C o l l e g i a t e Q u a r t e r l y
A General Conference Church Ministries Publication  •   January-March  1992
N o   Time  to  Lose
JOEL  MICAH  ZEPHANIAH


WHY  SHOULD  KIDS
HAVF ALL THE FUN?
Why  is  it that the wonder and  excitement  we  feel  as children 
at  the  fascinating  stories  of  the  Bible,  somehow  fade  as  we 
“ mature”  into adulthood?  Don’t the  stories of David,  Job,  and 
Jonah  still  have  something  to  say  about  the  problems  we  face 
every  day?
B i b l e  Stori es f o r  S m a l l  Gro ups , by Michael L.  Leno,  blends 
the thrilling, yet practical stories of Scripture with the relational 
dynamics of small group ministry.  The result is 24 Bible lessons 
designed  to  help  you  and  your  small  group  discover  God  in  a 
way  you  may  not  have  imagined  possible.
So stop letting the kids have all the fun.  Open your Bible,  this 
exciting study guide, and your heart to group members in sincere 
Christian fellowship, and brace yourself for the time of your life.
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B I B L E
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SM ALL
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Exploring Biblical 'Relationship's
^  A?  v
M  i e h à o K L .  L e i  10.


COLLEGIATE QUARTERLY
January-March 1992 
Vol.  15,  No.  1
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No Time to  Lose
Studies  in Joel,  Micah,  and 
Zephaniah
1.  The Day Before the L  After  ....   6
2.  The Three R s ......................................... 16
3.  Don’t Sleep Through tiie Revolution  .  24
4.  No Hiding P la ce..................................... 32
5.  A King Is a Father,  Is a Person  . . .   42
6.  The “No-Returns” .................................. 50
7.  A Way O u t............................................... 60
8.  Scaling the H eigh ts............................... 70
9.  The Triumph of Faith............................ 78
10.  When the  Lights Go Out ...?....   86
11.  “Dial 911” ...............................................94
12.  Of Righteousness and L ove.................102
13.  End of the R ainbow ............................. 110
Other  than  the  King  James  Version,  Scripture  versions  used  in  this 
quarterly are as follows:
Texts  credited  to  NIV  are  from  the  Holy  Bible,  New  International  Ver­
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mission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
Texts  credited to  NKJV  are from The  New  King  James Version.  Copy­
right©  1979,  1980,  1982, Thomas Nelson,  Inc.,  Publishers.
Bible texts  credited  to  RSV  are from  the  Revised  Standard  Version  of 
the Bible, copyrighted  1946,  1952 © 1971,  1973.
Scriptures quoted from NRSV are from the  New Revised Standard Ver­
sion of the Bible, copyrighted © 1989 by the Division of Christian Educa­
tion of the National Council of the Churches of Christ.  Used  by permis­
sion.  Permission granted August 16,  1990.
Scriptures quoted from TEV are from the Good News Bible—Old Testa­
ment: Copyright ©  American Bible Society 1976; New Testament: Copy­
right ©  American Bible Society  1966,  1971,  1976.
COLLEGIATE OUARTERLY (ISSN  0744-2939).  Published quarterly by 
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i   1   '3 C G r r >n  v  Ii i   AL  ^
12/92  91699-93  J lJ U C


CONTRIBUTOR  PROFILE
Andrews University,  Berrien Springs,  Michigan 
Lesson 2, 3
Campus Editor:  P.  B.  Morrison 
Contributors:
Melisa Baker  Benjamin  Bokich
Rebecca J.  De Wind  Anne  Freed 
Joseline Garcia  Steven  S.  Kim
Lisa  Parry  Jim  Phillips
Adam  D.  Rose
Columbia  Union College, Takoma  Park,  Maryland 
Lesson 5
Campus Editor:  George Gainer 
Contributors:
Jose Cortez  Roger Hernandez  Irene Hiendlmayr
Elvina C.  Tomenko
Kettering  Medical College,  Kettering, Ohio 
Lesson  6
Contributors:
Brian Christenson  Randy Daniel  Stephanie  Irwin
William J.  Nordgren  Dan  Stevens  Petre  Udrea
Loma  Linda  University Riverside, California 
Lesson 7, 8
Campus Editor:  Steven  Daily 
Contributors:
Jim  Banta  Steven  Daily
D.  P.  Harris  John  R.  Jones
Kharolynn  Pascual  Kent Rogers
Oakwood College,  Huntsville, Alabama 
Lesson  9
Campus Editor:  Bernard  Benn 
Contributors:
Sammy  R.  Browne  Tracy  D.  Cook
James A.  Payne  Emmanuel Saunders 
Oliver J.  Davis 
Mervyn A. Warren

Barbara Frye 
Charles Liu

Jill  Boughman 
Tom Gammon 
P.  B.  Morrison 
D.  G.  Rand


Southern College, Collegedale, Tennessee 
Lesson  11
Campus Editor:  James  Herman,  Jr. 
Contributors:
Alex  Bryan  Jeff Gang
Marcus James  Wilma McClarty 
Thomas E.  Huntress 
R.  Lynn Sauls
Southwestern Adventist College,  Keene, Texas 
Lesson  12
Campus Editor:  Victor Brown 
Contributors:
Kenneth  Bodine  Victor Brown
Omar lllingsworth  William  Kilgore
Flavia  Rochester 

Susan  Hevener 
Noelle  Nelson
Union College,  Lincoln,  Nebraska 
Lesson  13
Campus Editor:  Rick Carlson 
Contributors:
Kerri Allen  Paul  Blake
Ralph  E.  Neall  Byard  Parks 
Trevor Mahlum 
Kelly V.  Schmitt
Special Contributors
Gary B.  Patterson is administrative assistant to the  North American  Division 
president.
Lincoln  E. Steed Is editor of Listen magazine at Pacific  Press  Publishing 
Association,  Boise,  Idaho.
Gerald Wheeler is editor of Winner magazine at the  Review and Herald 
Publishing Association,  Hagerstown,  Maryland.


This Quarter’s Artist
Robert Wright,  a freelance illustrator and graphic designer since  1988 
living in Martinsburg, West Virginia, is this quarter’s artist. A specialist in 
airbrush illustration and watercolor landscapes, he is a  1978 graduate of 
California State University,  Fullerton, with a degree in graphic arts.
For two years Robert designed Message magazine at Southern Publish­
ing Association in Nashville, Tennessee; four years, Life and Health  (now 
Vibrant Life)', and four years,  Sabbath School materials in the art depart­
ment at the Review and Herald Publishing Association in Hagerstown, 
Maryland.
Robert enjoys photography and canoeing in West Virginia.


Getting the  Most Out of the 
Collegiate Quarterly
Facts You Should Know
The  COLLEGIATE  QUARTERLY  is  based  on  the  conviction  that  there  is 
transforming power in the Word of God and that one important way of tapping 
into  that power is  through group  study.  It is  prepared  with Adventist  college 
students and young adults particularly in mind.  Its purpose is to provide this 
group with a resource for devotional study on mutual topics, which can then be 
discussed together each week in Sabbath School.
Additionally,  many  who  use  the  adult  quarterly  find  that  the  COL­
LEGIATE  QUARTERLY,  since  it  deals  with  the  same  topics  as  the  adult, 
enriches lesson study and discussion as a supplemental  aid.
Adventist colleges  and universities,  along with young-adult church groups, 
work together in producing the quarterly. The writing at each school is coordi­
nated by the campus chaplain’s office. Approximately 200 individuals  contrib­
ute to the quarterly each year.
Circulation of the COLLEGIATE QUARTERLY is about 25,000.
Pointers for Study
1. The Bible passage to be studied for each week is indicated in bold type on 
the  introduction page  (Sunday’s  lesson).  Read this  entire  passage  in  conjunc­
tion with the quarterly introduction to give you an overview of the lesson.
2.  The  Bible  passage  for  the  week  is  divided  into  sections  on  the  Logos 
pages  (Monday’s  lesson).  When  studying  this  section,  carefully  reread  the 
Bible  passages  indicated  in  bold  headings  before  reading  the  comments  be­
neath the heading.
3. Read the remainder of the sections for the week with the perspective you 
have gained from your own study of the biblical passage.
4.  Keep in mind the purposes of each section of the quarterly:
Introduction (Sunday)  is  designed  to  get  your  attention  and  focus  your
thinking on the week’s theme.
Logos (Monday), as described above, is a guide for direct study of the Bible 
passage for the week.
Testimony  (Tuesday)  presents  Ellen  White’s  perspective  on  the  lesson 
theme.
Evidence (Wednesday)  approaches issues raised by the lesson from  a his­
torical, scientific, philosophical, or theological perspective.  It is likely to be the 
most scholarly article of the week.
How-To (Thursday)  discusses  what  the  “theory”  in  the  lesson  means  for 
day-to-day living.
Opinion (Friday),  a  personal  viewpoint on the  lesson,  is  meant to  encour­
age further thought and discussion.
5.  Through  prayer,  open  your  mind  to  the  Holy  Spirit’s  guidance  as  you 
study.
The CQ and the Church
The  COLLEGIATE  QUARTERLY  is  the  General  Conference-approved 
quarterly for the collegiate/young-adult age group. It upholds the beliefs of the 
Seventh-day Adventist  Church. However,  its  contents  should  not  be  regarded 
as  official  pronouncements  of the  church.  Particularly  in  the  Evidence  and 
Opinion sections, views that are only individual opinion, not official denomina­
tional positions, are expressed.


Lesson  1,  December 29-January 4
The  Day  Before the 
Day After
“Blow the trumpet  in  Zion;  sound  the  alarm  on  my  holy 
hill.  Let  all  who  live  in  the  land  tremble,  for the  day of the 
Lord  is coming.  It is close at  hand”  (Joel 2:1,  NIV).


Sunday,  December 29
Unfriendly Grasshoppers
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: Joel 1:1-2:11
You could hear them pattering 
like raindrops as they hopped 
among the flower beds by the side 
door.  Sometimes they attached 
themselves to the side of the 
house, outlining the edges of my 
wife’s bushy cosmos.  The grass­
hoppers did not eat the plants, 
however. They seemed to exist on 
the abundant pollen of the zin­
nias and other flowers. You could 
see the black and yellow banded 
creatures feeding in the middle of 
a blossom.
The grasshoppers seemed 
friendly little insects.  Occasion­
ally, when the door was open, 
they would jump inside,  realize 
their mistake, then leap back out 
into the sunlight. Above all, they 
refrained from nibbling on my 
wife’s flowers.  Penny is extremely 
protective of her flowers.  The in­
sects would have not lasted long 
had they dared to dine on the 
leaves or petals.
The grasshoppers the prophet 
Joel spoke about were not so 
friendly, however.  They did not 

sup on flower pollen—they de­
voured the landscape.
We don’t know much about 
Joel other than that he was the 
son of Pethuel.  His name is a com­
mon Old Testament one meaning 
“Yahweh is God.” Because he 
speaks so much about the temple, 
Mount Zion, Jerusalem, and 
Judah, we assume he lived in or 
near Jerusalem.  He cites or ech­
oes material found in such other 
prophetic passages as Isaiah  13:6, 
Amos  1:2, and Zephaniah  1:14,
15.  Clearly he was  steeped in the 
prophetic tradition and of some 
education.
Joel  transforms  the  devasta­
ting  locust  plague  into  a  mighty 
act  of God  in  the  manner  of the 
Exodus.  He  points  back  to  God’s 
deliverance  in  the  past,  and  then 
directs  his  readers  to  a  promise 
of greater  redemption  in  the  fu­
ture.  The  book  zeroes  in  on  the 
need  of God’s  people  and  the 
only  solution  to  that  need.  The 
invasion  of unfriendly grasshop­
pers  becomes  an  unforgettable 
symbol  of how  a  friendly  and  lov­
ing  God  intervenes  to  end  all  dev­
astation,  whether  physical  or 
spiritual.
by Gerald Wheeler
Gerald  Wheeler  is  editor of  W i n n e r magazine  at the  Review and  Herald
Publishing Association, Hagerstown, Maryland.


Monday,  December 30
Ruin and  Devastation
LOGOS
Joel 1:1-2:11
The prophet summons his 
people to consider an event so 
striking that they will be com­
pelled to describe it to succeeding 
generations (see Joel  1:1-3). They 
will  add it to the Exodus and 
other mighty examples of God’s in­
tervention in human history. 
Locusts have devastated the Pal­
estinian countryside, stripping 
the land not only of the crops but 
of all vegetation.  Such insect inva­
sions happened every few years, 
the hordes of leaping creatures 
being blown in from the eastern 
deserts.  But this one is the worst 
in human memory. Joel describes 
the results of the locust plague in 
graphic detail, comparing it to an 
invading army (see verses 4-12).
The prophet calls for all in 
Israel to lament what has hap­
pened.  Life has  come to a stop 
because of the loss of the crops, in­
cluding the services in the temple, 
which were dependent on grain 
and other produce given as offer­
ings (see verse 9).
But Joel sees more than a 
freak of nature. Ancient Israel did 
not view the world as one of natu­
ral cause  and effect as we do 
today.  Whatever happened was di­
rectly God’s doing.  “Hebrew 
theology saw God as the ground 
of all life and its manifold experi­
ences.  It tended to ignore 
secondary causes and lead every­
thing directly back to God, a 

somewhat natural tendency in all 
religious faith that is conscious of 
absolute dependence upon a crea­
tor.”1
Thus Joel sees in the locust in­
vasion a national crisis that 
transcends the mere physical.  It 
represents far more importantly a 
spiritual crisis—a clear warning 
of the coming day of the Lord.
The prophet called for God’s peo­
ple to put on sackcloth, fast,  and 
repent (see verses  13,  14), for the 
day of the Lord was approaching 
(see verse  15).  Even the priests 
were to remove their liturgical 
garments and clothe themselves 
in the ancient symbols of mourn­
ing (see verse  13). Joel “has  seen 
the horror of the locust,  and dis­
cerned in that event the spectre 
of the coming day of the  Lord.  .  .  . 
It is a sign of his walk with God 
that he can perceive the divine 
word in the events  around him. 
And it is a sign of his profoundest 
hope that, when faced with disas­
ter, he spontaneously cries out to 
God.”2
God’s people have rebelled 
against God.  They face judgment. 
But Joel did not just want to put 
fear in the hearts of his people be­
cause “in Old Testament thought 
the divine wrath has an evangeliz­
ing motif. Judgment is God’s work 
to make men realize their sin and 
moral bankruptcy and so turn 
back to him.”
Joel merges the imagery of the 
locust plague and an invading 
human army to symbolize the 
awesomeness of the day of the
by Gerald Wheeler
Gerald  Wheeler  is  editor of  W i n n e r magazine at the  Review and  Herald
Publishing Association,  Hagerstown, Maryland.
8


Lord.  Like a cloud of blackest hue 
the horde swallows the land. 
Nothing can escape it, nothing 
can stop it.  The earth “quakes” be­
fore this army,  and the heavens 
“tremble” (2:10).  But again we 
have the imagery of a theophany. 
The earthquake symbolized God’s 
divine presence both at Sinai and 
Golgotha.
The prophet asks of the day of 
the Lord, “Who can endure it?” 
(verse 11, NIV). But that does not 
mean that God has abandoned His 
people even though they have wan­
dered away from Him. There is yet 
hope—otherwise why would He 
call for an alarm to be sounded in 
Zion? The trumpet summons His 
people to make a response.
The clouds and darkness and 
earthquakes of the day of the 
Lord should not inspire fear, but 
are to remind us of the continual 
presence of a loving God. What 

might frighten us should actually 
inspire us with hope. Yes,  God’s 
people have apostatized. The day 
of the Lord is near.  Everything 
might seem  hopeless. Yet Joel 
knows his God hovers near be­
hind the clouds and darkness. A 
God that the prophet will go on to 
describe as “gracious and compas­
sionate,  slow to anger and 
abounding in love” (verse  13, NIV).
In the traumatic and fearful 
buzz of the locusts, Joel heard the 
voice of the Lord.  It might speak 
the fearsome sounds of judgment, 
but that judgment can save as 
well as condemn.
1.  Eric C.  Rust, The Book of Judges;  The Book of 
Ruth; First and Second Books of Samuel,  The 
Layman's Bible Commentary, vol. 6 (Atlanta: John 
Knox Press,  1982), p. 44.
2.  Peter C. Craigie, Twelve Prophets,  Volume  1: 
Hosea, Joel, Amos,  Obadiah, and Jonah (Philadel­
phia: The Westminster Press,  1984), p. 96.
3.  Rust,  p.  18.
9


Tuesday,  December 31
Visions of Future Glory
TESTIMONY
Key Text: Joel 1:12,15-18
Ellen White shared Joel’s 
sense of contemporary tragedy 
containing a hint of the future. 
That in the locust plagues of this 
life we can hear whispers of God’s 
ultimate plans.  She also stressed 
that we must never get so caught 
up in the suffering of the moment 
that we forget that even the most 
discouraging events can point to a 
God-ordained future.
In introducing a series of pas­
sages that offer visions of future 
glory, including quotations from 
the book of Joel,  she made the fol­
lowing comments:
“In the darkest days of her 
long conflict with evil, the church 
of God has been given revelations 
of the eternal purpose of Jehovah. 
His people have been permitted to 
look beyond the trials of the pres­
ent to the triumphs of the future, 
when, the warfare having been ac­
complished,  the redeemed will 
enter into possession of the prom­
ised land.  These visions of future 
glory,  scenes pictured by the hand 
of God,  should be  dear to His 
church today, when the contro­
versy of the ages is rapidly 
closing,  and the promised bless­
ings are soon to be realized in all 
their fullness.
“Many were the messages of 
comfort given the church by the 
prophets of old.  ‘Comfort ye, com­
fort ye My people’ (Isaiah 40:1), 
was Isaiah’s commission from 

God; and with the commission 
were given wonderful visions that 
have been the believers’ hope and 
joy through all the centuries that 
have followed.  Despised of men, 
persecuted, forsaken, God’s 
children in every age have never­
theless been sustained by His 
sure promises.  By faith they have 
looked forward to the time when 
He will fulfill to His church the as­
surance, ‘I will make thee an 
eternal excellency,  a joy of many 
generations’ ”
There is danger we will dwell 
on the locust plagues and forget 
what they herald.  Too often we 
speak and write as if there is 
nothing beyond last-day events.
To some they have become an ob­
session in and of themselves. 
Last-day events are only prelimi­
nary—preliminary to restoration 
and reunion.  God restores all that 
we may have lost, but infinitely 
even better than that, we begin 
an eternal, joyous,  and intimate 
reunion and relationship with 
Him.
We would wonder about the 
mental and emotional health of a 
young woman who dwelled on the 
pain of childbirth to the point 
where she refused to have chil­
dren.  But that is almost what 
some do in their fascination with 
last-day events.  Last-day events 
are meaningless if we forget what 
they precede.  They precede eter­
nity with God.
* Prophets and Kings, pp. 722, 723.
by Gerald Wheeler
Gerald  Wheeler  is  editor  of  W i n n e r magazine  at the  Review  and  Herald
Publishing Association, Hagerstown,  Maryland.
10


Wednesday,  January  1
The Day of the Lord
EVIDENCE
Key Text: Joel 1:15
The theme of the day of the 
Lord goes back to the early days 
of Israel in Palestine and origi­
nated in the concept of the holy 
war.  In the holy war Israel’s God 
fought on the  side of His people 
as a divine warrior.  Dr.  Hans K. 
LaRondelle traces this biblical 
theme in his Chariots of Salva­
tion: The Biblical Drama of 
Armageddon (Washington, D.C.: 
Review and Herald Publishing As­
sociation,  1987).
Unfortunately, God’s people 
began to take the divine promise 
as an automatic guarantee of 
their safety, no matter what they 
did. Thus God, through His 
prophets, had to turn the day of 
the Lord on its head.  Instead of a 
promise of hope, it became a 
threat against God’s people.
Amos warned the northern king­
dom of Israel that they should not 
long for the day of the Lord as in 

the past, but should fear it because 
it was “darkness, and not light” 
(Amos 5:18). It was “very dark, and 
no brightness in it” (verse 20). The 
judgment would no longer be just 
upon the nations, but also upon Is­
rael herself.
Zephaniah told his people to be 
silent, for the day of the Lord was 
at hand (see Zeph.  1:7).  Instead of 
something for them to anticipate 
with joy, it would be for them “a 
day of wrath, a day of trouble and 
distress” (verse  15) because the 
Lord would turn against Judah 
(see verse 4).
Joel speaks of the day of the 
Lord in two ways.  He portrays it 
as a time of doom and destruction 
for Israel’s enemies and deliver­
ance for Israel. Yet at the same 
time he declares it to also be an 
occasion of destruction for those 
in Israel who have hardened their 
hearts against Him.
The day of the Lord is always 
a positive event to those who obey 
and a negative one to those who 
rebel.
by Gerald Wheeler
Gerald  Wheeler  is  editor  of  W i n n e r magazine  at  the  Review and  Herald
Publishing Association,  Hagerstown,  Maryland.
11


Thursday,  January 2
What Shall We Tell the 
Children?
HOW-TO
Key Text: Joel 1:2, 3
Old Testament religious prac­
tice was very historically oriented. 
Feast days and celebrations 
pointed to God’s historical acts, 
His direct intervention in human 
history. Passover reminded God’s 
people of His  deliverance in the 
Exodus.  The Exodus thus became 
a symbol for God’s salvation both 
past and future. Through Pass- 
over the abstract concept of 
redemption became concrete.  It 
was a periodic reminder of how 
God had already intervened.  The 
prophets further enlarged on how 
God would bring His people back 
home from Babylonian exile.
Christianity looked to the 
death and resurrection of Christ 
as the ultimate symbol of redemp­
tion and celebrated Easter as its 
concrete reminder of God’s 
greatest act of salvation. Unfortu­
nately, Seventh-day Adventists, 
because of the pagan overtones of 
the Easter observance itself, have 
been uncomfortable with such ob­
servances. We generally ignore 
Easter and the biblical observ­
ances such as Passover and the 
other feasts,  and thus do not have 
as strong a historical perspective 
as we might have. The only date 
we were conscious of for a long 
time was October 22,  1844, which 
we sadly referred to as the great 
disappointment.
We need to memorialize God’s 

acts in our history in a more con­
crete way.  This applies to us both 
as a people and as individuals.
We could do it in many different 
ways.
1. Let us remember the impor­
tant events of denominational 
history.  We could celebrate 
through special occasions and 
articles the major dates of the de­
velopment and organization of the 
Seventh-day Adventist Church 
and its various institutions and 
aspects. Church services and pub­
lications could recount what 
happened on certain key dates, 
such as the recognition of the Sab­
bath and sanctuary doctrines; the 
organization of the General Con­
ference and first local conference; 
the opening of pioneer schools, 
hospitals, and other institutions; 
the entrance of Adventism to a 
specific geographical area or coun­
try, etc. Just as families search 
out their histories and roots,  so 
the church family needs a similar 
sense of identity and belonging.
2. Institutions and organiza­
tions  must  make  their employees 
and publics  aware  of the  major 
events  in  their development.  They 
need  to  instill  a  feeling  of pur­
pose  and  divine  leading  and 
protection.  Denominational  em­
ployees  should  not  think  of them­
selves  as  working for  faceless, 
impersonal  institutions,  but  for 
organizations  that  see  them­
selves  as  the  hands,  arms,  and
by Gerald Wheeler
Gerald  Wheeler  is  editor of  W i n n e r magazine at the  Review and  Herald
Publishing Association, Hagerstown, Maryland.
12


feet  of God  on  earth.
3.  We need to reflect on how 
God has led in our individual 
lives,  both the spectacular events 
that might surround conversion, 
baptism,  deliverance from danger, 
or a call to service,  as well as the 
quiet care and love He showers 
upon us each day. 

Joel raised the question, What 
shall we tell the children? (see 
Joel  1:2, 3). As members of the 
church as a whole and as mem­
bers of individual families, we 
must decide what we will tell the 
children about what has hap­
pened in the lives of His people. 
How will we tell of His mighty 
acts.
13


Friday,  January 3
This Big  Brother Isn’t a  Bully
OPINION
Key Text: Joel 2:1,2
When children are tormented 
by the school bully, they will 
often retaliate with the threat 
that their father or big brother is 
bigger than the opponent’s, and 
that he will give him the thrash­
ing he deserves.
Why do we look forward to 
Christ’s return? Do we see it as 
the time when those who have 
persecuted and mistreated us will 
receive their just desserts?
Israel eventually learned that 
the day of the Lord involved them 
as much as their enemies. They 
faced judgment as surely as  did 
the surrounding nations.
When we anticipate Christ’s re­
turn,  we must never forget that 
His coming means that the entire 
world will meet its fate.  Each per­
son will receive eternal life or 
death based upon the decision he 
or she has made.  God has sum­
moned each one of us to help the 
world to make the right choice.
When we proclaim the day of 
the Lord, do we preach and write 
and witness from the perspective 
of the child who wants his father 

or big brother to beat up those 
who have frightened him?
To take the  day of the Lord se­
riously is to accept our God-given 
responsibility for this world.  We 
should long for the salvation of 
those about us with as great a fer­
vor as we want Christ’s return to 
end the mess of this sin-filled 
world. The second coming is not 
just our personal solution to our 
problems and frustrations—it is 
everyone’s.  Everyone’s if we bring 
them to it.
God seeks to save everyone 
through His return, and until we 
share His perspective, the Holy 
Spirit cannot fully work through 
us. Yes, not everyone will choose 
to let God redeem them, but that 
is not our responsibility.  Our task 
is to allow God to use us to  seek 
to reach everyone.
The second that we concen­
trate on the concept that only a 
few will be saved, we limit the 
power and effectiveness of our wit­
ness. We slip into the mentality of 
ancient Israel, who thought God 
was with them and against every­
one else. Also, we shirk our 
responsibility to the world and 
deny the mission that God gave to 
the church.
by Gerald Wheeler
Gerald  Wheeler  is  editor  of  W i n n e r magazine at the  Review and  Herald
Publishing Association,  Hagerstown,  Maryland.
14


Where death 
is often preferred 
to life.
ill
It was 1962 . . .  in 
Castro’s Cuba.
Falsely accused of 
conspiracy to assassi­
nate the Communist 
dictator, this young 
preacher would spend 
the next twenty-two 
years as a political 
prisoner in one of the 
most inhumane and 
brutal prison systems 
on earth.
I Will Die Free is a 
stunning testimony of 
persecution and 
perseverance that will 
awe and inspire all who 
read it.
US$9.95/Cdn$12.45.
Paper. 

Tortured in a Cuban prison for preaching the gospel, 
Noble Alexander refused to recant and found  strength 
In his cry . . .
NOBLE  A L E X A N D E R
with
K A Y I I I Z Z D

Humberto Noble Alexander stood naked and freezing 
before his captors in the stark, slab-gray interrogation room. 
Fairness and justice meant nothing here.
Available now at your local Adventist Book Center, or simply 
order by phone! Call toll free:  1-800-765-6955  (in the U.S.). 
Prices subject to change without notice.
©1991  Pacific Press Publishing Association 2357A


Lesson 2, January 5-11
The Three  R’s
“Rend  your heart and  not your garments.  Return  to the 
Lord  your  God,  for  he  is  gracious  and  compassionate, 
slow to anger and abounding  in  love,  and  he  relents from 
sending calamity” (Joel 2:13,  NIV).


