Link to the 3rd Quarter:

https://ssnet.org/lessons/22c

Link to the 1st lesson:

https://ssnet.org/lessons/22c/less01.html

Let the discussions begin.

The first lesson of the quarter was a great lesson -- Jesus our perfect, loving, caring shepherd guiding us (His sheep) through the paths of life toward His everlasting kingdom.

But this weeks lesson is a little more difficult.
The journey isn't all pleasant, there is refining, pruning.....

Wednesday's lesson quotes Jeremiah 9:7-16. and the quarterly explains it thus:



Jeremiah is addressing the NATION. Of course the nation is made up of people who are clinging to sin, however the "crucible" is coming on the whole nation "to purge out the wicked".

The lesson focuses mainly on the individual, not on a corporate body.
Yes, the verses are a warning to individuals, for had they forsaken their sins, and truly worshipped the LORD, the terrible events would not have occurred.

But maybe we need to think a little about the meaning for the whole "nation".

They were "God's people". They had the promises. They had the temple of God's presence. The Messiah was to be born from their nation. They still followed a "form" of the religion God had given them. Surely nothing would happen to them?

Jeremiah 7:9 Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
7:10 Then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?

They were going through the FORMS of worship, but they didn't have strong godly leaders, and there was a lot of corruption and disregard for the genuine truth. Yes, there were still sincere believers, but they were not the majority.

Do we have the warnings that Jeremiah 9:7-16 may be addressing our present day church?

The following is taken from the book "Last Day Events" a compilation from E.G.White's writtings.

The shaking of God blows away multitudes like dry leaves.--4T 89 (1876). {LDE 180.1}
Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat.--5T 81 (1882). {LDE 180.2}
Soon God's people will be tested by fiery trials, and the great proportion of those who now appear to be genuine and true will prove to be base metal. . . . {LDE 180.3}
When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when His law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage and firmness the most unflinching. To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few--this will be our test. At this time we must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason.--5T 136 (1882). {LDE 180.4}
The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out--the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place.--2SM 380 (1886). {LDE 180.5}
As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel's message, but have
not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition.--GC 608 (1911). {LDE 180.6}

God's Faithful Will Be Revealed

The Lord has faithful servants who in the shaking, testing time will be disclosed to view. There are precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal. They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed. In the daytime we look toward heaven but do not see the stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine luster.--5T 80, 81 (1882). {LDE 181.1}
On every occasion that persecution takes place, the witnesses make decisions, either for Christ or against Him. Those who show sympathy for the men wrongly condemned, who are not bitter against them, show their attachment for Christ.--ST Feb. 20, 1901. {LDE 181.2}
Let opposition arise, let bigotry and intolerance again bear sway, let persecution be kindled, and the half-hearted and hypocritical will waver and yield the faith; but the true Christian will stand firm as a rock, his faith stronger, his hope brighter than in days of prosperity.--GC 602 (1911). {LDE 181.3}

(and) I view the church in a more dangerous condition than they ever have been. Experimental religion is known but by a few. The shaking must soon take place to purify the church. {2SG 284.1}

Read Job 1:6-2:10. What caused Job's suffering?

Satan appears in heaven at a heavenly meeting claiming he walks to and fro on the earth.
The significance of "feet touching" or "walking" on property symbolizes ownership. Basically Satan is asserting that the earth is his territory, he walks all over it

God says -- wait a minute, you don't control everything down there, consider my faithful Job.

The main reason Job ends up suffering is to show the falseness of Satan's accusations --
Satan claims Job only does what God wants because of God's blessings and protection. Remove those and Job will throw in his lot against God, Satan claims.

God says, OK, you can remove those blessings.
In the depth of suffering and loss, will Job continue to trust and follow God?

It's easy to trust God in the good times, but how does our faith fare when things are going all wrong?

Well we know what Job did in spite of all his suffering. He remained faithful to God, even though he didn't understand why all this suffering was happening to him.

We recognize what happened to Job from the story of the Satan at the front of the book. But Job and his friends understood through the story of the Leviathan in chapter 41.

Most cultures have a story of a hero (usually a god) who fights a dragon/leviathan. The Lord's speeches from the whirlwind were based on this. In paganism the issue is who is stronger. In Job the issue is that if strength was the important thing then the Lord could defeat the leviathan easier than tossing s pebble to the ground. But what Job was going through, and what we are going through is what God is doing to get the victory over the leviathan: (Letting the issues of the great controversy play out and creatures make choices on the weight of the evidence.)

A side note of interest: Ancient names were reflections of their characters. One of the names of the leviathan was "Rahab" Our friend from Jericho was seen by the wicked Canaanites as the devil incarnated. She was the most wicked Canaanite, if not the most wicked person in the world. On Joshua's list of Canaanites to kill for their wickedness, her name was on the top of the list. But God was able to save even the worst Canaanite, and thus he could have saved any if not all the rest if only they would let him.

Interesting regarding Rahab, which tells us that anybody can be saved, if they want to be saved.

Lesson 4 was all about "character" as in the image of God.

Lesson focuses on the crucible of purification.

Purification requires a standard.

In our case, the standard is the image of God in us and the image of Jesus Christ, who is the perfect reflection of the image of God (Hebrews 1:3).

Purification also requires an agent of purification, which the Bible often presents as fire (1Peter 1:7, Revelation 3:18).

The result of purification is our character, represented by the oil in the lamps of the ten virgins in the parable of Jesus (Matthew 25:1-13).

I always thought the oil only represented the Holy Spirit, until I read this and then realized the oil also represents our purified character. This makes sense as the work of the Holy Spirit is to also purify our character.

This weeks lesson is about seeing the Invisible. How can we see God when He is invisible. Mondays scripture passage gives us a crucial answer though it is not expounded on in the quarterly section. It is found in John 14:6-9. Thomas asked questions to which Jesus answers. ?If you have known Me you will know the Father? he who has seen Me has seen the Father?. Study the life of Christ for it is the picture of God

In other words, study the character of Christ for it is the picture of God.