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, gives more and more of showing God’s deepest care for us, His children. As God’s children we find this week the family has growing pains, and still does today. Yet, we are still “under His wings”.

Our family has evidence that
Blest Be the Tie That Binds – Hymn 350 our hearts in Christian love is the best way to pray together, and stay together. Truly
Hymn 655 – Happy the Home show us the wonders of God being with us.

Sadness is seen in the dysfunctional families in the Bible (and our failing world today), but still our study gives us encouragement that in the end the Biblical families were able to sing
The God of Abraham Praise – Hymn 11. Ellen White points out that “Joseph believed that the God of his fathers would be his God –
Hymn 645 – God of Our Fathers. It was then that “Joseph gave himself fully to the Lord” –
Hymn 572 – Give of Your Best to the Master.

Tuesday points out the fact that “God looks at each of us with glasses tinted with grace” –
Hymn 108 – Amazing Grace and
Hymn 109 – Marvelous Grace.

Joseph continued to grow immensely and we find that he does not yield to temptation as may be sung in our previous hymnal,
Number 498 – Yield Not to Temptation. It was the help received from God that won. We can find this in
Hymn 103 – O God, Our Help.

Blessings to you 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.organd 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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If Joseph had entertained any hopes of escaping and finding his way back home, they were dashed on reaching Egypt, where Joseph is resold into a prominent household. Genesis 39:1 tells us that “Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites” (NKJV). Suddenly the young man was thrust into a strange new language and culture.

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Our families and close relationships are pivotal in the development of our self-esteem. Joseph had grown up believing that he was something special — the oldest son of the most beloved wife (Genesis 29:18). He was definitely his father’s favorite, and the only one with a beautiful coat of many colors ( Genesis 37.3-4).

But who was he now? A slave, someone who could be bought or sold at will. Look at how quickly his whole situation changed. Look at how quickly life seemed to have turned on him.

Indeed, Joseph learns the lesson that we all have to learn. If we are dependent on others to tell us what we are worth, then we will be in for a rough ride and be horribly confused, because not everyone is going to appreciate who we are or what we are like. Instead, we need to find our self-worth in what God thinks of us — how God sees us — and not in the roles that we currently have.

How does God see each of us? (Isaiah 43:1; Malachi 3:17; John 1:12; John 15:15; Romans 8:14;  1 John 3.1-2).

God looks at each of us with glasses tinted with grace. He sees a potential, beauty, and talent that we can’t even imagine. Ultimately, He was prepared to die for us so that we could get the opportunity to become all we were created to be. Though showing us our sinfulness and the great price it cost to redeem us from it, the Cross also shows us our great worth and value to God. Regardless of what others think of us or even what we think about ourselves, God loves us and seeks to redeem us from not only the power of sins now but from the eternal death that they bring.

The key question, then, is always the same: How do we respond to the reality of God’s love, as revealed in Jesus Christ?

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Joseph takes pain, complicated relationships, and anxiety with him as he travels to Egypt, where he is to be sold as a slave. This was not a restful trip as he fought back the tears.

“Meanwhile, Joseph with his captors was on the way to Egypt. As the caravan journeyed southward toward the borders of Canaan, the boy could discern in the distance the hills among which lay his father’s tents. Bitterly he wept at the thought of that loving father in his loneliness and affliction.

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Again the scene at Dothan came up before him. He saw his angry brothers and felt their fierce glances bent upon him. The stinging, insulting words that had met his agonized entreaties were ringing in his ears. With a trembling heart he looked forward to the future. What a change in situation — from the tenderly cherished son to the despised and helpless slave! Alone and friendless, what would be his lot in the strange land to which he was going? For a time Joseph gave himself up to uncontrolled grief and terror. …

Then his thoughts turned to his father’s God. In his childhood he had been taught to love and fear Him. Often in his father’s tent he had listened to the story of the vision that Jacob saw as he fled from his home an exile and a fugitive. … Now all these precious lessons came vividly before him. Joseph believed that the God of his fathers would be his God. He then and there gave himself fully to the Lord, and he prayed that the Keeper of Israel would be with him in the land of his exile.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pages 213, 214 (italics supplied).

