A Faithful Journey to Christ

29/08/2025

𝐒𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟗: 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰

𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐭: “𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑀𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠, ‘𝑇ℎ𝑢𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑠𝑟𝑎𝑒𝑙: “𝑌𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑛. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑀𝑒—𝑔𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠” (𝗘𝘅𝗼𝗱𝘂𝘀 𝟮𝟬:𝟮𝟮, 𝟮𝟯, 𝗡𝗞𝗝𝗩).

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: God wanted His people to be different from the other people around them. God wanted the Israelites to be a community of faith who lived under His leadership. Everyone would obey His law. Judges would punish people who broke the law. Priests or spiritual leaders would teach the law. Parents also had an important part in this work.
The laws of a country show us its beliefs. They also show us who the lawmaker is. God's law shows us who He is. He is loving, good, and holy. The law shows us how God punishes evil. The law is fair, and so is God. The law protects us from dangers and disasters.
We must respect God and other people. We must love God's law. When we do these things, we live the law, just as God planned for His people, the Israelites, to do.

𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭
➠ At Sinai, God gave Israel the Ten Commandments. The law taught God's people how to live holy lives. The people must stay connected to God for that to happen. So, God gave His people more laws for everyday life. The judges were responsible for protecting these laws and helping people to follow them correctly.

➠ "𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑔𝑜, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛'𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑒𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠. 𝑆𝑜, 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑤𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑤𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑒𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑠𝑟𝑎𝑒𝑙 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑤𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑗𝑢𝑑𝑔𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝐼𝑠𝑟𝑎𝑒𝑙. 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑒𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑤𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑀𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑀𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒."
-𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐆. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞, 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑡𝑠, 𝗽. 𝟑𝟏𝟎.

➠ We can read the laws that God gave His people for everyday life in Exodus 21:1-23:19. God gave these laws to His people to stop evil and to build a strong community.

➠ The covenant code begins by regulating three vital aspects of Hebrew society:
𝟏. 𝐒𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 (𝐄𝐱. 𝟐𝟏:𝟐-𝟏𝟏): 𝑀𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟; 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛, 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦, 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑; 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑓 ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒.
𝟐. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 (𝐄𝐱. 𝟐𝟏:𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟕): 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑟; 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠; 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑑𝑛𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟.
𝟑. 𝐈𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 (𝐄𝐱. 𝟐𝟏:𝟏𝟖-𝟑𝟐): 𝑂𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛; 𝑖𝑓 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑗𝑢𝑑𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛 (𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑) 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒.

➠ All these laws attempt to curb abuse and violence between people.

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐬
➠ God wasn't content to simply leave us with "basic" laws and let us apply them as we see fit. He took care to provide concrete examples so we could apply them correctly.

➠ These examples include 𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍-𝒐𝒏-𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔 (Ex. 21:35-36); 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔. (Ex. 22:14-15); 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 (Ex. 22:16), etc.

➠ God's laws talked about different problems. There were laws against shaming people or putting them down. God did not want His people to use anyone in any way at all. In His mercy, God corrects the evil things we want to do and controls the bad things we want to do. God wanted to keep communities safe, to remove evil, and for people to have good personal relationships with each other. So His people must be fair and loving in all their actions and decisions.

➠ The Israelites also celebrated three important festivals every year:
1. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔
2. 𝑃𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘𝑠 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
3. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙.

➠ Being a covenant between God and his people, these laws also included the way in which we should relate to Him. In addition to the Sabbath rests, there was the obligation to observe the feasts that remind us of our liberation from sin, divine protection, and the glorious future that awaits us.

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐆𝐨𝐝’𝐬 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧
➠ God didn't plan for the Israelites to fight for their new land. God would give them the land. God promised the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God wanted to give Israel the land as a special gift.

➠ 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐴𝑏𝑟𝑎ℎ𝑎𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑠? "Because the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full" (Gen. 15:16).

➠ After four centuries of grace, the Canaanites hadn't changed their ways. It was time to hand the land over to Israel... peacefully! (Ex. 13:17).

