SDA Sabbath School Lesson 5--1st Quarter 2021--Noble Prince of Peace

[Wally]

Lesson 5 January 23-29

Noble Prince of Peace

Commentary in Navy                  Inspiration in Maroon

[Richard Myers]

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Isa. 9:1-5; Isa. 9:6, 7; Isa. 9:8-10:34; Isaiah 11; Isa. 12:1-6.

Memory Text: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, who supervised the creation of the first atomic bomb, appeared before a Congressional Committee [in the United States]. They inquired of him if there were any defense against the weapon. “‘Certainly,’ the great physicist replied.

‘And that is—’

Dr. Oppenheimer looked over the hushed, expectant audience and said softly: ‘Peace.’ ” — Compiled by Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Rockville, Md.: Assurance Publishers, 1979), p. 989.

Peace is an elusive dream for the human race. It has been estimated that since the beginning of recorded history the world has been entirely at peace only about 8 percent of the time. During these years, at least eight thousand treaties have been broken (Paul Lee Tan, p. 987, adapted).

In 1895 Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, provided for a trust to establish a prize for individuals who make an outstanding contribution to peace (Paul Lee Tan, p. 988, adapted). In recent years, however, even some winners of the Nobel Peace Prize have been involved in violent conflict.

This week, we’ll read about the only One who can bring true and everlasting peace.

Amen, and that peace passes all understanding. When do we get it, and what must I do in order to get it?



Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 30.

[Richard Myers]

Sunday          January 24

End of Gloom for Galilee (Isa. 9:1-5)


 9:1   Nevertheless the dimness [shall] not [be] such as [was] in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict [her by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. 
 9:2   The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 
 9:3   Thou hast multiplied the nation, [and] not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, [and] as [men] rejoice when they divide the spoil. 
 9:4   For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 
 9:5   For every battle of the warrior [is] with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but [this] shall be with burning [and] fuel of fire. 

Why does Isaiah 9:1 begin with a word (But/Nevertheless) that indicates a contrast to what precedes it?

Isaiah 8:21, 22 describes the hopeless condition of those who turn to the occult rather than to the true God: wherever they look, they will “see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be thrust into thick darkness” (Isa. 8:22, NRSV). By contrast, there will come a time when “there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish” (Isa. 9:1, NRSV). The people of the Galilee region are singled out here as receiving the special blessing of “a great light” (Isa. 9:2, NRSV). The nation will be multiplied and rejoice because God will have broken “the rod of their oppressor” (Isa. 9:4, NRSV).

The region of Lake Galilee is depicted here because it was among the first territories of Israel to be conquered. In response to Ahaz’s request for aid, Tiglath-pileser III took the Galilee and Transjordanian regions of northern Israel, carried some of the people captive, and turned the territories into Assyrian provinces (2 Kings 15:29). So, Isaiah’s message is that the first to be conquered would be the first to see deliverance.

Whom does God use to deliver His people? Isa. 9:6, 7.

 9:6   For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 
 9:7   Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. 

When and how was the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-5 fulfilled? Matt. 4:12-25.

Not by accident, Jesus’ early ministry was in the Galilee region, where He gave hope by announcing the good news of God’s kingdom and by healing people, including delivering demoniacs from bondage to the occult (Matt. 4:24).

Amen!

Here is where we see a perfect example how the Bible takes events that happened in Old Testament times and uses them to prefigure things that will happen in New Testament times. The Lord mixed images from one era with those of another, such as in Matthew 24, when Jesus mingled the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 with the destruction at the end of the world.

If someone were to ask you, What has Jesus delivered you from, what would you answer?

Self!  It is the greatest battle we shall ever have to fight. But, God promises all the victory if we will learn of Him who gave all that we might die to self daily.

What personal testimony can you give regarding the power of Christ in your life?

Jesus has made it clear to me that I need Him every moment of every day in order to resist the smallest temptation. If I will abide in Him moment by moment, He has promised to give me power to overcome all that He allows to tempt me. Where do we find this conditional promise that will work for you also?

1 Corinthians 10:13: There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it]. 
I testify that when the conditon is met, that not only will I not be tempted beyond what I can bear, the Holy Spirit will also fill me with all of the fruits of the Spirit, not one will be missing. That also is a promise!

