Lesson 4 * July 17-18 Justice and Mercy in the Old Testament: Part

SundayJuly 17

Alive in Christ

The grace of God that brings revival to those who are dead in transgression and sin is graphically revealed in Ezekiel 37. In vision, the prophet Ezekiel is transported by the Spirit to a valley full of dead, dry, and scattered bones. These bones represent the whole house of Israel. God asks, “Son of man, can these bones live?”(Ezek. 37:3).

The answer to this question unfolds as the prophet prophesies to the bones.

Read Ezekiel 37:1-14. What was God going to do for His people?

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The results of the message delivered to the dry bones are that (1) they “came to life and stood up on their feet-a vast army” (Ezek. 37:10, NIV); (2) God will settle His people in their own land (Ezek. 37:14); (3) and they will know that it was God who did it (Ezek. 37:14).

But being revived is not enough. God’s people are revived for a mission, for a purpose. Israel was to be a light to the nations.

Read Ephesians 2:10. Why are we made alive-spiritually re-created-in Christ?

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“Our acceptance with God is sure only through His beloved Son, and good works are but the result of the working of His sin-pardoning love. They are no credit to us, and we have nothing accorded to us for our good works by which we may claim a part in the salvation of our souls. Salvation is God’s free gift to the believer, given to him for Christ’s sake alone. The troubled soul may find peace through faith in Christ, and his peace will be in proportion to his faith and trust. He cannot present his good works as a plea for the salvation of his soul.

“But are good works of no real value? Is the sinner who commits sin every day with impunity, regarded of God with the same favor as the one who through faith in

Christ tries to work in his integrity? The Scripture answers, 'We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.’

“In His divine arrangement, through His unmerited favor, the Lord has ordained that good works shall be rewarded. We are accepted through Christ’s merit alone; and the acts of mercy, the deeds of charity, which we perform, are the fruits of faith.” - Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 3, pp. 199, 200.

MondayJuly 18

A Flowing River

Read Ezekiel 47:1-8. What’s going on with the temple that Ezekiel saw in vision?

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The temple appears to have sprung a leak. You may wonder, did a pipe break, or what? In this case, the leak was a good thing.

This water leaking out of the temple was going “toward the east.” East of Jerusalem is the Salt Sea (also known as the Dead Sea), the lowest body of water on earth. Between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea is approximately 21 miles (about 34 kilometers) of largely desert country, which includes the Arabah, also known as the depression of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. That sea itself is so salty that nothing can live there.

However, when the water from the temple reaches it, the dead waters of the sea are “healed.” This can be understood symbolically as God’s church, the temple (1 Pet. 2:4-5), reaching out and being a source of health and healing to those dead in trespasses and in sin.

Read Matthew 5:16. What is Jesus saying to us here in regard to how we are to represent Him to the world?

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The Zambezi River in Zambia, Africa, starts as a shallow brook that comes from under a tree. As it flows toward Victoria Falls it grows from a brook (ankle-deep) to knee-deep, to waist-deep, and then to a river that is deep enough to swim in. Likewise, though small at the beginning, the river from the temple increased in momentum and impact, and became a river “deep enough to swim in-a river that no one could cross” (Ezek. 47:5, NIV).

Your church’s healing influence may start small, but it can grow until it transforms your community! “Our work has been presented to me as, in its beginning, a small, very small, rivulet.” - Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 171.

Light, water-both of these are images used to talk about what God can do through us to help others. How can we become better conduits for ministering to those in need?

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