Main Theme: Let’s study the way God opened up a new chapter in Israel’s life and how He can do the same in ours, as well.
Read in Class: Deuteronomy 18:15-22 and Joshua 1:1-9. Ask the class to find the common thread in these passages.
Study: Why is it significant that the book of Joshua starts by echoing a promise related to what would happen after the death of Moses?
Apply: Throughout the ages, God has called men and women to lead His people. Why is it crucial to remember who the true, invisible leader of the church is?
Share: Your friend asks you if you have ever had to fill someone else’s shoes like Joshua did in replacing Moses. If so, when, and how did God help you?
Study: At that moment, the Promised Land was exactly that, a promise. Yet, God calls it an inheritance. What does it mean to be the heirs of God’s promises?
Apply: Read Matthew 28:19-20. As the Lord promised to be with Joshua on his mission, Jesus promises to be with us on our mission. Why is this reassurance so crucial to the success of our mission?
Share: Your friend asks if there are any stories in the Bible where God was not with His people, and if so, why was He not with them. What was the outcome in those stories? What do you tell your friend?
Study: Why did the Lord need to emphasize twice to Joshua that he had to be strong and courageous?
Apply: How can we apply the words of encouragement given to Joshua and to the Ephesians in our daily spiritual struggles?
Share: Your friend asks, How can we stay true to what the Word of God says even when it is unpopular or inconvenient to do so? What do you tell your friend?
Study: Based on these texts, what does it mean to be prosperous and successful?
Apply: According to Romans 3:31, what crucial ingredient do we need to apply to our lives to keep from departing from the law?
Share: Your friend asks you how you meditate on the book of the law day and night, and how it has contributed to your success. What do you tell your friend?
Main Theme: The sanctuary demonstrated God’s closeness to humanity and revealed the greatest truths to them, which is how He saves those who come to Him in faith.
Study: What truth was reiterated to the people here in the context of the building of the sanctuary?
Apply: The Jews have a saying: More than Israel kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept Israel. Though we as Adventists probably wouldn’t express it like that, what important role does the Sabbath have in the life of our church family?
Share: Your friend asks you if warming up food on an electric stove, or even turning a light switch on, counts as starting a fire on the Sabbath. What is the principle behind the law not to build a fire on the Sabbath? Are we still keeping the principle of the law when we turn on a stove or a light?
Study: What important lessons are here for us today?
Apply: What spiritual gifts have you received when you were filled with the Holy Spirit? Remember that the spiritual gifts can flourish only when you cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in your life (Gal. 5:22-23).
Share: Your friend asks how she can know what her spiritual gifts are. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Exodus 40:34-38. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: How did the Israelites discern God’s presence?
Apply: What are ways that, even now, you can experience the presence of God? Why is it important that you do so?
Share: Your friend says that sometimes she feels God is with her, but other times she does not. She asks how to know if God is with her or not. Is it safe to just go by our feelings? How would you answer your friend from the Bible?
Read in Class:John 1:14. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: How is Christ’s incarnation compared to the tabernacle?
Apply: Read in Revelation 21:1-3. Looking at what we have been promised in Jesus, how can we learn to endure to the end?
Share: What new truths and insights did you gain as you studied this quarter’s lesson?
Main Theme: This week, we study how Moses, through knowing and following God’s instructions, was growing in his walk with the Lord.
Read in Class:Exodus 33:12-17. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: What did Moses ask the Lord to teach him? Why did he demand God’s presence to guide them?
Apply: Do you know God, or do you just know about Him? What is the crucial difference between the two?
Share: Your friend says that Romans 2:4 tells us the goodness of God leads us to repentance. Your friend asks how God revealed His goodness in the book of Exodus. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Exodus 33:18-23. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: How did God answer Moses’ request to see His glory?
Apply: How much time do you spend focusing on the Cross and what it tells you about the character of God?
Share: Your friend asks, How does your church reflect the glory of God to others. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Exodus 34:6-9. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How did God reveal His glory to Moses?
Apply: How can we preach a merciful and forgiving God without it being confused with what is referred to as “cheap grace?”
Share: Your friend says that to reflect the proper balance of God’s holiness and compassion, we should be conservative towards ourselves and liberal towards others. Do you agree with your friend? Was Jesus conservative towards Himself while being liberal towards others? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Exodus 34:29-35. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: What was the cause of Moses’ radiant face?
