A Faithful Journey to Christ

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!

Share the message of hope!
Be the Sermon that encouraging youth to actively participate in their communities and share the message of hope and be an example of compassion and service.

Let's make a difference together":
Be the change you want to see in the world":
"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.

12/02/2025

𝐒𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟕: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐥

𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐭: “𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑝𝑒 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠; 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑛𝑜 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ, 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑛𝑜 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦” (𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟭:𝟰, 𝗡𝗞𝗝𝗩).

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: While we struggle to understand the presence of evil in this world, we must recognize our limitations and approach, with hope, the eventual solution. The Bible contains open questions about the problem of evil. In moments of suffering, it is hard to reconcile God’s love and immense goodness in the presence of evil. In Scripture, we identify characters raising how long questions in reference to suffering, and these questions reveal their expectation of divine action.
Our explanations about the problem of evil are limited. The problem of evil and suffering presents a challenge to humanity. We are encouraged to approach the problem of evil with hope. We should learn to live with unanswered questions about the problem of evil. Sin is an intruder, and no reason can be given to fully explain its presence in our world. God’s love helps us approach the problem with hope.

𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲: “𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐎 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝?”
— The problem with evil is more than a problem we have today. Bible writers talked about the problem in their day, too.

— 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝐽𝑜𝑏 30:26; 𝐽𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑎ℎ 12:1; 𝐽𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑎ℎ 13:22; 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖 2:17; 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑚 10:1. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙? 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑚 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒?

— These verses ask many questions that we continue to ask and seek answers for today. Whatever we say about these questions, we must not think that the problem with evil is small or not important. Evil is very bad. God hates evil more than we do.

— 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑤 27:46. 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠’ 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒? 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑢𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝐺𝑜𝑑, 𝑡𝑜𝑜, 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑤𝑎𝑦?

— On the cross, Jesus asked the question, “ ‘My God, my God, why have you left me alone?’ ” (Matthew 27:46, ERV). In this verse, we see that evil hurt God. This amazing Bible truth is shown in the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross. All the evil on this earth fell on Jesus at that time.

— This verse also gives us hope. On the cross, Jesus won the fight against evil and its cause, Satan. In the future, Jesus will end evil forever. The words Jesus said on the cross are a quote from Psalm 22:1. The rest of the psalm ends in success and with praises to God.

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲: “𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐖𝐞 𝐃𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰”
— History will end when God’s love wins the fight against evil. But meanwhile, many questions about evil may continue to trouble us. How can we think and talk about the problem with evil in a way that is helpful?

— 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝐽𝑜𝑏 38:1–12. 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝐺𝑜𝑑’𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝐽𝑜𝑏 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑢𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛? 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑑𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑜𝑤? 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑑𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑?

— He asked many questions about why so much evil and suffering happened to him. Job wanted to talk with God to get answers to his questions. Job didn’t understand that far more was happening in heaven than he could see (read Job 1; 2). One Bible translation writes: “ ‘Why do you talk so much when you know so little?’ ” (Job 38:2, CEV). After God asks Job this question, God says in Job 38:4, “ ‘Where were you when I made the earth? If you are so smart, answer me’ ” (ERV).

— 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝐽𝑜𝑏 42:3. 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝐽𝑜𝑏’𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑢𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠?

— God’s answer to Job shows that Job didn’t know and understand many things. We also should be the same as Job. We should empty our hearts of all pride and understand that many things are happening in life that we can’t see and don’t know anything about.

— We may not know the answers to all our questions. But that doesn’t mean that there are no good answers. We must believe that God will answer our questions in the future. Until then, we must trust in God.

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐭
— God announces in Isaiah 55:8, 9, “ ‘The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like [the same as] yours. Your ways are not like mine. Just as the heavens are higher than [above] the earth, so my ways are higher [filled with more wisdom] than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts’ ” (ERV).

— Our thoughts are not as wise as God’s thoughts. We can’t imagine in our minds God’s whole plan for history. 𝑆𝑜, 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐺𝑜𝑑’𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐻𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑑𝑜? 𝑆𝑜, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛, ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑤𝑒, 𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑠, 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙?

— Some people believe in something named 𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐦. It means that "God has good reasons for doing the things He does, even if we don’t always understand them." At the same time, our knowledge about God is limited. So, we shouldn’t expect to know just what His reasons are.

— A skeptical theist is someone who believes this way. The skeptical theist doubts that humans can understand fully God’s reasons for doing what He does or His decisions about evil on this earth. We can’t see germs moving around in the air. But that doesn’t mean germs aren’t moving in the air all around us. In the same way, we may not know what God’s reasons are, but that doesn’t mean God has no good reasons.

— 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑚 73. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑒𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑚 73 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑚? 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑒𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑤𝑎𝑦?

— The poet was very troubled when he saw all the evil in life. The poet looked around him and saw evil people enjoying success. Nothing was fair. The poet had no answers for what he saw. He wondered if his believing and serving God was worth it. But then the poet looked in God’s holy temple.

— God’s temple helped the poet understand the problem with evil better. How? The temple is the place where God does His work as Judge. As a holy Judge, God will do what is fair. He will punish evil in His own time.

𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞
— While we may not fully understand God’s ways or thoughts, the Bible does tell us some things that help us with the problem of evil. One view for helping us understand the problem with evil better is named the free will defense.

— The free will defense is the view that evil happened because humans made the wrong choice. So, we must not blame God for evil. God gave us free will or free choice for good reasons.

— Christian writer C.S. Lewis wrote, “𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒. 𝐴𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑗𝑜𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐴 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑜𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑢𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. . . . 𝑊𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑓 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒.” free.” — Mere Christianity (New York: MacMillan, 1960), page 52, adapted.

— 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠 2:16, 17. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑜𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑒?

— Adam and Eve chose to eat the forbidden fruit. Since then, our planet became filled with evil. The story about the Fall shows how the wrong choice brought sin and evil into the history of our planet.

— All through the Bible, we read about free choice. Every day of our lives, we make choices because God made us free to choose. Without the freedom to choose, we would not really be human. We would be more like a machine or a robot.

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐥?
— God gave people free choice. Free choice is necessary for love. When we make bad choices, evil happens. We must be free to choose evil or good. Without this choice, we cannot be free to love.

— “𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐺𝑜𝑑. 𝑆𝑜, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒. 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝐻𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑠. 𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑛’𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝐻𝑖𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓. 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝐻𝑖𝑚. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑜𝑑’𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝐻𝑖𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝐻𝑖𝑚. 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑. 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙. 𝑊𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑠. 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐺𝑜𝑑, 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝐻𝑖𝑚 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘. 𝐺𝑜𝑑’𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑑’𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑆𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑛’𝑠 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, page 22, adapted.

— If we aren’t free to choose, we can’t be free to love. If God is love, then God must allow us the freedom to choose to love Him.

— Often, we can’t understand why evil happens. But God sees the end from the beginning. He also promises happiness to everyone who has faith in Jesus.

— Jesus chose to die because He wanted us to be free to love. He knew what our freedom to choose would cost Him. Our free choice would send Him to the cross and cause Him to suffer much. But Jesus gave us our freedom anyway.

𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: As we deal with the difficult problem of evil and suffering, we need to recognize how limited we are in understanding the many things that happen to, and around, us just as Job was limited in his understanding.

“𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐻𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑟𝑦, 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐺𝑜𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑢𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙. […] 𝑊𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝐻𝑖𝑠—𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑆𝑜𝑛 𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒.” — EGW (Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 429)

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌!