Lesson 12 June 16 - 22
Memory Text: (Gen 1:27 RSV) So God created man in his image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
"Scripture from the NEW KINGS JAMES VERSION" Copyright © 1982: Used by permission
Sabbath Afternoon
Sunday
Deborah - Warrior Of Faith
(Judg 4:8 NKJV) And Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!"
(Judg 4 NKJV) When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. {2} So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim. {3} And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he harshly oppressed the children of Israel. {4} Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. {5} And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. {6} Then she sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, "Has not the LORD God of Israel commanded, 'Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; {7} 'and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand'?" {8} And Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!" {9} So she said, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. {10} And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; he went up with ten thousand men under his command, and Deborah went up with him. {11} Now Heber the Kenite, of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent near the terebinth tree at Zaanaim, which is beside Kedesh. {12} And they reported to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. {13} So Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth Hagoyim to the River Kishon. {14} Then Deborah said to Barak, "Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone out before you?" So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. {15} And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. {16} But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth Hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.
{17} However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
{Judges 4:18-24} And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, "Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear." And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket. {19} Then he said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened a jug of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him. {20} And he said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, 'Is there any man here?' you shall say, 'No.'" {21} Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. {22} And then, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, "Come, I will show you the man whom you seek." And when he went into her tent, there lay Sisera, dead with the peg in his temple. {23} So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in the presence of the children of Israel. {24} And the hand of the children of Israel grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
Monday
Esther - Reluctant Heroine
(Est 4:14 NRSV) For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father's family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this."
(Est 4:14 NKJV) "For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
(Est 4:13-15 NKJV) And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. {14} "For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" {15} Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai:
(Est 4:16 NKJV) "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!"
Tuesday
Ruth - The Progenitor Of Christ
(Ruth 1:16-17 NKJV) But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. {17} Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me."
(Ruth 1:10 NKJV) And they said to her, "Surely we will return with you to your people."
Wednesday
Mary - Mother Of Jesus
(Luke 1:30-31 NRSV) The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. {31} And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
(Luke 1:30-31 NKJV) Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. {31} "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
(Luke 1:28 NKJV) And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
(Luke 1:42 NKJV) Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
(Gen 6:8 NKJV) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
(Luke 1:38 NRSV) Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
(Luke 1:38 NKJV) Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
(Luke 1:34 NKJV) Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
Thursday
Mary - Sinful Woman Forgiven
(Luke 7:37-38 NKJV) And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, {38} and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.
(Mat 28:1 NKJV) Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
(Mark 16:1-2 NKJV) Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. {2} Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
(Mat 28:7-8 NKJV) "And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you." {8} So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
(Luke 24:1-10 NKJV) Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. {2} But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. {3} Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. {4} And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. {5} Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? {6} "He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, {7} "saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'" {8} And they remembered His words. {9} Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. {10} It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.
(John 20:18 NKJV) Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
(Mat 28:1 NKJV) Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
(Mat 28:5-6 NKJV) But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. {6} "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
(Mat 28:9 NKJV) And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
Read Luke chapter 7
(Luke 7:41-42 NKJV) "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. {42} "And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"
(Luke 7:44 NKJV) Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.
Mary had been looked upon as a great sinner, but Christ knew the circumstances that had shaped her life. He might have extinguished every spark of hope in her soul, but He did not. It was He who had lifted her from despair and ruin. Seven times she had heard His rebuke of the demons that controlled her heart and mind. She had heard His strong cries to the Father in her behalf. She knew how offensive is sin to His unsullied purity, and in His strength she had overcome. {DA 568.1}
When to human eyes her case appeared hopeless, Christ saw in Mary capabilities for good. He saw the better traits of her character. The plan of redemption has invested humanity with great possibilities, and in Mary these possibilities were to be realized. Through His grace she became a partaker of the divine nature. The one who had fallen, and whose mind had been a habitation of demons, was brought very near to the Saviour in fellowship and ministry. It was Mary who sat at His feet and learned of Him. It was Mary who poured upon His head the precious anointing oil, and bathed His feet with her tears. Mary stood beside the cross, and followed Him to the sepulcher. Mary was first at the tomb after His resurrection. It was Mary who first proclaimed a risen Saviour. {DA 568.2}
Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. You may say, I am sinful, very sinful. You may be; but the worse you are, the more you need Jesus. He turns no weeping, contrite one away.
Desire of Ages, p. 568 (Continued)
He does not tell to any all that He might reveal, but He bids every trembling soul take courage. Freely will He pardon all who come to Him for forgiveness and restoration. {DA 568.3}
Christ might commission the angels of heaven to pour out the vials of His wrath on our world, to destroy those who are filled with hatred of God. He might wipe this dark spot from His universe. But He does not do this. He is today standing at the altar of incense, presenting before God the prayers of those who desire His help. {DA 568.4}
The souls that turn to Him for refuge, Jesus lifts above the accusing and the strife of tongues. No man or evil angel can impeach these souls. Christ unites them to His own divine-human nature. They stand beside the great Sin Bearer, in the light proceeding from the throne of God. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Rom. 8:33, 34. {DA 568.5}
Friday
(Mat 23:37 NRSV) "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
(Mat 23:37 NKJV) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
(Isa 46:4 NKJV) Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.
(Isa 49:15 NKJV) "Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
(Gen 3:15 NKJV) And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
(Rev 12:17 NKJV) And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.