Sunday,  January 5
The Need
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: Matt. 15:8,9
“ ‘The love of God in the heart 
is the only spring of love toward 
our neighbor.’* I know there is 
someone here today needing a 
deeper  .  .
The familiar words resounded 
from the pulpit. Jason knew it 
was inevitable—another fiery 
sermon, another altar call.  He 
wandered forward mechanically.
But, to Jason’s surprise, the 
pastor reached the benediction 
and every eye was still dry! Well, 
it made sense.  This was only the 
third altar call this month, 
thought Jason as he shook the 
usher’s hand en route to the cafe­
teria. Hold it,  the usher was his 
chemistry professor!  “Happy Sab­
bath, Dr.  Crenshaw.”
Their eyes met. “Jason,” mum­
bled the professor, “please meet 
me in the kingdom.”
The rest of the  day Dr. 
Crenshaw’s statement haunted 
Jason.  Even as he belted out the 
bass line for Deluge Doomers, his 
coed octet, thoughts disturbed 
him: He presumed that I’m not al­
ready Canaan-bound! Doesn’t he 
realize I’m actively involved at 
church? How can one filled with 
Christ’s joy cry ?
“Jason, it’s  Saturday night! 
What are you doing studying? 
You’ve got to let your mind relax 
occasionally.”
“Mom,  I’ve relaxed all Sabbath. 
However, Kevin is stopping by 

any minute to go rent a video 
with me.”
“I’m glad you’re getting out at 
least. Just make it PG.”
“Right,” mumbled Jason after 
hanging up his dorm-room  phone, 
“like I’m going to rent Morganda’s 
Pleasure Palace.”
Snow covered the downtown 
sidewalk as Jason and Kevin 
reached Lackluster Video.  Enter­
ing quickly, neither boy noticed 
the figure huddled between the 
outside stairs and wall.
“Jase, we should have come 
right after sundown. There’s noth­
ing left.”
“Wait, Kev.  Check this out. 
They’ve got Pretty Woman\  I 
haven’t seen this in ages.” 
Decisions made, money paid, 
the two exited. “C’n you boys spare 
50 cents for some coffee?” crackled 
a voice from the dingy corner. De­
fensively, the boys turned.
Kevin whispered, “We can 
scrape up a quarter apiece.”
“But he probably won’t use it 
for coffee.”
“I know, what can we do?” 
“Forget it. Come on, Kev, let’s 
start this video.  I’ve got to get 
some sleep so I’m awake to meet 
Heather in the library tomorrow 
at  10:00.”
“You lucky bum.  Studying with 
Heather.  Now, there’s a good ex­
cuse to get out of here.”
The friends snickered and 
headed for the car.
*The Desire of Ages,  p.  505.
by Tom  Gammon
Tom  Gammon  is  an  English  and  business  administration  student  at
Andrews University,  Berrien Springs,  Michigan.
17


Monday,  January 6
Borrowed Time?
LOGOS
Joel 2:13, AMP
Step One: God’s Personal Invi­
tation (read Joel 2:12-14, AMP)
“Therefore also now,  saith the 
Lord,  turn ye even to Me with all 
your heart.  .  .  rend your heart, 
and not your garments,  and turn 
unto the Lord your God” (Joel 
2:12,  13).
Verse  12 begins with “there­
fore,” signifying that something of 
importance has occurred, and con­
sequently that which follows the 
“therefore” deserves our closest 
scrutiny.  That which follows the 
“therefore” is less potent and im­
portant if what took place before 
the “therefore” is not understood 
and appreciated.
We in this industrial age must 
not misunderstand or lose the sig­
nificance of this lifesaving call 
because it is couched in quaint 
verbiage. The message  should be 
very clear.  If the devastation at 
Hiroshima and Nagasaki was un­
paralleled in human history, then 
the destruction to come will make 
what has happened look like 
child’s play.  How to respond to 
that reality is an individual 
choice—yours, mine.  One either 
accepts or rejects.  There is no ab­
staining vote.  It is decision time; 
later may be too late.
How does one respond to this 
most urgent of calls? Hebrews  11 
provides an excellent commentary 
on Joel 2:12-14.  Rending or tear­
ing one’s garments was to the 

Jews a sign of great sorrow.  It 
was intended to be an external ex­
pression of an internal condition. 
However, the external and the in­
ternal did not always agree.
Thus God called for a heart ex­
perience. True sorrow, true 
repentance should result in a 
changed life.  The exploits of those 
in Hebrews  11  are the results of 
rending the heart.  The response 
must be more than cerebral, it 
must be a response that allows 
God to recreate, to restore Him­
self in us.
Good  students  are  not  always 
students  who  are  brilliant.  Good 
students  are  not  in  the  student 
lounge  every  evening.  They  do 
not  attend  every  social  event. 
They  are  not  at  every  function 
on  campus.  The  big  exam  in  mi­
crobiology  is  coming,  and  they 
know  the  answers  are  not  on  the 
ball  field,  but  in  the  textbook 
and  their  notes.  They  are  willing 
to  forego  the  one  to  gain  the 
other.  God  through  Joel  appeals 
to  us  to  be  willing  to  forego  the 
pleasures  of the  moment  for  the 
rewards  of eternity.  The  little 
quizzes  and  weekly  exams  act  as 
a  barometer  in  relationship  to 
the  big  one.  Good  students  are 
not  often  surprised  by  the  re­
sults  of their  efforts.  Paul  pre­
pared  for  his  final  by  dying  daily 
(see  1  Cor.  15:31).
Look  up the meaning of the 
words repentance and revival.
You  now have a pattern.  Does 
your daily living fit that pattern? 
Write down what you can do to fit
D.  G.  Rand  is  a  chaplain  at  Andrews  University,  Berrien  Springs, 
Michigan. 

by  D.  G.  Rand
18


the pattern,  keeping in mind Joel 
2:14.
Step Two: Action Commensu­
rate With God’s Call  (read 
Joel  2:15-17)
“Gather the people,  sanctify the 
congregation,  assemble the elderly 
people, gather the children and 
those that suck  the breasts.  .  .  .
Let the priests,  the ministers of the 
Lord,  weep between the porch and 
the altar” (Joel 2:16,  17).
Again we say, the response 
must be more than cerebral.  It is 
more than mental assent, more 
than wishful thinking.  It must be 
concrete, tangible, something 
acted upon. Now that you have 
evaluated the situation, just don’t 
sit there.  Do something!  God’s di­
rections as to what must be done 
are made plain by His Spirit.
Even our household pets have 
sense enough to raise a ruckus 
when they sense danger. Realiz­
ing the cataclysmic events about 
to happen, “raise a ruckus.” By 
your actions and because of your 
actions, let others be sanctified or 
set apart for a singular purpose— 
to meet God in person.
Joel has alluded to reformation 
in verses  13  and  14, and now he 
expands on that theme.  It is a 
call to gather before the Lord and 

ask for His salvation.  God will not 
hear or answer hearts untouched 
by revival (see Ps.  66:18).
In Joel’s day the scene would 
have been one of a national emer­
gency.  There would have been 
weeping and mourning by both 
people and priests. Weeping and 
mourning for their sins that had 
brought them to the edge of de­
struction and for the heathen 
nations deriding Israel’s God.
Not every aspect of Joel’s day 
is to be  duplicated in our time.
But certainly the spirit of urgency 
in his day should be even more in­
tense today because we are at the 
very end of all things.  God is ex­
pecting repentance, revival, and 
reformation in individuals and 
congregations. We are on bor­
rowed time.  Our daily living is to 
be the rending of our hearts.  Our 
daily living is to be proof of our 
recognition that we are living on 
borrowed time.  Our daily living is 
to be an example of repentance, 
revival, and reformation.
REACT
1.  If Christ should come today, 
would you be lost or saved? If not, 
why not?
2. What are you waiting for?
3.  What more can God do for 
us than He has done?
19


Tuesday,  January 7
A Hope for Revival
TESTIMONY
Key Text: Joel 2:12-17
Seventh-day Adventist Chris­
tians have inherited the spiritual 
legacy of two great revivals.  In 
the chapter of The Great Contro­
versy entitled “Prophecies 
Fulfilled,” Ellen White describes 
the evidences of God’s  Spirit reviv­
ing the early advent believers 
waiting for Christ’s return.  Quot­
ing an observer of the movement, 
she writes:
“It produced everywhere the 
most deep searching of heart and 
humiliation of soul before the God 
of high heaven.  . . .  As God said 
by Zechariah,  a spirit of grace and 
supplication was poured out upon 
His children; they looked to Him 
whom they had pierced, there was 
a great mourning in the land,  .  .  . 
and those who were looking for 
the Lord afflicted their souls be­
fore Him.”1
Because these believers were 
fully convinced that the coming of 
the Lord was imminent, they were 
open to receive a “spirit of revival.” 
The forerunners of the early Ad­
ventists, reformers such as Martin 
Luther and John Calvin, were also 
filled with this spirit.
“The Reformers whose protest 
has given us the name of Protes­
tant, felt that God had called them 
to give the light of the gospel to the 
world; and in the effort to do this 
they were ready to sacrifice their 

possessions, their liberty, even life 
itself. In the face of persecution 
and death the gospel was pro­
claimed far and near.”2
The book of Joel calls for a spir­
itual revival as Israel recognizes 
in the plague of locusts the judg­
ments of “the day of the Lord.”
We Adventists believe that the 
day of God’s final judgment is at 
hand,  and that only God’s mercy 
allows the suffering world to con­
tinue so that the nations may 
respond in faith, turn,  and be 
saved. Yet, like Israel, many of us 
have become complacent; we have 
betrayed our non-Christian 
friends and neighbors. We watch 
the world die, hiding the last 
great hope of a hopeless world 
under masks of conformity to the 
world.
Yet, as the Spirit revived the 
early Adventists, He will surely 
convict us of our need to return to 
the  Lord with all our heart. 
Spiritual revival, however, will 
only come to those who rest their 
hope in the reliability of God’s 
Word—His Son.
God has honored us by show­
ing how greatly He values us.  We 
are bought with a price, even the 
precious blood of the  Son of God. 
When His heritage shall conscien­
tiously follow the Word of the 
Lord, His blessing will rest upon 
them in answer to their prayers.
1.  The Great Controversy,  p. 403.
2. Prophets and Kings,  p.  627.
by Anne Freed 
Anne  Freed  is working on  a  master’s degree  in  religion  as well  as serv­
ing as a campus ministries graduate assistant chaplain for the women’s 
residence hall at Andrews  University,  Berrien Springs,  Michigan. 
20


Wednesday,  January 8
The Phenomenon of the 
Broken  Heart
EVIDENCE
Key Text: Joel 2:13, NIV
Our society is accustomed to in­
terchanging the meanings of 
heart and mind.  For instance, 
many a young person’s heart has 
been broken by a close friend.  On 
Valentine’s Day lovers exchange 
hearts with each other as a prom­
ise of their affection.  Children 
promise to keep a secret “with all 
their hearts.” Yet, in none of 
these instances are we really talk­
ing about the heart. What we 
mean is the mind.
Why, then,  do we feel like we 
are going to explode inside when 
someone we love has  died? Why 
do our hearts hurt so much when 
we break up with boyfriends or 
girlfriends, husbands or wives?
Ancient Bible prophets like 
Joel may not have understood the 
phenomena of the broken heart, 
but they knew it was real.  Mod­
ern science and technology have 
helped us to understand the ori­
gins of the pain we feel from 
intense emotional experiences.  In 
situations that cause an intense 
emotional reaction like those re­
ferred to earlier, the body 
responds by releasing epinephrine 
(adrenalin) into the bloodstream, 
producing many chemical and 
physiological changes in the body. 
The heart pumps faster and 
harder, causing the blood pres­
sure to rise.  Many of the body’s 

muscles tense, ready for action. 
The breathing rate rises,  and the 
individual may begin to perspire.
Epinephrine’s effects are fast 
and potent.  It is one of the body’s 
most extraordinary mechanisms 
for protection in an emergency sit­
uation.  But those who have 
experienced this type of reaction 
know that epinephrine’s after­
effects leave the body’s muscles, 
especially the heart, feeling 
fatigued and possibly in pain.
It was probably this kind of in­
tense emotional reaction that Joel 
wanted from the people of Israel. 
They needed a physical stimulus 
to bring their minds to think 
again on spiritual  realities.
Again and again they had strayed 
from God. No amount of suffering 
from plagues and attacks from en­
emies would bring them back. 
Hoping for true repentance, Joel 
called for his people to experience 
a personal suffering,  a rending of 
their hearts for God.
For us today, the struggle to 
submit and surrender our hearts 
to God remains the same as it 
was for people of past genera­
tions.  It is the mental struggle of 
choosing between God and self, 
good and evil.
God has made each individual 
unique; some are more logical and 
less emotional than others.  But 
we should not be  surprised if a 
truly deep religious commitment 
leads us to this kind of intense 
emotional experience.
by Joseline Garcia 
Joseline  Garcia  is  a  nursing  student  at  Andrews  University,  Berrien 
Springs, Michigan. 
21


Thursday,  January 9
How to  Return
HOW-TO
Key Text: Joel 2:12
Perhaps what makes reform so 
hard is the fact that in order for 
reform to take place you must 
come to the realization that some 
aspect of your life is wrong.  It 
takes a truly repentant spirit and 
a desire for revival for true re­
form to take place.  This week’s 
study of Joel  2:12-17 is God’s plea 
for you to reform  and return to 
Him.  In order to aid in this 
change, several key principles can 
be taken from the verses of our 
study.
God Is Love
For those of us who have been 
brought up in the church this can 
seem like a horribly worn-out 
cliché.  But it really is true.  Fear, 
though temporarily effective, is 
not enough of a motivator to cre­
ate a permanent change.  In order 
for us to be able to return, we 
must see God as “gracious and 
compassionate  .  .  .  and abounding 
in love” (verse  13,  NIV).
God’s Appeal Is to Everyone
Often we are tempted to think 
that there is no reason God would 
be interested in us  or our welfare. 
However, in verse  16 a variety of 
people are mentioned.  God desires 

all of us to be included in His won­
derful plan (see  1  Cor.  12:13).
A Complete Change of Out­
look Is Necessary
“Return to me with all your 
heart, with fasting and weeping 
and mourning” (verse  12, NIV). A 
casual commitment simply will 
not do. If we are to change and 
allow God to direct our lives,  we 
must be willing to reach deep 
within ourselves and completely 
surrender all habits, past experi­
ences, and sinful desires to Him.
We Are Squandering a Pre­
cious Privilege
God created us and has a defi­
nite interest in our lives.  If we 
are willing to let Him,  He can 
help us. Yet, by rejecting Him 
and not returning, we are making 
our “inheritance an object of 
scorn, a byword among the na­
tions” (verse  17, NIV).  If we do 
not claim God’s blessings, how 
can we be witnesses to others? It 
is only through claiming God’s 
promises that a true revival can 
take place.
REACT
Knowing the principles that 
are involved,  are we now willing 
to make the commitment to ac­
cept them and make the change 
in our lives in a return to God?
by Benjamin  Bokich 
Benjamin  Bokich  was  a  senior at  Andrews  Academy at the time  of this 
writing and  is now studying for a career in  law.
22


Friday,  January  10
Echoes of Revival:  Counting 
the Cost
OPINION
Key Text: Matt. 11:28-30
As I read the text for this 
week’s lesson, many question 
marks jumped out at me. The pas­
sage seemed confusing and 
outdated.  Growing up in the 
Seventh-day Adventist Church I 
heard countless times about our 
urgent need to return to true god­
liness. Now I fear many of us 
have completely lost the ideal for 
which we  should be striving.
If the intense emotional experi­
ence that Joel calls for were to 
happen, would we even know 
what to do? Take, for example, 
the recent celebration church 
movement.  The leaders of this ef­
fort appear to be striving to meet 
current spiritual needs in a rap­
idly changing society. Yet some of 
their critics apparently cannot see 
past the seventeenth-century lang­
uage of verse and text to the 
positive results taking place in 
these new churches.
Revival involves radical 
change, forcing us to ask penetrat­
ing questions:  How would our 
lives change if there were a re­
vival of godliness in the land? Do 
we picture a lot of “Christlike” 
creatures walking around and lov­
ing everyone? How would it affect 
our schooling, our work,  our fam­
ily lives? Is revival even relevant 
to our experiences today?
We are told that there must be 
an earnest effort to obtain the 

blessing of godliness from the 
Lord.  It’s a little scary when we 
consider what we’d be  asking for, 
but the benefits of sharing our 
lives with God should more than 
even it out. When Israel repeat­
edly turned from God, they 
turned from His protection and 
care.  It was then that they were 
“afflicted” with the curses of life 
in this world. Although their ex­
perience may seem remote to us 
in today’s world, we should take a 
little time to look around us.
AIDS is reaching epidemic stages; 
divorce rates are sky-high—just 
everyday happenings these days 
with no apparent effect on our 
lives. Yet how many happy,  satis­
fied people do we really know?
This is where Joel’s plea be­
gins to make sense to me.  I hear 
Christ calling for us to come back, 
to apologize,  and meet with Him 
again.  Then He will be  able to pro­
tect the people He loves.  But He 
cannot give us anything beyond 
our power of choice. We need to 
ask ourselves if we like the direc­
tion we’re headed, then beg the 
compassionate Lord to accept us 
back as companions and friends.
REACT
1. What can we do to become 
better prepared to receive God’s 
character?
2.  How would receiving the gift 
of God’s character make a differ­
ence in your life?
3. Why is this important for us 
today?
Melisa  Baker  is  a  premed  student  at  Andrews  University,  Berrien 
Springs,  Michigan. 

by Melisa  Baker
23


Lesson 3, January 12-18
Don’t Sleep Through 
the  Revolution
“And  afterward,  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  on  all  people. 
Your sons  and  daughters will  prophesy,  your old  men  will 
dream  dreams,  your young  men  will  see visions.  Even  on 
my  servants,  both  men  and  women,  I  will  pour  out  my 
Spirit  in  those days”  (Joel  2:28,  29,  NIV).


Sunday, January  12
“Sonburst” Saves the Day
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: Joel 2:26
A gorgeous paradise greeted 
our excited eyes as we descended 
on the island of Utila, Honduras. 
Forty-four of us had volunteered 
to help Maranatha Flights Inter­
national construct a secondary 
school on this tiny Caribbean is­
land.
We arrived late Friday after­
noon and settled into our make­
shift home. Sabbath morning we 
spent worshiping the Lord and 
sharing our faith. During the after­
noon the islanders escorted their 
newfound “yanqui” friends around 
their tropical island home.
Sunday we awoke early,  eager 
to begin construction. After work­
ing all morning,  we glanced 
skyward and saw ominous clouds 
overhead.  The sky crackled, 
flashed, and then violently emp­
tied itself. We quickly covered our 
tools and dashed for shelter. The 
downpour continued all afternoon, 
through the night,  and into the 
next morning.
Monday we plodded to break­
fast,  disheartened. A line of 
storms was forecast to drench the 
island all week long.
We had come to the island 
with a purpose.  Now we realized 
that only God could make that a 
reality. We divided into small 
groups and earnestly prayed that 
God would intervene to halt the 
torrents.  Lifting our heads, we 
found that though it was still rain­ 

ing, it had slowed to a slight driz­
zle.
A sponsor headed toward the 
construction site. We asked where 
he was going,  and he responded 
without hesitation that we had 
prayed for help; we must now be­
lieve that God would answer our 
prayers.
Although a bit wary, we fol­
lowed him to the unfinished 
school.  By the time we arrived, 
the rain had disappeared and the 
sun was shining. At times during 
the next week it threatened to 
pour, but it never actually 
showered while we worked.  Even 
more miraculous, each evening as 
we left the job site, the heavens 
would open up. All night long it 
would rain,  and then as we ar­
rived to begin work,  God would 
turn off the shower.
Romans 8:28 took on new 
meaning to me: “And we know 
that in all things God works for 
the good of those who love him, 
who have been called according to 
his purpose” (NIV).  I unquestion­
ably believe that God sent an 
outpouring of His Spirit to stop 
the outpouring of His clouds.  We 
accepted the invitation to work 
for the Lord,  we were challenged 
with a difficulty, and we turned to 
God for help.
God has promised us, “You will 
praise the name of the Lord your 
God,  who has worked wonders for 
you; never again will my people 
be shamed” (Joel 2:26,  NIV).
That week I learned just how 
valuable are God’s promises.
Adam  D.  Rose  is  a  sophomore  prelaw  major  at  Andrews  University, 
Berrien Springs,  Michigan. 

by Adam  D.  Rose
25


Monday,  January  13
What Can God  Expect Now?
LOGOS
Joel 2:18-32
Joel 2:18-32 pictures failed 
hope for literal Israel and God’s 
very hopeful hope for spiritual Is­
rael.  There can be no question of 
God’s love and concern for those 
ancient people.  He wanted them 
to succeed.  How often He must 
have grieved at their failures. 
What must He think of His peo­
ple today,  I wonder?
Verses  18-27 depict literal 
promises to literal Israel which 
will later be fulfilled in spiritual 
Israel.  These verses in the literal 
sense answer the priests and the 
people in Joel 2:17, “Let the 
priests, who minister to the Lord, 
weep between the porch and the 
altar; let them say, ‘Spare Your 
people, O Lord,  and do not give 
your heritage to reproach, that 
the nations should rule over 
them. Why should they say 
among the peoples, “Where is 
their God?” ’ ” (NKJV).  What of 
the “all important” spiritual fulfill­
ment among modern spiritual 
Israel?
In the interest of time,  space, 
and reader’s interest we will 
avoid even trying to “spiritualize” 
every promise to recalcitrant old 
Israel.  The symbols that beg to be 
interpreted are those that seem to 
have clear reference to the “last 
days.” The danger of centering on 
the obvious “last-day” references 
is that their familiarity may 
cause some to overlook their value.
“And it shall come to pass after­ 

ward that I will pour out My 
Spirit on all flesh; your sons  and 
your daughters shall prophesy, 
your old men shall dream dreams, 
your young men shall see visions; 
and also on My menservants and 
on My maidservants I will pour 
out My Spirit in those days. And I 
will show wonders in the heavens 
and in the earth: blood and fire 
and pillars of smoke.  The sun 
shall be turned into darkness, 
and the moon into blood, before 
the coming of the great and terri­
ble day of the Lord” (Joel 2:28-31, 
NKJV).
Before commenting on this text 
further, it might be helpful  to re­
mind ourselves of the references 
to the agricultural year that set 
such a nice framework for describ­
ing phases of the distribution of 
the Spirit.
Joel 2:23:  “Be glad then, you 
children of Zion,  and rejoice in 
the Lord your God; for He has 
given you the former rain faith­
fully, and He will cause the rain 
to come down for you—the former 
rain,  and the latter rain in the 
first month” (NKJV).
In the use of the rain analogy 
in reference to the ministry of the 
Holy Spirit, there are at least two 
applications we must consider.
The first would refer to the prom­
ise as given to the church at 
large.  There is to be a worldwide 
harvest of tremendous propor­
tions. In the Palestine analogy 
the former rains were the rains 
that were essential to soften the 
ground for planting.  Most of us 
have all seen television footage of
P.  B.  Morrison  is  chaplain  at  Andrews  University,  Berrien  Springs, 
Michigan. 

by P.  B.  Morrison
26


life in parched, famine-plagued 
Africa or India, or even the “dust- 
bowl” days in the United States.
It is heartrending to see the plow 
barely cutting into the crust and 
leaving behind, not a clean fur­
row, but rather just a mound of 
dust.  There is no real potential 
there for even a minimal harvest. 
Just so, without that initial windy 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit at 
Pentecost, the disciples would not 
have experienced the beginnings 
of fulfillment of Jesus’ promises 
and prayer recorded in John’s gos­
pel in chapters  14-17.
The promise: “But when the 
Helper comes, whom I shall send 
to you from the Father,  the Spirit 
of truth who proceeds from the Fa­
ther,  He will testify of Me. And 
you also will bear witness, be­
cause you have been with Me 
from the beginning” (John  15:26, 
27, NKJV).
The prayer: “Sanctify them by 
Your truth. Your word is truth.
As you sent Me into the world, I 
have  also sent them into the 
world” (John  17:17,  18, NKJV).
These promises were still fresh 
when the company of believers 
gathered in that upper room.  In 
fact,  Luke reiterates still another 
promise as he introduces the Pen­
tecost narrative.
“But you shall receive power 
when the Holy Spirit has come 
upon you; and you shall be 
witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, 
and in all Judea and Samaria, 
and to the end of the earth” (Acts 
1:8, NKJV).
After hearing this promise the 
disciples watched Jesus ascend. 
Then they gathered in a group of 
about  120 and followed counsel to 
stay and pray until they would re­
ceive the promised power of the 

Holy Spirit. And what a shower 
that turned out to be! Jerusalem 
was packed with people from 
everywhere (see Acts 2:9-11).  The 
wind in the room created a breeze 
on the streets,  and the record is 
that 3,000 followers of Christ 
were added in that one day.  The 
ground was broken for the hope of 
Christianity to grow throughout 
the world.  The promise of the “for­
mer” rain was in the process of 
fulfillment.
It has been a long growing sea­
son by human standards. There 
has been a lot of cultivation, 
fertilization—is it time for culmi­
nation, harvest? If so, is it time to 
look for and pray for the “latter” 
rains—the power of the Spirit 
that will  ensure the greatest possi­
ble harvest? The idea of heaven’s 
human agency, God’s people, 
being empowered to an even 
greater degree than that company 
in Jerusalem, is hard to even im­
agine.  It is ours to pray for.
The church is made up of indi­
viduals,  and the rain motif can 
and should also be applied to indi­
viduals.  The promise of the Holy 
Spirit is not just a promise for the 
corporate church. The ministry 
and power of the Holy Spirit in 
the life of the aspiring Christian 
is not a luxury to be hoped for, 
but rather an essential to be 
sought.  If we should pray when 
temporal life is threatened, how 
much more when eternity is “on 
the line”? A Christian’s concern is 
not just for personal security.  It is 
purely Christian to pray for the 
power of the Spirit in terms of per­
sonal salvation, but to be purely 
like Jesus includes praying for 
the power, wisdom,  and tact to in­
fluence others to seek wholeness 
in this life and for eternity.
27


Tuesday,  January  14
A  Promise Forgotten
TESTIMONY
Key Text: Joel 2:21-23
I muddle through each day.  It 
starts in the morning with a 
quick glance in the mirror at my 
sleep-mussed brown hair and the 
remnants of a short-night’s sleep 
on my face. The day continues, 
and I attend lectures that I don’t 
always understand and receive as­
signments that I won’t be able to 
complete until 2:00 a.m. the next 
morning.  I feel very much like I 
am caught in a terrible, dry 
storm—one filled with dust-bowls 
of calculus and landslides of 
thermo-chemical equations.
With  so  little  time  in  my  life,
I  fear  sometimes  that  I’ve  forgot­
ten  the  promises  I  made  in  cra­
dle  roll  to  a  big,  Daddy-kind  God 
and  the  ones  I  renewed  when  I 
left  my  comfy  home  for  a  bare 
dorm  room.  Now  I  don’t  have 
much  time  for  Him  and  have  lit­
tle  reason  to  pay  attention  to  the 
things  He  says.
But the book of Joel,  and this 
week’s portion in the second chap­
ter especially, provides me with 
reasons galore to praise that God. 
Verse 23 says, “Be glad,  O people 
of Zion,  rejoice in the Lord your 
God” (NIV).  The passage goes on 
to describe how He has promised 
the people “autumn” and “spring” 
rains to provide them with plenti­
ful food and merchandise.
Just as the people of Joel’s day 
would rejoice at the promise of 
God after the plague of locusts 

and the drought that had be­
sieged them for several years, we 
today should pronounce praises 
and rejoicing to God for the “for­
mer” and “latter” rains, the gifts 
that Ellen White states will come 
upon us as they came upon the 
disciples at Pentecost.1
The gifts God promises will  en­
able us to do wonderful things. 
“The outpouring of the Spirit in 
apostolic days was the ‘former 
rain,’ and glorious was the result. 
But the ‘latter rain’ will be more 
abundant.”  Knowing what fantas­
tic things were done in the first 
“rain,” shouldn’t we be awed at 
the power we will receive? 
Shouldn’t we use the apostles’ ex­
ample,  and the advice of Joel 
when he says “be glad and re­
joice” (Joel 2:21), to spread the 
truth about a phenomenal God?
Perhaps,  then,  I have a few 
more things to be “praiseful” 
about than I thought originally. 
Perhaps we all should remember 
the wonderful powers that God 
has promised to give us, if we will 
only praise Him!
REACT
1. When God starts giving the 
spiritual gifts He’s promised, 
what kind of gift would you prefer 
to get?
2. Why do you wish one more 
than any other?
3.  How do you plan to use it?
1.  See The Great Controversy,  p.  611.
2.  The Desire of Ages, p. 827.
Rebecca  De  Wind  loves  to  write  and  make  fascinating  chemical  reac­
tions at Andrews University,  Berrien Springs,  Michigan.

by Rebecca J.  De Wind
28


Wednesday, January  15
The Heavenly Risorgimento
EVIDENCE
Key Text: Joel 2:32
Early in the nineteenth cen­
tury,  Italy was nothing more than 
a handful of weak, insignificant 
states.
A man named Guiseppe 
Mazzini provided a solid founda­
tion on which the philosophies of 
the risorgimento—the period of na­
tional revival and unification in 
Italy—could develop. Known as 
the greatest prophet of the risorgi­
mento,  Mazzini brought to the 
attention of Italians the impor­
tance of principles such as 
national consciousness, popular 
initiative,  freedom,  and liberty.
In order to spread these princi­
ples he emphatically published 
articles in newspapers, traveled 
to conduct meetings, and wrote 
vast numbers of letters.
The establishment of Giovine 
Italia—Young Italy—was another 
important contribution of 
Mazzini.  Young Italy was a politi­
cal organization with one primary 
objective:  to make Italy an inde­
pendent, united,  and republican 
nation.  Mazzini’s leadership was 
crucial to the success of Young 
Italy. At one time the movement 
had over 60,000 members scat­
tered all over Italy and Europe, 
spreading the spirit of Mazzini to 
others.
Mazzini’s work and dedication 
finally paid off in  1848, when one 
of his followers triggered a series 
of events which led to a revolu­
tion and eventually the 

unification of Italy.  However, the 
newly formed government was a 
disappointment for Mazzini.  In­
stead of the free  and independent 
republic he had visioned,  Italy 
developed into a weak,  decentral­
ized state characterized by 
internal conflicts which, to this 
very day, continue to plague that 
nation.
In the book of Joel there is 
evidence that a heavenly risorgi­
mento is developing—i.e.,  a 
unification of God’s people to­
gether in the kingdom of heaven. 
Joel asserts that revival is an im­
portant part of the unification 
process. Consequently,  God offers 
His Spirit to everyone who wishes 
to revolt against this unpredict­
able world. “I will pour out my 
Spirit in those days.  .  .  . And 
everyone who calls on the name of 
the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:29, 
32, NIV).
God yearns for all  of us to be­
come citizens of His heavenly 
government. And,  unlike Mazzini, 
we will not be  disappointed!  God 
has made specific promises to us 
within the book of Joel:
1. No food shortages (see 2:26)
2. Eternal peace (see 2:20)
3.  Sublime happiness (see 2:23).
What more could we want?
We must respond to God’s call 
and receive His Spirit,  poured 
upon us.  Once this is done, we 
need to share the Spirit with the 
rest of the world as did the mem­
bers of Mazzini’s Young Italy.
Only then will a heavenly unifica­
tion occur,  and we will become a 
part of a new and glorious history.
Steven S.  Kim is a history major at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, 
Michigan. 

