Sabbath: The Enemy Within
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 1st of November 2025
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study: 1 Peter 1:4, Joshua 7:1-26, Psalms 139:1-16, Ezra 10:11, Luke 12:15, Joshua 8:1-29.
Memory Text: “ ‘I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds’ ” (Jeremiah 17:10, ESV).
Joshua 7:1-26 is the first instance where, through a tragic experience, the people of Israel learned the far-reaching consequences of the covenant and its deep meaning. While obedience to the stipulations of the covenant secured victory, disregarding the terms of the covenant brought defeat. Israel’s military success depended not on their numbers, battle strategy, or clever tactics but on the presence of the Divine Warrior with them.
During the appropriation of the Promised Land, the Israelites had to learn the difficult lesson that their most dangerous enemy was not outside their camp but within their own rank and file. The greatest challenge that stood before them was neither the fortified walls of the Canaanite cities nor their advanced military technology but the obstinate will of individuals within their own camp to ignore the instructions of the Lord.
Waiting for our heavenly inheritance (1 Peter 1:4, Colossians 3:24), we face similar challenges. While we are on the border of the Promised Land, our faithfulness is tested, and we can be victorious only through surrender to Jesus Christ.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 8.
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At the beginning of the book of Joshua, God reminds Joshua to remember the words of Moses and keep to God's laws (Joshua 1:7). Moses, at the plain of Moab, reiterates the curses that may befall them if they dishonor and disobey His commands, most of which are found in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. This was Moses' final speech, full of important tidbits for the people of Israel. However, in a first practical experience encountered at Ai (Joshua 7), we finally see the impact of disobedience. There is so much to lose when we don't obey and honor God.
As we explore Joshua 7 this week, maybe we should turn the microscope back into our hearts: For this week, we will relate to the warnings we got from Moses; we could learn a lot and amend our ways.
When Jesus died on the cross, He redeemed all human beings our names were written in the Book of Life through His precious blood (John 3:16). Yet salvation becomes real only when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts and remove sin from within us.
If we keep sin hidden and unconfessed, the Spirit continues to convict us. But if we keep resisting, He may eventually withdraw, leaving us in spiritual darkness. That’s why Jesus gave the parable of the fig tree (Luke 13:6–9), where the gardener pleaded for one more year one more chance to bear fruit.
Jesus is still interceding for us today, but probation will close soon. The question remains: Have we listened to the Holy Spirit’s voice?
In Revelation 2:4–5, Jesus warns the church of Ephesus:
“You have forsaken your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come quickly and remove your lampstand from its place.”
If we lose our first love, the light of truth is removed spiritual blindness settles in. We no longer feel remorse for sin or appreciation for Christ’s sacrifice. The cross becomes just a story instead of our lifeline.
“By His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
Rejecting that healing leads to a beast-like life controlled by worldly passions and rebellion showing the mark of the beast by our actions and the beast mode of our hearts.
Now is the time to awaken, to return to our first love, and to let the Spirit restore His light in us before the door of mercy closes.
In the context of bird photography, I often get asked what camera and len I use. New bird photographers often mistakenly think that somehow, if you have the right lens and camera, you will take beautiful bird photographs. Lens envy has killed a lot of good bird photography. I sometimes meet up with other bird photographers, and you will get the lens-envy guys standing around talking about pixel counts, focal lengths and other jargon-generating technobabble. Meanwhile, I have seen and photographed a little flock of Varied Sittellas as they feed among the leaves only a few metres away. Real bird photographers love their birds and know their habits and are prepared to wait patiently until the lighting is right and the bird is doing something interesting.
Gear admiration and even possession do not count for much without the passion and dedication that come with loving birds.
And in a way, the sin of Achen had to do with the idea of possession. Good looking Babylonian clothes, gold and silver, rather than the patience and will to work with others for the good of the nation. Possession rather than purpose!
And is it a bridge too far to consider that our attitude to the Gospel is possession rather than the purpose? Have we buried the Gospel as a possession in the tent of Adventism and forgotten the fundamental principle that if we don’t share it, we don’t have it? Maybe the enemy within is our own possessiveness.