➠ If God had brought them out of Egypt without them having to fight, had parted the sea in two, miraculously fed them, and guided them with His Angel… wouldn't He be able to give them Canaan without them having to fight for it?
𝟏. 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨:
𝑎. 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒, 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑦 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑠 (23:21-22)
𝑏. 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝐺𝑜𝑑, 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐻𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 (23:24-26)
𝑐. 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑜 𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑔𝑜𝑑𝑠 (23:32-33)
𝟐. 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨:
𝑎. 𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑖𝑛 [𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛] (23:20)
𝑏. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑎𝑛 [𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛] (23:23)
𝑐. 𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛ℎ𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 (23:27)
𝑑. 𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑢𝑡 (23:28)
𝑒. 𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 (23:29-30)
𝑓. 𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝐼𝑠𝑟𝑎𝑒𝑙 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑑𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑢𝑝ℎ𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 (23:31)

𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐀𝐧 𝐄𝐲𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐲𝐞
➠ In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses quotes from the Old Testament. The people who heard Jesus' sermon knew these verses well. But Jesus wasn't satisfied with how the Jewish leaders explained these verses.

➠ The leaders made their own man-made rules more important than Bible truth. Worse, these leaders changed the real meaning of the verses. In His Sermon, Jesus helps the people understand the real meaning of these laws. Jesus wanted to correct some of the false teachings about these Old Testament laws.

➠ The verse from Exodus 21:24 talks about "𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞, 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡." Jesus uses this quote in Matthew 5:38. This rule is named the "𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬," or "𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧". This verse from Exodus 21:24 also is used in other places in the Bible (Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21).

➠ God made this law to "𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞". God wanted to "𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝". Judges
needed to examine the injury. Then they would decide how much money someone owed for the injury and told him to pay it. The judges did this work to stop people from "𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬." The judges must be fair. Their decisions must honor God's law.

➠ So, Jesus could use this law in the correct way. The reason for the law was to make sure that the judges' decisions were fair. The law, if followed, would repair broken relationships and bring peace.

➠ In a way, a fair decision includes satisfying our need for revenge. That's because we must try to make things right at the same time that we try to be fair.

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
➠ "𝑀𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠, 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛. 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛, "𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑗𝑢𝑑𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒. 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘," (𝐷𝑒𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑦 32:35) 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑'" (𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑠 12:19, 𝑁𝐼𝑉).

➠ The problem in Jesus' day was that the teachers of the law used the law in Deuteronomy 32:35 in a way that allowed people to get even. When that happened, the law was used in the wrong way. Then the whole reason for the law was no longer understood. Worse, the teachers of the law used the law to allow things that the law really said were forbidden!

➠ Jesus wasn't against the rules of reward and punishment. Fair decisions are an important part of life. But no person should make himself a judge over another person, decide his guilt, and then punish him! We must not get even. If someone has done us wrong, we must let a judge in court decide what should be done.

➠ Jesus then tells us to be as perfect as our Father in heaven, who is perfect. How can we be as perfect as God Himself?

➠ We must not be selfish, and we must love other people. In doing so, we show people God's love. God teaches His followers to pray for the people who hurt and attack them. Being perfect, then, is to love, to be forgiving, and to be kind (Luke 6:36), even to people who are not good to you. When we follow this important rule, our hearts will be changed. Then we will show everyone God's love.

𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
“As Creator of all, God is governor over all, and He is bound to enforce His law throughout the universe. To require less from His creatures than obedience to His law would be to abandon them to ruin. To fail to punish transgression of His law would be to place the universe in confusion. The moral law is God's barrier between the human agent and sin. Thus infinite wisdom has placed before men the distinction between right and wrong, between sin and holiness.”
-𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐆. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠, June 5, 1901.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤!!

31/07/2025

𝐒𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟓: 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫

𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐭: “𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢, “𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒?” 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑎𝑦, “𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑, 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑠𝑟𝑎𝑒𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝐸𝑔𝑦𝑝𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐻𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑔𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑠” (𝗘𝘅𝗼𝗱𝘂𝘀 𝟭𝟮:𝟮𝟲, 𝟮𝟳, 𝗡𝗞𝗝𝗩).