by Steven S.  Kim
29


Thursday,  January  16
Beyond Tomorrow
HOW-TO
Key Text: Joel 2:28, 29
As the ship’s hull filled with the 
burdensome weight of the bricks, I 
felt their heaviness on my own 
soul. The ship rocked in the churn­
ing waters of the angry sea under 
this staggering weight. I knew the 
ship would not hold this mass 
much longer. As boards began to 
splinter and water gushed in, I 
heard men shouting, “Jump over­
board!” The ship was losing its bat­
tle, yet an unknown force kept me 
from abandoning it. Then suddenly 
the entire side of the ship gave way 
to the thrashing waves. As bricks 
poured out of the hull, I stepped 
out into a very large, celestial ban­
quet room. A saint stood at my side 
as though she had been expecting 
me. As I was led to the table, I real­
ized that I had indeed made it 
through the storm.
Reflecting upon my dream the 
next morning,  I realized how God 
can really speak through dreams 
which indicate His guiding pres­
ence in our lives.
How can we help to spread the 
message of God’s comforting pres­
ence?
Recognize God Working in 
Your Life
Be sensitive to the instances 
where  God’s hand had a part in 
making little “miracles” happen. 
The prayers God has answered 
are important for us to acknowl­
edge because they prove His 
direction in our lives. We must re­ 

alize that God sometimes places 
us in certain situations to test our 
strength and to teach us to de­
pend on Him.
We will recognize God when 
He speaks in harmony with His 
acts in the past and His promises 
for the future as laid down in the 
Bible.
Allow God to Lead
To prepare for His second com­
ing we must permit Christ to 
enter our lives and guide our 
ways  so we can minister for Him. 
If we let Him work in us,  He will 
lead us to those who need us 
most.  By giving ourselves to Him 
each day, we allow Him to mold 
us into His perfect plan.  By allow­
ing Him to use our talents  and 
abilities, we can become instru­
ments working for His glory.
Accept God’s Challenge
As instruments working for 
Him, we must accept the challenge 
of telling others of His return and 
the miracles He has performed for 
us. Others need to know God 
works in our daily lives. He has 
challenged us to live as representa­
tives of His character.
God is our lighthouse,  and we 
must accept the challenge of 
keeping our eyes on Him instead 
of abandoning ship for earthly 
pleasures.
REACT
1.  How would you feel if God 
gave you a dream to share?
2. How would you know the 
dream came from God?
by Jill  Boughman and Jim  Phillips
Jill  Boughman  is  a  nursing  major,  and  Jim  Phillips  is a junior architec­
ture major at Andrews University,  Berrien Springs,  Michigan.
30


Friday,  January  17
But I’m  Not Qualified
OPINION
Key Text: Phil. 4:13
But I’m not qualified! When 
the lay Bible ministry program 
came to my church,  I promptly de­
cided, “There’s no way I can give 
a Bible study.  I’m not gifted with 
an outgoing nature.  Soon as I get 
in there I’ll clam up and forget 
everything I know.” But God had 
other plans for me.
I just happened to get sent 
along as an observer and learned 
that Bible texts didn’t have to be 
memorized; there were lessons to 
follow,  and the ones taking the 
studies were not scary people try­
ing to prove us wrong all the 
time, but real people who were 
genuinely interested in learning 
more about the Bible.
When, a few weeks later, I was 
asked to help give the study, I 
wasn’t even scared anymore.
With God on my side, how could I 
be? When God has a plan for us 
to do, He does not leave us on our 
own to figure out how.  He gives 
us ideas, teaches us through 
others, and gives us promises of 
His love even if we fail.
A lot of us think, “I can’t do 
anything for God. I’m not talented 
or outgoing.  I can’t preach or 
prophesy or any of those impor­
tant things. ” It is important to 
remember that Jesus never asks 
us to do anything without giving 
us the strength to do it. 

It is also important to keep in 
mind that we are working under 
His plan,  and He is responsible 
for the results. A friend and I 
once conducted a series of Bible 
studies.  I was giving a Bible 
study together with another 
friend.  It seemed to be going well 
until the sixth week, when the 
man kicked us out and told us not 
to come back, or he would call the 
police.  I wondered why God had 
led us to this house when He 
knew we would get kicked out. 
Only then did I realize that the 
work of a Christian is to spread 
the message of Jesus, but it is the 
Holy Spirit’s job to impress the 
heart.  God may have taught that 
man something during those six 
weeks that will someday lead him 
to Christ. We will never know 
until we get to heaven.
The Bible says, “I can do all 
things through Christ, who 
strengthens me.” Whatever work 
God has in mind for you to  do in 
the fast-approaching “last days,” 
He will not ask you to do any­
thing without giving you strength 
and ability to accomplish it.
REACT
1. What type of work might 
God have for me to do in the last 
days?
2.  Do I really believe God could 
give me the courage and ability to 
do something I couldn’t (or 
wouldn’t) normally do? How 
might He do this?
Lisa  Parry  is  a  math/computer-science  major  at  Andrews  University, 
Berrien Springs,  Michigan. 

by  Lisa  Parry
31


Lesson 4, January  19-25
No  Hiding  Place
“Then  you  will  know that  I,  the  Lord  your God,  dwell  in 
Zion,  my  holy hill.  Jerusalem will  be  holy;  never again will 
foreigners  invade  her”  (Joel 3:17,  NIV).


Sunday,  January  19
Wars and  Rumors
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: Joel 3:9,16
Armageddon  was  a  word  used 
rather  freely  as  the  confrontation 
between  Iraq  and  the  UN  coali­
tion  turned  into  a  hot,  shooting 
war.  Was  this  “the  mother  of all 
battles,”  as  Iraq’s  rather 
hyperbole-prone  president 
Saddam  Hussein  promised,  or 
just  another  dirty  war  to  balance 
the  needs  and  aspirations  of 
political  forces?
Even more than during the 
Vietnam war, and in spite of con­
siderable censorship, you and I 
were “there.” We saw the scuds 
arching through the clear skies of 
Palestine—saw the “weeping in 
Israel” at the destruction. We saw 
the devastation in Bagdad— 
sensed that the shapeless blobs 
dragged out of bunkers had once 
been vital, living human beings. 
And when we saw from the air a 
desert plain littered with hun­
dreds of destroyed tanks, we 
agreed with newsmen that this 
had indeed been a victory “of bibli­
cal proportions,” as one put it.
Jesus warned His followers to 
expect wars, and rumors of wars. 
“The end is not yet” just because 
of these signs, He said (Matthew 
24:6-8).
In a very literal sense, what 
we  saw gives some indication of 
the coming cataclysmic clash Joel 
portrays.  He does indeed speak of 
actual battles: nations arrayed 
against Israel.  Nations armed “to 
the teeth” and adamantly opposed 

to peace and goodness.
The real battle, however, is al­
ways one of “hearts and minds,” 
to borrow a term  used in the Viet­
nam war. Joel is  most concerned 
with the security of God’s faithful 
people.  He is concerned with their 
hiding in God as He battles one 
last time for their security.  This 
is the last battle Joel looks to, 
and not some bloody clash be­
tween coalition  and dictator.
One commentator remarked 
that one of the scuds directed 
against Israel fell in the valley of 
Megiddo.  He was straining at a co­
incidence of geography.  No, it was 
not Armageddon, nor was it the 
valley of Jehoshephat, a term 
used in Joel.  The rich imagery of 
Bible lands and apocalyptic 
crowded together so rapidly that 
the secular world had trouble  de­
ciding what it all meant.
Joel was very aware of the 
power of literal Babylon. This per­
secuting power descended a 
number of times upon Israel.  Be­
yond Babylon Joel indicts 
Philistia and other long-standing 
enemies. The point is clear—all 
the powers of evil were to meet 
their doom at the day of the Lord. 
But the clearest, most thrilling 
point of Joel chapter 3 is that 
God’s remnant people will  be shel­
tered from destruction and set in 
heavenly places.
“Desert Storm” teaches us a 
very clear truth from Joel.  “Put in 
the sickle, for the harvest is ripe” 
(Joel 3:13).  The hour is late, the 
harvest of souls Christ predicted 
cannot be far away.
by Lincoln  E.  Steed
Lincoln E. Steed is editor of  L is te n magazine at Pacific Press Publishing
Association, Nampa,  Idaho. 
33


Monday,  January 20
The Final  Battle
LOGOS
Joel 3:1-21
Judgment on the Nations 
(read Joel 3:1-13)
“I will gather all the nations 
and bring them down to the valley 
of Jehoshaphat,  and I will enter 
into judgment with them there,  on 
account of my people and my heri­
tage Israel” ( Joel 3:2, RSV).
Only a few months ago  I 
penned the words for my contribu­
tion to the Collegiate study on 
Ezekiel 38. The parallel is strik­
ing.  Both prophets looked forward 
to a day when God would gather 
the nations and .judge them for 
their rebellion.  In both cases the 
prophets no doubt expected the 
“mother of all battles” scenario to 
be quite literal and involving the 
historical enemies of Israel. And 
no doubt such a literal confeder­
acy would have  developed had 
God’s nation of Israel remained 
faithful.  He intended to fight 
their battles and vindicate their 
faithfulness in judgments against 
encircling powers of wickedness.
But something tragic inter­
vened. Israel slipped ever deeper 
into apostacy and denial. Eventu­
ally their leaders crucified the very 
Son of God—the same Jesus Christ 
who wept over Jerusalem for ston­
ing and killing the prophets. “Be­
hold, your house is forsaken and 
desolate,” He declared in anguish 
(Matthew 23:38, RSV).
“The description of the return 
is in terms of how the promises of 
God would have met fulfillment if 

the nation of Israel had cooper­
ated with God.  .  .  . The prosperity 
of Israel would have excited the 
enmity of the nations.  .  .  .  The ap­
plication of this prophecy to the 
future must be made on the basis 
of the revelation of the NT” (The 
SDA Bible Commentary,  vol.  4, 
p.  948).
Of course there was a fulfill­
ment for God’s people in a limited 
historical way. They did return 
from a Babylonian captivity, and 
there were numerous signal mo­
ments of God battling for His faith­
ful ones. But the time and absolute 
fulfillment of these apocalyptic 
words must wait till the very last 
moment of the great controversy 
on the planet; and it must involve 
all of God’s faithful, “all of Israel,” 
as Paul summarized those who fol­
low Christ. Spiritual heirs, a spiri­
tual Israel, will inherit the promise 
of victory held out by Joel.
“Prepare war” is the charge of 
verse 9. Yes, we see the “wars 
and rumours of war” in the 
nations round about.  More  sig­
nificantly we see a final paroxism 
of evil developing.  Morality is 
beyond disgust.  Cruelty has be­
come an art form. Actual  Satan 
worship is alive and given equal 
civil rights to the practice of 
Christianity. Spiritual Arma­
geddon must be very near.
“Plowshares into swords” and 
“pruning hooks into spears” (verse 
10) are fine figures of the uncon­
trolled arms race we see in the 
world today. This is a perverse 
twist to the words of Isaiah 2:4, 
which promise demilitarization in
by Lincoln  E.  Steed
Lincoln E. Steed is editor of  L is te n magazine at Pacific Press Publishing
Association, Nampa,  Idaho. 
34


God’s final kingdom of peace.
The United Nations has inscribed 
those words in stone outside its 
headquarters, but the reality is 
Joel 3:10.
Joel 3:12 speaks of judgment 
in the valley of Jehoshaphat.
Even with the original literal in­
tention of the prophecy, the 
location itself was of little signifi­
cance. Jehoshaphat means 
“Yahweh has judged,” and that 
doubtless was the prime meaning 
of the valley.  The great moment 
of truth for the nations will come.
The Day of the Lord (read 
Joel 3:14-16)
“Multitudes,  multitudes,  in the 
valley of decision! For the day of 
the Lord is near in the  valley of de­
cision” (Joel 3:14,  RSV).
“The day of the Lord” resonates 
throughout prophetic and apoca­
lyptic writing. God’s people always 
understood the term as shorthand 
for the final reckoning. There 
was nothing beyond that for the 
wicked. Too late for second 
thoughts. For God’s people it was a 
day of mixed apprehension and joy­
ous expectation.
Perhaps the best example of 
how God’s people regarded the 
day of the Lord might be the  situ­
ation on the typical day of 
atonement.  Each Israelite had con­
fessed known sins and offered the 
correct sacrifices.  Then the high 
priest entered the most holy place 
to minister the blood before the 
very presence of God.  The waiting 
crowds listened with bated breath 
for the tinkle of bells on the high 
priest’s garments. What if he 
should die before the Lord? What 
if the Lord sensed unconfessed 
sin? The tension was no doubt pal­
pable to all.
Joel portrays multitudes in a 
moment of judgment or decision. 
The text is a little misleading. Its 
primary sense is of them coming 
before God for His decision. How­
ever, in anticipating that day, all 

are placed in a position of making 
an eternal decision—for or against 
God—faithfulness or rebellion.
“Sun and moon are darkened, 
and the stars withdraw their shin­
ing” (verse  15, RSV). These words 
seem lifted retroactively from Rev­
elation and the figures of Christ’s 
return.  And this is the correct 
reading today.  The scope of Joel’s 
day of the Lord is universal and a 
final  accounting for evil. A fearful 
day.
But “the Lord is a refuge to his 
people” (verse  16, RSV):  a rem­
nant of faithful ones will be 
preserved and redeemed from the 
final battle.  There is no record of 
the high priest falling before the 
anger of the  Lord on the day of 
atonement.  God loves to reward 
His penitent followers.
Blessed Deliverance (read 
Joel 3:17-21)
“So you shall know that I am 
the Lord your God,  who dwell in 
Zion,  my holy mountain” (Joel 
3:17, RSV).
These concluding verses in 
chapter 3 are rather all embrac­
ing.  The words “never again” 
(verse  17, RSV) and “for ever” 
(verse 20, RSV) point to a once- 
and-for-all resolution to the 
problem and to eternal rest and 
security for God’s people.
“The picture is of the Jerusalem 
that might have been. . . . When 
the New Jerusalem comes down 
from God out of heaven . . .  Satan 
and the vast host with him will 
seek to overrun the holy city, but 
they will perish in the attempt” 
(The SDA Bible Commentary, vol.
4, p. 950). End of story—happily- 
ever-after time! “For the Lord 
dwells in Zion” (verse 21, RSV).
REACT
1. What evidences can I list for 
the nearness of “the day of the 
Lord”?
2.  Why are the nations angry 
at God’s people?
35


Tuesday,  January 21
The  Roar of Victory
TESTIMONY
Key Text: Joel 3:16
“The Lord roars from Zion . . . 
and the heavens and the earth 
shake” (Joel 3:16, RSV). Embedded 
as these words are in a chapter 
heavy on war and destruction, they 
carry a chill warning. God is stir­
ring Himself—watch out!
But God has revealed Himself 
before.  “Never since man was cre­
ated had there been witnessed 
such a manifestation of divine 
power as when the law was pro­
claimed from Sinai.  .  .  . Amid the 
most terrific convulsions of nature 
the voice of God, like a trumpet, 
was heard from the cloud. The 
mountain was shaken from base 
to summit,  and the hosts of Is­
rael,  pale and trembling with 
terror, lay upon their faces upon 
the earth”1  What a scene!  And in 
the next few words Ellen White 
quotes our text for today, drawing 
a parallel to the last,  great day of 
the  Lord. Another day of fear for 
many.
“An earthquake marked the 
hour when Christ laid down His 
life,  and another earthquake wit­
nessed the moment when He took 
it up in triumph.  He who had van­
quished death and the grave 
came forth from the tomb with 
the tread of a conqueror,  amid the 
reeling of the earth, the flashing 
of lightning,  and the roaring of 
thunder. When He shall come to 
the earth again,  He will shake 
‘not the earth only, but also 
heaven.’ ”  And then Ellen White 

quotes our text for today—the sec­
ond part.  “But the Lord will be 
the hope of His people,  and the 
strength of the children of Israel.”
God’s people have greatest 
need of His protection in a time of 
war and distress. The scene of 
Joel chapter 3  is one of war, re­
venge, judgment,  and turmoil on 
every side.  But thank God, it is 
also one of assurance to God’s 
faithful remnant. When God roars 
out His judgments, they will be 
words of commendation for the 
company of the faithful.
“Soon I heard the voice of God, 
which shook the heavens and the 
earth. There was a mighty earth­
quake. Buildings were shaken 
down on every side. I then heard a 
triumphant shout of victory, loud, 
musical, and clear. I looked upon 
the company, who, a short time be­
fore, were in such distress and 
bondage. Their captivity was 
turned. A glorious light shone 
upon them. . . . Their enemies, the 
heathen around them, fell like 
dead men; they could not endure 
the light that shone upon the deliv­
ered holy ones. This light and glory 
remained upon them, until Jesus 
was seen in the clouds of heaven, 
and the faithful, tried company 
were changed in a moment, in the 
twinkling of an eye, from glory to 
glory.. .. Rich, musical shouts of 
glory and victory were upon every 
immortal tongue.”
1. Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 34.
2. The Desire of A ges, p.  780.
3. Spiritual Gifts, pp. 272, 273.
by Lincoln  E.  Steed
Lincoln E. Steed is editor of  L is te n magazine at Pacific Press Publishing
Association,  Nampa,  Idaho. 
36


Wednesday,  January 22
For Better or Worse
EVIDENCE
Key Text: Joel 3:14
Joel looks forward to our day 
and sees a great moment of deci­
sion. Yes, our world is wicked 
beyond imagination. The atroci­
ties committed upon innocent 
Kuwaitis by plundering Iraqi sol­
diers are a vivid example of that. 
So too are the countless murders 
in our drug- and sex-ravaged 
cities.  But a great moment of deci­
sion implies many tetering 
between absolute evil and a last- 
minute return to God: last-chance 
time.  A last chance for God’s peo­
ple to cry out His goodness and 
call the undecided back from the 
field of death.
“Too often Christians have fo­
cussed on sin’s latest triumphs as 
proof that something exceptional 
is soon to occur,” writes author 
Douglas Cooper in his thought- 
provoking book Living in Our Fin­
est Hour. “Ask yourself this ques­
tion,” he challenges. “As evil grows 
continually more aggressive, can 
we expect a corresponding surge of 
good?”1
Good question.  Satan is bank­
ing on evil to overpower good.
He’s putting all his bets on the 
massive callup Joel describes in 
chapter 3.  Satan is certain that 
his armies will sweep away the 
few righteous and confound God.
“The challenge of this hour 
appears to be this: The increasing 
intensity of evil and selfishness in 
some must be matched by a 

parallel increase of love and right­
eousness in others. When iniquity 
abounds, grace and truth must 
much more abound. . . . People 
must recognize the special chance 
that is theirs to align with God’s 
cause of righteousness and love 
and must be willing to defend their 
faith in God to the death if neces­
sary.”2
Before a game a coach will talk 
victory to the team.  Before a war 
the generals inspire the troops. 
“You are going to win.”
The big one is  coming up  soon. 
All the universe is watching.  The 
general is standing by to advise 
and reinforce us. It’s  a time for 
action.  “There is no more exciting 
hour to be alive.  There have 
never been,  nor will there ever be, 
greater challenges or more magnif­
icent opportunities to accomplish, 
to contribute,  and to serve. The 
stakes have never been higher, 
but neither have the rewards and 
satisfactions  ever been greater.
.  .  .  Satan will be permanently de­
feated in the life of every 
individual human being who 
chooses to live completely for love, 
for God who is love.”
REACT
How real is the battle in my 
life?
What were the conditions of en­
listment in God’s cause?
1.  Douglas Cooper, Living in Our Finest Hour 
(Nampa,  Idaho:  Pacific Press Publishing Association, 
1982), p. 9.
2.  Ibid., p.  10.
3.  Ibid., pp.  10,  11.
by Lincoln  E.  Steed
Lincoln E. Steed is editor of  L is t e n magazine at Pacific Press Publishing
Association,  Nampa,  Idaho. 
37


Thursday,  January 23
A Time for War
HOW-TO
Key Text: Matthew 10:34
Taken in the truest sense the 
scene of Joel chapter 3 is the 
great climax to the great contro­
versy.
I see three distinct elements. 
First, the process of separation: 
the result of the latter-day call to 
come out of Babylon.  The good 
are getting closer to God, and the 
bad are drifting together into a 
great clump of evil.
The second element in Joel 
chapter 3 is judgment.  We are 
face to face with the reality of a 
God acting powerfully and deci­
sively against evil.  This is the 
“strange” work of God—the same 
God who told Moses on Sinai that 
“I will not clear the guilty” (Joel 
3:21,  cf.  Exodus 34:7). And the 
same God who from the cross 
cried, “Father, forgive them”
(Luke 23:34).  But the moment for 
forgiveness has passed.  In Joel we 
see God cradling those who have 
claimed His forgiveness—and cast­
ing into everlasting doom those 
too proud to come to Him.
Part three is the best part for 
those of us who yearn for a better 
world. True, the promises of a 
heavenly home and a New Jerusa­
lem are more familiar to us in the 
words of John’s revelation.  How­
ever, we only need a quick look at 
Joel chapter 3 to see that much of 
the new world terminology of 
John comes directly from the old 
world hope of Joel.
Yes, through Joel,  God has 

promised ultimate peace and 
safety for those of us who will run 
and hide under the shadow of the 
Almighty.  But our message here 
and now,  in these latter days, can­
not really be one of “peace and 
safety.” Jesus no doubt shocked 
His hearers when He said,  “Do 
not think that I have come to 
bring peace on earth; I have not 
come to bring peace, but a sword” 
(Matthew  10:34, RSV).
The key to this text is “on 
earth.” Yes,  Christ did come to 
bring peace beyond the trauma of 
sin. He came to bring peace to 
minds troubled by sin.  He is the 
Prince of Peace.  But His intention 
was and is to “stir the pot” and 
trouble the minds of forgetful,  sin­
ful men—to force a decision.
When the issue is made clear-cut, 
there will indeed be conflict be­
tween good and evil.  There will be 
inner conflict as men struggle 
with conscience and the prompt­
ings of the Spirit. And worldwide 
conflicts as wickedness writhes 
under a clarion call from God’s 
people to heed His call before it is 
too late.
The How-To of our lesson in­
volves us in a very practical way. 
We are God’s agents to effect the 
disposition of troops in the upcom­
ing battle.  We can warn the world 
of sin’s dangers, of God’s coming 
judgment, and proclaim His last- 
minute call of mercy. We can add 
to the army of God.
REACT
Am I a pawn in a great power 
struggle, or an agent for change?
by Lincon  E.  Steed
Lincoln E. Steed is editor of  L is te n magazine at Pacific Press Publishing
Association,  Nampa, Idaho. 
38


Friday,  January 24
Apocalypse Now
OPINION
Key Text:  Joel 3:17
The second half of Joel’s rather 
short collection of prophetic 
pronouncements is unarguably 
latter-day stuff. The promise of 
God’s Spirit in chapter 2, verse 28 
was applied by Peter to the day of 
Pentecost, but its scope is far 
wider: “all flesh,” “prophesy,” 
“dreams,” and “visions” over­
whelm even Pentecost. And 
beyond this prediction we are 
shown the great trauma of the 
final battle—the  day of the Lord 
itself.
But how literally can we read 
Joel? A lot of the book sounds as 
overstated as Saddam Hussein’s 
“wallowing in their own blood,” 
and “mother of all battles.” And 
after all,  God does not now work 
through the nation of Israel—so 
maybe the whole scenario is  a 
spiritual allegory, in the sense 
that we Christians are spiritual 
Israel?
A good friend and I have spent 
many hours debating,  and just 
plain discussing the battle of 
Armageddon.  Is it literal or spir­
itual? We have bounced around 
the great prophecies of Old and 
New Testaments and the clarify­
ing statements of Ellen White.  I 
still find room to disagree with 
my friend on some points.  We are 
both agreed that Armageddon is 
primarily the great and climactic 
struggle between the forces of 
good and evil—a spiritual clash.
I am inclined to see a quite 

literal component also—if only a 
magnification of the “wars and ru­
mors of wars.” After all, we know 
the battle with evil is palpably 
real; it led to the murder of Abel, 
and it leads to constant wars. It is 
a natural consequence of evil that 
it will attempt to destroy all in an 
ever-increasing frenzy of killing.
I am writing this column in 
the aftermath of the war to liber­
ate Kuwait. Going into Operation 
Desert Storm, many Americans 
feared another Vietnam.  Others 
feared it might be immeasurably 
violent.  The term Armageddon 
was bandied about.
My attention was caught by a 
two-page article in the February 
11,  1991  issue of Insight,  a news 
magazine of the Washington 
Times.  The heading said it all: 
“Prophets See Another Arma­
geddon.”
“Many Christians who take the 
Bible as literal truth see the spec­
ter of Armageddon in the Persian 
Gulf war,” wrote author Sean 
Picollin,  citing Zachariah as one 
prophet to watch.  Picollin then 
went on to quote the opinions of a 
wide range of religious leaders: 
“People believe they are watching 
the hand of God move,” said a 
spokesman for Pat Robertson’s 
Christian Broadcasting Network. 
“Armageddon in ebryonic form,” 
said the Reverend Fletcher, of the 
Washington Bible College. “This 
war .  .  . will be  .  .  . Armageddon,” 
pronounced Nation of Islam 
leader Louis Farrakhan.
“The scenario  .  .  . hits all the 
symbolic and mythical touch­
by Lincoln  E.  Steed
Lincoln  E. Steed is editor of  L is te n magazine at Pacific Press Publishing
Association,  Nampa, Idaho. 
39


stones,” conceded Scot Appleby, 
associate director of the Funda­
mentalism Project of the 
American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences.  Rabbi Schneerson, an 
ultraorthodox Jew,  sees the war 
as “definitely part of the prepara­
tion for redemption.”
No, the war wasn’t Arma­
geddon. Adventists do have some 
very particular insights into the 
chronology of final events, and we 
should never have seen more in 
the war than a rapid escalation in 
the power of evil,  a sign perhaps 
of God withdrawing His restrain­
ing hand.
What saddened me was the 
notable absence of comment from 
Adventists in such an article. 
Perhaps the author never came 
asking.  I hope that was the case.
I can only hope that our Advent­
ist answers would have paralleled 
two of the last comments in the 
article.
“God has things well under con­
trol,” maintained the Reverend 
Fletcher. “I believe God is the 
author of history,  the superinten­
dent of history,  [that] he controls 
history,  and that everything is 
eventually going to lead under 
God’s control to the eventual next 
event, the greatest event in the 
world, when Jesus Christ returns 
to earth.  I have great confidence, 

and great hope,  an air of excite­
ment that says, ‘Is our lifetime 
when we will see Jesus Christ the 
Lord?’ ”
“For those who believe they 
are ready to meet Christ, these 
are heady days,” summarized the 
article.  “The Media keeps asking 
me,  ‘Are you afraid?’ ” Baptist 
minister R.  L.  Hymers reports. 
“Well, they ask me that because 
they aren’t Christians.  . . .   It 
should be a time of fear for them, 
because they are not prepared to 
meet Christ.  For the persons who 
are prepared, it is a time of great 
hope and joy.”
And that’s my point. We don’t 
really know the landscape of any 
final battle, but we do know that 
the end of all things is at hand. 
The days Joel warned of/promised 
are at hand. For God’s people 
these are exciting times.
“Now when these things begin 
to take place, look up and raise 
your heads, because your redemp­
tion is drawing near” (Luke 21:28, 
RSV).
REACT
1.  Is there any difference be­
tween being ready for Jesus to 
come and wanting Him to come 
soon?
2. Am I a spectator or a partici­
pant in final events?
40



Lesson  5,  January 26-February 1
A  King  Is a  Father,  Is 
a  Person
“I  will  surely  gather  all  of  you,  O  Jacob;  I  will  surely 
bring  together  the  remnant  of  Israel.  I  will  bring  them  to­
gether  like  sheep  in  a  pen,  like  a  flock  in  its  pasture;  the 
place will throng with  people”  (Micah  2:12,  NIV).


