In Deuteronomy 10, Moses (again) was recounting Israel’s history and (again) used those accounts to admonish his people to faithfulness. Amid that admonishment he said something else. Read Deuteronomy 10:17-19. What’s the essential message to the people here, and why is this message relevant to God’s church today? The phrase “shows no partiality” is translated from … Continue reading –>
Read Matthew 4:1-11. How did Jesus respond to Satan’s temptations in the wilderness, and what is the important lesson here for us in His response? Jesus didn’t argue with Satan nor debate him. He simply quoted Scripture because, as the Word of God, it is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). And … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Matthew 4:1-11, Deuteronomy 8:3, Acts 10:34, Galatians 3:1-14, Acts 7:37, Hebrews 10:28-31. Memory Text: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). The New Testament is saturated with the Old. That is, the inspired writers of the New Testament quoted the … Continue reading –>
God’s Perfect Timing By Eliane Hosokawa Imayuki Marcia Yuassa, one of the thousands of Brazilian immigrants working long hours at factories in central Japan, was forced to stay at home after falling ill. Suffering severe pain, she didn’t know how she could take care of her family or even survive. She cried out to God … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: “This [Micah 6:1-8] is one of the great passages of the OT. It, like Amos 5:24 and Hosea 6:6, epitomizes the message of the eighth-century prophets. The passage opens with a beautiful example of a covenant lawsuit in which the prophet summons the people to hear the charge Yahweh has against them. The mountains and hills … Continue reading –>
One of the most famous prayers in all the Old Testament is in Daniel 9. Having learned from reading the prophet Jeremiah that the time of Israel’s “desolations” (Daniel 9:2), seventy years, was soon to be up, Daniel earnestly began praying. And what a prayer it was — a poignant and tearful supplication in which he … Continue reading –>
So much of the writings of the prophets consisted of appeals to faithfulness. And not just faithfulness in general, but in particular, faithfulness to the Israelites’ end of the covenant, which was reaffirmed just before they entered the land. This is what the book of Deuteronomy depicted: the reaffirmation of God’s covenant with Israel. The … Continue reading –>
Years ago, a young man, an agnostic, was a passionate seeker for truth — whatever that truth was and wherever it led him. Eventually he came, not only to believe in God the Father and in Jesus, but he also accepted the Seventh-day Adventist message. His favorite verse in the Bible was Jeremiah 29:13, which reads: … Continue reading –>
Deuteronomy makes it so clear that the law and the covenant were central, not only to Israel’s relationship to God but also for the nation’s purpose as the “chosen” people (Deuteronomy 7:6, Deuteronomy 14:2, Deuteronomy 18:5). Read Deuteronomy 10:12-15, where much of this idea of law and Israel’s chosen status is stressed. What, however, does the Bible mean with … Continue reading –>
King Josiah of Judah, who was eight years old when he became king, reigned 31 years (640 B.C. — 609 B.C.) before his death on the battlefield. In the eighteenth year of his reign, something happened that, at least for a while, changed the history of God’s people. Read 2 Kings 22:1-20. What lessons can we … Continue reading –>