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: The 10th punishment is about to fall on Egypt. Moses gives Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his last warning. The king must make his final decision. Pharaoh and his leaders will soon make a decision that will cause the life or death of many people. Pharaoh's decision will change the lives of everyone Egypt forever. Pharaoh's thoughts and feelings about the living God of Israel will decide his future and that of every Egyptian.
𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑜, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒? God is more than willing to give us wisdom, understanding, and power to make the right decision (1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 2:13).
Sad to say, we don't always want to do what is right. We know what is right, but we refuse to do it. In the story about how God helped Israel escape from Egypt, one king refused to obey God. The king's decision hurt many people and destroyed his country.

𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘: 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞
➠ 𝐆𝐎𝐃 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐒 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑 (𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬 𝟏𝟏:𝟏-𝟏𝟎). Amos was a prophet or special messenger from God. Amos said, "𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝐺𝑂𝐷 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑡𝑠" (Amos 3:7, ERV).

➠ God told His prophet Moses what will happen next for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Moses gave Pharaoh a strong warning. God was going to punish Pharaoh's pride and other sins. These sins included Pharaoh's worship of false gods. Pharaoh also hurt God's people and made them his slaves. All of the king's sins caused God to punish Egypt.

➠ 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑃ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑜ℎ 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝐻𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝐸𝑔𝑦𝑝𝑡? 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝐸𝑥𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑠 11:1-10 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟.

➠ God gave Egypt time: 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 (Exodus 10:22, 23). During this time, God wanted the Egyptians to think about things that happened and what they meant. God gave the Egyptians a final warning. The warning was clear. God gave the Egyptians a final chance to do the right thing.

➠ But Exodus 11:8 says that "Moses was very angry when he left Pharaoh". 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚? Maybe because he knew that the 10th punishment would cause a terrible disaster in the lives of many innocent people. All of these things happened because Pharaoh was so stubborn.

➠ Ten is an important number in the Bible. Ten shows us something that is complete, full, or perfect. (𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑒𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑜𝑑'𝑠 𝑙𝑎𝑤.) 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑛 𝐸𝑔𝑦𝑝𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝐺𝑜𝑑'𝑠 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝐸𝑔𝑦𝑝𝑡'𝑠 𝑠𝑖𝑛.

➠ God is the Judge. He hates pride. He also hates when people aren't fair. God hates when people are selfish, mean, or hurt other people. God feels love and pity on people who suffer. God will punish evil. God's work as Judge shows us His love.

➠ But "the Lord has told you what is good. He has told you what he wants from you: Do what is right to other people. Love being kind to others. And live humbly [with no pride in your heart], trusting your God" Micah 6:8.

𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘: 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲
➠ 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝐼𝑠𝑟𝑎𝑒𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝐸𝑔𝑦𝑝𝑡? 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝐸𝑥𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑠 12:1-20 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟.

➠ God gives Moses and Aaron surprising orders. God tells them how to celebrate the Passover. The Passover was the time when God killed in one night the Egyptians' sons who were born first and saved His people from this punishment. So, God's orders are about worship.

➠ The word "𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫" is a combination of two words: "𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬" and "𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫," because the punishment "𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫" the homes of the Israelites that were marked with the lamb's blood. The (𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐛'𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝) was the sign of (𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐝'𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲). In the Hebrew language, the name of the Passover is "𝐏𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐡," which comes from an action word that means "𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫."

➠ 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑛 𝐸𝑔𝑦𝑝𝑡? 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝐸𝑥𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑠 12:13, 14 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝐺𝑜𝑑'𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒?

➠ God commanded the Israelites to celebrate the Exodus each year. The Exodus was the time when God helped His people escape from Egypt. God wanted His people to remember how He saved them in the past. He also wanted His people to trust in Him to save them now and in the future.
— 𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 10𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑎 𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑏 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦, 𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠. (𝐸𝑥. 12:3-5).
— 𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 14𝑡ℎ, 𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑘, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑡 (𝐸𝑥. 12:6)
— 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑜𝑟𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 (𝐸𝑥. 12:7)
— 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑏𝑠 (𝐸𝑥. 12:8-10)
— 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜 (𝐸𝑥. 12:11)
— 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝐸𝑔𝑦𝑝𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 (𝐸𝑥. 12:15)

➠ The celebration of the Passover helped the Israelites to remember the mighty and loving things that God did to save His people. This celebration helped the Israelites to become a people and gave them strong reasons for their faith in God.