Sunday,  January 26
A  King  Is a  Father,  Is a  Person
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: Micah 1:5
Once upon a time in an under­
water kingdom ruled a good and 
loving king.  He was fair, just,  and 
merciful in his reign,  and he was 
a parent.  He had several daugh­
ters in his household, but the 
youngest princess was his favor­
ite.  Concerned for her welfare, he 
set certain rules for her to obey. 
Even though the rules were wise, 
the littlest princess did not obey 
them  all of the time.  The king 
warned her against swimming to 
the surface where men might trap 
her, but she was fascinated by the 
world above.  Often she would 
make short excursions to search 
for “human stuff” to add to a se­
cret collection in her room.  By 
accident, her father found out.
The king knew he would have 
to punish his daughter for disobey­
ing him.  It was not the first time 
she had disregarded the rules.  • 
His fury was fueled not only by 
his sense of justice but by love 
and concern for his daughter.  In 
an effort to communicate the 
magnitude of the situation to his 
child, he  sought out and de­ 

stroyed her collection.  He at­
tacked the objects that promoted 
her disobedience.
Surrounded by the shattered 
fragments of her treasures, the 
young princess sobbed in her room. 
Leaving her room, the father’s 
countenance changed from sover­
eign wrath to deep sorrow. He 
lowered his scepter and hung his 
head, deeply regretting that it had 
come to this, as he walked away 
with his beloved daughter’s sobs 
echoing in his ears.
This fanciful little fairy tale 
can speak to those who have chil­
dren and to those who have 
parents.  Discipline is often a nec­
essary regret in child rearing.  In 
our story the king’s pain was as 
real as his daughter’s even 
though the punishment was the 
just consequence of her disobedi­
ence. The following lessons deal 
with punishment, anguish, and 
restoration. By keeping the per­
spective of children to a heavenly 
Father we add another level of 
understanding to the prophecy of 
Micah. We see not only a God 
dealing with His people, but a Fa­
ther dealing with His children 
and His children dealing with 
each other.
by Irene Hiendlmayr
Irene Hiendlmayr recently graduated from Columbia Union College with
a degree in  rhetoric,  literature,  and composition.
43


Monday,  January 27
From Wasteland to  Pasture
LOGOS
Micah 1:1,2
Judgment begins in the house 
of the Lord, but His punishment 
is not without the promise of a 
hope beyond.
The judgments of God al­
ways begin with those of His 
own house (Micah 1:8). Micah’s 
cry is similar to that of his con­
temporaries,  Isaiah and 
Jeremiah, when he prophesies the 
coming judgment of the Lord 
upon Israel. The Lord, he says in 
chapter  1, is coming forth to tread 
the high places  and split the val­
leys.  His displeasure is so great 
that He says, “I will make Sama­
ria a heap of rubble,  a place for 
planting vineyards. I will pour 
her stones into the valley and lay 
bare her foundations” (verse 6).
The motifs of fire and earth­
quake were familiar to Israel.
This was not the first time wrath 
had descended upon the house of 
God.  Israel was called to be God’s 
light to the world.  His justice and 
mercy were to shine forth through 
a nation of true believers. “I will 
also make you a light for the Gen­
tiles,  that you may bring my 
salvation to the ends of the earth” 
(Isa.  49:6, NIV).  But they re­
peatedly spurned the true God. 
Their faith  and practice were spo­
radic and inconsistent, at best 
(see  1  Kings  19:10).
God’s prophets often illus­
trated the heavenly point of view 
in their own lives.  Micah took 
upon himself the role of a 

mourner for Israel, following in 
the custom of sack or loincloth, 
barefoot and howling.  His emo­
tional display was not just one 
man’s sorrow as he prophesied 
doom to this country, but mir­
rored the extreme sorrow of the 
God who sent the message to His 
people.  In this first part of Micah, 
God’s infinite love is revealed fol­
lowing the actions of His children.
Israel strayed from God 
and so often filled its prover­
bial cup of iniquity (see Micah 
2:1, Isa. 5:24; Jer. 8:9). Accord­
ing to Micah, their sins included 
idolatry (1:7a), harlotry (1:7b), 
greed (2:1-2), perverting of true re­
ligion (2:6-9; 6:2-7), following false 
prophets (3:5, 6), occult practices 
(3:7), and presumption (3:9-11). 
They had deviated far from  God’s 
plan.
Centuries later Jesus sum­
marized keeping the Ten 
Commandments as loving God 
with all of your heart, mind, body, 
and soul, and loving your neigh­
bor as yourself (see Mark  12:29, 
31).  In Micah’s lifetime the people 
of Israel rejected God not only 
through their idol worship but be­
cause they treated each other in a 
despicable fashion. They became 
selfish, power-hungry business­
men who built their houses upon 
the broken lives of the people 
they oppressed.
Rejecting God goes hand in 
hand with rejecting your fellow per­
son. The two great commandments 
Jesus presented are undeniably 
linked (see Matt. 7:20).  The out­
ward evidence of our true worship
Irene Hiendlmayr recently graduated from Columbia Union College with 
a degree in  rhetoric,  literature, and composition.

by Irene Hiendlmayr
44


and devotion to God can be found 
in our dealings with those around 
us. The idol worship and feudalism 
of Israel only served to fuel their 
inner rejection of the true God and 
His laws.
The hope of deliverance 
(Micah 2:12). After judgment and 
punishment was the ever-present 
deliverance.  After the fires and 
earthquakes come the  pastures. 
Micah  paints a picture of peace 
and harmony to a condemned na­
tion, using the familiar image of a 
shepherd tending his flock and as­
suring their safety under his 
watchful eye in a secure  pen.
Their judge will not forsake them. 
Their Redeemer will reconcile 
them once again (see Isa. 40:11).
The  immediate  fulfillment  of 

the  prophecy  was  in  722  B.C., 
when  the  Assyrians  laid  waste  to 
Israel  and  enslaved  its  people. 
But  the  message  reaches 
through  the  ages  to  all  of God’s 
people.  Judgment  indeed  comes 
to  the  house  of the  Lord,  but  de­
liverance  is  at  hand.  God’s  flock 
today  continues  to  stray  in  their 
imperfection.  These  are  the  ones 
He  has  chosen  to  carry  His  light 
to  a  desperate  world.  Yet,  even 
as  they  receive  the just  conse­
quences  of their  actions,  their  de­
liverance  is  sure.  The  One  who 
goes  before  them  (2:13)  is  even 
now  waiting to  reclaim  them 
after  this  time  of siege  in  their 
lives.  Today  we  are  Israel,  and 
our  deliverer  is  Jesus  Christ.
The  hope  is  sure.
45


Tuesday,  January 28
“Get Up!”
TESTIMONY
Key Text:  Micah 2:10
Arise!  Get up!  I  heard the 
same thing every morning for 
four months when I served in the 
U.  S. Army.  It was not the nicest 
way to get up, but it surely 
worked because  I was up and on 
my feet almost instantly.  It even 
got to the point that when 3:30 
a.m. rolled around, without any 
need of a screaming sergeant,  my 
body got out of the bed as if an in­
ternal  alarm had sounded.  It took 
a while, but it finally happened.
Many in our church today 
seem to need a wake-up call.  The 
dormancy of God’s people has 
reached a point where drastic ac­
tion must be taken if we are to 
complete our work here on earth. 
Although we serve a God of love, 
we must also understand that He 
is a righteous  and just God. A 
God that will not just sit there 
and tolerate His people sleepwalk­
ing when there is destruction 
looming on the horizon.
Israel in the days of the 
prophet Micah was in a “time of 
great peril.  The forces for good 
were rapidly diminishing, the 
forces of evil multiplying.”  This 

is the situation today.
Now is when the church  needs 
to take  a stand, now, when evil is 
multiplying and it has become 
very easy to “go with the flow,” to 
compromise, to live on middle 
ground.  Now is when we must 
arise and go to the world telling 
them about Jesus.  It has become 
very easy to look like the world. 
We dress like them, talk like 
them, listen to their music.  Our 
standards differ little from the 
nominally Christian. We wouldn’t 
want to offend anyone.  But this 
will never work, because it is not 
Jesus’ plan to trick people into 
coming to church or staying in 
church.  Salvation comes through 
Jesus—not gimmicks.
God has waited long enough 
for His church to “arise and de­
part.” The Lord has been very 
patient.  Ellen White puts it very 
beautifully when she says, “The 
God whom we serve is long suffer­
ing.”  But time is running out. 
When we as a church arise,  stand 
up for Christ and to the world, 
then God will, as Micah 2:12 says, 
“gather His remnant” and take us 
home.
1. Prophets and Kings, p. 324.
2.  Ibid.,  p. 325.
by Roger Hernandez, Jose Cortez
Roger Hernandez is a junior theology major, and Jose Cortez is a fresh­
man theology major at Columbia Union College, Takoma Park, Maryland.
46


Wednesday,  January 29
“Why Disasters, Why 
Catastrophes, Why Grief...?”
EVIDENCE
Key Text: Micah 1:1-8
God is  shown by Micah as com­
ing down from heaven and 
treading upon the mountains to 
destroy Samaria for her persis­
tent idolatry. The gangrene had 
spread into Judah also,  and God’s 
judgment is at the gates of Jerusa­
lem.  Micah pictures the approach 
of the invading army coming from 
the coastal plain through the hills 
of Judah to Jerusalem.
In verse 2, Micah addresses 
the message solely to Israel, but 
then we see that a summons is  di­
rected specifically to the 
Assyrians (who had conquered 
Samaria in 722), the Babylonians 
(who in 598 and 587 B.C.  had 
turned Jerusalem to rubble and 
ashes, deporting its inhabitants), 
and in a general way to neighbor­
ing nations. The prophetic word 
that had been proclaimed long be­
fore serves as evidence.  God 
appears  at Israel’s trial as a wit­
ness, to bear testimony to the 
watching world.
“Why this?” the people asked, 
pointing to the sad results of the 
catastrophe (verses 3-8).
The answer is given: “All this 
because of Jacob’s transgressing, 
because of the sins of the house of 

Israel.” It is not sufficient merely 
to make a connection between 
God and catastrophes;  one must 
also connect the catastrophes and 
guilt.*
Micah not only preaches 
repentance; he sets forth God’s 
method of dealing with those who 
know that He pardons  as well as 
punishes.  We see Micah’s strong 
conviction of the intimate connec­
tion between sin and punishment, 
repentance and forgiveness. The 
prophet contrasts wickedness 
with its results, punishment with 
blessing, mercy with comfort. 
Above all else, he knows what 
“justice” is.  His prophetic author­
ity enables him to announce the 
consequences of sin with utmost 
sharpness and to extend God’s ac­
cusations and threats.
God gives warning so we will 
not suffer His wrath. Judgment is 
certain if God’s warnings are not 
heeded.  God disciplines us be­
cause He loves us.
All of us may experience again 
what it means when Jesus Christ 
comes to us as King. Await it day 
by day.  He is gathering us from 
the dangerous situation of disper­
sion!  Let us gather close to Him 
in obedience.
*Hans Walter Wolff, Micah the Prophet (Fortress 
Press,  Philadelphia,  1981).
by Elvina C. Tomenko
Elvina C. Tomenko  is a  Russian  student studying theology at Columbia
Union College, Takoma  Park,  Maryland.
47


Thursday,  January 30
After the Fires and  Earthquakes
HOW-TO
Key Texts: Micah 2:1,12
Israel’s relationship to God 
was displayed in their dealings 
with others.  Often our diversions 
from the Lord’s path are most evi­
dent in our disposition toward 
others. We are imperfect people 
in a corrupt world,  and it is not 
hard to believe that our relation­
ships  at times need mending.
The same deliverance promised to 
Israel from their transgressions is 
ours to claim today. The redemp­
tion of Jesus Christ gives us the 
freedom to renew our covenant 
with God and mankind.
Relationships require com­
munication. This means regular 
dialogue with God through prayer 
and Bible study.  It is an old and 
often-quoted method because it is 
the best. You have to spend time 
with Him in order to develop your 
relationship.  Reading the Bible 
will  show you the faith and fail­
ings of others who followed God 

and His infinite love and solu­
tions for them.  Prayer should be 
the conversational mode whereby 
you interact directly with your 
heavenly Father.
Words require deeds. No 
change is really a change until it 
becomes evident in your life. The 
test of the success in your vertical 
relationship with your Lord will 
show in your horizontal relation­
ships to people.  Find ways to 
constructively deal with others 
that fit in with your talents and 
lifestyle.  Don’t feel obligated to 
volunteer for every church/commu­
nity program in order to prove 
yourself. Your place in the body of 
Christ is not something you work 
to earn. Your pastor, family,  and 
friends may well discover hidden 
talents in you and request your 
help.  Or you may become involved 
in church activities that interest 
you.  Remember,  dealing justly 
and kindly with those you are clos­
est to, when no one is watching, 
is a personal ministry in itself. 
Please,  don’t neglect it.
by Irene Hiendlmayr 
Irene  Hiendlmayr recently graduated from Columbia  Union College with 
a degree in  rhetoric,  literature, and composition.
48


Friday,  January 31
Will You  Make Israel a  Better 
Place?
OPINION
Key Texts: Micah 1:8
Today’s miracles are high-tech 
special effects. Promises are eas­
ily bought and broken for modern 
man.  For many today a God who 
speaks through fire, earthquakes, 
and men in sackcloth seems dis­
tant, even bizarre.  The tirades of 
life when explained by nature and 
science make the Old Testament 
a little melodramatic.
Perhaps understanding comes 
from a more personal parallel. As 
an adolescent,  I could relate to Is­
rael when I remembered the 
storms of childhood and the tem­
pests of my parents. All parents 
discipline their children (or at 
least should), and all children ex­
asperate their parents. The result 
is definitely a parallel to God lay­
ing waste to Israel. And the 
parallel enabled Micah to reach 
down through time and speak to 
me about my transgressions and 
my Father.
The greatest impact of Micah’s 
message came from the several 
aspects he showed of the one God. 
It is easy to box God into a 

judge’s bench or a king’s throne, 
but He is also a tender Shepherd 
and a loving Father.  I saw this 
being, capable of great wrath and 
mercy, provide comfort to a con­
demned nation and grieve in the 
agony of rejection. The image of 
the God of the cosmos, barefooted 
and naked, weeping for His chil­
dren, cannot be soon forgotten.  It 
is underscored by a remembrance 
of Christ’s tears.  I think of Him 
barefooted and naked on a cross, 
once again rejected by His own.
The thought of a person so 
scorned and in such suffering is 
heartbreaking enough. How much 
more should it be when we realize 
that Christ is the King of the uni­
verse and a Lord of infinite love 
who remains by the side of a peo­
ple who persist in ingratitude and 
anarchy. I don’t know many par­
ents, spouses, or friends who 
would subject themselves to so 
much heartache and still refuse to 
cast off those they love. However, 
our imperfection is not an excuse. I 
know I can’t always love and serve 
God and people without error. But 
if I can pass on the hope of Jesus 
and maybe make Israel a little bet­
ter place, I want to try.
by Irene Hiendlmayr
Irene  Hiendlmayr recently graduated from Columbia  Union College with
a degree in rhetoric,  literature, and composition.
49


Lesson 6,  February 2-8
The “No-Returns”
“But as for  me,  I  am  filled  with  power,  with  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord,  and  with  justice  and  might,  to  declare  to  Jacob 
his transgression,  to  Israel  his sin”  (Micah  3:8,  NIV).


Sunday,  February 2
Follow the Leader
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: Micah 3:1
I was cruising near the dairy 
case when I ran into an Adventist 
acquaintance in the grocery store.
We exchanged a few pleasant­
ries, talked of “getting the kids 
together,” and then, before 
continuing down the aisle, she 
paused to peer into my grocery 
cart.
“Any hamburger?” she in­
quired.  The grin on her face told 
me she spoke in jest.
Of course, what isn’t funny is 
the fact that there are some people 
who would actually take the pres­
ence of hamburger in someone’s 
cart as a statement of their stand­
ing with God. They are the same 
people who might fear for your sal­
vation if you waded in the water 
over your knees on Sabbath.
For many people the externals 
become the very ground of salva­
tion. Ultimately a person’s salva­
tion hangs solely on a cross in the 
person of Jesus Christ. Our obedi­
ent response to that means much, 

but in itself it does not save.
Our spirituality isn’t as much 
a product of what we do, but of 
who He is. Our response comes 
after we establish a relationship 
with Him. Then we are made free 
in body and soul to produce the 
works He calls us to.
If we get “the cart before the 
horse” on this one point, we run 
the risk of ending up with a 
passed-down religion that is mean­
ingless to both the person who 
passes it and the one who re­
ceives it.
If, on the other hand, we take 
that “setting an example” stuff to 
mean embracing Christ in an inti­
mate relationship, others will be 
moved to follow our commitment. 
We will be a vital congregation of 
persons united in the fact that 
each has a vital, satisfying, per­
sonal,  and saving relationship 
with Jesus Christ.
Wise are the church leaders 
and members who recognize that 
what they do isn’t as important 
as who they are.  It is in being 
sons and daughters of Christ that 
we truly show Him to the world.
by Stephanie Irwin 
Stephanie  Irwin  is  an  account executive with  the  Miami  Valley  Hospital 
communications  department and  coordinator of the Dayton Daily News 
youth  page, in  Ohio. 
51


Monday,  February 3
In Trouble When the Leaders 
Are Bad
LOGOS
James 2:12,13
Background
Micah’s first discourse in chap­
ter 2 denounces corruption in the 
Jewish business arena.  Now, in 
his second sermon recorded in 
chapter 3, he goes on to decry the 
corruption of the political and reli­
gious leaders and to warn them of 
the consequences if they persist 
in their sin.
We expect a lot out of our 
leaders today!  Before we vote for 
someone or appoint them to high 
office, we want to know not only 
their position on issues, but also 
what type of person they are pub­
licly and privately.  The hard look 
at public officials through the 
media microscope is a phenomena 
of today’s national interest in hav­
ing leaders who are a cut above 
what we expect in ourselves.  Con­
sidering their influence and the 
example they carry, that’s proba­
bly not a bad idea.
It wasn’t much different in 
Micah’s day.  God’s people counted 
on the nation’s leaders to govern 
with justice and mercy. They 
were sorely disappointed.
Three influential classes of 
leaders are referred to in Micah:
1. The rulers, judges, and 
magistrates who administer the 
executive and judicial branches of 
government.
2. The priests, who were the re­
ligious leaders and teachers in 

Israeli society.
3.  Those trained in the schools 
of the prophets, who were the 
counselors of wisdom in the com­
munity.
When Government Officials 
Go Bad (read Micah 3:1-4)
Rulers and political leaders are 
entrusted to administer justice 
and be the servants of the people 
to achieve their common good.  In­
stead of righteously administering 
the law, the leaders of govern­
ment in Micah’s day sought to 
enrich themselves. They accepted 
bribes (see verse  11) and made 
mockery of justice. They built lux­
urious palaces and increased their 
personal wealth by exorbitant 
taxes and unrighteous decisions. 
Micah says they were not only at­
tracted to evil, they loved it,  and 
reveled in their pursuit of defraud­
ing the poor and middle class.
In chapter 2 God referred to 
His  people as a flock of sheep.
Now the shepherds, those chosen 
by God to lead,  protect,  and 
comfort the sheep, are proven un­
worthy.  Ezekiel 34:1-10 speaks of 
the same problem.  The leaders 
were to tend the sheep, take care 
of the weak, heal the sick, ban­
dage the hurt, round up the 
wanderers,  and seek out the lost. 
Instead they had taken care of 
themselves at the expense of the 
sheep. Micah says such rulers are 
not shepherds, they are butchers!
Where do you go for justice
Dan  Stevens  is  associate  pastor  at  the  Kettering,  Ohio,  Seventh-day 
Adventist Church, in charge of education and young adults.
52

by  Dan Stevens


when the leaders o f an organiza­
tion are corrupt?  What should a 
Christian do if he knows o f such?
Micah warns corrupt leaders 
that in the judgment they will re­
ceive measure for measure (2:4). 
When they cry for help,  God will 
not hear them.
When Religious Leaders Go 
Bad (read verses 5-8)
The term prophet in the Old Tes­
tament covered a broader role than 
receiving divine instruction 
through visions or dreams. This 
class included all those who had 
completed the school of the proph­
ets and were employed in giving in­
struction and wise counsel to the 
people. This group had increased 
significantly by Micah’s day.
But wisdom had ceased to be 
the basis for their counsel. They 
had become more concerned in 
feeding their bellies than feeding 
the people. They would predict 
anything you wanted for the right 
price:  peace, prosperity,  and long 
life to any who paid.  But if the “of­
fering” was not included, then one 
could expect only a prediction of 
calamity.
False prophets and fortune­
tellers promise the seeker a 
higher revelation, represented by 
new light; how fitting that their 
judgment is darkness even in the 
daytime!
Then, in the midst of this 
denunciation, Micah makes a 
wonderful claim. He is inspired by 
the Spirit of Jehovah, which has 
given him (1) power that his words 
may fall with force and conviction, 
(2) judgment to discern the real 
problems of his society, and (3) 
strength to face any opposition.
This is a real contrast with the 
false prophets, who are not in­
spired by God but by their own 
greed.
When All Is Said and Done 
(read verses 9-12) 

What is worse than personal 
gain in public or religious office? 
Answer: not feeling bad about it. 
Apparently the leaders had been 
doing it for so long that they had 
actually deluded themselves into 
thinking they were right with God.
Or even worse, knowing that 
they were wrong, they excused 
their behavior by relying upon ex­
ternals for their safety net from 
judgment. The Jews felt secure in 
their possession of all the right 
things:
1.  The right doctrine based on 
revelation
2.  The right identity as God’s 
chosen people
3. The right temple
4.  The right kingdom set up 
originally by divine appointment 
and faithfully passed down to the 
present.
God could not possibly let 
them be destroyed,  they reasoned. 
They were convinced that the sta­
tus quo was permanently theirs.
Are Adventists ever in danger 
of looking at the externals o f doc­
trine, organization, and history as 
the validation o f our existence and 
mission?
The internals that God wants 
and that Micah’s contemporaries 
neglected will be pointed out in 
Micah 6:8: “What he requires of us 
is this: to do what is just, to show 
constant love, and to live in hum­
ble fellowship with our God” (TEV).
Because of neglect for true 
heart religion, judgment is pre­
dicted for Jerusalem, the seat of 
government,  and Zion, the center 
of religion. The temple, long the 
glory of the faith, will no longer 
be the dwelling place of God; after 
the judgment is past,  the site will 
return to the wild condition in 
which Abraham found it so long 
ago. How fitting!  Everything the 
wicked leaders cherished and con­
nived to build for their glory 
reduced to rubble and decay.
53


Tuesday,  February 4
Ambassadors for Christ
TESTIMONY
Key Text: Micah 6:8
God calls people to be leaders 
in His church.  Because the posi­
tion of leadership is full of 
responsibility, certain guidelines 
are given for those in such posi­
tions.  In particular, every leader 
should follow the example of 
Jesus Christ. His life was charac­
terized by love, unselfishness, and 
concern for others.
God pays special attention to 
the work of the leaders. Precious 
souls may be won or lost through 
their influence.
“The man at the head of any 
work in God’s cause is to be a 
man of intelligence, a man ca­
pable of managing large interests 
successfully, a man of even tem­
per, Christ-like forbearance, and 
perfect self-control. He only whose 
heart is transformed by the grace 
of Christ can be a proper leader.”1
The leader should be “like Dan­
iel, seeking for the power that 
comes alone from God, that he 
may represent,  not him self.  .  . 
but the truth in righteousness.”
“God desires to have upon this 
earth righteous representatives, 
through whom He can communi­
cate to His people His peculiar 
favor. Those representatives are 
to be men who honor God by keep­
ing His commandments,—wise, 
true men,  who can act as leaders, 
walking circumspectly, showing to 
the world the meaning of true loy­
alty to God.”
Sometimes the work of the 

leader is to call sin by its name.
It is a very sensitive task that, 
nevertheless,  must be tackled.
Like Micah, the prophet, the 
leader should be ready “to declare 
to Jacob his transgression and to 
Israel his sin” (Micah 3:8, NKJV).
“In order to prosper, every 
church must have men upon 
whom it can rely in times of peril, 
men who are as true as steel,  un­
selfish men, who have the 
interest of God’s cause lying 
nearer their hearts than anything 
which concerns their own opin­
ions or their worldly interests.  .  .  . 
Those who are valuable in life 
and influence have felt the impor­
tance of following Jesus closely, of 
making the life of Christ their 
study and example. This will re­
quire effort, meditation, and 
earnest prayer.”
Paul the apostle reminded Tim­
othy: “Be diligent to present 
yourself approved to God, a 
worker who does not need to be 
ashamed, rightly dividing the 
word of truth” (2 Tim.  2:15,
NKJV).
REACT
1. How can a sinner in need of 
God’s saving grace be a represen­
tative of truth and righteousness?
2.  How can you tell if a leader 
is faithful to his calling?
1. Medical Ministry, p.  164.
2.  Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 
357.
3.  The SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Com­
ments, vol. 2, p.  1032.
4.  Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 637.
Petre  Udrea  is  a  medical  student  at  Wright  State  University  School  of 
Medicine,  Dayton, Ohio. 

by  Petre Udrea
54


Wednesday,  February 5
Leadership by Example
EVIDENCE
Key Text: Micah 3:8
Micah’s life and ministry has 
some similarities to Christ’s life. 
Micah chose to live and work 
among the common people. His 
ministry was always to others.
He pointed out the faults of spe­
cific groups of people, but never 
the institution. He always spoke 
with and of the authority of God. 
He refused to compromise his mis­
sion,  even though it was not 
accepted by the leaders of the 
day.  He made  sure that God was 
the authority by which he lived 
and taught.
Micah “saw and judged the offi­
cials in terms of the old ideal of 
Israel as a society governed and 
preserved by YHWH. His indict­
ments uncovered a fundamental 
shift of fealty. Though they still 
engaged in pious talk (2:7f;
3:11b), the officials had found an­
other authority which ruled their 
actions.  It was wealth.  In their 
dedication to their new ‘sover­
eign,’ neither God nor neighbor 
had much chance.”
Leaders can learn from 
Micah’s life and teaching. His 
example-life must be our calling.
If we follow the three gifts which 
Micah was given, we can lead 
God’s people to greater under­
standing and truth. “Micah does 
not speak of his own aptitude, but 
of capacities which have come 

upon him for the performance of 
mission. The gifts are three. The 
first is koah,  power to persevere 
in the face of opposition and dis­
couragement (Isa. 40:29, 31; 49:4; 
Ps.  31:11). The third is geburah, 
the courage and might that 
equips warriors for action sur­
rounded by danger and enemies 
(Judges 8:21; Prov. 8:14; Isa.  3:25, 
etc.). The second, middle term is 
the discriminating and critical ca­
pacity for discerning what is at 
issue between God and people; it 
is mispat,  the  sense for what is 
just according to the norms set by 
YHWH for the social order of Is­
rael. Mispat is what the leaders 
in Jerusalem are responsible for 
(3:1), but they abhor and pervert 
it (3:9).
In  1977 Jimmy Carter is sworn 
in as president on a Bible opened 
to Micah 6:8. In  1959 the Soviet 
Union presented the United Na­
tions with a bronzed sculpture of 
a man beating a sword into a 
plowshare, with words on the 
base of the sculpture referring to 
Micah 4:3, “We shall beat our 
swords into plowshares.”
REACT
1. What gives a leader the au­
thority to lead?
2.  How can we as leaders learn 
from Micah?
1. James Luther Mays, Micah (Philadelphia: The West­
minster Press,  1976), p. 20.
2.  Ibid., p. 85.
by William J. Nordgren
William  J.  Nordgren  is  a  computer  programmer  at  Electronic  Data  Sys­
tems,  Inc. 
55


Thursday,  February 6
A  Fire From God
HOW-TO
Key Text: Micah 3:8
The charismatically out­
stretched arms and broad “right­
eous” smile caught my attention as 
I scanned the newspaper.  A pas­
tor, obviously! The caption beside 
his picture explained his excite­
ment: “Church Plans Book Burn­
ing.” His noble aspiration was “... 
to rid our city . .. [of] satanic para­
phernalia, and then . . . the Holy 
Spirit will have a greater freedom 
to flow.” Members of his church, 
neighbors, and unidentified “hea­
then” contributed their witchcraft 
books, horoscopes, playing cards, 
secular records, cultic church liter­
ature, and an assortment of other 
“satanic paraphernalia” for the 
flames.
I doubt their fiery tactic will 
deter my city’s trade in satanic 
software. While I commend them 
for seeking a better “local” world,
I also recognize that it’s easier to 
toss a book wishfully into the fire 
than to confront the underlying 
spiritual problems raging within 
our hearts or our churches.
A Challenge
Micah rebuked Israel’s leaders 
for their injustice, perversion of 
truth,  and political adventurism. 
These blatant sins burn at the 
heart of government, church,  and 
home, hollowing our hearts more 
surely than a whole library of 
witchcraft books.  Worse yet, when 
the smokescreen of religious piety 
and pride blinds us so that we 

cannot see our own spiritual 
needs, we make our faith a mock­
ery to the world.  The prophet’s 
rebuke challenges us to reexam­
ine just what it is that fuels our 
flame of faith.
Knowing Justice (read Micah 
3:1-4)
Biblical justice concerns itself 
more with restoring relationships 
than upholding the law. When­
ever the relational impact of 
justice is not considered,  a judg­
mental attitude causes spiritual 
cannibalism—faith in God’s 
leaders and His church is 
stripped down like flesh from the 
bones (see verse 2) and eaten by 
the critical and power hungry.
The restoration of justice that 
God seeks for us (see Isa. 42:1-4) 
will bring a restoration of relation­
ship with others and with God. 
Justice is more than doing the 
right thing, it is also being the 
right thing to all people (see 
1  Cor.  9:19-23).
Preaching Truth (read Micah 
3:5-8)
Micah contrasts his Spirit- 
filled declarations of Israel’s need 
with the prophets who preached 
for their stomachs, fearing to bite 
the hand that fed them. Truth, 
like justice, is concerned about re­
lational impact. To speak truth 
without love is cruelty; to speak 
love without truth is a lie.  For all 
truth reveals the love of God; love 
reveals all the truth about God. 
Love and truth are meaningless 
apart from God.
by  Randy Daniel
Randy  Daniel  is  a  researcher  for  the  ombudsman’s  office  in  Dayton,
Ohio. 
56


Political Neutrality (read 
Micah 3:9-12)
Israel’s leaders torched the 
nation’s future on the altar of per­
sonal greed. They killed or black­
mailed anyone who stood between 
them and a richer, more powerful 
lifestyle for themselves. Their 
greed and political adventurism 
cloaked itself in the garb of “doing 
the Lord’s work.” “Her leaders 
judge for a bribe, her priests teach 
for a price, and her prophets tell 
fortunes for money. Yet they lean 
upon the Lord and say, ‘Is not the 
Lord among us? No disaster will 
come upon us’ ” (Micah 3:11, NIV).
To  act  contrary  to  self-interest 

rages  against  a  deep  primal  in­
stinct  to  protect  and  promote  our­
selves.  But  that  is  exactly  what 
we  are  called  to  do:  To  “lay 
down  our  lives  for  our brothers”
(1  John  3:16,  NIV).  Burning 
books  is  senseless  if it  is  not  a 
fire  from  God—a  Spirit-filled 
blaze  that  cleans  and  illuminates 
our hearts,  churches,  and  com­
munity.
REACT
1. What is the laity’s role in 
leadership accountability?
2.  What can the church do to 
dissuade political adventurism in 
its structural organization?
57


Friday,  February 7
Accept,  Forgive, and/or 
Depose?
OPINION
Key Texts: Luke 6:37; Matt. 6:14, 
15 
In chapter 3, Micah lambastes 
the leaders of Israel, including 
the religious leaders. Their values 
have become inverted—they “hate 
good and love evil.”
The  Scriptures provide so 
many reassurances that the 
church and individuals survive de­
spite the curse of fallibility! In 
biblical history Israelite leaders 
frequently fell short of God’s plan 
for them. This chapter identified 
a mass failure.  Spiritual or moral 
weaknesses are obviously still a 
part of human nature, which is 
why even the converted are called 
upon to “die daily.”
How do we relate to the lack of 
perfection in church leadership? 
The first response might be to 
place our expectations of them on 
a low level, no matter how good 
or moral they might appear.
Even the great fall once in a 
while; they just tend to crash 
more loudly and injure more by­
standers than the norm! Those 
who do not publicly fall may still 
mislead us if we follow through 
blind admiration. And most im­
portant, our conscience must 
always override the voice of even 
the most “holy” of our spiritual 
guides. 