Apply: What areas of your character need to reflect the character of God better? Probably every area, right? However, how can focusing on the Cross, and what it means, give you encouragement and assurance of salvation?
Share: Tell about someone who reflected God’s glory to you like Moses did to Israel.
Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors, there is safety. Proverbs 11:14 NKJV
As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Proverbs 27:17 NKJV
As we study this week’s Sabbath School lesson, about the apostasy of Israel, including Aaron, their priest, I am reminded of a vital lesson. We cannot assume a pastor or any church leader is doing a good job just because they are making everyone happy. After all, the greater majority of the people were delighted with Aaron while he was leading them into apostasy. The point was made that Aaron should not have allowed the people to worship an idol, much less help them make one. With the majority being in the wrong, Aaron should have stood for the right, even if all alone.
The greatest want of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall. –Ellen White, Education, Page 57.
Being a pastor, I also see the problem from another angle. While the pastor may chair the church board, the pastor answers to the church board, and the church board answers ultimately to the church at large. In other words, while the pastor holds the church accountable, the church also holds the pastor accountable. Accountability works both ways.
So, as we study the apostasy of Israel when they made and worshiped the golden calf, we see a total breakdown of accountability. Not only was Aaron not holding the people accountable, but the people were not holding Aaron accountable. The problem was that no one was holding anyone accountable. Here is where we see how crucial accountability is to both laity and leaders.
The other day, I was having a conversation with a young couple, when the husband said something so profound that I had never heard a husband say before. He said one of the reasons he wanted to find someone to marry was that he needed someone to be accountable to. In a world where everyone is told to mind their own business, not to judge or criticize, and to let others do as they please, this young man realized he could not be all that God expects him to be without offering accountability. Having someone to be accountable to helps to keep us out of trouble and focused on our lofty goals.
In order for a church to stay out of trouble and focused on their lofty goals they need leaders who will hold them accountable. At the same time in order for church leaders to stay out of trouble and focused on their lofty goals they need a church body that will hold them accountable. While the pastor may advise the board, the pastor should also consider the board members as his advisors as well. The pastor should not consider it a weakness or be embarrassed to seek counsel from his church family. On the contrary the wisdom in Proverbs tells us we are all here to sharpen each other, and there is wisdom in having many counselors.
There was a time when I was embarrassed to ask the church for guidance, not because of my ego, but because I felt like I was being paid to know what was right, and if I was not right or did not know what was right then I was not earning my paycheck. Later I realized my job is not so much to always be right or know on my own what is right, as much as it is to find what is right. We actually gain the confidence of our church family when we quickly discern our mistakes and make corrections. Meanwhile I have watched other pastors shipwreck their own ministry by pretending to be infalible instead of accepting the counsel, mercy and forgiveness their congregations so willingly offered. It broke my heart recently, when some friends told me about a pastor in their church who made a mistake, and instead of accepting their forgiveness and invitation for reconciliation, he resigned claiming to be above reproach.
For marriage to work, both the wife and the husband need to offer accountability to each other. In the church, not only does the congregation need to provide accountability to the pastor, but the pastor also needs to offer accountability to his congregation. Aaron and Israel’s apostasy with the golden calf is an unfortunate example of what happens when neither congregation nor pastor holds the other accountable. While Aaron should have stopped the people from committing apostasy, the people should have stopped Aaron from committing apostasy. Accountability works both ways.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Main Theme: Whatever the reasons for this terrible apostasy, we can learn lessons about the sinfulness of humanity and the mercy of God.
Read in Class:Exodus 32:1-6. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How was it possible for Aaron’s leadership to fail so spectacularly?
Apply: How could Aaron, a leader, have been so weak? In what ways might Aaron have sought to justify in his own heart his terrible actions?
Share: Your friend says that her church has an excellent pastor because he always does whatever makes the whole church happy. Is whether ot not a pastor makes everyone happy a good way to determine if the pastor is doing a good job or not? How does the story of the golden calf help you answer your friend? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Exodus 32:7-14. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: Why did God send Moses back to the camp of Israel?
Apply: What are some things, or even people and ideas, that could become idols to us today? How do we guard against idolatry in today’s world?
Share: Your friend asks why Moses was interceding for these people when all they did was cause him trouble? Why go to such great lengths to save such a troublesome group? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Exodus 32:15-29. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What was Moses’ reaction to God’s threat to destroy Israel?
