Is vengeance the inverse of forgiveness? This week's lesson "Rest, Relationships, and Healing" is focussed on forgiveness, and remarkably that keyword doesn't occur in the book of Proverbs. It has more to say about vengeance and judgement - but that turns out to offer insight about why we forgive. We look in particular at Proverbs 20:22, and then discover somewhat of a theme in this chapter.
Family can be a refuge of rest, or a tremendous burden. Proverbs has quite a bit of comment on family interactions, and we explore how this relates to rest (or the lack of it).
"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Proverbs 30 is an oracle of Agur, who seems to be coming from precisely the state of life and mind that Jesus was thinking of when he promised rest.
Stern warnings about the cost of rest? Proverbs 6:6-11 has been used for centuries to admonish slackers, in-sleepers, bludgers, and lazybones of all varieties. But it specifically mentions resting, which seems to be a good thing in our helter-skelter society. We try to discuss the theme of "the Cost of Rest", but end up coming back to the Cost of Work! As well as pondering the lessons of the ant, we consider what can be learnt from the pygmy blue-tongue lizard.
The roots of restlessness can be entwined with a desire to do evil. Proverbs 4 paints a picture of "the wicked" with particular reference to a kind of restlessness that comes from a need to "do an evil deed for the day". Not all restlessness is of this kind, but there's a lot of food for thought in this idea.
It's easy to get caught out when mocking the foolishness of others. Proverbs 26 is amusing in its description of fools, but verse 12 catches us out. Mocking fools is easy, but it's harder to recognise our own foolishness. This connects to the lesson in its exploration of the Israelites wandering restlessly in the wilderness.
The wisdom of Proverbs leads to an unconventional discussion of rest. We're starting a new season, and the Sabbath School theme is "Rest in Christ". It will cover a range of associated issues that regularly intersect with wisdom and common sense, and so we're launching into the book of Proverbs for a tangential perspective on rest. This week our focus is on Proverbs 1:20-33, which is one of a number of passages that vividly personifies Wisdom. Join the conversation by emailing comments or questi...
What are our covenant-making obligations as part of living the new-covenant life? The remarkable story of King David and Mephibosheth is a great way to ponder the "New Covenant Life". On reflection, it seems that this way of living in God's Kingdom is not unique to the New Testament epoch.
Many elements of the new and better covenant seem actually already present in the older covenants. The author of Galatians (and there's similar sentiment in Romans) seems keen to contrast elements of the old covenant with the new life in Jesus. The more we discuss this in the context of 11 previous episodes, the more we see that most of the key features were included in various ways in those earlier covenants. There's still plenty here to teach and inspire.
Not only does Jesus establish a new covenant, but there seems to be something deficient about the old one which is now "obsolete". Hebrews 8 quotes a chunk from Jeremiah 31 (which we looked at in the previous episode), and so is an excellent follow-on. The author in this chapter seems to be making the argument that there was some "fault", or something deficient, with the old covenant. We ponder what this issue seems to have been, and indeed which "old covenant" is the focus here.
A new covenant is declared in the Old Testament - one that is "not like the old covenant". As we approach the obvious destination of this season it is interesting to encounter a "new covenant" in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 31 speaks of some clear differences compared to the old covenant, but also of some details that are less than clear.
What does it mean for Sabbath to be a Sign of the Covenant? The lesson topic turns us back to a contentious comment from earlier this season - the Sabbath is the third of three things identified in the bible as "signs of a covenant". What is a sign for, how does it function, and how can Sabbath be such a sign? This episode poses more questions than answers, and your comments are welcome at sabbathschoolfromhome@gmail.com (as always).
Finally we encounter "Covenant" intertwined with "Commandment", but what does it mean to perform? The lesson topic "Covenant Law" covers some themes we've already explored in recent episodes (such as the election of Israel). We anchor our conversation in Deuteronomy 4, where it is anticipated that God's "statutes and rules" will cause Israel to become the envy of the world. It is particularly fascinating that the Covenant here is described as something we are commanded to "perform". Yet again te...
After living in Egypt for generations, God remembers his covenant with Abraham's family. The topic of this week's lesson is Covenant at Sinai, and we meander over from Genesis to Exodus chapter 19. Some remarkable elements of this story intrigue us, and it's an opportunity to reflect on how the quarter so far has expanded an understanding of "covenant".
How does the covenant inheritance work for "Abraham's seed"? "Israel" is a name given to Abraham's grandson before it becomes the name of a nation, and the transmission of blessings across generations is a fascinating theme in Genesis. It is not always a straightforward inheritance! We are left pondering what this means for us who claim to be in some spiritual sense the "descendants of Abraham". In particular, there's a challenge in these stories to celebrate the way God bestows blessings on tho...