Another response is that we 
allow our leaders the latitude to 
be human, to fail. Just as we de­
sire acceptance despite our errors, 
we must offer that same accep­
tance to them.  Many issues 
appear so simple when observed 
remotely, but the complexity in­
creases as one becomes more 
involved.  I believe this applies not 
only to logical decision making 
but also to moral dilemmas.
A third response is recognition 
that there is a point when corrup­
tion must be exposed,  and “the 
rascals should be thrown out!” 
While we must accept some im­
perfections, we also have the 
right to expect certain levels of be­
havior.  There are times when an 
individual must be removed from 
his or her position. When some­
one has betrayed our corporate 
trust,  the feelings run high.  It is 
prudent then to make leadership 
changes. But this should not inter­
fere with our forgiveness of the 
individuals. A Saviour who for­
gave His murderers certainly set 
an example of forgiveness in ex­
treme circumstances.
REACT
1.  If Christ is saving a church 
full of sinners, is it reasonable to 
expect the leadership to be in the 
same class?
2.  How much fallibility can we 
grant them?
by Brian  Christenson 
Brian  Christenson  is a systems consultant at Wright State University in 
Dayton, Ohio. 
58


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Lesson 7,  February 9-15
A Way Out
“But  you,  Bethlehem  Ephrathah,  though  you  are  small 
among  the  clans  of  Judah,  out  of  you  will  come  for  me 
one  who  will  be  ruler over  Israel,  whose  origins  are  from 
of old,  from  ancient times”  (Micah  5:2,  NIV).


Sunday,  February 9
Taking Sides
INTRODUCTION
Scripture:  Isa. 9:6
Isaiah 9:6 reminds us of Christ­
mas.  The words are usually sung 
at Christmastime in Handel’s Mes­
siah.  And they describe things we 
like to think about during Decem­
ber.  But now it’s February,  and 
we still need “the Child”; maybe 
more so now than then!
The fourth and fifth chapters 
of Micah are  all about choices. 
They describe the choices between 
certain spiritual extremes. Micah 
4:3 says, “He will judge between 
many peoples and will  settle dis­
putes for strong nations far and 
wide” (NIV). This sounds very 
much to me like choice.
Later in Micah 5:8 God states 
that “the remnant of Jacob will be 
among the nations, in the midst 
of many peoples” (NIV), implying 
that there is quite a gap between 

two types of people in Israel: 
those for God and those who are 
“His enemies.” It seems we are re­
quired to take sides for or against 
God. Which again makes the 
issue one of choice.
“This  is  such  obvious  stuff,” 
you  say.  “Why  tell  us  we  must 
make  a  choice?”  Quite  frankly,  I 
raise  this  issue  here  precisely 
because  so  many  people  today 
fool  themselves  into  thinking 
they  don’t  have  to  make  a 
choice.  Many  today  think that 
the  best  mode  of transportation 
through  this  life  is  riding  a 
fence.  And  they  think  the  best 
safeguard  against  accident  is  to 
buckle  down  against  making  any 
commitments.  But  God  pushes 
us.  He  invites  us  to  make 
choices  for  or  against  Him.  He 
asks  us  to  take  sides.  He  actu­
ally brings  about  circumstances 
in  our  lives  that  require  us  to 
make  a  choice.
by Charles  Liu 
Charles  Liu  is  campus  chaplain  for  Loma  Linda  University  and  pastor 
for campus ministry at the Campus Hill Church,  Loma Linda, California.
61


Monday,  February  10
God Takes Sides
LOGOS
Micah 5:2
There are several other possi­
bilities I see for how God might 
have dealt with the problem of 
sin.  He could have taken the dis­
tant approach and let man 
disappear in the solution.
But God chose to take sides. 
God chose a particular way of sav­
ing humankind from sinfulness; a 
way that made the ultimate sacri­
fice yet gave ultimate freedom 
from the consequences of sin.
Two Sides (read Mic. 4:1-5)
The  first  verse  of Micah  4 
gives  us  a  sense  of competing 
mountains;  peaks  striving for  our 
attention.  People  of Micah’s  day 
thought  that  worship  became 
more  elevated—literally—as  the 
venue  for  that  worship  gained 
elevation  above  sea  level.  Re­
member  how  the  builders  of the 
Tower  of Babel  strove  to  reach 
to  the  very  heavens.  Elevation 
itself represented  power  and 
authority  to  the  people  of 
Micah’s  day  also.
The two sides alluded to in the 
heading of this section are sides 
built around power. To be above 
the other mountains, Mount Zion 
would have to grow a great deal! 
Physically it was a relatively 
small mount.  Carmel and Bashan 
and Sharon are all much taller 
mountains in Palestine.  But 
spiritually Mount Zion was to tri­
umph over all. Why? Because 
those who led the worship on 

Mount Zion were to derive their 
power from God.
God’s Side (read Mic. 4:6-13)
These verses present the lame 
as the ones on the top of “Mount 
Zion.” They are to be established 
in the watchtower—an elevated 
position in the city.
They are to rise from the ob­
scurity of low-level disability to 
high-level visibility. And, the 
most important part of this swing 
from “low” to “high” is that it is 
all part of God’s plan.  It is not 
something the poor and afflicted 
talk God into doing, but rather it 
is part of His master plan for 
them (see verse  12).
A Leader for God’s Side  (read 
Mic. 5:1-5)
As God’s people become used 
to the idea that God has a plan 
for their lives, they naturally seek 
leadership to guide them to His 
side.  It is a natural response for 
people, when called to make a de­
cision between sides, to want 
someone to lead them in that com­
mitment.  God promises them 
such leadership.  But it is to be 
based upon authority, rather than 
power.  The security of the people 
of God will not be assured 
through arms or might or 
strength they possess, but only 
through a security based upon 
“his greatness” (verse 4, NIV).
The text points to the first coming 
of Jesus and is a prophecy of the 
leadership and authority centered 
in the person of Jesus, “who is 
from of old” (verse 2, NIV).
Charles  Liu  is  campus  chaplain  for  Loma  Linda  University  and  pastor 
for campus ministry at the Campus Hill Church,  Loma Linda,  California.

by Charles  Liu
62


God Delivers Us to His Side 
(read Mic. 5:5-15)
In  these  11  verses  God’s 
name,  or  a  personal  pronoun  re­
ferring  to  Him,  is  mentioned  14 
times.  This  strong emphasis  on 
God’s  activity  in  this  process  of 
taking  sides  is  to  show  us  that 
we  do  not  fight  the  battle  of 
choosing  sides  on  our  own. 
Rather,  God  delivers  us  over  to 
His  side  if we  ask  Him.
In the battle of life we must 
constantly choose sides. We are 
asked every day to choose for or 
against God. We are overwhelmed 
if we try to make all these deci­ 

sions on our own, let alone follow 
through on them.  Our only hope 
is in God, who,  14 times in these 
verses on choosing sides, gives us 
the assurance He is in charge of 
this drama, and we are the recipi­
ents of His grace.
REACT
1. What was it like the last 
time you tried to choose for God 
in your own power?
2.  How has God shown you His 
creative power in your battle to 
choose the right side?
3.  How do you know which side 
is God’s side?
63


Tuesday,  February  11
Watch the Middle
TESTIMONY
Key Text: Joshua 24:15
Taking sides in the great con­
troversy has been the theme of 
this week’s lessons to this point. 
And taking sides implies new is­
sues arising which call for 
decision.  But in this case the is­
sues are really old ones.
“Satan, by means of his suc­
cess in turning man aside from 
the path of obedience, became ‘the 
god of this world.’ 2 Corinthians 
4:4.  The dominion that once was 
Adam’s passed to the usurper.
But the Son of God proposed to 
come to this earth to pay the pen­
alty of sin,  and thus not only 
redeem man, but recover the do­
minion forfeited.  It is of this 
restoration that Micah prophesied 
when he said, ‘O Tower of the 
flock, the stronghold of the daugh­
ter of Zion,  unto Thee shall it 
come, even the first dominion.’ 
Micah 4:8.  .  .  .
“This hope of redemption 
through the advent of the Son of 
God as Saviour and King has 

never become extinct in the 
hearts of men. From the begin­
ning there have been some whose 
faith has reached out beyond the 
shadows of the present to the real­
ities of the future.”1
Taking sides in a controversy 
also implies some pain in the con­
frontation.  God realized this when 
He decided to confront Satan and 
thus allowed the human race to 
participate in this same confronta­
tion.  He knew with this kind of 
temptation He must also provide 
a way of escape.  “ ‘O daughter of 
Zion,  .  .  .  the Lord shall redeem 
thee from the hand of thine ene­
mies.  Now also many nations are 
gathered against thee, that say, 
Let her be defiled,  and let our eye 
look upon Zion. But they know 
not the thoughts of the Lord, 
neither understand they His coun­
sel.’ Micah 4:10-12.  God will not 
fail His church in the hour of her 
greatest peril.  He has promised 
deliverance.”
1. Prophets and Kings,  p.  682.
2.  Ibid., p. 538.
by Charles  Liu
Charles Liu is campus chaplain for Loma Linda University and pastor for
campus ministry at the Campus Hill Church,  Loma  Linda, California.
64


Wednesday,  February  12
I,  Eye,  Aye
EVIDENCE
Key Text: Micah 5:15
Many college students know 
the chorus based upon Micah 6:8 
that tells us about loving mercy, 
doing justice,  and walking hum­
bly with God.  But very few of 
them remember that it comes 
after Micah 5, where God talks 
about some “nastier” things. 
Vengeance, anger,  and wrath are 
not exactly the sort of things we 
write praise choruses about!  So 
why are these words in the Bible?
A little background on Micah’s 
time is useful.  First, recall that 
Micah lived at the end of a long 
downward spiral in the spiritual 
and moral climate of Israel. As a 
contemporary of Isaiah he was 
well acquainted with the nation of 
people Isaiah called “sons of a sor­
ceress .  .  . offspring of adulterers 
and prostitutes” (Isa.  57:3, NTV).
Tradition holds that Isaiah 
paid the ultimate sacrifice for 
those words by becoming a mar­
tyr for his faith during the 
horrific reign of King Manasseh. 
Micah is writing to people who 
killed prophets for saying things 
they didn’t like to hear! We’re not 
talking about disagreements over 
the color of carpet in the sanctu­
ary. We’re discussing who dies 
next when theological disagree­
ment exists. No wonder the 
people of God were  sighing and 
crying for justice and a way out of 
this world of “might makes right.” 
Micah is directed to people starv­ 

ing for righteousness and godly 
anger, for carefully balanced ven­
geance and absolutely fair 
judgment.
Micah was written to a culture 
used to a black-and-white under­
standing of issues.  Gray was not 
a color of the times.  If one were 
right,  then others must be wrong. 
If there were disagreements, only 
one action was possible; get rid of 
the opposition. To disagree in an 
agreeable way was not an option. 
How does one communicate to 
such a mind-set? Apparently with 
a black-and-white message.
Micah was written to a group 
of people who needed to know 
that in the midst of an ebb and 
flow of pagan practices, God can 
always be counted on as a steady 
and absolute influence for right. A 
child may initially rebel against 
the absolute constraints of his or 
her parents yet later admit that 
parental authority gave him or 
her the security to rebel. Just so, 
God gives apostate Israel that 
same steady assurance that He 
will never change.  He will be a 
steady rock of security for them.
Yet, even in the middle of this 
strong passage of judgment and 
justice, there comes a section that 
may be summarized as “I, Eye, 
Aye.” In the last six verses of 
Micah 5, there are six uses of the 
personal pronoun I to refer to 
God’s active role in human his­
tory.  God will actively bring all 
who will come over to His side.
He says I will do it.
Earlier God has referred to Je­
Charles  Liu  is  campus  chaplain  for  Loma  Linda  University  and  pastor 
for campus ministry at the Campus  Hill  Church,  Loma  Linda, California.

by Charles  Liu
65


rusalem  as the “watchtower of the 
flock” (Mic.  4:8, NIV). The watch- 
tower was  a common spot from 
which shepherds could guard 
their flocks.  From the tower they 
could see clearly how their sheep 
were doing.  God likens this sym­
bol of clear sight to the victory 
over enemies His people will 
experience as they choose His 
side.  He is pleading to His chil­
dren to come to His  side that He 
might give them  a clear “eye to 
see with.”
And finally, God shows His 
eternal vindication of His people 

as well as of His name when He 
speaks of those who will “live se­
curely, for then his greatness will 
reach to the ends of the earth” 
(Mic.  5:4, NIV).  Thus throughout 
these verses on taking sides and 
choosing commitments we see 
that God is in charge.
“7 will make the lame a rem­
nant” (Mic.  4:7, NIV, emphasis 
supplied).  He says He will make 
us stand where each of us can see 
with a clear eye. The dictionary de­
fines “aye” to mean always, or 
forever. And He will bring us vin­
dication for aye.
66


Thursday,  February  13
A Mountaintop  Retreat
HOW-TO
Key Text: Micah 4:1, 2
Inscribed on the wall of the 
United Nations in New York City 
are the words from  Isaiah 2:4: 
“They shall beat their swords into 
plowshares and their spears into 
pruning knives: Nation shall not 
lift sword against nation, neither 
shall they learn war any more.” 
This hopeful message from Isaiah 
is certainly not a reality in 
today’s world.
Just as in ancient times,  con­
flict is all around us. The world 
seems like a lost cause with all 
the quarreling and conflict among 
nations, between races, and 
within families. Do you ever won­
der if there will ever be peace 
anywhere? Why doesn’t God put 
an end to all this confusion and 
trouble? This issue of conflict is a 
central theme in Micah 5.
Then in Micah 4:1 there is that 
wonderful promise of the moun­
taintop home for the family of 
God.  Micah 4:2 goes on to de­
scribe the composition of this 
family.  It will consist of many na­
tions coming together.  Let’s 
explore the implications.
1.  The family in the mountain- 
top retreat will be a rainbow o f peo­
ple. There will be no exclusiveness, 
no shunning, no separatism. This 
raises some searching questions: 
Do we want to live in this kind of a 
family? How do we really feel 
about spending eternity in close as­ 

sociation with people of a different 
culture or race, or even with those 
homeless people? The best way to 
find out is to try it out now. Spend 
time with people of a different 
race, culture, or economic status. 
Do feelings of separatism or su­
periority emerge? If so, now is the 
time to confront this issue 
honestly.
2.  Micah 4:2 says that on the 
mountaintop God will teach  “His 
ways” to the people of many na­
tions.  Have you ever thought that 
maybe these different people 
groups won’t all think or respond 
like we do? Maybe they will ex­
press His ways differently than 
we would.
Am I willing, like Jesus, to ac­
cept the differences? Am I willing 
to learn from people different 
from  myself, to allow God to teach 
me His ways through these peo­
ple? The best way to find out is to 
honestly evaluate our responses 
when someone of a lesser status, 
different culture, or different race 
becomes our “teacher.”
REACT
The roots of conflict and confu­
sion are hatred  and prejudice.
God sent Christ to teach us the 
ways of peace and love.  Instead of 
asking, Why doesn’t God put an 
end to all this confusion and trou­
ble? perhaps we need to ask, Are 
we following His ways? Are we a 
part of the problem or a part of 
the solution?
Barbara  Frye is an assistant professor in the school  of medicine,  Loma 
Linda University,  Loma  Linda, California.

by  Barbara  Frye
67


Friday,  February  14
What Is God’s  Plan?
OPINION
Key Text: Micah 4:12
Plans are so crucial to every as­
pect of our life.  Particularly since 
the future is uncertain. Because 
of that uncertainty human plans 
are never definite until they are 
history.
Not so with God’s plans!  Since 
God knows the beginning and 
end, His plans are never changed 
because of unforeseen circum­
stances. Thus the prophet Micah 
is able to say with complete con­
fidence that even though the 
children of Israel will fall and will 
have to be punished, the Saviour 
of the world will still come 
through their clan.
Because of God’s omniscience, 
the biblical writers are able to 
boldly proclaim, This is how the 
universe started, this is how sin 
was introduced to the world, 
these are the ways that God will 
reach out to sinful humans, this 
is how God will deal with the 
problem of sin.
What does all this mean, then, 
with regard to questions about 
my future? After all, it’s great 
that God has given us a few hints 
about how the world will end, but 
what about the meantime? Or is 

it right to wonder about the mean­
time?
As an Adventist, shouldn’t I 
be mostly concerned with the 
events of the last days,  with tell­
ing others about the end of 
earthly history and the glorious 
events that will follow? Is it sinful 
for me to plan such things as grad­
uate school,  a career, what I 
might be doing when I reach that 
faraway age of 40? Would I be 
more spiritually correct if I just 
assumed that Christ will return 
any moment? Would this spare 
me from  the traps of the world? 
And my actions really have an im­
pact on the timing of Christ’s 
second coming?
It is reassuring to know in a 
rapidly changing and busy world, 
with always more challenges, 
more opportunities, more confu­
sion, that there is a God who 
understands what is happening. 
His plan, made long ago, took into 
consideration all those changes. 
Even more important, that same 
God has offered to give all who 
ask, including me, the wisdom 
needed in making my plans and 
then carrying them out.  Most im­
portant, God gives a goal that 
makes life sensible—love. For 
without a goal,  a plan does not 
exist,  and a life is meaningless.
Jim  Banta  is  a  student  in  the  school  of  public  health  at  Loma  Linda 
University, Loma Linda, California.

by Jim  Banta
68



Lesson 8,  February 16-22
Scaling the Heights
“ He  has  showed  you,  O  man,  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”  (Micah  6:8, 
NIV).


Sunday,  February  16
More Than Just Words
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: Psalm 16:11
Think back a few years when 
you were in junior high or acad­
emy.  Think back to weeks of 
prayer,  school campouts, or other 
events at your school. A big part 
of the program was always some­
one leading the group in singing 
songs that you seem to have al­
ways known.
One of these songs is from the 
lesson this week—Micah 6:8.  It is 
one of those that was stuck in 
there between “Sing Alleluia to 
the Lord,” and “Pass It On,” and 
after the rush and excitement of 
the other songs, the meaning to 
these quiet,  devotional songs 
tended to get lost somewhere be­
tween the singer’s mouth and the 
ceiling.
Micah 6:8 is a very well-known 
verse,  not only because of being 
the words to a song, but also be­
cause we have always heard it, 
ever since we were learning our 
memory verses in cradle roll and 
kindergarten. We can’t recall the 
first time that we heard this 
verse.  For all we know, we knew 
it from the minute we were born.
If someone would ask us to re­
peat the words to them right now, 
we could rattle them off without 
even hearing what we are saying:
“He hath showed thee, O man, 
what is good; 

and what doth the Lord re­
quire of thee,
but to do justly,  and to love 
mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy 
God?”
So what does it mean? It isn’t 
a statement or a reprimand or 
any of the other basic ideas that 
we may have about it.  Instead, it 
is a statement followed by a ques­
tion.  The writer of the text is 
saying, We know what is good;
God has shown us. And then the 
question is asked, How much does 
the Lord ask us for? Only three 
things: to be just in what we  do, 
to be merciful,  and to be humble 
in the sight of God.
This text in itself has such a 
simple but powerful message. 
What a shame that, sitting 
around the campfire, singing dur­
ing week of prayer and those 
countless other youthful sing-a- 
longs, we missed its  deeper 
meaning for our lives.  We could 
have gotten so much more from 
the program than the excitement 
and release of energy that we 
regularly felt whenever we took 
part in a song service.
The challenge that is being pre­
sented to you is to think about 
what you are saying in your 
prayers, your readings, and your 
songs, and you will find an abun­
dance of blessing that you may 
never have realized was right 
with you all the time.
Kent  Rogers  is  a  junior  English  major  at  Loma  Linda  University  River­
side, California. 

by Kent Rogers
71


Monday,  February  17
Rites and Wrongs
LOGOS
Micah 6:1-16
This week’s chapter is a clas­
sic.  Old Testament scholars see it 
as a prime expression of certain 
tensions between the prophets 
and the priests in ancient Israel. 
But Micah would have thought of 
it more  as a matter between God 
and His people;  and in those 
terms it is still pertinent to us 
today.
The Summons to Trial (read 
Mic. 6:1, 2)
In these opening verses, Micah 
speaks as if he were a kind of 
court announcer,  calling upon the 
whole created order to hear the ar­
guments on each side in the case 
between God and His people.  In 
the first verse he invites God’s 
people to come state their griev­
ances against Him—an invitation 
to which the people never re­
spond.  In verse 2 Micah makes it 
clear that God is going to press 
His case, whether His people 
press theirs or not.  The lopsided­
ness of the relationship between 
Yahweh and His people is really 
the whole problem.
In  turning to  earth’s  moun­
tains  and  fountains  to  bear 
witness,  Micah  reminds  his  hear­
ers  that  God  is  Creator  of all 
that  is.  As  Jesus  later  said,  even 
the  stones  would  cry  out  their 
allegiance  to  God  if the  people 
were  silent  (see  Luke  19:40).  It 
is  clear  that  this  is  serious  busi­
ness. 

Yahweh Pleads His Case (read 
Mic. 6:3-5)
There was a particular rhetori­
cal style used for setting forth 
legal claims in ancient Israel and 
neighboring cultures. Now God 
speaks in that style, including a 
play on a couple of similar- 
sounding Hebrew words.
God opens His case in verse 3 
by repeating the call for any evi­
dence against Him: “My people, 
what have I done to you?” (NIV).
In verses 4 and 5  God simply 
states what He has done.  It is all 
positive, a catalog of His “saving 
acts” on behalf of His people.
(Part of the line about Shittim 
and Gilgal is missing from the an­
cient Hebrew manuscripts that 
exist today.  Our various English 
translations try to plug the gap in 
various ways. The general idea, 
however, is clear:  God has led His 
people through all kinds of diffi­
culties, including their entry into 
the promised land.)
Uh-oh.  God’s Mad Again. How 
Are We Going to Appease 
Him? (read Mic.  6:6, 7)
Rams and calves? Oil and 
blood? Firstborn children?
We must remember that what 
we read here represents things 
Micah first shouted at passersby 
in the public places of Jerusalem 
and environs.  He asks their ques­
tions for them.  But he takes away 
any hope they may have that 
these approaches to God will get 
them “off the hook.”
The series of ascending sacri-
John R. Jones is dean of the school of religion at Loma Linda University 
Riverside, California. 

by John  R. Jones
72


flees is not just an attempt to run 
their response into the ground by 
reducing it to absurdity.  The fact 
is that the ancients, even the 
Israelites on occasion, indeed of­
fered rivers of animal blood and 
olive oil,  at great personal cost, 
without seeing anything absurd 
about it at all.  People have indeed 
sacrificed their own offspring, in 
their desperation to somehow win 
His favor. However mistaken, 
they have been utterly sincere 
about this.
Micah is not mocking them, 
but he is claiming that their rites 
are wrongheaded.  Their ritualized 
religion is wrong because it seeks 
to fob God off with gifts. No mat­
ter how expensive the offerings, 
this appeasing attitude keeps 
Him at arm’s length, out of the 
arena of daily life.
Similarly,  it  is  wrong because 
it  refers  the  whole  of religious  ex­
perience  to  the  level  of the  cere­
monial.  Not  that  rituals  are  in­
herently  wrong.  But  when  the 
entirety  of morality is  collapsed 
into  them,  they  inevitably  go 
flat.  The  result  is  the  attitude 
Malachi  deplored  in  the  temple 
priests,  when  he  saw  them  turn­
ing  up  their  noses  and  sniffing 
“What  a  bore  this  is!”  (Mai.
1:13).  When  this  happens,  the 
ceremonies  don’t  die,  but  simply 
continue  as  empty  shells,  or  as 
mere  cynical  manipulation  of di­
vine  powers.
This progressive loss of mean­
ing is a common phenomenon in re­
ligious symbolism. The scholars 
call it “semantic depletion” and 
trace the tendency across cultures 

and religions.  It apparently has 
something to do with a profound 
psychological gap that sometimes 
opens up between religion and 
reality. The tendency, then, is to 
counter the encroaching emptiness 
by stepping up the rituals— 
perhaps making them more elabo­
rate and awesome, perhaps in­
creasing the sheer volume of the 
gifts and offerings, perhaps escala­
ting to ever more heroic sacrifices.
The problem,  of course, is that 
it doesn’t work. This is  all on the 
wrong end of the equation. Appar­
ently the only effective way to 
bridge the psychological gap is 
not from the sacred,  symbolic 
side, but from  the side of real life. 
The answer is not to somehow 
pump up the rituals, but to get on 
with the real itself.
Getting Real
The point of the chapter is that 
the way to a religion that doesn’t 
try to manipulate God is through 
a life that doesn’t try to manipu­
late our fellow human beings.
Get the worldly level straight, 
Micah would tell us,  and you 
won’t have to worry about how to 
approach Yahweh.
REACT
1. What are the counterparts 
in our religious lives to the an­
cient ceremonies and sacrifices?
2.  How do these modern observ­
ances relate to our social  and 
ethical responsibilities?
‘ See, for example, Adolf E. Jensen, Myth and Cult 
Among Primitive Peoples (Chicago:  University of Chi­
cago Press,  1963), pp. 76-78,  113.
73


Tuesday,  February  18
Needful  Bedfellows
TESTIMONY
Key Text: 2 Timothy 4:1,2
Ellen White grew up a Method­
ist.  Like John Wesley, the 
Methodist founder she so re­
spected,  she was an advocate of 
social action and a seeker after 
the Holy Spirit.  Ellen White was 
just as comfortable attending 
prayer meeting and pleading for 
the baptism of the Holy Spirit as 
she was promoting radical aboli­
tionism and encouraging the civil 
disobedience of the underground 
railroad. This combination of 
social activism and humble open­
ness to the Holy Spirit which we 
find in our early Adventist history 
is relatively rare today, especially 
in Adventist circles.
Our text this week reminds us 
that God requires both a commit­
ment to justice  and a humble 
submission to His Spirit.  Ellen 
White emphasizes this balance in 
the ministry of Christ,  as well. 
“The Saviour loved the solitude of 
the mountain in which to hold 
communion with His Father. 
Through the day He labored 
earnestly to save men from  de­
struction.  He healed the sick, 
comforted the mourning, called 
the  dead to life,  and brought hope 
and cheer to the  despairing.
After His work for the day was 
finished, He went forth, evening 
after evening,  away from the con­
fusion of the city, and bowed in 
prayer to His Father. Frequently 
He continued His petitions 
through the entire night; but He 

came from these seasons of 
communion invigorated and re­
freshed, braced for duty and for 
trial.”1
“The example of Christ in link­
ing Himself with the interests of 
humanity should be followed by 
all who preach His word,  and by 
all who have received the gospel 
of His grace. We are not to re­
nounce social communion.  We 
should not seclude ourselves from 
others.  In order to reach all 
classes, we must meet them 
where they are.  They will seldom 
seek us of their own accord.  Not 
alone from the pulpit are the 
hearts of men touched by divine 
truth.  There is another field of 
labor, humbler, it may be, but 
fully as promising.  It is found in 
the home of the lowly,  and in the 
mansion of the great; at the hospi­
table board, and in gatherings for 
innocent social enjoyment.”
Some say the church needs 
more service and less prayer. 
Others  say we need more prayer 
and less emphasis on social issues 
or social activism. Both groups 
are right and wrong.  Where there 
is little prayer there is little 
power, but when the Spirit comes 
with power there is always a re­
vival of service  and social reform. 
Isolationism and lack of openness 
to the Holy Spirit are our greatest 
problems in the church today.
We need to address them equally 
and simultaneously, for these are 
indeed needful bedfellows.
1. Gospel Workers, p. 256.
2. The Desire o f Ages,  p.  152.
Steve  Daily  is  campus  chaplain  at  Loma  Linda  University  Riverside, 
California. 

by Steve Daily
74


Wednesday,  February  19
Fulfilling God’s Expectations
EVIDENCE
Key Text: Micah 6:8
The “Third Way,” they called 
it.  By the beginning of 1986, the 
Filipino people had rejected both 
of their other alternatives for so­
cial structure. The Marxists’ 
seductive promises of land redis­
tribution and shared prosperity 
had given way to bands of murder­
ous insurrectionists. And the 
grand vision of Jeffersonian de­
mocracy, never fully at home in 
Asia, had been betrayed by its 
long identification with corrupt 
and oppressive power. Clearly, 
something else was needed.
Micah helped provide the an­
swer. His ancient cry for social jus­
tice, for love and humble decency, 
spoke with new immediacy to a 
people who, spurning both Marx 
and Marcos, turned to their own 
deeply rooted religious traditions 
for direction. They drew upon the 
messages of the Hebrew prophets 
and the gospel writers, proclaimed 
them afresh from Filipino pulpits, 
and wove them into a uniquely na­
tive fabric of convictions about 
what God intends for society.
Since that time we have contin­
ued to see religious beliefs 
making a difference in how soci­
eties define themselves, from 
South Korea to Eastern Europe. 
The very real world of cynical poli­
tics, military might, and vested 
interests can be made to yield 
when challenged by principled 
convictions like Micah’s. 