Apply: What should this story teach us about the power of intercessory prayer? Whom should you be praying for right now?
Share: Your friend asks if the apostasy was Aaron’s fault for making the golden calf, or the people’s fault for encouraging Aaron instead of stopping him? Who should have been holding whom accountable? Aaron, the People, or both? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Exodus 32:30-32. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study:How far did Moses go in his intercessory prayer for sinners?
Apply: Moses was willing to lose out on heaven to save others and honor God’s name? How far should we be willing to go to save others and honor God? See also Romans 9:1-3.
Share: How do you share the truth with others, so as to save them from apostasy without coming across as self-righteous or “holier-than-thou?” See Galatians 6:1-5.
Main Theme: We love God, and out of that love, we obey Him.
Read in Class: Exodus 24:3, 7-17. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What roles do the reading of the Word of God and the sprinkling of blood play in the ratification of the covenant between God and His people? What amazing experience were the children of Israel given here?
Apply: Dwell more on the story of these very privileged men, even sons of Aaron. What warning should this give to us, as Adventists, who, with the light we have been entrusted with, are indeed privileged?
Share: Your friend tells you she has promised God several times that she would quit an addiction, but keeps going back to it. After so many broken promises, she is ready to give up. What do you tell your friend? Hint: 2 Peter 1:4.
Read in Class:Ezekiel 36:24-30. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How does obedience take place in our lives?
Apply: If we have been promised the power to obey, why do we find it so easy to fall into sin anyway?
Share: Your friend asks you, “How do you build a resolve to follow God?” What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Exodus 25:1-9. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What crucial, practical, and theological truths are seen in these verses?
Apply: 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that our bodies are supposed to be a temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in. How do you make sure that your body is an appropriate temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in?
Share: Your friend tells you, in Great Controversy, page 488, Ellen White says, “The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God.” Your friend asks you why it is so important, especially since Adventists are the only people who even teach the doctrine of an investigative judgment. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Exodus 31:1-11. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What special assistance did God give so that all the tabernacle’s details and related services would be prepared and built in a beautiful and proper way?
Apply: The phrase “mercy seat” comes from one Hebrew word, whose root meaning is “to atone.” Why, then, would this “mercy seat” be set right over God’s law? What hope should we see in this fact?
Share: How does your understanding of the sanctuary help you share the Gospel, and what object lessons from the sanctuary do you like to use?
Main Theme: God gave us practical instructions for daily living.
Read in Class:Exodus 21:12-19. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: What specific regulations were given regarding Hebrew slaves, homicide, and bodily injuries?
Apply: Though in most of the world the evil practice of institutionalized slavery has, for the most part, been abolished, some of its principles still exist, and what can we do, in our own limited sphere, to fight against these principles?
Share: Your friend asks you if you know the signs of someone being a victim of human trafficking, and what to do if you suspect someone is a victim. What do you tell your friend? Hint: See Signs of Trafficking on Shared Hope.
Read in Class:Exodus 22:16-26. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: What issues were dealt with in these laws and how?
Apply: How graceful and patient are you when others reject some of the truths of God’s words, of Jesus Himself?
Share: Your friend asks you how you think foreigners should be treated in your country. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Matthew 5:38-48. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How does Jesus interpret the meaning of the retaliation law? How should we apply it today?
Apply: How should the realization that one day justice will come help you deal with all the injustice that we see in the world now?
Share: Your friend asks you if you find it hard to pray for and bless your enemies. She asks if it’s even practical to expect us to love our enemies in real life. What do you tell your friend?
Study: What promise and command are found in these verses, and how are they closely related?
Apply: What are the ways we can learn to love in the way we are commanded to? Why does it always include “death to self?”
Share: Can you think of someone in your past whom you may need to forgive? Could you please reach out to them this week and share the same amazing grace that God has given to you? Remember, while some things are unforgivable, God’s grace makes the unforgivable forgivable.
Read in Class:Exodus 19:9-25. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: How did God prepare Israel to receive the Ten Commandments?
Apply: How do you understand the idea of the Ten Commandments as an expression of God’s love? What does that mean? How is God’s love revealed in them?