[Richard Myers]

Monday         January 25

A Child for Us (Isa. 9:6, 7)

Here is the third special birth in the book of Isaiah, following mention of the births of Immanuel and Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

What is special about the Child found in these verses? Isaiah 9:6, 7.

 9:6   For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 
 9:7   Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. 

He has power  to establish peace forever!

Notice that this Deliverer has several names/epithets that describe Him in various ways. In the ancient Near East, kings and deities had multiple names to show their greatness.

He is “wonderful,” just as the divine Angel of the LORD described His own name to Samson’s father as “wonderful” (Judg. 13:18, RSV; the same Hebrew root) and then ascended toward heaven in the sacrificial flame on Manoah’s altar (Judg. 13:20), thereby prefiguring His offering of Himself more than one thousand years later.

He is referred to as divine (“Mighty God”) and the eternal Creator (“Everlasting Father”; see Luke 3:38: “ … Adam, son of God,” NRSV).

He is a King of the dynasty of David; His kingdom of peace will be eternal.

Given Given these attributes, who alone could this Child be? See Luke 2:8-14.

Jesus, our Savior and King.

Some have attempted to identify Him with King Hezekiah, but the description far surpasses any ordinary human being. Only one person fits: Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God and Creator (John 1:1-3, 14; Col. 1:15-17; Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:2), who was born to us in order to save us and give us peace. He has received all authority in heaven and on earth, and He is with us always (Matt. 28:18-20). While retaining His divinity, He has also become human for all time, ever able to sympathize with our weaknesses (Heb. 4:15). “Unto us a child is born” … forever!

“When Christ came to our world, Satan was on the ground, and disputed every inch of advance in His path from the manger to Calvary. Satan had accused God of requiring self-denial of the angels, when He knew nothing of what it meant Himself, and when He would not Himself make any self-sacrifice for others. This was the accusation that Satan made against God in heaven; and after the evil one was expelled from heaven, he continually charged the Lord with exacting service which He would not render Himself. Christ came to the world to meet these false accusations, and to reveal the Father.” — Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, bk. 1, pp. 406, 407.

Amen!!

What does this quote tell us about the character of God?

God is perfectly just and it took the Son of God coming to this dark spot in the universe to suffer and die that we might know it.

[Richard Myers]

Tuesday          January 26

The Rod of God’s Anger (Isa. 9:8-10:34)

 9:8   The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 
 9:9   And all the people shall know, [even] Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 
 9:10   The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change [them into] cedars. 
 9:11   Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; 
 9:12   The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand [is] stretched out still. 
 9:13   For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. 
 9:14   Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. 
 9:15   The ancient and honourable, he [is] the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he [is] the tail. 
 9:16   For the leaders of this people cause [them] to err; and [they that are] led of them [are] destroyed. 
 9:17   Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one [is] an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand [is] stretched out still. 
 9:18   For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up [like] the lifting up of smoke. 
 9:19   Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. 
 9:20   And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: 
 9:21   Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: [and] they together [shall be] against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand [is] stretched out still. 
 
Chapter 10

 10:1   Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness [which] they have prescribed; 
 10:2   To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and [that] they may rob the fatherless! 
 10:3   And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation [which] shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? 
 10:4   Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand [is] stretched out still. 
 10:5   O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 
 10:6   I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 
 10:7   Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but [it is] in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. 
 10:8   For he saith, [Are] not my princes altogether kings? 
 10:9   [Is] not Calno as Carchemish? [is] not Hamath as Arpad? [is] not Samaria as Damascus? 
 10:10   As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria: 
 10:11   Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? 
 10:12   Wherefore it shall come to pass, [that] when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. 
 10:13   For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done [it], and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant [man]: 
 10:14   And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs [that are] left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. 
 10:15   Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith? [or] shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake [itself] against them that lift it up, [or] as if the staff should lift up [itself, as if it were] no wood. 
 10:16   Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. 
 10:17   And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; 
 10:18   And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. 
 10:19   And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them. 
 10:20   And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 
 10:21   The remnant shall return, [even] the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. 
 10:22   For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, [yet] a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 
 10:23   For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land. 
 10:24   Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. 
 10:25   For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. 
 10:26   And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and [as] his rod [was] upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. 
 10:27   And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. 
 10:28   He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages: 
 10:29   They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. 
 10:30   Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. 
 10:31   Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. 
 10:32   As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand [against] the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 
 10:33   Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature [shall be] hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. 
 10:34   And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one. 