But what about the rituals? 
Micah decried the common 
human tendency to substitute 
symbolic action for direct involve­
ment—especially when the 
symbolic actions are aimed at pla­
cating God over our failure to 
address wrongs in this world.
But it is instructive to trace the 
very different role played by cere­
mony when people are taking 
direct action based upon their reli­
gious convictions.
In the case of the “people 
power” movement, it was pre­
cisely the prayers in the streets, 
the constant recitations over the 
loudspeakers, that expressed and 
cemented the common bond weld­
ing the hundreds of thousands 
into human barriers. Young semi­
narians who linked arms with 
their professors in the pathway of 
advancing infantry columns later 
reported that it was the hymns 
they were singing that stiffened 
their resolve.
Symbols and ceremonies, then, 
do serve a legitimate religious 
function. They can galvanize peo­
ple into effective action and 
confirm bonds of common cause. 
They can provide rallying points 
around which the issues of the 
great controversy cluster. But 
they do all of this only when they 
are the expression of convictions, 
when they mirror and prompt re­
sponsible action in the world, 
rather than being used as a substi­
tute for conviction and action. 
That’s the difference between idol­
atry and true faith.
John R. Jones is dean of the school of religion at Loma Linda University 
Riverside, California. 

by John  R. Jones
75


Thursday,  February 20
Stop!  Contradiction!
HOW-TO
Key Text: Micah 6:8
Within two phrases in the 
same sentence in the same verse, 
we see two seemingly contradic­
tory statements. Act justly, but 
love mercy. What God seems to be 
saying is there should be consis­
tency in every judgment that you 
make, but do not make laws more 
important than humans.  Like we 
often do.
Act Justly
Work an honest day for your 
wage.  Pay an honest wage for 
work done. Pay your taxes. Accept 
responsibility for what you’ve 
done wrong.  If the clerk gives you 
too much change, return it, 
whether it’s a penny or a hundred 
dollars.
Love Mercy
Work a little extra when cir­
cumstances warrant it. Pay a 
little more when the need arises. 
Be willing to help somebody who 
needs it instead of sending them 
to the tax-funded soup kitchen. 
Give a little extra to your church 
when  it needs it, although you’ve 
paid your tithe.  Be willing to for­ 

give those who have wronged you. 
(Remember how many times God 
has forgiven you for your stupid­
ity.) If you have extra change in 
your pocket, give it to a beggar, 
whether it’s a penny or a hundred 
dollars.
Walk Humbly With God?
Why should a Christian/Son of 
God/child of the King have to 
walk humbly?
I used to enjoy walking onto 
the army base with my father the 
colonel, because everywhere we 
went people would salute.  Pri­
vates would salute. Majors would 
salute.  I felt proud. Then one day 
it dawned on me. They weren’t sa­
luting me,  I wasn’t the colonel.  I 
wasn’t even in the army. To them 
I was nothing. The salutes were 
only coming my direction because 
of my companion.  I was not the 
colonel.  I was a child of the colo­
nel.  I learned to walk humbly 
with my father.
Read the final phrase like this: 
Walk,  don’t be stagnant.  Don’t 
stand still.  Walk .  .  . with God.
Let God be your guide. And watch 
doors open up to you.  Walk hum­
bly with God.  Realize that it is 
not you but God who is the source 
of all of your blessings.
D.  P.  Harris 
D.  P.  Harris  is  director  of  the  MICOL  computer  center  at  Loma  Linda 
University Riverside, California. 
76


Friday,  February 21
Accepting Simplicity
OPINION
Key Texts: Mark 12:29-31
In his book All I Really Need to 
Know I Learned in Kindergarten, 
Robert Fulghum maintains that 
wisdom is really gained at the 
lower rungs of the educational lad­
der.  The following is included in 
Fulghum’s list of the essential 
things he learned in kindergarten.
“Share everything.
Play fair.
Don’t hit people.
Don’t take things that aren’t 
yours.
Say you’re sorry when you hurt 
somebody.
When you go out into the 
world, watch out for traffic,Jiold 
hands, and stick together.”
It may seem a bit simplistic, but 
then again, some good lessons can 
be learned through simplicity.
Take Micah 6:8, for example. It 
gives a very simple answer to what 
is often thought to be a complex 
question: What do I need to do?
The answer is very clear—act 
justly, love mercy, and walk hum­
bly with God. These actions are di­
rectly tied to the two greatest com­
mandments: love God and love 
your neighbor as yourself (see 
Mark 12:29-31). Conscientious ad­
herence to these two command­
ments will automatically lead a 

person “to act justly and to love 
mercy and to walk humbly with 
your God” (Mic. 6:8, NIV). 
Fulghum’s list is also tied to these 
commandments. If you have genu­
ine love for both God and your 
friends, you will share, play fair, 
say you’re sorry when you hurt 
someone, etc. In kindergarten we 
live by these simple rules whether 
or not we know the motivation be­
hind them. We are happy and satis­
fied that we have done enough. As 
we get older, we somehow get 
away from the simplicity and think 
we need to do more in order to 
achieve happiness.
What do we need to do? Love 
God.  Love our neighbor. Act 
justly.  Love mercy. Walk humbly 
with God.  Simple commands, sim­
ple actions.  Why can’t we just 
accept them? I think the reason 
lies in our human tendency to 
want to do things ourselves. We 
never feel right just accepting 
something as ours unless we have 
done enough hard work on our 
own to feel we have earned that 
something.  We need to realize 
that, in the case of eternal life, 
Jesus Christ has  already done all 
the hard work.  All He asks us to 
do is accept it and follow a few 
simple rules for a happy life.
•Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned 
in Kindergarten  (New York: Villard Books,  1988).
by  Kharolynn  Pascual 
Kharolynn  Pascual  is a sophomore ministerial  and educational  ministry 
major at Loma  Linda  University Riverside,  California. 
77


Lesson 9,  February 23-29
The Triumph of Faith
“Who  is  a  God  like  you,  who  pardons  sin  and  forgives 
the  transgression  of  the  remnant  of  his  inheritance?  You 
do  not  stay  angry  forever  but  delight  to  show  mercy” 
(Micah  7:18,  NIV).


Sunday,  February 23
Looking  Unto Jesus
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: John 1:29
“When Jesus came to be bap­
tized, John recognized in Him a 
purity of character that he had 
never before perceived in any 
man.  The very atmosphere of His 
presence was holy and awe­
inspiring.”*  John’s invitation to 
mankind still rings out victory to 
the remnant people of God in the 
race for eternal life:  “Behold the 
Lamb of God, which taketh away 
the sin of the world” (John  1:29).
After the Israelites by faith 
crossed the Red Sea, they trium­
phantly proclaimed, “Who is like 
unto thee,  O  Lord,  among the 
gods? Who is like thee, glorious in 
holiness, fearful in praises,  doing 
wonders?” (Exod.  15:11).  Had the 
Hebrew people daily reflected on 
this signal deliverance from 
death, the God of heaven would 
have increased their faith and 
surety in Him.
But they murmured about the 
quality of their drinking water, 
they hungered for the flesh pots 
of Egypt, they complained about 
the rugged wilderness terrain, 
and they became insubordinate to­ 

ward Moses, their divinely ap­
pointed leader.  Psalm  106 
pictures the story of the 
Israelites’ rebellion and God’s 
grace. As they delayed their 
travel to the promised land be­
cause of their ingratitude and 
disobedience, David shows the 
long-suffering and goodness of 
God when he sings these words: 
“Nevertheless he regarded their 
affliction, when he heard their 
cry:  and he remembered for them 
his covenant,  and repented accord­
ing to the multitude of his 
mercies.  He made them also to be 
pitied of all those that carried 
them captives” (verses 44-46).
In this week’s lesson Micah be­
moaned the sinfulness of Israel.
He reassured them, as well as 
God’s followers today, that He is 
the only hope for apostates. In sim­
plicity the remnant of God must ac­
cept His word: look and live. By 
our “looking unto Jesus the author 
and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 
12:2), “he will turn again, he will 
have compassion upon us; he will 
subdue our iniquities; and thou 
wilt cast all their sins into the 
depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:19).
* The Desire of Ages,  p.  110.
by Oliver J.  Davis 
Oliver J. Davis is an associate professor of English at Oakwood College, 
Huntsville, Alabama. 
79


Monday,  February 24
The Triumph of Faith
LOGOS
Micah 7:18
National Apostasy (read Mic. 
7:1-7)
“The godly have been swept 
from the land; not one upright 
man remains. All men lie in wait 
to shed blood; each hunts his 
brother with a net” (7:2, NIV).
The words paint a picture sim­
ilar to that of Jeremiah, who later 
hounded the streets and squares 
of Jerusalem in search of a right­
eous person (see Jer.  5:1),  and 
also Diogenes, who later still 
walked about Athens, Greece, 
with a lantern in search of hon­
esty. Micah, whose name in 
Hebrew asks the question, “Who 
is like Jehovah?” carried on his 
prophetic ministry during the lat­
ter half of the eighth century 
B.C., when Assyria ruled as the 
dominant world power. A contem­
porary of Isaiah and Hosea,
Micah served as a prophet to 
Judah sometime between 750 and 
686 B.C.  during the reigns of 
Jothan, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, 
kings of Judah (see Mic.  1:1; Jer. 
26:18).
Micah bewails a society which, 
in the words of Shakespeare, 
“drinks the venom of its own 
spleen” by becoming its own pun­
ishment. Widespread disregard of 
right makes it impossible for peo­
ple to be secure even in the most 
intimate relations of life—with 
friends and family—for they some­
how become foes.
The four couplets (see 7:2-4) 

vividly describe the web of in­
iquity woven over Palestine in 
such terms as people “lying in 
wait to shed blood,” “hunting 
one’s brother or sister with a net,” 
“being skilled in doing evil,” and 
so on. Even in the most private 
and romantic of circumstances 
the people were warned to raise 
their guard.  Micah said,  “Even 
with her who lies in your embrace 
be careful of your words” (verse 5, 
NIV).  In short, the people of God 
were in misery—the sure bitter 
fruit of sin.
A Vision of Restoration (read 
Mic. 7:8-13)
“Because I have sinned against 
him,  I will bear the Lord’s wrath, 
until he pleads my case and estab­
lishes my right. He will bring me 
out into the light; I will see his ju s­
tice” (Mic.  7:9, NIV).
Is this  not always the case? 
When we confess our sins, God is 
there to forgive and set us on the 
road to another chance and  a bet­
ter way of life (see  1 John  1:9).
Micah  expresses  such  hope  in 
poetic  fashion  in  chapter  7, 
verses  8-13,  which  might  be 
called  a  prophetic  liturgy  or  even 
a  psalm  where  speakers  and 
mood  and  tone  shift  from  section 
to  section.  God’s  suffering  people 
speak  in  verses  8-10,  defiant  of 
their  enemies  and  humbly  confi­
dent  in  their  God.  A  prophetic 
voice  seems  to  speak  in  verses 
11-13  announcing  a  glorious  time 
when  Palestine  will  enlarge  her 
borders,  and  nations,  including 
bygone  enemies,  will  flood  her
by Mervyn A. Warren 
Mervyn  A.  Warren  is  chairman  of  the  religion  department  at  Oakwood 
College, Huntsville, Alabama. 
80


with  tribute  and  praise.  In  verse 
12  the  words fortified  and for­
tress  are  translated  from  the  He­
brew  word masor,  which  may 
also  be  rendered  “Egypt.”  That  is 
the  reason  so  many  modern 
Bible  versions  read  as  follows: 
“People  will  come  to  you  from  As­
syria  and  the  cities  of Egypt, 
even  from Egypt  to  the  Euphra­
tes”  (NIV).
The restoration that God’s 
righteousness brings often affects 
not merely our internal disposi­
tion but also our external 
conditions.
God’s Assurance (read Mic. 
7:14-17)
“Shepherd your people with 
your staff...   in fertile pasture- 
lands” (Mic.  7:14, NIV).
As sheep need the protection of 
the shepherd lest they again be­
come entrapped or perish, the peo­
ple of God need His guidance so 
that “goodness and mercy may fol­
low them” (Ps. 23:6), “the flock” of 
Jehovah’s inheritance (Mic. 7:14). 
Although human leaders have 
their part to play in the welfare of 
the church, God Himself is the 

great Shepherd-King—their best 
insurance, their blessed assurance.
The Remnant Forgiven (read 
Mic. 7:18-20)
“Who is a God like you,  who 
pardons sin and forgives the trans­
gression of the remnant o f his 
inheritance'?” (Mic.  7:18, NIV).
A rhetorical question if there 
ever was one! It seeks no answer, 
for the answer is implicit within 
the inquiry. There is no God like 
Yahweh! Thus Micah’s liturgy 
ends with a hymnic acknowledge­
ment of the greatness of God’s di­
vine compassion. The poetic turn 
of the latter part of chapter 7 al­
lows for a possible play the prophet 
might be making on his own name 
Micah, which is a shortened form 
of the Hebrew Micayah, meaning 
Who is like Yahweh?
A question worth pondering, is 
it not? Who is like God,  who, 
when He gives, He gives His Son 
Jesus Christ (see John 3:16)? Who 
is like God,  who, when He for­
gives, forgives all? What heart 
could not strengthen with this 
hope? What faith could not tri­
umph with this assurance?
81


Tuesday,  February 25
The Lord, Our Light and Our 
Salvation
TESTIMONY
Key Text: Micah 7:7-9
“Through His prophets [God] 
had sent to  His chosen people 
message after message of earnest 
entreaty—messages that had 
been despised and rejected by the 
ten tribes of Israel, now given 
over to the enemy. But from 
Judah there remained a goodly 
remnant,  and to these prophets 
continued to appeal.”
Even in our day God still ten­
derly pleads with the sinner 
through the promptings of the 
Holy Spirit.  “No earthly parent 
ever pleaded so earnestly with an 
erring child as He who pleads 
with the transgressor. No human, 
loving interest ever followed the 
impenitent with invitations so ten­
der.”2
If the sinner does not resist, he 
will experience a change in his life. 
“The Holy Spirit is implanting the 
grace of Christ in the heart of 
many a noble seeker after truth, 
quickening his sympathies con­
trary to his nature, contrary to his 
former education. The ‘Light that 
lighteneth every man that cometh 
into the world’ (John 1:9), is shin­
ing in his soul; and this Light, if 
heeded, will guide his feet to the 
kingdom of God.’
These are words of instruction 
to us as we labor for souls.  As we 
labor, let us remember how much 

God loved us: “But God com- 
mendeth his love towards us, in 
that, while we were yet sinners, 
Christ died for us” (Rom.  5:8).
The light that God manifests 
to us not only offers pardon from 
sin, but also strength to keep us 
under any circumstances.  If we de­
cide to continually surrender 
ourselves to God,  He will never 
fail us. Ellen White gives us these 
words of encouragement:
“Nothing is apparently more 
helpless, yet really more invin­
cible, than the soul that feels its 
nothingness and relies wholly on 
the merits of the Saviour.  By 
prayer, by the study of His word, 
by faith in His abiding presence, 
the weakest of human beings may 
live in contact with the living 
Christ,  and He will hold them by 
a hand that will never let go.”4
REACT
1.  How should we deal with 
those who are erring and seem in­
corrigible?
2. What can we do when we 
are faced with a besetting sin or 
bad habit over which we have not 
gained the victory? How can we 
encourage those who are facing 
this problem?
1. Prophets and Kings,  p. 333.
2.  Testimonies,  vol. 8,  p. 275.
3. Prophets and Kings, pp. 376, 377.
4.  The Ministry of Healing, p.  182.
Tracy D.  Cook is a theology and communication  major at Oakwood Col­
lege,  Huntsville, Alabama. 

by Tracy  D. Cook
82


Wednesday,  February 26
Stand  Up and  Be Counted
EVIDENCE
Key Text: Jer. 31:33, 34
In  chapter  7,  Micah’s  proph­
ecy  about  the  destruction  of Is­
rael  is  interposed  with  visions  of 
a  happy,  prosperous,  God-fearing 
future.  The  prophet  was  a  wit­
ness  to  the  apostasy  of the  gov­
ernment  and  the  people.  Wicked­
ness,  ingratitude  to  God, 
religious  pretense,  dishonesty, 
and idolatry  were  the  prevailing 
practices.  In  the  prophecy,  Micah 
recounts  the  treachery  and  vio­
lence  of the  so-called  leaders  of 
the  people  and  their  impending 
destruction,  but  abruptly  points 
to  a  time  in  the  future  when 
Christ  will  usher  in  an  eternity 
of universal  peace.
Certainly it takes faith to look 
forward to a future like that.  “I 
am the Lord, the God of all man­
kind.  Is anything too hard for 
me?” (Jer.  32:27, NIV).  God will 
triumph whether we cooperate 
with Him or not.
The odds are stacked against 
anyone who takes  God for 

granted.  The more we try by our 
own strength to get out of the 
quagmire of sin, the deeper we 
sink. We need the lifeline of faith 
in Jesus Christ to enable us to get 
out of this sin situation. Just as 
the contemporaries of Micah 
sought God in fervent faith for 
His deliverance,  we need to take 
hold of the Lord’s promises of de­
liverance.  St. Augustine writes in 
his Confessions, “.  .  . because you 
made us for yourself.  .  .  our 
hearts find no peace until they 
rest in you.”
In an age when belief in a God 
who forgives sins is unfashion­
able, it is even more difficult to 
stand up to be counted.  It takes 
courage and conviction to do so, 
but, “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). That 
is triumphant faith.
1.  Henry H.  Hailey, Hailey’s Bible Handbook (Grand 
Rapids:  Zondervan,  1965),  pp.  366,  367.
2. Saint Augustine, Confessions (New York:  Penguin 
Books, Ltd.,  1981), p. 21.
by Sammy R.  Browne 
Sammy  R.  Browne  is  an  assistant  professor  of  English  at  Oakwood 
College, Huntsville, Alabama. 
83


Thursday,  February 27
How to Walk Humbly With God
HOW-TO
Key Text: Micah 6:8
Christian humility is the most 
misunderstood concept. To be 
Christlike is to be humble.  To be 
a good citizen is to be humble.  To 
be a good neighbor is to be hum­
ble. Even a model student is  said 
to be a humble one.
The Word of God gives us goals 
to grasp,  and every newborn in 
Christ needs an awareness that 
walking humbly with our God is 
as an uncharted jungle to be trod 
and also the goal to be  attained. 
What strategies and advanced 
weaponry must I solicit for this 
journey?
1. 1 must bring to bear a reali­
zation that there is going to be a 
conflict between my emotions and 
my disposition.  The law of my un­
charted jungle is: the fittest 
survive,  and we take no hostages. 
This agitates my natural instinct 
to survive  and preserve self. 
Hence,  I rise up to conquer or de­
fend or even police myself along 
my walk.
2. 1 must pay attention to the 
natural arousal of my sinful tend­
encies, harness them, and, in a 

fight to the death, bring them 
under control.  The apostle Paul 
says this another way: “I therefore 
so run, not as uncertainly; so fight 
I, not as one that beateth the air: 
but I keep under my body, and 
bring it into subjection: lest that by 
any means, when I have preached 
to others, I myself should be a 
castaway” (1 Cor. 9:26, 27).
3. 1  must bring myself down to 
where I ought to be.  For many a 
newborn in Christ this descent is 
not a long one because the birth 
pains were so severe that they 
leave the correct birthmarks a 
growing Christian must display. 
But with many it is not so.  They 
are either treading along a long 
journey or somehow discovered a 
rest station and with displaced vi­
sion fail to get back on track.
When I reach my goal,  I will 
have a cheerful and hopeful endur­
ance.  I will have a constancy 
when under the gun of temptation 
and trial.  I will have fortitude 
when in an inferior position. But 
I will hold my own ground with 
expectancy. For the Holy Spirit is 
given to help me.
REACT
Do you agree that to be a good 
citizen one has to be humble?
by James A.  Payne 
James  A.  Payne  is  the  resident dean  of freshmen  at  Oakwood  College, 
Huntsville, Alabama. 
84


Friday,  February 28
God  Is the Answer
OPINION
Key Text: Heb.11:6
Faith in the context of our les­
son suggests an ultimate trust or 
belief in the knowledge that God 
is, “and that he is a rewarder of 
them that diligently seek him” 
(Heb.  11:6).
Only a few years ago it was de­
clared that God was dead and 
therefore irrelevant. Having 
replaced God, we became over­
confident in our scientific and 
technological achievements. In so 
doing we have crafted a world of 
our own making,  a world riddled 
with uncertainties and insecuri­
ties.
Almost 3,000 years ago the 
prophet Micah described a similar 
national apostasy that had over­
taken Israel.  He wrote: “The good 
man is perished out of the earth: 
and there is none upright among 
men.  .  .  .  The son dishonoureth 
the father, the daughter riseth up 
against her mother” (Mic.  7:2-6). 
There is a striking parallel be­
tween Micah’s day and ours.
Paul echoed the sentiments of 
Micah when he stated: “And even 
as they did not like to retain God 
in their knowledge, God gave 
them over to a reprobate 

mind  .  .  .  backbiters,  haters of 
God  .  .  .  disobedient to parents 
.  .  .  [and] without natural  affec­
tion” (Rom.  1:28, 30, 31).
Is there any solution to what 
appears to be a “no-win situation”?
Yes,  there  is  hope,  but  only 
when  we  look  beyond  our  own 
limitations.  Micah  reassures  us 
that  confession  of our  sins  and 
submission  to  God  will  restore 
our  sense  of direction.  Most  of 
the  time  we  turn  to  God  as  the 
last  resort  when  everything  else 
has  failed.  But  even  then  we  are 
sure  of His  support.  For  when 
we  fall,  we  shall  rise  again  (see 
Mic.  7:8-13).
Christ raised a disturbing ques­
tion as He looked to our times. 
“When the Son of man cometh, 
shall he find faith on the earth?” 
(Luke  18:8). This question dis­
turbs even the remnant.  But He 
will find the faithful few whose 
sins He will have forgiven be­
cause of their trust in Him.
REACT
1.  Do we really believe that 
God is the answer for the twenti­
eth century?
2. As God’s people, both young 
and old,  are we so affected by cur­
rent trends that we no longer see 
God as the answer?
by Emmanuel  Saunders 
Emmanuel  Saunders is chairman of the department of history and polit­
ical science at Oakwood College,  Huntsville, Alabama.
85


Lesson  10,  March  1-7
When the Lights Go 
Out. . . ?
“The  great  day  of  the  Lord  is  near—near  and  coming 
quickly.  Listen!  The  cry  on  the  day  of  the  Lord  will  be 
bitter,  the shouting  of the warrior there” (Zeph.  1:14,  NIV).


