SDA Sabbath School Lesson 11--1st Quarter 2021--Waging Love

[Wally]

Lesson 11 March 6-12

Waging Love

Commentary in Navy                  Inspiration in Maroon

[Richard Myers]

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Isa. 55:1-7; Isa. 55:6-13; Isa. 58:1-12; Isa. 58:13, 14.

Memory Text: “And [if] thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness [be] as the noon day.” Isaiah 58:10

A Jewish cantor (worship leader) and his wife who lived in Lincoln, Nebraska, began receiving threatening and obscene phone calls. They discovered the calls came from a leader of an American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Knowing his identity, they could have turned him in to the police. But they decided on a more radical approach. When they learned that he was crippled, they showed up at his door with dinner! He was utterly flabbergasted. His hatred melted before their love. The couple kept visiting him, and the friendship grew. He even thought of becoming Jewish!

“[Is] not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?” Isa. 58:6, 7. Ironically, the couple in Lincoln kept such a fast by sharing their feast with a hungry oppressor, thereby setting him free from his own bonds of unjust prejudice!

Let’s learn more about this important spiritual principle as depicted by the prophet Isaiah.

Amen!!  And God has given us a special opportunity to bless others, even those that despitefully use us. The health message is the "right arm" of the gospel message. It will open the door to the hearts of those who otherwise do not want to hear about the Bible or Jesus. Before we plant the "seed" we need to plow the ground. Then hard hearts will melt under the love God has put in our hearts for them.

*Study this lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 13.

[Richard Myers]

Sunday          March 7

Buy Something Free? (Isa. 55:1-7)

Read this text: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!” (Isa. 55:1, NRSV). What contradiction do you see there?

It is similar to the offer Jesus makes to us in His church who remain in a lost condition thinking we are "rich and increased with goods, but know not that we are miserable, wretched, poor and blind and naked."  Jesus does not leave us without encouraging us that the condition is not hopeless. He then tells us to buy of Him "gold tried in the fire" which is faith that works by His love, and white raiment which is His righteousness, and eye salves which is the Spirit that opens blind eyes. Yes, these are all His gifts, but He says to "buy" them.

Suppose you took food and stood on the street in a big city and announced to the hungry and homeless there: “Yo, you who have no money, come, buy and eat!” But how can they buy if they have no money?

However, if you add the words, as Isaiah did: “without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1, NRSV), the point becomes clearer. Isaiah appeals to people to accept forgiveness (Isa. 55:7) freely. Yet, the word buy emphasizes that what God offers people to meet their needs and desires is valuable; so, receiving it requires a transaction (transfer of something of worth). God freely offers forgiveness within the framework of a restored covenant relation with His people, but not because it was free for Him: He bought it at the terrible, blood-drenched price of His own Servant. Though free, it came with an astonishing cost to Himself.

Amen. And....it does not come to all to whom He offers it. There is a price to pay on our part or else all would obtain it. What He wants is an amazing deal for us. He wants our filthy hearts so that He can cleanse them from sin. If we give Him the heart, the whole heart, He will take away our filthy garments and cover us with His white robe of righteousness. Even though our sins are as scarlet, He will cleanse us white as snow. Buying in this case means to exchange our sinful life for one of love, joy, and peace. Why not? What is the holdup? The greatest battle we shall ever fight is with self. It does not want to give up. But, if we come to Jesus just as we are, He will complete the work He has begun in us and we shall obtain the "pearl of great price."

What was the price for our salvation? See 1 Pet. 1:18, 19.

 1:18   Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold, from your vain conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers; 
 1:19   But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 

Amen! Christ has purchased our salvation. He has done His part in fulfilling His part of the everlasting covenant. It remains with us to do out part to learn to love Him with all the heart which is the first and great commandment. Read Gen. 3:15. God wants to give us a hatred for sin and Satan that we do not naturally have. We are evil by nature and need to be born again of the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit, we need to born again of the Spirit. That happens when we trust God with all we are and all we have, and not a minute before. How do we obtain this trust? By buying of Jesus gold tried in fire which is the purity of heart and soul. We study the character of our God in Scripture where it is revealed. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us that we might know Him who gave all that we might be saved from sin to which we have been held captive. By beholding His glory, His character, we shall be changed into His image (character) by the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18).

How does Isaiah’s approach to salvation compare with that of the New Testament? Eph. 2:8, 9.