𝐓𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘: 𝐏𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐡
➠ On the 14th, two elements played a crucial role in the ceremony: 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭.

➠ They were to remove yeast from their homes and bake bread without it (unleavened bread). Since the departure was imminent, they would not have yeast during its initial stages (Ex. 12:17-20).

➠ This yeast is a symbol of sin, and unleavened bread symbolizes new life in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 5:6-8; 2 Cor. 5:17).

➠ Blood was the salvific element. It represented Jesus' blood—which He shed on the cross—so that, at the Judgment, God would "pass over" our condemnation (1 John 1:7; 2:1-2).

➠ The hyssop with which the blood was to be sprinkled (Ex. 12:22) is a symbol of the purification of sin (Ps. 51:7).

➠ The bread with no yeast is a word picture for the Savior who did not sin. Jesus gave up His life for us. The hyssop was a word picture for God's loving forgiveness that makes us clean from all sin Psalm 51:7. So, the Passover shows us the saving work of Jesus.

𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘: 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐡
➠ 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐍 (𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬 𝟏𝟐:𝟐𝟒-𝟐𝟖). The writer of the Psalms explains how our children can know about God and His loving care: "Parents will tell their children what you have done. They will retell [tell again] your mighty acts" (Psalm 145:4). One family should talk to another family about God, the wonderful things He did, and His teachings. In this way, parents will teach their
children about Bible truth.

➠ 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝐸𝑥𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑠 12:24–28. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎 𝑑𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠?

➠ Parents were the first teachers in Israel. God commanded the parents to tell the story of the Exodus to their children. The Exodus was the time when God led His people out of slavery in Egypt. God wanted the parents to talk about the Exodus as their own experience, and not just as something that happened in the past. When the parents celebrated the Exodus, they lived their history again.

➠ The story of liberation was to be explained in detail, and in the first person (Dt. 26:5-9).

➠ This contains a very special lesson for us. We must pass on our faith to our children. We must tell them about what God has done, not only in history, but also in our own lives. We must bow down before them and worship (Ex. 12:27).

𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
➠ 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝐸𝑥𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑠 12:29, 30, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑔𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠' 𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡. 𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛?

➠ The last punishment fell on the Egyptians' sons who were born first. This punishment showed God's anger against all the gods of Egypt and the families who worshiped these false gods. As we saw with the earlier punishments, these false gods couldn't save the Egyptians. The 10th punishment showed how useless the gods of the Egyptians really were. This final punishment brought the worst suffering on the Egyptians.

➠ "𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑔𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑔𝑦𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑖𝑟. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑘. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟.
-𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐆. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞, 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑡𝑠, 𝗽. 𝟮𝟴𝟬.

➠ Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was the highest power in the land. The people believed that he was a god of Egypt. So, the people believed his oldest son was the son of a god.
— 𝐼𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛.
— 𝐻𝑒𝑞𝑒𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ.
— 𝑀𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑔𝑜𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑒𝑠.

➠ But all of these gods had no power. Only the living Lord had power.

➠ Exodus 1 tells us that the Egyptians killed the newborn sons of Israel on Pharaoh's command. Pharaoh ordered the babies to be killed to weaken the Israelites and to fill them with shame. Now God punishes all the Egyptians. He takes their first-born sons. God will allow us to suffer the same things we do to cause other people to suffer. Our decisions and behavior change other people's lives, for good or evil. The sad truth is that when we do wrong, we aren't the only ones who suffer. Sometimes many other people, including innocent people, will suffer, too. That is the sad truth about sin.

𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
“They were required to separate themselves and their children from the Egyptians, and gather them into their own houses, for if any of the Israelites were found in the houses of the Egyptians, they would fall by the hand of the destroying angel. They were also directed to keep the feast of the passover for an ordinance, that when their children should inquire what such service meant, they should relate to them their wonderful preservation in Egypt. That when the destroying angel went forth in the night to slay the first-born of man, and the first-born of beast, he passed over their houses, and not one of the Hebrews was slain that had the token of blood upon their door-posts. […] They [some Egyptians] entreated to be permitted to come to the houses of the Israelites with their families, upon that fearful night when the angel of God should slay the first-born of the Egyptians. They were convinced that their gods whom they had worshiped were without knowledge, and had no power to save or to destroy. The Israelites welcomed the believing Egyptians to their houses”
-𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐆. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞, 𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐺𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑠, vol. 3, p. 223.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤!