Sunday,  March  1
The “Wolf, Wolf”  Syndrome
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: Zeph. 1:14
“WARNING: THE SURGEON 
GENERAL HAS DETERMINED 
THAT CIGARETTE  SMOKING 
MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO 
YOUR HEALTH.” In spite of that 
bold warning on every pack, there 
are still millions of cigarettes 
smoked every day. There is some­
thing about slow and insidious 
evils that we seem to ignore.
If someone comes into a room 
screaming, “Fire, everybody get 
out immediately!” we promptly 
beat a hasty retreat.  But put up a 
sign that says, “Slow, curves 
ahead,  35 mph,” and I say to my­
self, “I wonder if I could get 
through  them at 50—maybe 55. ”
Part of the problem may be 
related to our own misuse of warn­
ings. Adults  seem to possess a 
proclivity for manipulating chil­
dren with phoney warnings. “If 
you make ugly faces like that,  one 
day your face will freeze in that 
position!” we are told. “Don’t jump 
on the bed, you will fall off and 

break your neck!”
It is simply a fact of life—or 
should we  say a fact of death— 
that turning away from God and 
His way of doing things brings dis­
aster.  Zephaniah gives no vain 
and idle warning.  This is not a 
manipulative ploy.  God is not cry­
ing, “Wolf, Wolf!” There really is 
destruction coming. And it is a di­
rect result of the behaviors of the 
people of Judah in their idolatry. 
This is not a “jumping on the bed” 
issue.  It is as real as the surgeon 
general’s warning. Idolatrous be­
havior brings destruction.
Zephaniah addresses people 
who are numb to God’s pleading 
in a corporate  disregard for His 
appeals.  Society is, after all, the 
sum total of individual behavior. 
And in Judah,  it was corrupt. 
Zephaniah does not provide us 
with the extensive listing of evils 
that we find in other of the proph­
ets such as Isaiah and Amos, for 
example. But he does make it 
clear that idolatry has  done its 
evil in destroying society by de­
meaning the dignity of humanity 
as the children of God.
by Gary B.  Patterson
Gary  B.  Patterson  is  administrative  assistant  to  the  North  American
Division president. 
87


Monday,  March  2
The Inside Track
LOGOS
Zeph. 1:7, 8
Placing the prophecy of 
Zephaniah during the reign of 
King Josiah gives us a rather 
broad time range. Josiah reigned 
for 31 years as indicated by 
2 Kings  22:1,  and his reign is 
dated between 640 and 609 B.C. 
Narrowing the field a bit,  we 
know that Zephaniah prophesied 
the overthrow of Nineveh (see 
2:13), which occurred in 612 B.C. 
And he speaks of “the King’s chil­
dren” (1:8), which makes it sound 
as if the prophecy comes after 
Josiah was old enough to father 
some children.  It seems plausible 
that these events would have 
occurred somewhere in the neigh­
borhood of 625 to 615 B.C.
There is the possibility, how­
ever, that Zephaniah may be 
referring to members of his own 
family as the king’s children.  He 
lists himself as being in the lin­
eage of King Hezekiah—his 
great-great grandson—thus 
providing him with inside informa­
tion on the royal goings-on. This 
lineage listing is unique among 
the prophets. Usually only the 
prophet’s father is mentioned in 
these lineage rehearsals.  But in 
this case there is significant infor­
mation to be given. Zephaniah 
was a member of the royal family, 
and possibly the king’s children 
he refers to are his own relatives, 
especially in view of the fact that 
any children of Josiah would 
hardly have been old enough to 

have earned the rebuke given by 
Zephaniah to the king’s children.
Zephaniah was on the inside 
track.  He knew firsthand of the 
corruption at the highest levels. 
This is not a message sent in 
through a stranger from a distant 
land as was the case with Amos. 
None could question the validity 
of Zephaniah’s information. He 
was part of the clan.
The opening warning is savage 
indeed. Nothing escapes the deso­
lation.  It extends not only to the 
elements of agrarian society such 
as man and cattle, but even to 
nature and the wild animals, in­
cluding birds and fish.
The Baal Solution
The culprit was Baal, that pe­
rennial nemesis of Jewish 
worship.  It is not easy in our con­
temporary society to comprehend 
Israel’s fascination with Baal wor­
ship. The passing of years and 
seasons, to us, is understood in a 
linear progression, while to them 
it was the repeated cycle of the 
struggle between the gods. To us, 
the seasons are explained by the 
rotation of the earth and its orbit 
around the sun.  Storms come up— 
observed by satellite—in highl­
and low-pressure variations, and 
these systems are driven by such 
elements  as the jet stream.  Watch 
the evening news,  and not only do 
you have a pretty accurate proph­
ecy on the weather, you even 
know why it is doing what it does.
To the Jewish agricultural soci­
ety it was all an incomprehensible 
mystery.  No one knew the mecha­
by Gary B.  Patterson
Gary  B.  Patterson  is  administrative  assistant  to  the  North  American
Division president. 
88


nism for why the  seasons came 
and went, or why storms or 
droughts occurred. The explana­
tion extant in Canaan when the 
children of Israel arrived from 
Egypt and Mount Sinai was Baal. 
He was the god of the storm and 
the rains that brought fertility 
and growth to the land. After the 
storm passed through, things 
grew. And when no storms and 
rains came, everything dried up 
and died—including the people.
It was a matter of survival.
Baal was the god of the storm, 
and Mot was the god of drought. 
Legends had it that Baal and Mot 
had a big fight in which Baal was 
killed. But Baal’s sister, Anath, 
the goddess of war, fought with 
Mot and killed him. Then she car­
ried the lifeless form of her 
brother to the mountain of the 
gods, where he was resurrected. 
As a result, this battle between 
Mot and Baal continued annually 
with Baal’s death during the dry 
season and his resurrection dur­
ing the wet season.
To complicate matters even 
more,  Baal was not one being—as 
monotheists like us might think—- 
but rather he was multiple in his 
presence. He was the god of the 
trees or the god of the hills or the 
god of the springs or wherever na­
ture blessed the land. Thus we 
find a confusing array of Baal 
gods in multiple locations.  There 
is Baal-gad, Baal-peor, Baal- 
tamar, Baal-zebub,
Baal-zephron—and on and on.
His death was always mourned 
by the people, and his return was 
celebrated with fertility rites.
Naturally there were times 
when the forces of nature were 
harsh, and the rains did not 
come, and crops did not grow.  It 

was times such as these that 
seemed to encourage even more 
ceremony and violence in order to 
invoke the blessing of the gods.  If 
a little ceremony was good, then 
more should be better.  If a little 
sacrifice would not serve to ap­
pease or attract a recalcitrant 
god, then maybe larger and more 
violent ones would.
Vile Practices
Society was corrupted further 
and further by these appeasement 
rituals, even to the place that 
innocent children—the fruit of the 
corrupt fertility rites—were of­
fered as sacrifices to the gods.  It 
was Elijah who most vividly ex­
posed and derided these vile 
practices when he gathered the 
prophets of Baal to Mount Car­
mel.  There he exhorted the 
prophets to call louder, as per­
haps their god was sleeping or on 
a journey.
The point here in Zephaniah is 
not that God’s ego is too big and 
bruised to allow the worship of 
anyone other than Himself.  He 
knows who He is.  He doesn’t need 
us to affirm His authority.  But 
rather, these pagan practices and 
concepts were leading society to 
the point where life was being de­
stroyed. The principles of God’s 
law provide the only means by 
which the universe can operate in 
harmony.
Baal worship was destroying 
society.  It had gone  so far that it 
was too late to save even what 
was left of Judah. Josiah’s 31- 
year reign was marked by a 
turning back of the tide of Baal 
worship.  But it was too late. The 
corruption of Baal worship was 
too ingrained.  Only a total purge 
would save Israel now.
89


Tuesday,  March 3
Dual  Meanings
TESTIMONY
Key Text: Zeph. 1:12,13
“During the reign of Josiah the 
word of the Lord came to Zepha- 
niah, specifying plainly the 
results of continued apostasy, and 
calling the attention of the true 
church to the glorious prospect 
beyond.  His prophecies of impend­
ing judgment upon Judah apply 
with equal force to the judgments 
that are to fall upon an impenit­
ent world at the time of the 
second advent of Christ.”
“It was needful that men should 
be awakened to their danger; that 
they should be roused to prepare 
for the solemn events connected 
with the close of probation. The 
prophet of God declares: ‘The day 
of the Lord is great and very terri­
ble; and who can abide it?’ Who 
shall stand when He appeareth 
who is ‘of purer eyes than to behold 
evil,’ and cannot ‘look on iniquity’? 
Joel 2:11; Habakkuk 1:13. To them 
that cry, ‘My God, we know Thee,’ 
yet have transgressed His cove­
nant, and hastened after another 
god, hiding iniquity in their hearts, 
and loving the paths of unright­
eousness—to these the day of the 
Lord is ‘darkness, and not light, 
even very dark, and no brightness 
in it.’ Hosea 8:2,1; Psalm 16:4; 
Amos 5:20. ‘It shall come to pass at 
that time,’ saith the Lord, ‘that I 
will search Jerusalem with can­
dles, and punish the men that are 
settled on their lees: that say in 
their heart, The Lord will not do 
good, neither will He do evil.’ 

Zephaniah 1:12. ‘I will punish the 
world for their evil, and the wicked 
for their iniquity; and I will cause 
the arrogancy of the proud to 
cease, and will lay low the haughti­
ness of the terrible.’ Isaiah 13:11. 
‘Neither their silver nor their gold 
shall be able to deliver them;’ ‘their 
goods shall become a booty, and 
their houses a desolation.’ 
Zephaniah 1:18, 13.” . . .
“In view of that great day the 
word of God, in the most solemn 
and impressive language, calls 
upon His people to arouse from 
their spiritual lethargy and to 
seek His face with repentance 
and humiliation:  ‘Blow ye the 
trumpet in Zion,  and sound an 
alarm in My holy mountain:  Let 
all the inhabitants of the land 
tremble: for the day of the  Lord 
cometh, for it is nigh at hand.’ 
‘Sanctify a fast, call a solemn 
assembly: gather the people,  sanc­
tify the congregation,  assemble 
the elders,  gather the  children:
. . .   let the bridegroom go forth of 
his chamber,  and the bride out of 
her closet.  Let the priests, the 
ministers of the Lord, weep be­
tween the porch and the altar.’ 
‘Turn ye even to Me with all your 
heart,  and with fasting, and with 
weeping,  and with mourning: and 
rend your heart,  and not your gar­
ments, and turn unto the Lord 
your God: for He is gracious and 
merciful, slow to anger, and of 
great kindness.’ Joel 2:1,  15-17,
12,  13.”
1. Prophets and Kings, p. 389.
2. The Great Controversy, p. 311.
by Gary B.  Patterson
Gary B. Patterson is administrative assistant to the North American Divi­
sion  president. 
90


Wednesday,  March  4
My Hero
EVIDENCE
Key Text: 2 Kings 22:18-20
Josiah was my hero—my icon— 
the little boy-king whose re­
furbishing project at the temple 
brought about the discovery of the 
holy scrolls, which he asked 
Hilkiah to bring out and read to all 
the people. He was my model of 
leadership, revival, and reforma­
tion. My parents and my teachers 
presented him to me as the model 
to follow. How can it be that the 
prophet says all these dreadful 
things about Judah during the 
reign of good king Josiah?
Indeed  Josiah  was  a  remark­
able  young man—child  really—as 
he  was  only  eight  when  his 
reign  began.  And  early  on  he  did 
not  have  immediate  access  to  the 
words  of Scripture,  which  were 
to  so  dramatically  affect  his  life 
and  reign.  It  was  18  years  into 
his  reign  that  the  scroll  was 
found  and  the  public  readings 
instituted.
But Judah was too far gone 
even for the righteous 31-year 
reign of Josiah to spare it from the 
impending doom. As Josiah heard 
the doleful warnings, he inquired 
of the prophetess Hulda to discover 
whether the fate was sealed or if it 
could still be turned back.
Hulda replied, “This is what 
the Lord says:  I  am going to bring 
disaster on this place and its peo­ 

ple, according to everything writ­
ten in the book the king of Judah 
has read. Because they have for­
saken me and burned incense to 
other gods and provoked me to 
anger by all the idols their hands 
have made, my anger will not be 
quenched” (2 Kings 22:16,  17,
NIV).
But there was yet another 
message for King Josiah.  Hulda 
continues, “This is what the Lord, 
the God of Israel,  says concerning 
the words you heard:  Because 
your heart was responsive and 
you humbled yourself before the 
Lord when you heard what I have 
spoken against this place and its 
people, that they would become ac­
cursed and laid waste, and 
because you tore your robes and 
wept in my presence,  I have 
heard you, declares the Lord. 
Therefore  I will gather you to 
your fathers,  and you will be bur­
ied in peace. Your eyes will not 
see all the disaster I  am going to 
bring on this place” (2 Kings 
22:18-20, NIV).
Even in the face of disaster, 
Josiah did not deviate from what 
was right.  He was not motivated 
by doom but by principle.  “He did 
what was right in the eyes of the 
Lord and walked in all the ways 
of his father David, not turning 
aside to the right or to the left”
(2 Kings 22:2,  NIV).  Thus his 31- 
year reign was the civilized bright 
spot in a decaying society.
by Gary B.  Patterson
Gary  B.  Patterson  is  administrative  assistant  to  the  North  American
Division president. 
91


Thursday,  March  5
The Straight Testimony
HOW-TO
Key Text: Zeph. 1:1-3
We already know too much to 
read Zephaniah properly. And 
with this knowledge we tend to 
collapse it all together as we 
begin to read his words. “I will 
sweep away everything from the 
face of the earth.  . . .   I will sweep 
away both men and animals;  I 
will sweep away the birds of the 
air and the fish of the sea. The 
wicked will have only heaps of 
rubble when I cut off man from 
the face of the earth” (Zeph.  1:2,
3, NIV).
All the words of all the proph­
ets from all times and all places 
come crashing back because we 
already know the  story in all its 
gruesome details.  Then we read 
them  over and over and over 
again in an incessant threnody, 
till we either experience the 
numbness of depression or take 
up a shrill refrain of condem­
nation as if it were the whole of 
the message of God.  Having al­
ready addressed numbness to 
warnings, we also need to address 
the shrill voice of the unrelenting 
“prophets.”
This accordionlike collapse of 
prophetic messages often becomes 
the model used to excuse what ac­
tually are pathetic character 
faults. The prophets were not the 
incessant hounds of society.  In re­
ality, when you look at the actual 
historical setting, the messages of 

Zephaniah and the other prophets 
are quite limited in time,  space, 
and repetition.
Without the ease of modern 
travel and the amplification  of 
our media, his words—as well as 
the words of his fellow prophets— 
tended to reach small and  specific 
audiences.  In order for God to get 
His message out, it was necessary 
to call on prophets wherever His 
people might be found.  But some 
today make use of the collected 
corpus of Scripture by massing 
prophet messages out of context, 
and used the result to justify 
what is in reality obnoxious  and 
antisocial behavior.
One shudders to think how 
many seekers have been  driven 
from the fellowship of the church 
community by overzealous “proph­
ets” who justify their behavior by 
a misrepresentation of the words 
and work of the prophets.
Surely I do not deny the need 
for rebukes and corrections.  To re­
fuse to give or hear them is folly. 
But to use them  in the name of 
God as justification for brutish 
and antisocial behavior is a blas­
phemous violation of the third 
commandment, “You shall not mis­
use the name of the  Lord your 
God” (Exod.  20:7, NIV).
REACT
1.  How can we know the cor­
rect response to a case of open sin 
in the church?
2. Are we to be judges or 
healers?
by Gary B.  Patterson
Gary  B.  Patterson  is  administrative  assistant  to  the  North  American
Division president. 
92


Friday,  March  6
Love and Theodicy
OPINION
Key Text: Zeph. 1:18
So—I hear the surgeon general 
doesn’t like you. Well, you do 
have lung cancer. And he did 
warn you. And you ignored it and 
went on smoking anyway, even 
with that obvious warning on the 
package. What else do you ex­
pect? That ought to be proof 
enough that the surgeon general 
doesn’t like you!
Somehow this line of reasoning 
sounds pathetically familiar.
Like Lucy arguing with Charlie 
Brown.  Or like fatalists expound­
ing on their view of cosmic order. 
There is a vast difference between 
warning us of the results of sin 
and imposing the results  on us.
It would be folly to blame the sur­
geon general for our illness. 
Likewise it would be folly to 
blame God for the results of sin.
When  I  first  moved  to  the 
Washington,  D.C.,  area  a  few 
years  ago,  I  was  shocked  to 
learn  that  the  murder  rate  was 
about  one  per  day.  In  fact,  that 
year  we  ended  up  with just 
about  right  on  365  murders.  It 
was  a  stark  and  stunning  statis­
tic.  But  now,  a  few  years  later, 
when we  are  nearing  500  mur­
ders  in  a year,  it  almost makes 
going back  to  365  seem like  a  re­
turn  to  the  good  old  days. 

The fatalist is prone to sit back 
and tut-tut over such matters. 
After all, the prophets did say 
things would be terrible in the 
last days.  Maybe we are even 
tempted to find an odd sort of 
glee that it somehow fixes us near 
the end of apocalyptic flow.  But 
when our fixation centers on our 
prophetic flowchart fulfillment 
rather than on the needs of our 
fellow man and the good news of 
salvation in Christ, then we be­
come as guilty as the murderers, 
for we are holding back the minis­
try of grace entrusted to us.
The “Lucy” style of reasoning, 
convenient as it may appear,  does 
not address the issues of theodicy. 
There is evil in the world.  There 
has been ever since the fall in 
Eden. And following the path of 
evil will result in destruction.  Ex­
periencing evil does not mean 
that God does not like us.  In fact, 
Scripture is at pains to express 
that God does love us even when 
we choose evil.  “While we were 
still sinners,  Christ died for us” 
(Rom. 5:8, NIV).
Judah was on the path to de­
struction.  If God didn’t like them, 
all He had to do was leave them 
alone. They would have killed 
themselves. By nature, we also 
are on the path to  destruction.
The fact that God has reached out 
to make Himself known to us 
proves His unmerited love.
by Gary B.  Patterson
Gary  B.  Patterson  is  administrative  assistant  to  the  North  American
Division president. 
93


Lesson  11,  March  8-14
“Dial 911”
“Seek the  Lord,  all you  humble of the  land,  you  who do 
what  he  commands.  Seek  righteousness,  seek  humility; 
perhaps  you  will  be  sheltered  on  the  day  of  the  Lord’s 
anger”  (Zeph.  2:3,  NIV).


Sunday,  March  8
Just Do It!
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: Zeph. 2:3
Little Bryan woke with a start. 
His seven-year-old mind told him 
that something was terribly 
wrong. As he lay there trying to 
make sense of what was happen­
ing, it dawned on him that there 
were strange noises in the other 
room.  Noises he had never heard 
before.  Noises coming from his 
mother’s bedroom.
A stranger had broken into the 
house and was physically assault­
ing Bryan’s mother. As noises of 
the struggles permeated Bryan’s 
room, he felt terrified.  He knew 
that he could not go in and face 
the intruder because he was no 
match for a grown man.
Bryan thought for a few mo­
ments before quietly slipping out 
of bed and racing for the tele­
phone.  He knew he had to call for 
help:  911.  He quietly dialed the 
number and was immediately on 
the line with the  downtown emer­
gency dispatcher.  Little Bryan 
told the lady that there was  a 
man in his house,  and that the 
man was hurting his mother. The 
dispatcher radioed the patrol on 
duty and then proceeded to try to 
keep little Bryan on the line. 
Bryan broke out in sobs several 

times and asked where the police­
man could be.  He just couldn’t 
understand why it was taking so 
long.
As the police car finally rolled 
to a stop in front of the house, 
Bryan dashed out to join the po­
liceman. The intruder saw the car 
in the front yard,  escaped out a 
back window, and got into his car 
in the back alley. After a high­
speed chase for several miles, the 
policeman finally caught the crimi­
nal.
911!  Day and night the dis­
patcher waits for all the Bryans 
of the city—little Bryans, whose 
simple, childlike faith reassures 
them of the security in that num­
ber.  How foolish it would have 
been for Bryan to have challenged 
the intruder, to puff out his seven- 
year-old chest,  and take on a 
hardened criminal.
Even more so, how foolish for us 
to take on the master criminal 
alone. No, far better to seek the 
comfort and reassurance of a heav­
enly “dispatcher,” One who can 
summon an army of angelic patrol­
men. “Seek the Lord, all you hum­
ble of the land, you who do what he 
commands. Seek righteousness, 
seek humility; perhaps you will be 
sheltered on the day of the Lord’s 
anger” (Zeph. 2:3, NIV).
Just do it!  Dial  911!
by  Marcus James 
Marcus  James  is  a  freshman  biology  major  at  Southern  College  of 
Seventh-day Adventists, Collegedale, Tennessee.
95


Monday,  March  9
Scare or Prepare?
LOGOS
Zeph. 2:1-3
God Says Gather Together
“Come together and hold assem­
bly,  O shameless nation .  .  .  before 
there comes upon you the day of 
the wrath o f the Lord” (Zeph. 2:1,
2, RSV).
Zephaniah’s original message 
was to the rulers and people of 
the land of Judah.  The warning 
was in direct reference to the se­
verity of the coming judgments on 
that nation, the terrible reality of 
“the day of the wrath of the 
Lord.” Specifically that was the 
impending Babylonian invasion. 
However, the prophecies of com­
ing judgments also apply equally 
to those coming upon an unrepent­
ant world at the end of time.
God Says Seek the Lord
“Seek  the Lord .  .  .  who do his 
commands; seek righteousness, 
seek humility” (Zeph.  2:3, RSV).
The stage is set in verses  1 
and 2—the terror of the wrath of 
God is to come.  But in typical God- 
fashion, when a sin problem is 
mentioned,  a cause for hope in 
desperate times is also stressed.
In verse 3 the solution quickly 
follows—seek God, seek righteous­
ness,  seek humbleness. The word 
seek implies more than a casual 
looking; it suggests a desire—al­
most a desperate one—to find the 
Lord. All four versions I checked 
used the same word—seek.
Did you ever want to find some­
thing or someone so badly that 

you were panicky? I have. My 
three-year-old daughter had 
asked permission to go for a walk 
with her friend Kim and her 
mother. When they hadn’t re­
turned after half an hour, I went 
to Kim’s house looking for Julie. 
“No, Julie never went for a walk 
with us,” said Kim’s mom.  “She 
never caught up with us.” Panic!
We were living in university 
housing at the time, so there were 
many apartments, playgrounds, 
and streets to check out. My hus­
band joined in the search.  In a 
turmoil himself, he kept telling 
me not to get upset. After we had 
searched all the logical places—in­
cluding the insides of all the 
washers and dryers in the laun­
dromat—we fanned out to less 
likely places Julie might have 
wandered off to.  Kim’s father had 
joined us in the  search,  and it 
was ultimately he who found her, 
blocks away, happily playing with 
some strange children in their 
front yard.
If you have ever lost a child for 
over an hour, you do know the 
meaning of seek. And God wants 
us to seek Him just as desper­
ately as we would for a lost 
child—seek until found, no matter 
the time or cost.
And one more consideration.
We don’t usually find something 
unless we are looking for it, 
searching for it, consuming our en­
ergies in the search.  Kim’s father 
found Julie. Why? Because he 
searched,  not because he sat at 
home wondering where she might 
be. And God wants to impress
by Wilma  McClarty 
Wilma McClarty is professor of English and speech at Southern College 
of Seventh-day Adventists, Collegedale, Tennessee.
96


upon us that fact—we must come 
together and actively seek the 
Lord.
God Gives a Promise
“Perhaps you may be hidden on 
the day o f the wrath o f the Lord” 
(Zeph.  2:3, RSV).
Though Judah generally had 
become degenerate  and apostate, 
some  still had remained true to 
God,  so why the “perhaps”? The 
Hebrew word for perhaps means 
“an expression of hope,  pleading, 
or fear.”  In face of the degrada­
tion of Judah, Zephaniah is 
moved to offer a tentative prom­
ise, thus stressing their need of 
reconciliation with God.
But  how  are  we  today  to 
know  for  sure  that  we  have  a 
Saviour?  Are  we  doomed  to  won­
der  constantly  about  our  relation­
ship  with  Christ?  Must  we  for­
ever  be  saying,  “Perhaps  I  will 
be  saved,”  or  “Perhaps  Jesus  will 
take  me  to  heaven,”  or  “Perhaps 
Christ’s  robe  of righteousness 
will  cover  me”?  Is  there  no 
assurance?
Whenever I think of the judg­
ments to come, I think of our 
family friend, Tom.  Several 
months after we met him, he shot 
his ex-wife’s new husband, the 
man she had left Tom for. Two 
weeks later the man died.  Tom 
was the most-talked-about crimi­
nal in town.  For he had held a 
prestigious professional position 
there for  15 years. 

At  the  trial,  Tom’s lawyer 
pled  for  a  self-defense  verdict.
The  dead  man’s  lawyer  wanted  a 
first-degree  murder  verdict.  The 
jury  recommended  a  second- 
degree  murder  verdict,  and  the 
judge  sentenced  Tom  to  five 
years  in  the  state  penitentiary. 
Tom’s  lawyer  cried  when  he  lost 
Tom’s  case—why?  because  he 
was  Tom’s  close  friend.  He  felt 
he  had  failed  Tom  when  Tom 
needed  him  most.
But our Friend will take our 
case in court one day too—Media­
tor Jesus will argue that we  are 
not criminals, because we have ac­
cepted Jesus as our personal 
Saviour. Unlike Tom’s lawyer, 
Christ will never lose the case o f a 
friend.
We must seek Him now and es­
tablish that friendship—that is 
the message of Zephaniah 2:1-3.
REACT
1.  If we must have a relation­
ship with Jesus in order for Him 
to be our friend, just how long 
does it take to establish such a 
bond?
2.  Can it be done in a moment 
of crisis? As long as a week of 
prayer takes? A lifetime?
3. This lesson emphasizes that 
we should seek God.  In what 
ways does God seek us?
1. The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4,  p.  1063.
2. Ibid., p.  1066.
97


Tuesday,  March  10
Severe Weather Warning!
TESTIMONY
Key Text: Zeph. 2:1-3
Alert people prepare for 
storms; they listen to the forecast, 
notice the dark clouds,  and listen 
for the thunder.  By the time rain 
and wind have arrived, their 
homes  are in order and all are 
safe from the storm’s fury.  Like­
wise,  alert Christians need to 
attend to the warnings of the com­
ing storm that lies ahead in the 
day of the Lord.
Like the dark clouds and thun­
der, God’s warnings precede the 
end of time.  “God has given the 
world an opportunity to learn and 
to obey His will.  He has given 
them,  in His word,  the light of 
truth; He has sent them warning, 
counsel, and admonition; but few 
will obey His voice.”  To benefit 
from warnings,  such as the one 
found in Zephaniah,  one must lis­
ten and recognize the admonition, 
then prepare for the fury.
Ellen White  saw in a vision a 
forecast of the “weather” that 
Christians will have to face.  “Evil 
angels crowded around them, 
pressing their darkness upon 
them, to shut out Jesus from 
their view, that their eyes might 
be drawn to the darkness that sur­ 

rounded them, and they distrust 
God and next murmur against 
Him.  Their only safety was in 
keeping their eyes directed up­
ward. Angels of God  .  .  .  were 
continually wafting their wings 
over them, to scatter the thick 
darkness.”
Even now the clouds are thick­
ening, giving us more reason to 
heed the warnings mentioned in 
Zephaniah 2:1-3. Time is drawing 
to a close,  and we must prepare 
for the tempest ahead.  It is ur­
gent that we get our lives in 
order, that we seek righteousness 
and mercy,  and that we fix our 
eyes on heaven.  In this way, we 
build a shelter against the rising 
storm.  “It may be ye shall be hid 
in the day of the Lord’s anger.”
REACT
1.  What does it mean to “keep 
our eyes fixed on heaven”? What 
is necessary for us to do this?
2.  How can we prepare our 
lives so that we will be ready to 
face the end of time? Are there 
changes needed in the way we ap­
pear to others, such as dress or 
diet?
1.  Testimonies, vol.  5, p. 99.
2.  Testimonies, vol.  1, p.  180.
by Thomas E.  Huntress 
Thomas  E.  Huntress  is  a  senior  English  major  at  Southern  College  of 
Seventh-day Adventists, Collegedale, Tennessee.
98


Wednesday,  March  11
When the End  Is  Upon  Us
EVIDENCE
Key Text:  Zeph. 2:1-3
Faced with a message that the 
end of the world is at hand, what 
can a person do? Until the young 
Zephaniah gave what one contem­
porary scholar has called the first 
prophecy to assume “an apocalyp­
tic character,”  such a message 
had been given only once—Noah’s 
warning of an impending flood 
and his plea to come into the  ark. 
Other prophets had foretold the 
“Day of the  Lord” as a time when 
heathen nations would punish 
God’s rebellious people. Their mes­
sage was a call to the people of 
Judah and Israel to quit their idol­
atry, to quit exploiting the poor, 
to reform their way of living.
But when a message like 
Zephaniah’s speaks of universal de­
struction; when God says, “I will 
sweep the earth clean of all that is 
on it” (Zeph.  1:2, NEB); when the 
prophet says, “The great day of the 
Lord is near, it comes with speed; 
no runner so fast as that day, no 
raiding band so swift” (Zeph.  1:14, 
NEB); when the prophet says the 
Lord “will make an end, a swift 
end, of all who live in the land” 
(Zeph.  1:18, NEB), then what is a 
person to do?
One thing is to do what many 
in the days of Zephaniah did— 
nothing.  “At that time I will 
search Jerusalem with a lantern 
and punish all who sit in stupor 

over the dregs of their wine, who 
say to themselves, ‘The Lord will 
do nothing good or bad’ ” (Zeph. 
1:12, NEB).
Another alternative is to try to 
do something to avert the catas­
trophe.  Do what the prophets 
before Zephaniah called the peo­
ple to do. Put away the Baals.
Quit exploiting the poor.  Quit 
breaking the Sabbath. Help the 
widows.  Obey God’s command­
ments.  Do something!
Although Zephaniah was not 
against reform, his focus is differ­
ent.  He had little faith in human 
efforts.  He had seen that the re­
forms of his contemporary, good 
King Josiah, made little headway. 
The reforms imposed by the king 
and his party upon the people 
made little change in their hearts 
and lives.  Zephaniah saw no salva­
tion through the slow process of 
social reform.  For him, “judgment, 
swift and sure must precede salva­
tion.”2
Since God will act and act 
swiftly, there is but one thing to 
do,  according to Zephaniah:  Seek 
the Lord. A remnant will be 
preserved,  and God will  do the 
preserving.  Ethical reform must 
be coupled with apocalyptic hope. 
We can be part of the remnant by 
heeding Zephaniah’s call.
1.  Raymond Calkins, The Modern Message of the 
Minor Prophets (New York:  Harper &  Brothers,  1947), 
p. 67.
2.  Ibid.,  p. 73.
by R.  Lynn  Sauls
R.  Lynn Sauls is chairman of the journalism and communication depart­
ment at Southern College,  Collegedale, Tennessee.
99


Thursday,  March  12
Warning of Love
HOW-TO
Key Text: 2 Peter 3:9
The Bible is filled with words 
of happiness and praise,  thoughts 
of inspiration and strength, as 
well  as promises of peace  and com­
fort.  But when I read certain 
parts of God’s holy Word,  I find 
myself frustrated and confused. 
Zephaniah’s warnings are a case 
in point.
In order to gain a true 
understanding of the prophet’s 
warnings and cries for repent­
ance, we must look to the great 
themes of the Bible.  There is, at 
the heart of Scripture, the outline 
of a great controversy raging be­
tween God and Satan. A terrible 
war has claimed the little planet 
we call home, and now the 
Father’s adversary is doing all he 
can to make men fear their Cre­
ator.  It is the fallen angel,
Lucifer, who has spread lies about 
God and convinced them that He 
cannot be trusted.
This is not what God wants. A 
walk through the pages of the 
Bible reveals a God of love  and 
justice, slow to anger,  and desir­
ing that no one should perish.
The history of Israel proclaims 
this great truth. What our Father 

seeks most is trustworthy friends 
who are willing to serve their Cre­
ator with love. Abraham was such 
a friend.  He was willing to leave 
his country, his home,  and even 
his family to follow God.  But 
through the centuries his children 
forgot where their Creator had 
led them.  His still, small voice, 
filled with love, was taken as 
weakness,  and they rejected Him 
time and time again.  Throughout 
it all He never left them.  Little 
did they know but that one day 
He would come and die so that 
they could live.
It is still true today.  God 
wants us to take Him seriously. 
Sin is a grave problem,  and He 
will do all He can to win us over, 
even if it means we might misun­
derstand His warnings of love.  If 
these  words in Zephaniah are to 
have any meaning in our lives, we 
must understand them in light of 
the greatest testimony of God’s 
love—Calvary.  There on a blood­
stained cross God saved us from 
the ravages of sin. Now we are 
called to repent and come to Him. 
Repentance that is more than a 
long list of things we’re sorry for, 
but repentance that comes from 
the heart ready to accept the love 
of a heavenly Father who can be 
trusted.  Now, that’s good news!
Jeff Gang  is  a  senior  religion  and  history  major at Southern  College of 
Seventh-day Adventists, Collegedale, Tennessee.

by Jeff Gang
100


Friday,  March  13
When  Concealment Is the Cure
OPINION
Key Text: Col. 3:3
There is  an old Ethiopian prov­
erb that goes like this:  “He  who 
conceals his disease cannot expect 
to be cured.” What problems  do 
we conceal or hide because we 
hope the situation will simply im­
prove on its own?
At times, hiding the truth from 
a friend seems to be the ready 
cure for conflict.  Later we realize 
this  only helps to magnify the rift. 
Convicts sometimes try to solve 
their problems by hiding from the 
law.  But usually this only leads to 
a greater sentence. And yes, by 
not telling the physician about my 
ailment,  I only prolong or worsen 
my condition. The sickness does 
not go away simply because my 
doctor is unaware of my predica­
ment.  Indeed, hiding just doesn’t 
seem to be the  answer.
There is an exception to this 
rule, however.  There is a situa­
tion in which hiding is the only 
answer.  If Satan finds the record 
of our sinful lives, he will read it 
aloud,  and we will be lost.
So where do we hide? Satan 
has plenty of good  suggestions. 
Hide behind our church member­
ship.  Hide behind our academic 
achievements.  Hide behind our 
filthy-as-rags good works.  Hide be­ 

hind our annual donation to the 
local charity.  The reason the  devil 
makes these recommendations is 
that he knows he can find us in 
these locations.  By choosing to 
hide where the seeker will find us 
we are placing our eternal plans 
in the hands of Lucifer.
But praise God!  There is a per­
fect place to shelter ourselves. 
Clothed in the robe of Christ’s 
righteousness we are invisible to 
the devil,  and thus he cannot 
make charges against us.  Satan 
simply cannot stand to look into 
the face of Jesus,  and thus he will 
never know that we are right be­
hind our Lord—in the perfect 
hiding place.  Because our pitiful 
life histories are hidden behind 
the 33 perfect years of Jesus’ life 
history on this earth, we are 
given a verdict of not guilty.  The 
only record on which we can be 
judged is that of Jesus.
Hiding in Christ is the remedy 
for our earthly ailments.  His cure 
will mend all wounds of sin  100 
percent of the time. Yes,  conceal­
ment in Christ is the cure.
REACT
1. What things might you hide 
behind in order to feel secure 
from the devil?
2.  Do you ever feel too self- 
sufficient or mature to hide 
behind Christ?
Alex  Bryan  is  a  religion  and  history  major  at  Southern  College  of 
Seventh-day Adventists, Collegedale, Tennessee.

by Alex  Bryan
101


Lesson  12,  March  15-21
Of Righteousness and 
Love
“The  Lord  within  her  is  righteous;  he  does  no  wrong. 
Morning  by  morning  he  dispenses  his  justice,  and  every 
new  day  he  does  not  fail,  yet  the  unrighteous  know  no 
shame”  (Zeph.  3:5,  NIV).