Isaiah encapsulates the gospel in the Old Testament, and it is the same as the gospel in the New Testament. There was no “old-covenant” salvation by works, to be superseded by “new-covenant” salvation by grace. Ever since God’s promise of a Deliverer to Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:15), there has been only one way to salvation: by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8 ); “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23, NRSV). From the ancient Gilgamesh, who did heroic exploits in a vain search for eternal life, to modern actors who believe in reincarnation, people have tried all different routes to salvation, but all are fruitless. This is why they need to know about Jesus and what He has accomplished for them at the Cross.

Salvation is free in that there’s nothing we can do to earn it. Our works can never be good enough to save us. Yet, at the same time, it can cost us everything. What does that mean? See, for instance, Matt. 10:39, Luke 9:23, 14:26, Phil. 3:8.

Amen! Our works will earn nothing, for we cannot keep the law in our fallen state. And, even if we could be holy by works, we could not earn salvation because all have sinned and the wages of one sin is death. We cannot pay the price for our sins. But, we cannot keep the law unless we fully surrender the heart, the whole heart to Jesus, then  we become partakers of His nature, we are empowered to keep the law. And when we give the whole heart to Jesus He cleanses it from all sin and brings with Him all of the fruits of the Spirit, not one is missing. Love, joy, and peace cannot be obtained until we love the Lord our God with all we are and all we have. Jesus will finish the work He has begun if we will not make excuses for our deformity of character or our sins. There is no excuse for sinning, for Jesus has provided a remedy at great cost.

He allowed His innocent Son to come to this dark spot in the universe where Satan claims dominion. He allowed Him to come a helpless baby subject to the weakness of humanity to fight the battle of life as we must fight it at the risk of failure and eternal loss. Take a moment to contemplate what that means. Does God love us when we are yet sinners? How can reject such love? We won't if we keep this in the forepart of our brains. It would be well to spend a thoughtful hour each day contemplating the life of Christ especially the closing scenes where we see Jesus being flogged then being hung on a tree. It is by these stripes we are healed, transformed in nature so that we can testify to the power of grace to make a loving, kind, and giving people. Praise God  for His wonderful Gift!! Herein is love.

[Richard Myers]

Monday       March 8

High Thoughts and Ways (Isa. 55:6-13)

Why does God say His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, “as the heavens are higher than the earth” (Isa. 55:8, 9)? What do you think that means?

There’s no question that the God who created a universe in which even some of the simplest things contain mysteries that our minds cannot begin to fathom is a God whose ways are beyond what we can ever begin to fully grasp. This knowledge of His infinite superiority should, therefore, make it easier for us to humbly receive His help. (See Isa. 57:15.)

It surely does after we are converted. But, as Jesus pointed out to Saul when He arrested his march to persecute the saints, it was hard for him to kick against the pricks of the Spirit. Saul found it hard to give in to the Spirit until he understood he was sin itself and captive to the law of sin which was in his members. He was so very discouraged that he finally found it easier to pray for help from God than to keep resisting the Spirit. It was then that he prayed "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death." How long does it take God to respond to such a prayer? Why would he wait, He had won the battle with Satan over the heart of Saul. He answered that prayer when He revealed Himself to Saul. Conversion of Saul was the end of a long protracted process of wooing by the Holy Spirit. Have you come to the point of full surrender as did Saul on the road to Damascus? Or are you still kicking against the pricks as Jesus is still knocking on your door. Will you give Him your whole heart, or is there something you are unwilling to give up? Don't give up, Jesus loves you and has not left you and orphan. He stands at the door of your heart pleading for entrance. Spend that time learning of Him and you will win the battle of life. God has promised to give you a new heart, buy of Him gold tried in the fire.

Read Isaiah 55:6-9.

55:6   Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 
 55:7   Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 
 55:8   For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 
 55:9   For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 


What is the context in which the Lord talks about how His ways and thoughts are higher than what we can imagine? What is He saying He does that is so hard for us to grasp?

God is telling us that He is in control and that if we will learn of Him, we will understand that He is trying to save us, that He has power that we do not understand, that we are so very weak and our minds are so very dull that cannot do any good thing without Him. Just trust me, He says. Learn of me what you can and I will do the rest. It takes faith to be saved. We must know Him enough to trust Him or we shall be forever lost.

Of all the great mysteries of the universe, no doubt the greatest one of all is the plan of salvation, a mystery we can only barely begin to understand. (See Eph. 6:19.) That the Creator of the universe would stoop to clothe Himself in humanity, live a life of toil and suffering, only then to die in our behalf, a sacrifice for sin, all in order that He could pardon us and show mercy to us is a truth that will thrill the hearts of God’s created beings for all the ages of eternity.

Amen!!

