While the original vision for the Sabbath and Sabbath keeping was broad and inclusive, the Sabbath had become something quite different for many of the religious leaders by the time Jesus came to earth. Instead of a day of freedom and equality, Sabbath had become a day of human, traditional rules and restrictions. In His … Continue reading –>
One of the things obvious from a quick reading of the Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20 and Deuteronomy chapter 5 is that the fourth commandment is the most detailed by far. Whereas some of the commandments are recorded in as few as three words in some versions (in the Hebrew some can be expressed … Continue reading –>
Read Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15. How do these two versions of the fourth commandment complement each other? Remembering is an important part of the relationship that God seeks to re-establish with His people, a relationship centered on the fact that God is our Creator and Redeemer. Both roles appear in the two versions of the fourth commandment … Continue reading –>
After generations of slavery and the social degradation that such a condition can inflict on His oppressed people, God sought to lift up the newly freed Israelites, pointing them to a better way of living and giving them laws for the best ordering of their new society. But one of the first parts of this … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 16:16-18, Exod. 20:8-11, Deut. 5:12-15, Matt. 12:9-13, Lev. 25:1-7. Memory Text: “And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath’” (Mark 2:27, NKJV). God created the Sabbath as the final act of the Creation week. It has been said that on the seventh day, God not only rested, … Continue reading –>
By Wilson Measapogu Indian villagers faced constant trouble from an intruding tiger. The wild animal crept by night into Gudem Madhavaram, a remote village with no electricity on a mountainside in India’s Andhra Pradesh state. The villagers—dependent upon goats, cows, and bulls to produce milk and cultivate crops for their rich landowners—watched in despair as … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Law Given to Israel”, pages 303-314; “God’s Care for the Poor”, pages 530-536, in Patriarchs and Prophets. “There is nothing, after their recognition of the claims of God, that more distinguishes the laws given by Moses than the liberal, tender, and hospitable spirit enjoined toward the poor. Although God had promised greatly … Continue reading –>
Meeting the Israelites as a people who had no home of their own and who were waiting for their arrival in the Promised Land, God knew the importance that the land would take on as they established their new society in Canaan. Under the leadership of Joshua, God oversaw an orderly distribution of the land … Continue reading –>
Many Christians recognize and follow the Bible’s instructions regarding paying—or returning—tithe. Usually referenced from Malachi 3:10, it is a simple formula, with believers giving 10 percent of their income—or “increase”—to support the work of the church in spreading the gospel. Entrusted with these tithes, churches usually have strict guidelines about how to use these funds, primarily … Continue reading –>
Read Exodus 23:9. What is God’s message to Israel here? As newly freed slaves, the Israelites knew what it was to be oppressed, exploited, and marginalized. And while they celebrated their freedom, God was concerned that they not forget where they had come from, what it was like to be excluded, and what He had done … Continue reading –>