Some cultures emphasize the role of the community over the individual, while other cultures are inclined to emphasize the role of the individual over the community. While we find a balance between these two in Scripture, there is clearly a call to personal as well as corporate commitment to God. Joseph begins to find rest in his relationships by making a personal decision to follow God.

What do the following verses teach us about personal commitment? (Deuteronomy 4:29, Joshua 24:15, 1 Chronicles 16:11, Psalm 14:2, Proverbs 8:10, Isaiah 55:6).

To find rest, we each must make a personal decision to follow God. Even if our ancestors were spiritual giants, this faith and spirituality aren’t transmitted genetically. Remember, God has only children, no grandchildren.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Joseph knew about dysfunctional families. It had already started with his great-grandparents, Abraham and Sarah. When Sarah realized that she was barren, she had convinced Abraham to go to her servant Hagar. As soon as Hagar was pregnant, the rivalry began. Growing up in this atmosphere, Ishmael and Isaac took the tension into their own families. Isaac made a point of favoring Esau, and Jacob spent his life trying to earn his father’s love and respect. Later on, Jacob was tricked into marrying two sisters who did not get along and competed with each other through a childbearing race, even enlisting their maids to bear Jacob’s children.

Review the incident detailed in Genesis 34:1-31. What kind of emotional and relational impact would all this incident have had on the family as a whole and on young Joseph, as well?

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The rivalry between the mothers obviously spilled over to the children, who grew up ready to pick a fight. As young adults, Joseph’s older brothers already had massacred all the males in the town of Shechem. The oldest brother Reuben displayed dominance and defiance to his aging father by sleeping with Bilhah, Rachel’s maid and the mother of several of Jacob’s children (Genesis 35:22). Meanwhile, Joseph’s brother Judah mistook his widowed daughter-in-law for a prostitute and ended up having twins with her (Genesis 38).

Jacob added fuel to the fire of all this family tension by his obvious favoritism toward Joseph in giving him an expensive colorful coat (Genesis 37:3). If ever there was a dysfunctional family, the patriarch’s family could have competed with it.

Why do you think that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are all listed as faith heroes in Hebrews 11:17-22 when you consider their messy family relationships?

God’s faith champions often fall short of their own and God’s expectations. These men are listed in Hebrews 11 not because of their messy family relationships but in spite of them. They learned — often the hard way — about faith, love, and trust in God as they wrestled with these family issues.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 34:1-31; Hebrews 11:17-22; Deuteronomy 4:29;  1 John 3.1-2; Genesis 39:1-23; Ephesians 6:1-13.

Memory Text: “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” ( 2 Peter 3.17-18, NKJV).

The young man carefully scanned the horizon. Then, finally, he saw them. He had been looking for his brothers for days. As he approached, waving and calling to the grim-faced group, he got anything but a warm welcome. His own brothers actually wanted to kill him. If it hadn’t been for Reuben, there may have been no story to tell. Reuben convinced the rest just to rough him up a bit and throw him into a dry well. Later, Judah came up with the grand scheme to get rid of him and make a bit of money, too, by selling him to some passing slave traders.

What an example of family dysfunction!

We get to choose many things in life, but not our family. No one is perfect, and none of us have perfect families and perfect family relationships. Some of us are blessed by parents, siblings, and other family members that reflect God’s love, but many have to settle for less than the ideal. Family relationships are often complicated and painful, leaving us restless, hurt, and carrying loads of emotional baggage that we, in turn, off-load on others.

How can we find God’s rest in this area of our lives? This week we turn to the story of Joseph and his family ties in order to watch God at work bringing healing and emotional rest despite dysfunctional family relationships.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 7.

Sunday–>

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