“The theme of redemption is one that angels desire to look into; it will be the science and the song of the redeemed throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Is it not worthy of careful thought and study now? …

The subject is inexhaustible. The study of the incarnation of Christ, His atoning sacrifice, and mediatorial work will employ the mind of the diligent student as long as time shall last; and looking to heaven with its unnumbered years, he will exclaim, ‘Great is the mystery of godliness.’ ” — Ellen G. White, My Life Today, p. 360.

And how long shall time last? That makes the point, we are so ignorant that angels are amazed when we fully surrender our hearts to God. We are like ants that cannot understand where I am going next year. Who are we when we try to understand God? We can know of His character and what He has revealed in the Bible, but even after a million years of being with Him we shall still be able to learn more of Him who gave all that we might live.

Look at the bad things you have done: the people whom you have hurt, the unkind words you have spoken, the ways in which you have disappointed others, not to mention yourself. And yet, through Jesus, you can be forgiven all these things and stand, right now, perfect and righteous in the sight of God. If that isn’t a mystery, what is?

And if that does not reveal God grace what can? Even though our hearts are cleansed as while as snow when we love God with the whole heart, this perfection and righteousness God has imputed to us and imparted to us does not mean we cannot grow. Our concept of perfect means that we have arrived. But that is not the perfection the Bible speaks of. When my son got a perfect score on a test in school, he could not improve upon it. But, when we give the whole heart to Jesus we are made perfect in Christ. Our hearts are pure and holy, our motives are pure and holy, but there is room for growth. How do we become more perfect when we are partakers of God's divine nature? We learn to be more obedient as Jesus became more obedient even though He was always obedient. "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Hebrews 5:8,9.

When we are truly in a converted state, the Holy Spirit takes possession of the heart and we have the mind of Christ, we are partakers of His nature. He brings with Him all of the fruits of the Spirit, not one is missing. We obey God to the extent we understand. But there is much we do not understand. So, our perfection can grow as we understand that the Sabbath is the seventh day, not the sun day. The Bible tells us that we can be perfect at each stage of our growth, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. And, even though we are already perfect, we can become more perfect.  All of the fruits are in the life, but they will become more abundant. Our patience will become more patient if we continue to abide in Jesus and He in us.

[Richard Myers]

Tuesday         March 9

Fast Friends (Isa. 58:1-8)

What is the “fast” referred to in Isaiah 58:3?

This must be the fast of the Day of Atonement, the only fast commanded by God (Lev. 16:29, 31; Lev. 23:27-32). This is confirmed in Isaiah 58:3 by the parallel expression “humble ourselves” (NRSV), which follows the terminology of Leviticus. Humbling/afflicting oneself referred to various forms of self-denial, including fasting (compare Ps. 35:13; Dan. 10:2, 3, 12).

The day of Atonement setting explains God’s command to “Lift up your voice like a trumpet!” (Isa. 58:1, NRSV). This kind of ram’s horn trumpet, called a shofar, was to be blown as a memorial or reminder ten days before the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:24). Furthermore, every fiftieth year, on the Day of Atonement, it was to announce the beginning of the Jubilee year of freedom (Lev. 25:9, 10; compare Isa. 27:13).

Read Isaiah 58:3-7.

 58:3   Wherefore have we fasted, [say they], and thou seest not? [wherefore] have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. 
 58:4   Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as [ye do this] day, to make your voice to be heard on high. 
 58:5   Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? [is it] to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes [under him]? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? 
 58:6   [Is] not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 
 58:7   [Is it] not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 


What is the Lord complaining to them about? What was wrong with their “fast”?

It seems the people were expecting the Lord to congratulate them for their “piety.” Of course, they had it all backward. Practicing self-denial on the Day of Atonement was to express their gratitude and loyalty to Him on the day the high priest went before God to cleanse the sanctuary and thereby cleanse them from sins for which they had already been forgiven (Leviticus 16; compare chapter 4). Their acts should have been done in thankfulness and gratitude to the God who saved them in the day of judgment, not in order to get God’s approval for their “piety” and “devotion.” After all, it was the sins of the people that had defiled God's sanctuary. It had to be cleansed with blood that was shed because of what they had done.

One of the crucial lessons that come from these texts points to the difference between being merely religious and truly being a follower of Christ. How do we see the difference there? How do we, as individuals, face the same danger as those presented here, which is believing that our religious rituals somehow show we are really following the Lord as He asks us to?

As individuals in the Seventh-day Adventist Church we ought to take the counsel coming from Jesus to heart, to ask God if we are individually are Laodicean believing we are ok when in fact Jesus is telling us our probations (individually) are close to being closed forever more. The Laodicean feels he is fine because he goes to church on the Sabbath and pays tithe, no realizing he is as a Pharisee not knowing God requires the whole heart and a transformed life in order to obtain eternal life.