This section explains Isaiah 9:1-5, which predicts deliverance for the gloomy, anguished people who had trusted in the occult and fallen prey to military conquest and oppression: “the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian” (Isa. 9:4, NRSV).

Read through the sufferings of God’s people as shown in the above texts. Compare the curses in Leviticus 26:14-39. Why did God punish His people in stages rather than all at once? What does this indicate about His character and goals?

If God had wanted to destroy His people, He could have given them up to the Assyrians right away. But He is patient, “not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9, NRSV). As in the period of the “judges,” God let the people of Judah and Israel experience some results of their folly so they could understand what they were doing and have a chance to make a better choice. When they persisted in evil and hardened their hearts against Him and the appeals He sent through His messengers, He further withdrew His protection. But they continued to rebel. This cycle was repeated in a downward spiral until there was nothing more God could do.

Since Israel is an ensample for those who the ends of the world are come, is it possible He is dealing with us the same way? It has been a long time since He burned down the Review and the sanitarium?

Read through Isaiah 9:8-10:2. What sins are the people guilty of? Against whom have they committed them? Who is guilty among them?

What we see here, as seen all through the Bible, is the reality of free will. God made humans free (He had to; otherwise, they could never truly love Him), and freedom involves the option to do wrong. And though time and again God seeks to woo us by revealing His love and character, He will also allow us to face the fruit of our wrong decisions; i.e., pain, suffering, fear, turmoil, and so forth, all in order to help us realize just what turning away from Him leads to. And yet, even then, how often these things don’t make people put away sin and come to the Lord. Free will is wonderful; we couldn’t be human without it. Woe to those, however, who use it wrongly.

It is amazing is it not that God can promise there will be another Lucifer who sins after this demonstration is over and the world made new?  No more sin even though the whole universe has free will!!! How amazing is our God!!!

How has God used suffering in your own life to turn you away from a wrong course? (Or are you, maybe, still not getting the message?)

It is only God's grace that gives power to keep His law, but the truth that God protects us and punishes us helps us to understand it is not good to sin. Thus we need to understand how it is that we can obtain the power to not sin.  As Jesus told Nicodemus, if we would look upon Him hanging on the cross, we would be saved.[color]

[Richard Myers]

Wednesday         January 27

Root and Branch in One (Isaiah 11)

 11:1   And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 
 11:2   And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 
 11:3   And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 
 11:4   But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 
 11:5   And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 
 11:6   The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 
 11:7   And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 
 11:8   And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 
 11:9   They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 
 11:10   And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. 
 11:11   And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 
 11:12   And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 
 11:13   The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. 
 11:14   But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. 
 11:15   And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make [men] go over dryshod. 
 11:16   And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. 
 

Who is the "shoot” that comes out “from the stump of Jesse" (NRSV) in Isaiah 11:1? See also Zech. 3:8; Zech. 6:12.

Isaiah 11:1 picks up on the imagery of a felled tree in 10:33, 34. The “stump of Jesse” represents the idea that the dynasty of David (son of Jesse) would lose its power (Dan. 4:10-17, 20-26). But there would arise a “shoot/branch” from the apparently doomed “stump”; that is, a ruler descended from David.

Why is the new Davidic ruler also called the “root of Jesse” (Isa. 11:10)? What sense does this make? Rev. 22:16.

The description fits only Jesus Christ, who is both “the root and the descendant of David” (Rev. 22:16, NRSV). Christ came from the line of David (Luke 3:23-31), who was descended from Adam, who was the “son of God” (Luke 3:38) in the sense that Christ created him (see John 1:1-3, 14). So, Christ was David’s ancestor, as well as his descendant!

In what ways does the new Davidic ruler reverse the evil effects of sin and apostasy? Isaiah 11.

He thinks and acts in harmony with the Lord, judges fairly, punishes the wicked, and brings peace. When He takes over, the Lord will bring back, restore, and unite a faithful remnant of Israel and Judah (compare Isa. 10:20-22). There will be a strong, united monarchy as in the days of King David, who defeated the Philistines and other peoples. But the New Ruler will be greater than David in that He will restore peace even to the essence of creation itself: Predators will no longer be carnivorous, and they will coexist in tranquility with their former prey (Isa. 11:6-9).

