father, Guard Thy Children – Hymn 621 (verse 3).

We are thankful to be
Safely Through Another Week – Hymn 384 to worship on the Sabbath Day.

Blessings for a wonderful week ahead.

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 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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Key Thought: The Sabbath is not intended to be a period of useless activity. We must devote these sacred hours to rest, worship, and holy deeds
.September 4, 2021

1. Have a volunteer read Genesis 1:26,27: Genesis 9:6.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. How do these verses show us how special and different we are from the rest of Creation? Why is it important for us to understand this difference?
3. How are we to respond to and interact with Creation? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Does Sabbath-keeping in relation to Creation have any impact on our responsibilities in being good environmental stewards?.” How would you respond to your friend?

2. Have a volunteer read Romans 6:1-7.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What kinds of slavery are we subject to today? How is this linked to the Sabbath?
3. Personal Application: What is your experience with slavery to sin? How can we appropriate the promise in Jesus for freedom from that slavery? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Nobody can stop sinning. I’ll bet many people still struggle with overcoming one sin or another and haven’t gotten the victory over it. They are not really free. They are still in slavery. So can God give them true freedom or not? What’s the problem?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Exodus 31:13,16,17.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What is the Sabbath a sign of? How can we apply this to ourselves today?
3. Personal Application: How can we have a deeper experience with God on the Sabbath day than what we are used to? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “How can we be more community minded in serving others? How can the Sabbath provide opportunities to do that?“ How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Isaiah 58:12-14.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. How are we not to do our own pleasure, nor find our own ways, nor speak our own words on the Sabbath?
3. Personal Application: How are we to honor God on the Sabbath? In what ways can we honor God on the Sabbath?” 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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As we saw earlier, the Sabbath points to more than just the days of creation. The second time we hear the Ten Commandments, Moses is reviewing Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness. This time, the sentence introducing the reason for keeping the Sabbath holy is not about creation but rather about liberation from slavery and bondage in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:12-15).

And though, today, we are not slaves in Egypt, we can all face another kind of slavery, one that, in some ways, can be just as oppressive.

What other forms of slavery do we face today? Read Genesis 4:7, Hebrews 12:1, and 2 Peter 2:19.

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Sabbath is a celebration of freedom from all the things that keep us in bondage. On Sabbath, we are reminded that there is freedom from sin, not in our own power but in the power of God, which is offered to us by faith. We also are reminded that this is a freedom we did not earn. The firstborn Israelite children were saved by the blood of the lamb smeared on the doorposts the evening before their exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12). We, too, have been saved by the blood of the Lamb, and are now to walk in the freedom that is ours in Christ Jesus.

Read Romans 6:1-7. What is Paul saying here that can be linked to what we have been given in the Sabbath?

In the very wording of Deuteronomy 5:15 — “And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm” (NKJV) — the people are reminded, again, that it was the work and power of God in their behalf that saved them. How much more so should we, as Christians, realize that it’s only the work and power of Christ in our behalf that has saved us from sin?

This command tells us to rest in the salvation that God has earned for us by His mighty arm. We are set free from our own attempts at righteousness as we remember that God is Creator and that we can trust Him to re-create us, too, and to free us, even right now, from the bondage of sin if we are willing to let Him work in us.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Of all the Ten Commandments, only the fourth begins with the verb “Remember.” It’s not, “Remember, you shall not steal,” or “Remember, you shall not covet.” There is only “Remember the Sabbath day. …”

The idea of “remembering” presupposes history, presupposes that something happened in the past that we need to, well, remember. When we remember, we make connections with the past, and “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” marks a straight line back to the Creation week itself.

Read  Genesis 1.26-27 and Genesis 9:6. What do these verses teach us about how special we as human beings are, and how radically different we are from the rest of God’s earthly creation? And, too, why is it so important that we understand this distinction?

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When we remember creation, we remember that we are created in God’s image, something that is not said about anything else depicted in the Creation account. It’s obvious that, as human beings, we are radically different from any other creature on the planet, regardless of how much DNA we share in common with some other animals. And, contrary to popular mythology, we are not mere advanced apes or more highly evolved versions of some primeval primate. As humans, made in the image of God, we are unique among all that God created on this world.

How does the Creation story remind us of our relationship to creation? Genesis 2:15, Genesis 2:19.

Realizing that God also created our world reminds us of our responsibility to creation. We are to “have dominion” over creation. Having dominion does not mean exploiting it. We are to rule as God’s regents. We are to interact with the natural world as God would.

Yes, sin has marred and messed up everything, but this earth is still God’s creation, and nothing gives us the right to exploit it, especially to the detriment of other human beings, which is so often the case.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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