Share: Your friend notes that in Exodus 19:10, the people are told to wash their clothes in preparation for keeping the commandments. Your friend asks if this is why in Revelation 22:14, some translations say, “wash their robes,” while others say “keep the commandments.” What is the parallel between “washing our robes” and “keeping the commandments?” What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Exodus 20:1-17. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: What are the principles of the Decalogue, and how is it organized?
Apply: in John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Why is it important to keep the commandments out of love, rather than just to receive a reward? How can we be sure we are not just doing it for the sake of the latter?
Share: Your friend says that she heard that God’s biddings are His enablings, and that His commands are actually promises. Is that true? If so, can you explain to your friend why?
While many people believe that God changed the law or His covenant at the cross, speaking of the covenant in the Old Testament, God told us through David,
My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. Psalms 89:34 NKJV
Here God is saying He is not going to change His covenant. So did God change His covenant at the cross? Well let’s look at God’s covenant in the Old Testament. Of course a covenant is a promise. So what were God’s promises?
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. Genesis 3:15 NKJV
Did God change this promise at the cross? Of course not. He fulfilled this promise at the cross.
In Genesis 12:1-3 God promises Abram a Savior, among many things.
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV
Were any of these promises done away with at the cross? Not at all. As a matter of fact we read in Galatians,
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29 NKJV.
The NLT makes it even more clear at to exactly what this means.
And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. Galatians 3;29 NLT
Instead of God’s covenant to Abraham being changed, it was extended to everyone who believes.
At Sinai God makes a promise,
You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:4-6 NKJV
In the original manuscripts, the word “obey” is “shama.” It means to listen. The word “keep” is derived from the Hebrew word “shamar.” It means to regard, care for, or treasure. God says, ” Keep my covenant,” and we know that God’s covenant is a promise. How are we supposed to keep God’s promise? We aren’t. God is telling us to listen to His voice and treasure His promise! The word “shamar” is also used in Genesis when Adam was told to shamar the garden, or keep the garden. Was Adam told to obey the garden? No, of course not. He was told to regard, treasure, and care for the garden. In this passage, God instructs His people to treasure His covenant promises, and by doing so, they will become His special people, made holy, preserved from corruption, and a kingdom of priests. Was this promise changed after the cross?
by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4 NKJV
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV
Once again we see that God’s covenant does not change from Old Testament to New Testament. Everything promised in the Old Testament becomes reality in the New Testament – as long as we trust in His great and precious promises. That’s because God’s covenant given to Adam, Abram and Moses is an eternal covenant as expressed in Psalm 89:34. This is why Monday’s lesson of last week brought out that the “New” Covenant was actually a renewing of the everlasting covenant God originally gave to Adam, Abram and Moses.
When God spoke of a “new” covenant in Jeremiah 31, He used the word, “hadashah,” which means to renew. Abram forsook God’s everlasting covenant when he took Hagar as his wife. He stopped trusting God’s promises and covenant and tried working things out on his own. At Sinai instead of trusting God’s promises, Israel started making their own promises, saying, “All that God said we will do.” (See Exodus 19:8) The Covenant at Sinai was never the problem. God’s Covenant was never intended to be about legalism. The Covenant God made was all about grace. Hebrews 8:8 says the problem was with the people. They started making their own promises instead of trusting God’s great and precious promises. When people kept trying to make their own promises and work things out on their own, God had to renew the original covenant He made in Genesis 3:15, which is based on better promises – God’s promises, rather than people’s promises. For more see Better Promises Make a Better Covenant. When Paul speaks of the “old covenant” I believe he means “old” as in “useless.” because our promises are useless. Paul is not referring to the original everlasting covenant as the old covenant. He is referring to the legalistic covenant that man made at Sinai as the old covenant as in useless. Man-made covenants are useless in both Old and New Testaments.
The “New” Covenant of grace is actually the everlasting covenant of grace found all the way through both the Old and New Testaments, beginning in Genesis 3:15. God never changed this covenant. But He renewed this covenant whenever people tried to change covenants by making their own promises. The “New” Covenant is the original everlasting covenant, which is God making promises to man. The “old” Covenant, which is a useless covenant, is a covenant man made after God made the everlasting Covenant. When Abram took Hagar, he was making his own legalistic covenant apart from God’s everlasting covenant. The same for the Jews when they promised at Sinai that they themselves would do what God had promised.