Is Isaiah 11 talking about just the first coming of Christ, just the Second, or both? Look through the prophecy and mark down which texts talk about which coming.

In Isaiah 11, both comings of Jesus are presented as one picture. They are tied together, because they are two parts of a whole, like the two sides of a flat plane. The plan of salvation, to be completed, requires both comings: the First, which already happened; and the Second, which we await as the consummation of all our hopes as Christians.

What did Christ accomplish at the First Coming that gives us such assurance about the Second Coming? What is the purpose of the First Coming if it doesn’t result in the Second?

When Adam sinned, he was told he would die, but his death was postponed. In the Garden we hear Jesus telling Satan that he will put "enmity" between him and the woman and between his seed and her seed. What does this mean? It means that Adam was going to be given a chance to hate sin and Satan which he did not after he sinned. He had a fallen nature that we all inherit, that can do no good thing. But, he is given a period of time (temporal life) wherein he can learn to love God with his whole heart and then he will hate sin.  But, there was more to the verse. This is only possible if Jesus were to in fact fulfill His part of the covenant, to suffer and die in the place of sinners, all sinners. This is the everlasting covenant, a promise to transform sinners into saints that will hate sin (enmity against Satan).  The first coming of Jesus fulfilled His part of the covenant when Jesus suffered and died for the sins of the whole world. Thus we have the assurance not unconditional salvation, but of the opportunity to obtain salvation. What are the conditions that we must meet in order take advantage of the first coming of Jesus? We must love the Lord our God with what? Quote the verse that share it with your Sabbath School. Too many have been taught otherwise. They think they have eternal life when they sin, when they to not love Jesus with all they have and all they are. If we truly love God with the whole heart, what does the Bible say we will do. "Here are they that" fill the rest in. Until God has a people who keep His commandments, He cannot come. In other words, we have delayed His coming and continue to do so. Let us today reflect His character that the world will know there is a God in heaven (Eze. 36: 22-27).

[Richard Myers]

Thursday       January 28

“You Comforted Me” (Isa. 12:1-6)

 12:1   And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 
 12:2   Behold, God [is] my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH [is] my strength and [my] song; he also is become my salvation. 
 12:3   Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 
 12:4   And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. 
 12:5   Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this [is] known in all the earth. 
 12:6   Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great [is] the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee. 

Isaiah 12 is a short psalm (song) of praise to God for His merciful and powerful comfort. The psalm, put in the mouth of a member of the restored remnant, compares the promised deliverance to that of the Hebrews in the Exodus from Egypt (see Isa. 11:16); it is like the song of Moses and the Israelites when they were saved from Pharaoh’s army at the Red Sea (see Exodus 15).

Compare this song in Isaiah 12 to Revelation 15:2-4, the song of Moses and of the Lamb. What are they both praising God for?

Isaiah 12:2 comes close to identifying the coming Deliverer as Jesus. It says that “God is my salvation” and “he has become my salvation” (NRSV). The name Jesus means “The Lord is Salvation” (compare Matt. 1:21).

What is the significance of the idea, contained in the name of Jesus, that the Lord is salvation?

Not only does the Lord bestow salvation (Isa. 12:2); He Himself is salvation. The Presence of the Holy One of Israel in our midst (Isa. 12:6) is everything to us. God is with us! Not only did Jesus do miracles; He “became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14, NRSV, emphasis supplied). Not only did He bear our sins on the cross; He became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Not only does He make peace; He is our peace (Eph. 2:14).

No wonder “the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples” (Isa. 11:10, NRSV). When He is lifted up on the cross, He draws all people to Himself (John 12:32, 33)! A remnant shall return to the “mighty God” (Isa. 10:21, NRSV), who is the Child born for us, the “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6)!

Dwell more on this idea that Jesus is our salvation. Read Romans 3:24.

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 

It says that redemption is in Jesus; redemption is something that happened in Him, and it is through God’s grace and mercy that we can have an eternal share in that redemption, as well. In other words, that redemption that was in Him can become ours by faith, and not by works, because no works we do are good enough to redeem us. Only the works that Christ did, which He credits to us by faith, can bring redemption. How does this truth give you hope and assurance of salvation, especially when you feel overwhelmed by your own sense of unworthiness?