07/05/2025

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘!

Organized by the O'MANGYAN Federation Officers, the Oriental Mindoro Adventist Youth Department of the Mindoro Island Mission warmly invites you to the much-anticipated Youth Festival 2025, with the theme: "𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗧𝗢𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞."

📍 Venue: Pag-asa National High School, Bansud
📅 Date: May 18–25, 2025

Get ready for the hype, the cheers, the teamwork, and the unforgettable moments!
This isn’t just about sports—it’s about building friendships, growing in faith, and pressing forward with purpose!

Let’s run the race, press on, and give our best—on and off the court—all for God’s glory!

See you on the field, Kabataang Adventista!

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘!

Organized by the O'MANGYAN Federation Officers, the Oriental Mindoro Adventist Youth Department of the Mindoro Island Mission warmly invites you to the much-anticipated Youth Festival 2025, with the theme: "𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗧𝗢𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞."

📍Pag-asa National High School, Bansud
📅 May 18–25, 2025

Get ready for the hype, the cheers, the teamwork, and the unforgettable moments!
This isn’t just about sports—it’s about building friendships, growing in faith, and pressing forward with purpose!

Let’s run the race, press on, and give our best—on and off the court—all for God’s glory!

See you on the field, Kabataang Adventista!

27/04/2025

Join us for the Voice of Youth Harvest 2025 as we come together to "Find Hope in a Hopeless World!" Let’s explore faith, inspiration, and community from April 28 to May 10, 2025.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

20/03/2025

𝐒𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟏𝟐: 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐭: “𝐼𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠, ‘𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑑,’ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑟; 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑚 ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛, ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑚 ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛?” (𝟭 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟰:𝟮𝟬, 𝗡𝗞𝗝𝗩).

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: WE BELIEVE that God will make everything right in the end. While we wait for Jesus to come back, what we do as Christians, here and now, does matter. Yes, there are many evils that God won’t stop because of the limits on His power in the worldwide war between good and evil. But we must try to end any suffering and evil we find. Our helping people is part of our job as Christians.
As we saw already, being fair and loving can’t be separated. God loves when we are fair. If we love God, we will love to be fair, too.
Also, if we love God, we will love other people. When we love other people, we show them that we care about them and want what is best for them. When other people are suffering, hurting, hungry, or poor, we must care about their needs. We should ask ourselves what we can do, on our own and as a church, to show God’s love to other people.

𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
— If we want to show God’s love to people, we first must start with doing the things God commanded us to do.

— How does love relate to the Law (Mt. 22:37-40; Dt. 6:5; Lv. 19:18)?
(𝟏) 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝
▪ 𝑀𝑎𝑦 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒.
▪ 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒.
▪ 𝑆ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒.
▪ 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑅𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒.

(𝟐) 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫
▪𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠.
▪𝑆ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠.
▪𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑏𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑓𝑢𝑙.
▪𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟.
▪𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠.
▪𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒.

— True justice is demonstrated by loving. That is what Jesus asked of the rich young man, who believed himself to be righteous: show with actions your love for others [“give to the poor”], and your love for God [“come, follow me”] (Mt. 19:16-22).

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐬
— Jesus said that the two most important commandments are love for God and love for other people. When we obey these commands, we must give up things so that we may show that we love other people. When we do, we show that we understand what following Jesus is really all about.

— There are two sins that are mentioned insistently throughout the Bible: idolatry and social injustice. These two sins are the antithesis of the two great commandments:
1. 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑉𝑆. 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼𝑑𝑜𝑙𝑠
2. 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑉𝑆. 𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠

— God doesn’t like our worship of false gods. He also doesn’t want us to hurt other people. Remember, God is love. So, He becomes angry when we hurt other people or aren’t fair to them.

— The two biggest sins in the Old Testament are connected with the two most important commandments: to love God and to love other people. So, the two biggest sins are really failing to love as God commands us. You can’t keep the commandments if you don’t love God and if you don’t love other people.