Why was Abraham blessed in the first place? After looking at the Abrahamic covenants in Genesis 15 and 17 last week, we backtrack slightly in the story to explore what God had in mind when He called Abraham. The "call of Abraham" is in Genesis 12, and we end up discussing some intriguing details of Genesis 23. This episode is a slightly disjointed because Cameron's recording somehow vapourised, so you'll need to exercise your imagination about his comments in places. As always, comments are welc...
Abraham's story features covenants especially prominently. This week's lesson is titled "An Everlasting Covenant", and although this wording is used in Genesis 17 we take a bit of convincing that it correctly describes the Abrahamic covenant. It seems that everlasting might not be the same thing as universal. The "Covenant" theme this season is really making our brains tick and we've ended up with yet another longer episode - sorry!
The flood story has one of the most universal covenants of the Old Testament. It really should be known as "God and the Flood" rather than "Noah and the Flood" - poor old Noah doesn't even have a speaking role in the story until well after the rainbow. The story is in Genesis 6-9, and there are actually two covenants explicitly mentioned. In fact, there's a lot more to this story than most children's-book retellings would suggest!
We reluctantly wrap up our exploration of "the fall", and learn a bit about covenants. The lesson this week is a "Covenant Primer" to get us ready to explore this theme through other parts of the Bible. We have some unfinished ideas about Genesis 3 and the story commonly known as "the Fall", but then Ken teaches us some key aspects of covenants. In particular, they are not the same as a contract or agreement - and this is going to be crucial for our ongoing examination of God's covenants....
This new quarter explores God's Everlasting Covenant, and we start by pondering what happened to require His promise. Obviously "The Fall" doesn't happen until chapter 3 of Genesis, but we take too long to get there and run out of time in chapter 2. However, there's a bit more to this story than is often appreciated! SabbathSchoolFromHome has been going for a full year, and the need to do everything "at home" is not as prominent as it was in 2020. We're shifting to a midweek (Wednesday) release ...
Jesus invoke this passage as a defining description of his earthly ministry, and it is a superb summary of our study of Isaiah. We've slipped slightly behind the SDA lesson pamphlet, but Isaiah 61 is worth it! Jesus reads from this chapter at the start of his public ministry in Luke 4, and it pulls together many of the important themes that have emerged over the last 12 episodes. As always, contact us at sabbathschoolfromhome@gmail.com and share your thoughts or comments on this passage....
This chapter has a strong challenge - God can intervene to save the oppressed, but he's displeased to find his people not striving for justice! The lesson "Desire of Nations" explores the subsequent chapters 60 and 61, but we hold off since Lachlan couldn't join this recording. The themes in Chapter 59 are plenty enough food for thought, and we discuss comparisons with the theme of Sin in Romans.
The theme of Sabbath comes to the fore as we consider the lesson on "Waging Love". In Isaiah 58 (and the surrounding chapters in fact), the theme of Sabbath is directly connected with images of Salvation and Social Justice. This is a fruitful source of challenges for Sabbath-keeping followers of God in the way of Jesus.
We reach an unambiguously messianic portion of Isaiah, and discuss seeing and hearing from yet another angle. This week's lesson "Doing the Unthinkable" focuses on Isaiah 52-53 and the remarkable foreshadowing of Jesus crucifixion.
Why is the "servant of God" so gentle, while God seems almost violent? The lesson touches Chapters 41-49, but we focus mostly on Isaiah 42. As well as the recurring eyes/ears theme, we notice patterns of flame (flickering candles and consuming fires) and of lands across the sea and islands. God's servant is astonishingly gentle, and this almost contrasts with God Himself. There's a remarkable blending of birthing mother and strongman warrior imagery.
Some of the best known bible verses are here, alongside some trickier passages about idolatry and being like grass. The lesson this week is called "Comfort My People", which is the opening of both Isaiah 40 and Handel's Messiah. After an interlude of historical narrative, the book is back to a more poetic kind of writing. We see similarities here to parts of Job and the Psalms.
The "Defeat of the Assyrians" has us grappling with how "God will come with vengeance; he will come to save you" We cover a lot of ground in Isaiah this week. In skipping over chapters 15-35 we pick up many recurrences of the "eyes and ears" theme, but our discussion is focussed on the jolt back to historical narrative that occurs in chapters 36-39. This story of Hezekiah and the Assyrians is very similar (substantially word-for-word in many places) to 2 Kings 20. In particular, we ponder the ch...
Time for a Taunt! We're keeping up with the Sabbath School lesson, which this week is on "Playing God". The passage in Isaiah 14 is explicitly a taunt of Babylon, and has some fantastic turns of phrase. We ponder the validity or role of taunts, touch on the state of the dead, and recall the importance of having mercy.
We ponder the theme of God's "government", and explore the tension between our individualistic culture and the collective punishments proclaimed in Isaiah. The Sabbath School lesson this week is on the "Noble Prince of Peace", and the verses in Isaiah 9 are well known. In many ways this passage completes some of the more difficult texts we've covered in recent episodes.
This week's lesson "The Hard Way" looks at Isaiah 7 and 8, and Clansi joins the conversation.