[Richard Myers]

Wednesday        March 10

Fast Fight (Isa. 58:1-12)

Ten days after trumpet blasts have reminded God’s people that the Lord is acclaimed as their King on the very Day of Atonement when their humility through self-denial is to affirm their loyalty to Him as King, the prophet lifts up his voice like a trumpet to declare that they are rebelling against Him (Isa. 58:1).

Read through Isaiah 58:6-12.

58:6   [Is] not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 
 58:7   [Is it] not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 
 58:8   Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. 
 58:9   Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I [am]. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 
 58:10   And [if] thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness [be] as the noon day:
 58:11   And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 
 58:12   And [they that shall be] of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 


What are acts that God considers true acts of self-denial? After all, what’s harder, to skip a few meals or to use your own time and money to feed the homeless in your town? What is the principle to be seen behind these acts? How do these acts comprise true religion?

The Pharisees did "good" deeds, but they were as whited sepulchers, white and clean on the outside, but putrid and rotting on the inside. God looks upon the heart. He sees past the profession of faith to the reality of the motives. The motives must be pure and holy in order to obtain a place in heaven, for heaven will not have any sinners. Our characters are to be transformed here that we might live in peace with the universe. That was the lesson on the day of Atonement for Israel and the world. They were cut off if they were not truly repentant for every sin. Time for a change of heart ran out on the Day of Atonement, and so it is today. Jesus is about to stand up and walk out of the Most Holy Place in heaven, never more to forgive sins. If the heart is not being drawn to Jesus it is being hardened and soon will not be able to be softened.

Anyone can be religious; anyone can go through religious rituals, even the right rituals, at the right time, with all the right formulas. But that’s not alone what the Lord wants. Look at the life of Jesus. However faithful He was to the religious rituals of His time, the Gospel writers focused so much more on His acts of mercy, healing, feeding, and forgiveness to those in need than on His faithfulness to ritual.

The Lord seeks a church, a people, who will preach truth to the world. But what will better attract people to the truth as it is in Jesus: strict adherence to dietary laws or a willingness to help the hungry? Strict rest on the Sabbath or a willingness to spend your own time and energy helping those who are in need?

What makes the difference? The heart. If one is truly converted, he has a new heart and new motives. He not only loves those who love him, but he loves those who hurt him. He has love, joy, and peace in the middle of the storm. His life is one of sacrifices for the benefit of others. There is no selfishness in a born again Christian. He lives to bless others. Do we? It is the evidence of being born of the Spirit.

Read Matthew 25:40 and James 1:27.

 25:40   And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me. 

 1:27   Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world. 

What do they tell us?

Look at the blessings in Isaiah 58 that God says will come to those who seek to minister to the less fortunate. What do you think the Lord is saying to us here? Are these promises of supernatural intervention in our lives if we do these things? Or, perhaps, is He telling us of the natural blessing we receive by giving of ourselves to others as opposed to being selfish, greedy, and self-absorbed? Explain your answer.

Two great commandments sum up the rest. If we love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves, then we have eternal life. We cannot have one of those without the other. The commandments are a revelation of God's character, they are the foundation of love. Is it possible to give to the poor and helpless and not have love? Absolutely. We can do such things in an effort to earn salvation. It is the same as paying tithe and being selfish. It is the motive that God changes when we love Him supremely.

Why do we do what we do? When we are truly converted and love God supremely we will want to help others from the heart, not to be seen or to earn salvation. What does Paul say about helping others, is it possible to do so and be lost? "And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." 1 Cor. 13:3.

The world is not a nice place. There are those who are hateful while professing to want justice and help for others. Let us not be as the world. Let us be fully converted and help others for no other reason except to help them because we want to help them. Let us truly understand that we need to have Jesus continually in order to do any good thing. Without a continual surrender of our will to His will, our works will be selfish and bring reproach upon God.

[Richard Myers]

Thursday       March 11

A Time for us (Isa. 58:13, 14)

58:13   If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, [from] doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking [thine own] words: 
 58:14   Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it]. 

Why does Isaiah discuss the Sabbath in Isaiah 58:13, 14? What connection does this have with the Day of Atonement setting of the earlier verses?

The yearly Day of Atonement was a Sabbath day. This special ceremonial Sabbath was like the weekly Sabbath in that all work of any kind was prohibited (Lev. 23:27-32). Therefore, as recognized by early Seventh-day Adventists, the rule that the Day of Atonement period of rest lasted from evening to evening (Lev. 23:32) informs us that the same must be true of the weekly Sabbath. Similarly, although the primary context of Isaiah 58:13, 14 is the ceremonial Day of Atonement Sabbath, its message also applies to the weekly Sabbath.