— In 1 John 4:20, 21, we read: “If we say we love God but hate any of our brothers or sisters in his family, we are liars. If we don’t love someone we have seen, how can we love God? We have never even seen him. God gave us this command: If we love God, we must also love each other as brothers and sisters” (ERV).

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞
— Since God loves justice (Ps. 33:5), it is logical that He would be angry with those who act unjustly.

— One of the clearest examples is found in Psalm 82, where Asaph shows us God's reaction to the attitude of the judges who had the responsibility of applying justice, but used their authority to act unjustly.

— These judges, called gods because of their position of responsibility – exercising justice by divine delegation (Ps. 82:1, 6; Jn. 10:34-36) – defend injustice and favor the wicked.

— God especially calls them to defend the helpless and the needy (Ps. 82:2-4 NIV ). If they do not do so, they will die for their unrighteousness (Ps. 82:7).

— And this cry for justice does not concern only those who have judicial responsibilities. God demands that each of us do justice (Mic. 6:8; Dt. 16:20; Pr. 21:3; 1 Jn. 2:29).

𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞
— The prophets in the Bible were God’s special messengers. The prophets told the leaders of Israel to be fair. Again and again, the Bible warns us not to hurt people and to be fair. When the prophets asked God to punish evil, they were really asking God to fill the land with leaders who were fair and showed mercy to the people.

— To do justice is not to be fair, but to apply the Law correctly to others. Hence, in the Law itself [the Pentateuch] there are exceptions to protect the helpless (Deut. 24:17-21).

— Nearly all the prophets have words of rebuke for those who act unjustly toward others or fail to apply justice in love (Is. 1:23; Jer. 22:3; Ez. 22:7; Zech. 7:10). For Isaiah, for example, seeking justice involves helping the helpless (Is. 1:17).

— Nehemiah was outraged when, under the protection of the law, the rich demanded the repayment of loans without taking into account the poverty of their brothers (Neh. 5:6-11).

— This message is important for us today. “ ‘Learn to do good. Look for what is right [correct] and fair. Speak strong words to those who make it hard for people. Stand up for the rights [needs] of those [people] who have no parents. Help the woman whose husband has died’ ” (Isaiah 1:17, NLV).

— Jesus cared about being fair. He said, “ ‘You who pretend to be someone you are not! You give one-tenth part of your spices, and have not done the most important things of the Law, such as [like or as in the following examples] thinking what is right and wrong, and having pity and faith. These you should have done and still [continue to] have done the other things also’ ” (Matthew 23:23, NLV).

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐈𝐬 𝐌𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫?
— Many understood that the command recorded in Leviticus 19:18 to love one’s neighbor applied only to those who were Israelites. If you are not an Israelite, you are not my neighbor. However, not everyone held that view. Thus, one scribe who asked a question that he himself was capable of answering wanted to justify himself by asking, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25-29).

— 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑆𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐿𝑢𝑘𝑒 10:25–37. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑦?

— In Luke’s story about Jesus, Jesus announces to a lawyer that the two most important commandments are love for God and love for our neighbor. Then the lawyer “wanted to make himself look good [holy]. So he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ ” (Luke 10:29, NIV). Jesus answers the man’s question with the surprising picture story about the good Samaritan.

— Jesus did not reveal the nationality of the wounded man on the road to Jericho. Neither the priest nor the Levite, who were examples of fulfilling the Law, were interested in the helpless man. However, a “non-neighbor,” a Samaritan, was “moved with mercy” and fulfilled the Law of loving one’s neighbor as oneself (Luke 10:30-37).

— Jesus did more than talk about being fair. Jesus lived the sermon He preached about being fair.

— As we see, the Bible plainly tells us that we should help people all around us who are in need and hurting.

𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: In the context of the unbreakable link between loving God and loving others, Christ’s sacrificial love on the cross is the basis for your love to others.
How are you living up to the notion that loving God involves caring about the needs of others?

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌!

14/03/2025

"Join us for Global Youth Day 2025!

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"A Community Transformed" by serving and spreading Jesus’ Love through community outreach by showing the love of Jesus through acts of kindness wherever they go.