Wow, this really makes it clear. I am an amateur photographer but I know enough to understand that equipment doesn't equal skill and knowledge. I had never made a spiritual connection with that until now. I always appreciate your insightful comments, brother Maurice.
“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15, NKJV).
The “enemy within” is the unredeemed desires of the human heart. The true battleground is located within the human heart. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Every individual has a moral responsibility not to allow legitimate desires to become distorted. Not to allow a need to become a want, love becomes lust, hunger becomes gluttony, stewardship becomes greed, and rest becomes laziness. The “enemy within” must be conquered first before we can expect to win over the external intruders.
The “enemy within” is the most insidious threat and more dangerous than the armies outside the gates. The hidden sin within the heart of Achan polluted the whole camp of Israel. “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”(Proverbs 4:23, NKJV). All good and bad things spring from the depts of our heart. It should be our priority to keep the enemy from settling within our hearts.
a) Through the Word of God - (Psalm 119:11).
b) Through prayer and vigilance - (Matthew 26:41).
c) Through the Holy Spirit - (Philippians 4:7).
d) Through purity and focus - (Matthew 5:8).
e) Through self-examination and confession - (Psalm 139:23–24)
Jesus highlighted the grave danger of not annihilating the “enemy within” and therefore we should insure our hearts under the blood of Jesus Christ.
“What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” (Mark 7:20–23)
In 2015, the world watched in horror as a young white supremacist entered Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, sat through a Bible study, and then opened fire, killing nine faithful believers in cold blood. The attack shocked the world not only because it happened in a house of worship, but because of the unimaginable hatred that fueled it. Yet what followed was even more remarkable. At the killer’s bond hearing, several family members of the victims stood and said, “I forgive you. May God have mercy on your soul.” Their words revealed a victory not over an external enemy, but over the enemy within—the rage, bitterness, and desire for revenge that could have consumed them. Their forgiveness showed that grace can overcome even the darkest evil when the heart is surrendered to Christ (NBC News, 2015)
In Joshua 7, Israel faced a similar struggle with the enemy within. After their great triumph at Jericho, they suffered a humiliating defeat at Ai because of hidden sin in their midst. Achan’s disobedience—taking the things devoted to destruction—brought judgment and loss to the entire nation. God revealed that the real danger was not the strength of their enemies, but the sin that corrupted them from within (Joshua 7:11-13). Until that sin was confessed and removed, Israel could not experience victory. The story is a clear pointer that internal compromises like, pride, and disobedience can destroy what no external enemy can.
Both the Charleston believers and the Israelites at Ai show that the greatest dangers in life often come from within unforgiveness, disobedience, and spiritual pride. These inner enemies can rob us of peace, power, and God’s presence. But when we confront them through repentance, faith, and obedience, God brings restoration and victory. True strength is not found in conquering others, but in allowing God to conquer the heart.
Ellen White says that it was not just Achan's sin that caused God to forsake the Israelites on their 1st attempt at Ai. This kind of drives home the enemy within each of us, not just that which is called out publicly.
This makes me think of the consecration before crossing Jordan river, the circumcision and passover remembrance before Jericho, etc. Ellen White says the Joshua met the Angel of the Lord's Army after earnest prayer for guidance re: Jericho. "Search me o God ... lead me in the way everlasting." Ps 139
The lesson reminds us that the greatest enemy is not outside the church but within our own hearts. When sin hides in our lives unconfessed, unrepented, and unforsaken it weakens our spiritual strength and blinds us to God’s presence.
Revelation 3:20 shows Jesus standing at the door, knocking, longing to come into our hearts. But if we fill our hearts with things we love more than Him worldly pleasure, pride, or selfish desires—He may “escape out of the window,” not because He wants to leave, but because there is no room left for Him.
Sin delays our prayers, dims our vision, and makes us comfortable in disobedience. What we love most is what we give our time to and if it is not Christ, it becomes our idol.
