Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, October 25, 2025.

Main Theme: The next two weeks will explore the problematic question of divinely commanded wars in the book of Joshua and elsewhere.

Read in Class: Revelation 12:7-9 and Isaiah 14:12-14. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: As we study the book of Joshua, we see that Joshua understood his battles were part of a larger conflict. What do we understand about the battles that involved God Himself?

Apply: What are ways we see, in the world around us and in our own lives, the reality of this cosmic battle between good and evil?

Share: Your friend asks, Why would God command Joshua to fight in wars with physical violence? Wasn’t the war in heaven just a “spiritual war?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Joshua 5:13-15, Nehemiah 9:6, and Isaiah 37:16. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: What do you learn about the identity of the commander of the Lord’s army?

Apply: What comfort can, and should, we draw from knowing that the “Commander of the army of the LORD” is at work in defense of His people?

Share: Your friend asks, How do we know the commander of the Lord’s army is Jesus? I thought it was Michael who was an angel? What do you tell your friend? Hint: See Michael My Savior.

Read in Class: Exodus 14:13-14, 25. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: What was God’s original and ideal plan concerning the involvement of the Israelites in warfare?

Apply: “If the children of Israel had not murmured against the Lord, He would not have suffered their enemies to make war with them.”—Ellen G. White, The Story of Redemption, p. 134. How might murmurings impact our lives today?

Share: Your friend asks if it is murmuring and complaining against God when we complain about conference leaders or local church leaders. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Exodus 17:7-13 and Joshua 6:15-20. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: What similarities do you find between these two war narratives? How do they differ?

Apply: Many times we want to see who’s on our side in a disagreement, but how can we stand still and wait for the Lord to fight for us in our spiritual battles? 

Share: Can you think of someone who is in the middle of a spiritual battle right now? Can you take some time to intercede and pray for them right now?