Lesson 4, Friday 22 July

FridayJuly 22

Further Thought: Read Jeremiah 22:1-16;Ezekiel 16:49; Zechariah 7:9-10. Read Ellen G. White Comments, pp. 1165, 1166, in The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4; “God’s Design in Our Sanitariums,” pp. 227, 228, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic. 6:8, NIV). How much clearer could the Lord be in regard to what He asks of His people? God has shown us what is “good,” and this “good” is the same word used again and again inGenesis 1:1-31, referring to the pre-Fall Creation. Thus, implicitly we are pointed back to the ideal, to what God originally had for us and, ultimately, what He will restore to us after Jesus returns. The phrase translated “require of you” could also be (and perhaps more accurately) translated as “seek from you.” That is, what does God “seek from” us, we, His redeemed people covered by the grace of Christ? The answer is shown in how we are to relate to others and to God. First, we areto act justly. This is so appropriate given the topic of this quarter, which is on how we can help those who are often helpless victims of injustice.Second, we are to love mercy. We live in a world that, at times, can be so unmerciful. What a powerful witness we could be were we to love mercy and show that love by revealing mercy in our lives toward others. Third, we are to walk humbly before God.If the Lord in Micah 6:4referred them back to their deliverance from Egypt as a reason for them to be humble and faithful before Him, how much more so should that apply to us, we who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus? The reality of the Cross, and what it cost to redeem us, should always keep us humble before our God.

Discussion Questions:

1. What other Old Testament texts can you find that talk about our obligation to the needy?
2. In Amos 5:1-27, especially  Amos 5:21-24, we find strong words about the religious people in the time of Amos, about God’s showing more interest in how others are treated than in the religious rituals that He Himself instituted. What should this be saying to us about where we should have our emphasis?
3. How can we guard against the danger of getting so caught up in reaching out to people’s material needs that we neglect their spiritual ones? How can we strike the right balance in our desire to minster to the less fortunate and needy among us?

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