The only way to overcome the enemy within is to open the door to Jesus fully. When we confess our sins and ask Him to cleanse us, He restores peace, power, and victory just as He did for Israel after Achan’s sin was removed.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
The Title “The Enemy Within” engenders many thoughts. Thoughts not only focused on the outward evidence of transgression ‘after the fact’ - God’s corrective judgement, but also thoughts helping to prevent ‘disobedient’ acts to occur in the first place. It helps to ask: “Who is the true ‘enemy within’?
Psalm 139:1-16 is a very special, deeply revealing account of God’s intimate relationship with man. Can we hide anything from our God who is all-knowing, present before we were born, and carefully and graciously directing us throughout our life? Believing this, who wants to hide themselves and for what purpose?
David, author of this Psalm, asks: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Indeed, where can we go when attempting to hide if God's Spirit is present in man at all times? ‘He knows my sitting down and my rising up; understanding my thoughts afar off'!
There is no hiding place for anyone – believer and non-believer alike. Ultimately, to defeat 'the enemy within', we 'surrender all that we are to the Holy Spirit given to us as a gift in place of Jesus Christ' who shows us the right Way forward to those who love God and are called according to His Will and Purpose – Rom.8:27-29.
The verse before our memory text is ”The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?“ (Jer. 17:9). Seems God really wants us to know this about the human heart/seat of passions because my Bible cross-references at least three other verses in Jeremiah that say something similar: Jer. 11:8; 14:14; 16:12.
Have you noticed that a popular saying in Disney movies and pop culture is “Follow your heart”. I saw one poster that said, “Follow your heart because it always knows”.Is this good advice? Are our innermost desires beautiful, and pure and trustworthy? Can we look inside to our instincts to be guided in the right direction? Or are our hearts impulsive and inherently selfish and usually going in the wrong direction? What does the Bible say? What about after we’re born again, can we trust our hearts then? Is there a time when our old heart of stone is removed and we have a godly heart of flesh that we can rely upon (Eze. 36:26)?
At one point in the Disney movie “Mulan 2”, the main character Mulan says, “By following my feelings, I wound up doing the right thing. I guess I’ve learned that my duty is to my heart.” The context is that Mulan had to choose between fulfilling a mission that conflicted with her personal values and following her conscience. Maybe it’s easy to confuse these two voices… “Conscience” which is God’s voice inside our thoughts and “feelings and desires” which is also an inner voice.
I think the point of this week’s Sabbath school lesson will be to explore what happened when Achan set up his personal feelings as his moral compass. What should have guided him instead? Did his conscience speak to him? When our conscience is speaking, does it reference a moral code clearly known to us and to all?
Last year we attended our grandson's college graduation ceremony. He had achieved more than one degree each after two years of study and then another degree after four years of study. After four more years of study and two Master's Degrees, the final graduation ceremony arrived.
The gist of the highly regarded speaker's speech was "Follow your heart". I was so disappointed that the hundreds of graduates assembled heard that advice that was supposed to commence a new beginning in their lives.
Congratulations to your grandson for reaching his educational goals. 😊
I’m guessing some of the reason for this “follow your heart” mantra, especially within our education system, is to counteract the stoicism of a “grin and bear it” age of Victorian times where children were also brought up to “be seen and not heard”, i.e. to push away their feelings entirely. I think some still reject the Bible based on an assumption that it is an old outdated literature that burdens one with an old-fashioned sense of guilt and heavy sense of duty and moral seriousness. And a story like Achan can play into that interpretation without time in God’s Word to see the bigger picture.
It’s so important that our kids and we ourselves know that God wants our feelings to be on board with Him too…. not just obedience out of a sense of responsibility and obligation. He wants us to be happy in relationship with Him. I’m thinking of the text that says “you honor me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me” (Is. 29:13; Matt. 15:7-9). And then Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matt. 22:37-38 where God tells us to love Him with all our heart, mind and soul. John 15:9-11 is about enjoying our relationship with Him. For me, a goal is for my heart to want what God wants, for my feelings to match His….so that when I am following God I’m also following my heart.
Being God, the Father of love, He’ll always push us to get better. He’ll work in us as much as we allow Him to do so. I hope He finishes what He started with me, and He will!