Read Isaiah 58:13. What kind of day is the Sabbath supposed to be? How can we make our Sabbath experience like the one depicted here? Also, when you think about what the Sabbath represents, why should it be the kind of day described in this text?

Isaiah 58 deals with three main themes: self-denial, social kindness, and the Sabbath.

What about the strong rebuke, and then the instruction as to how to fast and honor God?

What are the connections between them?

First, all three involve concentration upon God, His priorities, and recognition of our dependence upon Him. Second, by doing all three, humans pursue holiness by emulating God (see Lev. 19:2), who, in the form of Christ, humbled Himself (Phil. 2:8 ), who demonstrates self-sacrificing kindness (John 3:16), and who ceased from labor on the Sabbath at the end of the Creation week (Gen. 2:2, 3; Exod. 20:11).

Look at these other ties between the themes of self-denial, social kindness, and the Sabbath as depicted in Isaiah 58: Sabbath freedom from weekly toil is kind to people because it lets them be refreshed (Exod. 23:12, Mark 2:27); Jesus showed that kind acts are appropriate on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-5, John 5:1-17); true Sabbath keeping brings joy (Isa. 58:14), as does helping others (Isa. 58:10, 11). What must change in your own life in order to experience these blessings yourself?

In a Laodicean church the answer is always the same, unless one is already converted and walking in the light. We need Jesus. We need to given Him the whole heart holding nothing back. To do this we need to trust Him with all we are and all we have. That means we need to really know Him intimately. It would be well to spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating the life of Christ, for by beholding Him we are changed into His image (character). 2 Cor. 3:18.

[Richard Myers]

Friday         March 12

Further Study: “No one can practice real benevolence without self-denial. Only by a life of simplicity, self-denial, and close economy, is it possible for us to accomplish the work appointed us as Christ’s representatives. Pride and worldly ambition must be put out of our hearts. In all our work, the principle of unselfishness revealed in Christ’s life is to be carried out. Upon the walls of our homes, the pictures, the furnishings, we are to read, ‘Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house.’ On our wardrobes we are to see written, as with the finger of God, ‘Clothe the naked.’ In the dining room, on the table laden with abundant food, we should see traced, ‘Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry?’ Isaiah 58:7” — Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 206.

Discussion Questions:[/i][/b]

    Look at the question Isaiah asked the people of his time: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isa. 55:2, NRSV). Ask yourself, in what ways, if any, are we doing the same thing, laboring for that which does not satisfy? Why is it so easy to fall into that very trap?

    If self-denial, social kindness, and the Sabbath were important on the Day of Atonement in Isaiah's day, are they just as important in the end-time Day of Atonement (Dan. 8:14), during which God’s Jubilee trumpet will signal ultimate freedom at the second coming of Christ (1 Cor. 15:52; compare Lev. 25:9, 10)? Explain your answer.

It is not that it was important in Isaiah's day, but it is always important. That is why the chapter begins with "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." We need to call sin by its right name. They were a Laodicean people. What did they do to Isaiah?

    In class, open up a discussion on the question of Sabbath keeping. What do you think Isaiah means when he says we should turn away from doing our own pleasure on the Sabbath, and yet at the same time call it a “delight” (Isa. 58:13)? How can we do both? Keep in mind the context of the complete text of Isaiah 58.

Some do not enjoy keeping the Sabbath. They have not experienced the joy of talking about Jesus. They need to be converted and experience the joy of abiding in Christ and discussing and praising Him.

Summary: In Isaiah 55 and 58, the prophet appeals to his people to give up their thoughts and ways and return to God, whose ideal for their happiness is so much higher than their own. He mercifully pardons and then insists that the pardoned be merciful, in harmony with the spirit of the Day of Atonement and the Sabbath, because the gift of God’s forgiveness, if it is truly received, transforms the heart.

If we are talking about the Day of Atonement, it much more serious than just another Sabbath. It was a solemn say. Why? Why if one did not confess all of sins? What if his repentance was not one not to be repented of? What if the Laodicean remained miserable, wretched, poor, blind, and naked? What would happen to him on the Day of Atonement?  What if the heart was not transformed, cleansed, made holy? Those who were not truly converted were cut off from Israel. There was no second chance on the Day of Atonement. What does that mean to us who live in the anti-typical Day of Atonement? What if our repentance is not a true repentance and the heart was not cleansed from sin?

In your Sabbath School class, if the Day of Atonement is  brought up, explain what happened to those who did not repent, and how that pointed to our day and the investigative judgment.