His righteousness, His grace can save none if they will not allow it into their hearts. There are conditions to receiving His righteousness. It is not good enough that Jesus has provided it at such a great expense, we must do something in order to received it and salvation. There is no assurance of salvation for those who do not learn to love God with the whole heart. If we do not trust God with all we are and all we have, then we will not obtain the salvation that so many believe they have. We must love the Lord our God with all the heart, not 99% of it. Self must die to sin. As Paul said, I die daily." "I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." 1 Cor. 9:27. The good works we do will not save anyone, but if indeed they are a revelation of heart that has been cleansed of self and sin, then it is also a revelation that Christ has possession of the heart and we have salvation by allowing God's grace into the heart. Then we can say "here are they keep the commandments of God because they are keeping the commandments from the heart.

[Richard Myers]

Friday         January 29

Further Thought: “The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life’s peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan’s power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. ‘Herein is love.’ Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 49.

This is a powerful statement of God's love, but it is not what is so very important. Take a read of the what was said prior to this paragraph. There we see the real risk God took in allowing His Son to come to this world a helpless baby subject to the weakness of humanity.

    The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God." Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.
     Satan in heaven had hated Christ for His position in the courts of God. He hated Him the more when he himself was dethroned. He hated Him who pledged Himself to redeem a race of sinners. Yet into the world where Satan claimed dominion God permitted His Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet life's peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss.
     The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life's peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan's power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. "Herein is love." Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!

Now you understand the most powerful truth ever there was! God loves us, does He not? Has He not proved His love for you and me! Wonder O heavens and be astonished O Earth! Herein is love!!

“Christ was the one who consented to meet the conditions necessary for man’s salvation. No angel, no man, was sufficient for the great work to be wrought. The Son of man alone must be lifted up; for only an infinite nature could undertake the redemptive process. Christ consented to connect himself with the disloyal and sinful, to partake of the nature of man, to give his own blood, and to make his soul an offering for sin. In the counsels of heaven, the guilt of man was measured, the wrath for sin was estimated, and yet Christ announced his decision that he would take upon himself the responsibility of meeting the conditions whereby hope should be extended to a fallen race.” — Ellen G. White, The Signs of the Times, March 5, 1896.

Amen!  Notice it is "hope should be extended."  That is God provided a remedy for sin, but God did not justify all men. Only those who learn to love God with the whole heart will be extended the gift of eternal life.  Man was given temporal life, a period of time, a second chance to obey God. It is by grace that man can be transformed from sinner to saint.

Discussion Question:

    As we saw in Isaiah 11, the Lord presented both comings of Christ in one picture. This can help explain, at least somewhat, why some of the Jews didn’t accept Christ at His first coming, because they expected Him to do the things that will happen only at the Second Coming. What does this tell us about how important it is that we have a proper understanding of the nature of Christ’s advent? How can false views, for instance, of His second coming set people up for Satan’s great end-time deception? (See Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, chapter 39.)

Yes, many had been taught that Jesus was going to rule from an earthly throne, but that was not the great deception. They were a Laodicean people who thought they were rich and increased with goods because they were God's chosen people. They were indeed chosen of God and entrusted with His truth. But the teachers perverted the truth and when Jesus came they knew not the Lamb  of God had to suffer and die for their sins. They thought they were saved by their good works as in offering us their sacrifices.

How is it today? Do we remain in a Laodicean condition as a people? Yes, we do. Not all are blind to their continual need of Jesus in order to do any good thing. Even if they are not walking in the light, they see they are not. But, as a people, we do not see we are in a lost condition, and as Jesus says in the Laodicean message "repent." This is His message to us as a people. "Repent." Read it for yourselves in the third chapter of the Book of Revelation.

Summary: In the days of Isaiah, whose name means “Salvation of the Lord,” God promised His remnant people salvation from the oppression that was coming upon them as a result of national apostasy. This prophecy of hope finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, whose name means “The Lord is Salvation.”

Amen!! It was the suffering and death of Christ that extends hope to all sinners! Let us take advantage of the opportunity God has given to us. Today is the day of salvation. Let us learn of Him whose grace transforms sinners into saints (those who have enmity against sin and Satan).