Some have the idea that the law is the Old Covenan, while grace is the New Covenant. However when Paul said, “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight” in Romans 3:20, Paul was not saying anything new. Paul was stating a truth as everlasting as the original covenant. No one was ever saved by the law before or after the cross. This is showed up in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve tried to use fig leaves to cover themselves. Their fig leaves proved useless in God’s sight, just like the deeds of the law. In Genesis 3:21 an animal had to die to cover Adam and Eve. This represented Jesus dying on the cross – which is the ratification of the everlasting covenant.
So throughout the Old Testament we see the new or renewed covenant whenever God is promising mankind His grace. Throughout the New Testament we see the renewed or everlasting covenant. Maybe we could clear up a lot of confusion by just calling the New Covenant the Everlasting Covenant, and calling the Old Covenant the “useless covenant.” Remember the New Covenant is the renewing of the original everlasting covenant based on better promises – God’s promises.
While we have grace in the Everlasting Covenant. we also have the law in the Everlasting Covenant. This is why I really appreciate how Thursday’s lesson of last week brought out how the new covenant was not about new laws, but about a new heart.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Ezekiel 36:26-27 NKJV
God does not give us new laws. He gives us new hearts that will trust His promises instead of relying on self. God changes our hearts so that we can keep and cherish all the promises God makes for us in His law. In the Ten Commandments God promises He will deliver us from bondage so we won’t need any other gods before us. He promises to fulfil all our temporal and emotional needs so we won’t need to steal or commit adultery. He promises us a weekly Sabbath rest to always remind us to never rely on our own works.
After all the problem at Sinai was not the law, it was the promises the people were making. Again that is why Paul said the fault was with “them” in Hebrews 8:8. When God renews His Everlasting Covenant we will be keeping the law with all our new hearts.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Jeremiah 31:33 NKJV
Now in Jeremiah 31:32 God talks about Israel breaking the covenant when He led them out of Egypt. They broke God’s covenant when they went about to establish their own covenant promises. God never asked them to make their own promises. Remember in Exodus 19:4-6 God asks them to cherish His promises. The useless covenant is mankind promising God. The Everlasting and Renewed Everlasting Covenant is God promising man. By God’s Everlasting Promises of grace in both the Old and New Testaments we have salvation from sin, and are given new hearts that can keep or Shamar, cherish the everlasting law. We escape the corruption in the world by cherishing God’s great and everlasting promises.
by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4 NKJV
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— Galatians 4:24 NKJV
What did Paul mean by Mount Sinai? Many believe he was referring to the Ten Commandments. Was he? Paul speaks favorably of the Ten Commandments in Ephesians 6, and I doubt he would do so if he really thought they led to bondage. Paul also mentions Hagar. Instead of referring to the Ten Commandments, is Paul referring to a Hagar-like attitude at Sinai?
Hagar represents the man-made covenant or man-made promises. Hagar was not really at fault, and God promised to bless her; however, Abraham used Hagar to try to help him obtain the promised child through the works of his own flesh, rather than trusting God’s promise.
Likewise at Sinai the people promised three times,
Their promises are like the “Hagar” mentality. The people were trusting their own promises and works of the flesh, instead of trusting God to work in and through them. When Paul referred to Sinai in Galatians 4:24 instead of the law of the Ten Commandments, he mentions Hagar. In Hebrews, Paul explains that the problem at Sinai was that the people were making their own promises instead of trusting God’s.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Hebrews 8:7-10 NKJV
Paul promotes the Law and says it is to be written on our hearts. The Law was not the problem at Sinai. The problem, Paul says, is how the people tried to establish the Law. They were depending upon themselves instead of God’s promises. Remember Joshua telling Israel that they could not serve the Lord in Joshua 24:19, but they went on and promised they could anyway?
So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.” Joshua 24:22 NKJV
Joshua sees the people are making the same mistake made at Sinai. In Galatians, Paul sees the Galatians making that same mistake. They thought they could earn God’s favor. They thought they could rely on their own promises to keep the Law. By trusting the strength of their own promises, they were making the “Hagar” mistake, just like Abraham. The commandments are good, and while we can’t keep them in the strength of our own promises, what is impossible with us is possible with God. Remember what we read last quarter?
by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4 NKJV
Abraham trusted the works of his own flesh with Hagar, instead of trusting God’s promise. The problem at Sinai was that the same Hagar mentality was present. Paul wants the Law written on the Galatians’ hearts as well as our hearts, by trusting God instead of the works of the flesh.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
In Light of The Cross 