Sunday,  March  15
Turn or Burn
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: Zeph. 3:7
Have you ever seen someone 
on the streets shouting out 
messages about the earth’s de­
struction or about coming 
calamity? Maybe you have seen a 
“scripture” car or van. Usually 
older rattletraps, these vehicles 
are covered with scripture and de­
struction messages.  Both the 
street preachers and scripture 
cars are heavy on judgment mes­
sages.  Phrases like “weighed in 
the balances and found wanting” 
and “turn or burn” are common.
Most people would agree that 
this is not the most effective way 
of getting out the Word.  But then 
what way is?
We try to avoid giving judg­
ment messages.  Maybe it is 
because we don’t want to be criti­
cal, or we think of Jesus’ 
injunction to “judge not lest you 
be judged.” Then it could be that 
we are just chicken.
While being asked to withdraw 
from school isn’t exactly equiva­
lent to being given a warning of 
imminent destruction, it can be 
somewhat analogous.  Fred would 
not have said he was asked to 
withdraw; he would say he was 
“kicked” out.  Fred had been told 
that going into the girls’ dormi­
tory was grounds for being asked 
to withdraw.  In both dorms the 

deans had talked about what had 
happened the year before when 
several students were caught and 
had to leave.  Now Fred had been 
caught,  and he came to me.
As  the  chaplain,  I  was  not  the 
one  to  pronounce  his judgment, 
but  I  still  felt  uncomfortable.  I 
liked  him  and  did  not  want  to 
see  him  go.  I  think  that  one  of 
the  reasons  he  came  to  me  was 
that  he  hoped  I  would  be  able  to 
change  the judgment.  When  I 
told  him  I  couldn’t,  and  that  I 
agreed  he  should  have  to  leave, 
he  became  angry.  He  implied 
that  I  did  not  really  care,  and  he 
said  that  the  school  was just 
being legalistic.
Later Fred’s father called and 
told me that his son’s salvation 
was at stake. The father even 
sent me a compilation of Ellen 
White’s writings to prove that 
what we were doing was wrong.  I 
think the administration handled 
Fred’s case correctly, but it is 
hard to bring judgment against 
people.  It is so much easier to be 
a Jonah and run the other way.
This week,  as you study these 
chapters concerning judgments 
against Israel and other nations, 
think about your church and your­
self.  Is God asking you to be a 
Zephaniah? And then, from the 
other point of view, and more im­
portant,  does God need to bring a 
Zephaniah to your church or to 
your home?
by Victor  F.  Brown 
Victor F.  Brown  is the enrollment vice-president and chaplain at South 
western Adventist College,  Keene, Texas.
103


Monday,  March  16
A Timely Appeal
LOGOS
Zeph. 2:4-3:7
The book of Zephaniah con­
tains two central themes that are 
intertwined throughout the book. 
The first theme is the most obvi­
ous,  “the day of the  Lord” or 
judgment, with over three-fourths 
of the book consumed with this 
theme (see  1:2-3:13).
The  second theme is just as 
prominent, but implicit more than 
explicit, “the inheritance of the re­
penting remnant” (see 2:3,  7,  11; 
3:14-20).
We will see in our study this 
week how these themes blend and 
contrast to make the prophet’s 
message timely and relevant.
Ellen White says concerning the 
prophecies of Zephaniah: “His 
prophecies of impending judgment 
upon Judah apply with equal 
force to the judgments that are to 
fall upon an impenitent world at 
the time of the  second advent of 
Christ.”1
Judgments Upon the Nations 
(read Zeph. 2:4-15)
Laughter can be heard in the 
streets as the children dart play­
fully from building to building.
The ox-drawn carts, empty of 
produce from a day at the market­
place,  slow down and sometimes 
stop as children dash between 
them.  Some families are prepar­
ing for their evening meal as 
candles are being lit throughout 
the city.
But one young man hears 

much different sounds in the dis­
tance.  Instead of children 
laughing, he hears the well- 
ordered march of soldiers; instead 
of carts, heavily armed chariots.
In place of candles, he sees the 
sky lighted with the torches of an 
army.  He is aware of coming war, 
devastation,  and tragedy. The 
heaviest burden this young man 
must carry is that no one else 
hears these sounds or senses the 
danger. Judgment is fast ap­
proaching.
The enemies of God are specif­
ically mentioned as the region of 
Philistia (see 2:4-7), Moab and 
Ammon (see verses 8-11), Cush 
(see verses 8-11), and Assyria (see 
verses  13-15), with specific de­
nunciations on each.  One of the 
questions that must loom in the 
reader’s mind is, What had led to 
such a prediction of total destruc­
tion and annihilation? Does there 
come a time when characters are 
fixed and the time of pleading 
ends,  and there remains only the 
separation of the bad from the 
good even among those who are 
supposed to be God’s elect?
The messenger of God sees no 
reason to identify the vehicle that 
Yahweh will use to bring this 
scourge, but one thing is for cer­
tain—the “day of the Lord is 
near,” very near. The picture ap­
pears dark, but there is a light 
that pierces the veil.  God will 
have a remnant.
Warning to a Wayward People 
(read Zeph. 3:1-4, 6, 7,11,13)
The Lord had planned and pro­
by William  Kilgore 
William  Kilgore  is  assistant  professor  of  religion  at  Southwestern  Ad­
ventist College,  Keene, Texas. 
104


vided so abundantly for the peo­
ple of Judah.  He wanted to cover 
them with the cloak of His al­
mighty power. The surrounding 
nations should have then seen a 
God, not made of stone or wood, 
not abiding in rivers and streams, 
but the God who lived with His 
people and clothed them. All the 
nations would have said,
“Yahweh, the God of Judah,  He is 
a provider,  a sustainer,  a tailor 
who fits His people  with a gar­
ment of peace,  security,  and 
compassion.” The nakedness of a 
nation would be clothed in the 
righteousness of their God.
It is apparent from Zepha- 
niah’s message that the moral 
condition of Judah had reached 
its lowest ebb also. Rulers  are 
compared to wild beasts (see 3:3). 
The prophets and priests are de­
scribed as reckless and faithless 
(see verse 4). It was no wonder 
that the people of God had be­
come steeped in apostasy and 
gone the way of their heathen 
neighbors.
The “day of the Lord” has a 
purpose in Zephaniah beyond de­
claring the devastation of the 
wicked; there is also an appeal for 
repentance. “Announcing that the 
awful Day of Yahweh was immi­
nent, he declared that the nation 
had no hope  save in repentance 
(2:1-3), for which Yahweh had of­ 

fered one last chance (3:6f).”
God’s purpose for judgment was 
to chasten and purify a remnant 
who would be the recipient of His 
benefits and an instrument of 
service in His hands again (see 
verse  13).
The Righteousness of God 
(read 3:5)
Zephaniah has been a faithful 
prophet and not neglected to de­
liver a message of judgment, but 
within his message is assurance 
as well.  “The just Lord is in the 
midst thereof’ (verse 5).  God’s peo­
ple shared a common bond.  They 
lived in a world of sin that was 
facing a judgment hour. The 
prophet pleads with his people 
not to cover their nakedness with 
a tattered cloak, patches upon 
patches, begged from their neigh­
bors.  Can you hear him pleading, 
“Don’t you know that doom 
awaits those who put their lives 
together with scraps, rejecting the 
royal robe of the King?” What 
greater appeal could be given to 
God’s people now as then? Be as 
Zephaniah,  “hidden in Yahweh,” 
the one characteristic that has al­
ways defined the remnant!
1. Prophets and Kings,  p. 389.
2. John Bright, A History o f Israel (Philadelphia: West­
minster Press,  1972), p. 320.
105


Tuesday,  March  17
Is the  Fallacy Your Truth?
TESTIMONY
Key Text: Zeph. 3:6,7
Many people have a false im­
pression of God. Some have taught 
that God sits in heaven as a stern 
judge anticipating the iniquity of 
man. People choose to believe this 
picture instead of searching the 
Scriptures for themselves, thus 
missing the opportunity to view a 
loving Father. Ellen White makes 
God’s purposes for judgment very 
clear. By no means does God allow 
someone to plunge into wrong­
doing without first warning them 
of judgment and advising them to 
repent.
“He uses every means to bring 
them back to obedience and does 
not visit their iniquity with judg­
ments until He has given them 
ample opportunity to repent.”  In 
dealing with the Israelites specifi­
cally, “He stays His judgments; He 
pleads with them to return to their 
allegiance. He had brought them 
[His chosen people] out of bondage 
that they might faithfully serve 
Him, the only true and living God; 
but they had wandered into idola­
try, they had slighted the warn­
ings given them by His prophets. 
Yet He defers His chastisement to 
give them one more opportunity to 
repent and avert the retribution 
for their sin.”
Throughout history, God has 
not only warned man of His judg­
ments, but protected those who 
fear and obey Him.
“God has always given men 

warning of coming judgments. 
Those who had faith in His mes­
sage for their time,  and who acted 
out their faith, in obedience to 
His commandments, escaped the 
judgments that fell upon the dis­
obedient and unbelieving. The 
word came to Noah, ‘Come thou 
and all thy house into the ark; for 
thee have I seen righteous before 
Me.’ Noah obeyed and was  saved. 
The message came to Lot,  ‘Up, get 
you out of this place, for the Lord 
will  destroy this city.’ Genesis 7:1; 
19:14.  Lot placed himself under 
the guardianship of the heavenly 
messengers,  and was saved.  So 
Christ’s disciples were given 
warning of the destruction of Jeru­
salem.  Those who watched for the 
sign of the coming ruin, and fled 
from the city, escaped the  destruc­
tion.  So now we are given 
warning of Christ’s second coming 
and of the destruction to fall upon 
the world. Those who heed the 
warning will be saved.”
God wants nothing more than 
for us to follow Him,  always re­
membering His great lessons of 
love.
REACT
1.  What must we  do in order to 
escape the judgment?
2.  Is God truly being fair in 
casting judgment against the 
wicked,  destroying them?
1. Testimonies, vol. 4,  p.  179.
2.  Ibid., p.  165.
3.  The Desire of Ages, p. 634.
by Susan  Hevener 
Susan  Hevener is a first-year special  education  major at Southwestern 
Adventist College,  Keene, Texas.
106


Wednesday,  March  18
A Tigon?
EVIDENCE
Key Text:  Zeph. 3:13
Does there come a time when 
characters are fixed and the time 
of pleading ends,  and there re­
mains only the separation of the 
bad from the good,  even among 
those who are supposed to be 
God’s elect? This question was 
posed earlier this week,  and as I 
contemplated the answer, I began 
to think about the differences 
between God’s people and the peo­
ple of the world.  God’s people 
have begun to intermingle with 
the world,  and the line dividing 
the two groups is often very gray. 
How easy would it be to separate 
the two?
I think of the two groups like 
two species of animals such as a 
lion and a tiger. A species is de­
fined as a group of organisms 
with a common gene pool.  Mem­
bers of a species interbreed with 
other members of the same spe­
cies to produce fertile offspring 
and do not mate with members of 
different species.  In other words, 
a species has a gene pool that is 
isolated from that of other spe­
cies.  Lions do not interbreed with 
tigers in the wild.
But have you ever heard of a 
tigon? Organisms that are as­
signed to different species in the 

wild may interbreed if they are 
brought into a zoo, a herbarium, 
an aquarium, or the laboratory. 
Lions can be bred with tigers to 
produce a tigon. This is called hy­
bridization. Christians can 
“interbreed” with the world,  but it 
is not the way God intended it to 
be.
There are a number of mecha­
nisms that prevent the natural 
interbreeding between different 
species.  This is important because 
each species has gene com­
binations that are adaptively 
significant. Hybridization breaks 
up or dilutes the gene combina­
tions. This usually results in 
producing a sterile organism. 
(Occasionally, a fertile offspring 
develops which produces a second 
generation.  However, this second 
generation has defects that 
prevent it from successfully repro­
ducing.)
Hybridization of Christians 
with the world dilutes the pure 
character of God just as hybridiza­
tion of different species dilutes 
gene combinations. A tigon cannot 
reproduce lions, tigers, or tigons.
A hybrid of the world cannot pro­
duce God’s character.
How easy will it be to separate 
God’s people from the world on 
the day of judgment? I think it 
will be as easy as separating lions 
from tigons.
by Flavia  Rochester and Omar Illingworth 
Flavia Rochester is the admissions counselor, and Omar Illingworth is a 
sophomore  biology student at Southwestern  Adventist College,  Keene, 
Texas. 
107


Thursday,  March  19
Avoiding  Drift
HOW-TO
Key Texts: Zeph. 3:5; Prov. 14:12
The problem  of the church 
being “incorporated” into the 
world’s system has been around 
since the beginning of history. 
Babylon, the Roman Empire,  and 
the Papacy are just a few exam­
ples.  The problem is that no 
matter how good the church’s 
intentions are, it seems to drift 
toward the world.  This is what 
had happened to Israel in the 
years leading up to Zephaniah. 
Zephaniah told them that they 
would be destroyed just like other 
wicked cities had been if they 
didn’t get back on course.
To what extent has our church 
drifted? And if it has, how do we 
stop the drift and get back on 
course? The following are some 
suggestions:
1. Know  what you believe and 
especially why you  believe it.  It is 
harder to drift when you not only 
know what your course is, but 
also why you are traveling it.
2. Avoid a judgmental attitude. 
Ask for  wisdom to discern the  dif­
ference between simply updating 

and dangerous compromise, or be­
tween matters of taste and right 
and wrong.
3. Study  history.  It  is  good  for 
the  believer  and  the  church  to 
review  the  history  of God’s  peo­
ple.  We  should  study  both 
Adventist history  and  the  history 
of God’s  people  in  general.  From 
seeing  how  people  and  insti­
tutions  drifted  from  God’s 
course,  we  can  learn  valuable 
lessons.
4. Spend time in prayer,  asking 
for guidance.  The Lord wants us 
to stay on course and not be incor­
porated into the world’s  system. 
We must believe that He will re­
veal His course to us.
REACT
1. Today the church has many 
vocal groups with judgment mes­
sages. Now these messages are 
even being passed by video. How 
do we sort out the authentic from 
the false?
2.  Is the problem of drifting 
into the world an institutional 
one or a personal one?
3.  Why is it so hard to learn 
from history when it comes to the 
problem of drifting?
by Kenneth  Bodine 
Kenneth  Bodine  is  a  junior  business  administration  major  at  South­
western Adventist College,  Keene, Texas.
108


Friday,  March 20
Habits—Are They Worth  It?
OPINION
Key Text: Zeph. 3:7
If habits  were  easy  to  break, 
we  would  not  need  groups  like 
Weight Watchers  or  Breathe 
Free  stop-smoking  plans.  Web­
ster  states  that  habits  can  be­
come  addictions,  and  addictions 
can  soon  take  control  of our 
lives.  Sin  is  a  deadly  addiction 
that  everyone  encounters.  Even 
Paul  wondered  why  he  did  the 
things  that  he  knew  were  wrong, 
and  why  he  couldn’t  control  him­
self.  Sin  causes  people  to  become 
enslaved  to  their  habits  (see 
Rom.  7:18,  19).
Look at the children of Israel. 
They got into the habit of ignor­
ing God’s warnings and doubting 
His protection and wisdom. They 
ended up wandering in the desert 
for 40 extra years.
This habit of ignoring and 
doubting God was passed down 
through the generations. Most of 
Zephaniah chapters 2 and 3  deal 
with cities that have been de­
stroyed or overthrown. The 
prophet tells the people of Israel 
that these cities went about their 
own way, ignored God,  and were 
destroyed.  He warns that the con­
sequences will be the same for 
Jerusalem if they do not repent 

and make  some changes.
With clear case studies, it 
would seem  such an easy and ra­
tional decision for the Jews to 
make some necessary changes in 
their lives. Yet God states in 
Zephaniah 3:7, “Surely you will 
fear me and  accept correction! 
Then her dwelling would  not be 
cut off, nor all my punishments 
come upon her.  But they were 
still eager to act corruptly in all 
they did” (NIV).
In other words,  not even the 
sight of the ruined cities and en­
slaved people could change the 
hearts of the people of Jerusalem. 
The habits were too deeply in­
grained.
All around us today we see the 
consequences of sin. Yet we are 
just as likely to ignore God as were 
the people in Zephaniah’s day. The 
only way out of this terrible mess 
is to pray daily for Jesus to take 
control of our lives. We need to get 
into the habit of relying on Jesus 
and listening to Him. Forming 
good habits can help as much as 
bad habits can destroy.
REACT
Are there habits in my life that 
are separating me from God and 
His plans for my life? If so, what 
strategies will best help break 
them?
Noelle  Nelson  is  a  freshman  nursing  major  at  Southwestern  Adventist 
College,  Keene, Texas. 

by Noelle  Nelson
109


Lesson  13,  March  22-28
End of the  Rainbow
“The  Lord  your  God  is  with  you,  he  is  mighty  to  save. 
He will  take great delight in  you,  he will quiet you  with  his 
love,  he  will  rejoice  over  you  with  singing”  (Zeph.  3:17, 
NIV).


Sunday,  March 22
My Scattered  People
INTRODUCTION
Scripture: Zeph. 3:17
In the time of Zephaniah shep­
herds used songs, either played 
on crude flutes or sung aloud, to 
call their dimwitted charges and 
keep them on safe paths. At 
times, persons with sinister plans 
imitated those songs,  attempting 
to lure the sheep  away.
Sometimes, when two shep­
herds passed near one another, the 
sheep became confused and lost. 
Sheep from both flocks mingled to­
gether, and the best way to sepa­
rate them was for one shepherd to 
cease his song while the other led 
his sheep away. But not all the 
sheep could be reclaimed this way 
as some quickly forgot their 
shepherd’s identifying song.
In the quotation for this 
segment God’s believers were di­
verted by idolatry from the 
worship of the Lord.  Zephaniah re­
fers to the children of Israel in 
the Lord’s prophecy as “my scat­
tered people,” scattered like so 
many lost sheep.  The children of 
Israel had fallen prey to a false 
shepherd and lost their way.
The portion of Scripture under 

investigation speaks of a restora­
tion in Israel.  In verse 9 it states 
that from all peoples  and cultures 
believers will come,  speaking one 
“pure language” uncontaminated 
by idolatry.
In the analogy of God as the 
shepherd and we the sheep, one 
further consideration should be 
added: the shepherd can retrieve 
his sheep entirely. When the 
sheep  are scattered and can no 
longer recall the song of their 
shepherd, he must create a new 
song from the old, but unlike the 
song which led the  sheep astray. 
Further, the shepherd must seek 
out all his sheep and teach them 
the new song.  In this way a new 
“pure language” is developed, un­
tainted by idolatry. A new order 
of devotion will be apparent 
among God’s people—the Good 
Shepherd’s song.
Zephaniah 3:20 speaks the 
words of God: “At that time I will 
gather you” (NIV). When the peo­
ple are gathered and safe once 
again with their rightful master, 
the shepherd sings again. This 
time he sings a song of joy, 
comfort, and gladness for the scat­
tered people—the wandering 
sheep are gathered home.
by Trevor Mahlum 
Trevor  Mahlum  is  an  education  major  at  Union  College,  Lincoln,  Ne­
braska. 
111


Monday,  March 23
Blessings After Curses
LOGOS
Zeph. 3:12,13
After delivering the children of 
Israel from Egypt and bringing 
them to Sinai,  God offered them a 
covenant of love through Moses. 
“If you obey me fully and keep my 
covenant,” the Lord said, “then 
out of all nations you will be my 
treasured possession.  .  .  . You will 
be for me a kingdom of priests 
and a holy nation” (Exod.  19:5, 6, 
NIV).
In Deuteronomy 30:19 Moses 
warned them, “This day I call 
heaven and earth as witnesses 
against you that I have set before 
you life and death, blessings and 
curses” (NIV). These blessings 
and curses are listed in Deutero­
nomy 28.
The prophets were “enforcers” 
of the covenant. This is why we 
find doom alternating with hope 
in their writings. The blessing or 
curse depended on the response of 
the people.
Our scripture for this week’s 
lesson is a beautiful message of 
hope following the warnings of 
doom we have been studying.
The people were facing exile in 
Babylon, but all  was not lost. A 
remnant would be purified, re­
stored,  and glorified.
Salvation for the Remnant 
(read Zeph. 3:8-10)
Verse 8 can be read either 
with verses 6 and 7 or with 
verses 9 and  10.  If we read it 
with 9 and  10, then it is part of 

the promise that the Lord will 
purify the peoples (not only Israel­
ites!) that they might call on the 
name of the Lord. First He pours 
out His wrath on all who act cor­
ruptly (see verse 7); then He 
gathers His scattered people from 
distant places, even from beyond 
the rivers of Cush (Ethiopia).
“The whole world will be con­
sumed” (verse 8, NIV), but there 
will be a remnant of purified wor­
shipers gathered out of the 
destruction.
Verse 9 says they will  “serve 
him shoulder to shoulder” (NIV). 
This pictures a unity among God’s 
people that we sometimes 
overlook in our emphasis on indi­
vidual decisions.  God’s people 
may be  scattered today, but His 
goal is to gather them into His 
one great family in heaven and 
earth.
Purifying the Remnant (read 
Zeph.  3:11-13)
These verses reflect the pure 
grace of God.  There is no other 
reason why He should show such 
kindness to those who had 
wronged Him so much.  He is will­
ing to overlook it all, except for 
those who “rejoice in their pride” 
(verse  11, NIV). They are to be re­
moved.
With them gone,  see what the 
Lord does for those who remain! 
The meek and humble ones (“af­
flicted and poor,” verse  12,  KJV) 
trust in the name of the Lord.  He 
sanctifies them; they do no wrong, 
speak no lies, and have no deceit 
in their mouths (see verse  13).
by Ralph  E.  Neall 
Ralph  E.  Neall  is  chairman  of the  department  of  religion  at  Union  Col 
lege,  Lincoln, Nebraska. 
112


The  144,000 in Revelation  14:5 
also have no guile in their 
mouths,  and the same truthful­
ness is found in the “entrance 
liturgy” of Psalm  15. All meek 
and humble ones who trust in the 
name of the Lord are purified into 
this kind of people.
The last two lines of verse  13 
assure the holy remnant that the 
Lord will be their Shepherd,  and 
no one will make them afraid. An­
cient Israel was indeed protected 
from enemies after their exile, 
and we today are protected by our 
mighty Saviour from all who 
would accuse us of wrong (see 
Rom. 8:31-39).
Rejoicing Over the Remnant 
(read Zeph. 3:14-17)
These  verses  form  a  little 
psalm  of praise  which  reflects 
the  Lord’s  gift  of forgiveness. 
Three  times  in  verse  14  Israel  is 
invited  to  sing,  and  verse  15 
tells  why:  the  Lord  has  taken 
away  their  punishment.  Here 
again  is  His  gracious  assurance 
that  there  is  hope  for  them  be­
yond  the  exile.
Twice in verses  15 and  16 the 
Lord says He is with His people; 
they have nothing to fear, for He 
is mighty to save (see verse  16).
We saw the  same promise in the 
last line of verse  13.  Over and 
over the Lord holds out hope and 
reassurance to His meek and hum­
ble people.
Verse  17 ends with a note of 
singing which corresponds to that 

in verse  14, only now it is the 
Lord who is singing over His peo­
ple.  He “takes great delight”
(NIV) in them; He quiets them 
with His love. This is truly a won­
der when we remember what they 
have been.  Out of sheer kindness 
and grace He has made them pre­
cious to Himself.  No wonder they 
sing in verse  14!
Gathering the Remnant (read 
Zeph. 3:18-20)
Verse  18 seems to promise that 
God’s people, who could not cele­
brate their feasts in captivity, 
would observe them again when 
they returned.
The key words in these verses 
are scattered (NIV) in verse  19, 
and gather (NIV) in verse 20.
The great covenant curse was a 
scattering; the covenant blessing 
is a gathering. The Lord gathered 
Israel to Jerusalem after the 
exile.  He is now gathering true Is­
rael to Himself by faith, and He 
will soon gather His people to the 
New Jerusalem.  Twice in these 
verses He says He will give them 
praise and honor when He re­
stores their fortunes.
REACT
1.  Realizing that this prophecy 
applied originally to people facing 
the Babylonian exile, how shall 
we read it today?
2. To what extent does the cov­
enant framework of blessings and 
curses help us apply this proph­
ecy?
113


Tuesday,  March  24
Emmanuel,  God With  Us
TESTIMONY
Key Text: Matt. 1:23
In the Old and New Testament 
Christ is the great pivotal theme. 
This theme is seen in Zephaniah 
3:17, “The Lord your God is with 
you” (NIV),  or you might say,  as 
Matthew did when referring to 
Christ, “God with us” (1:23). We 
today can be assured, just as Is­
rael of old, that God is with us in 
Christ His Son.  Because God is 
with us in Christ, the “Lord has 
taken away your punishment and 
turned back your enemy” (Zeph. 
3:15, NIV).
“Christ did not yield up His 
life till He had accomplished the 
work which He came to do, and 
with His parting breath He ex­
claimed, ‘It is finished.’ John 
19:30. The battle had been won. 
His right hand and His holy arm 
had gotten Him the victory. As a 
Conqueror He planted His banner 
on the eternal heights.  .  .  . All 
Heaven triumphed in the 
Saviour’s victory.  Satan was de­
feated,  and knew that his 
kingdom was lost.”
In Christ,  divinity and human­
ity met,  and He gave to mankind 
the atonement (at-one-ment) or 
the God with us, forever making 
peace between God and man in 
Him (see Rom.  5:11; Eph.  2:12- 
17). This was accomplished in 
Christ as He “bore the curse [or 
punishment, Zeph.  3:15] of the 
law,  suffering its penalty, carry­
ing to completion the plan 
whereby man was to be placed 
where he could keep God’s law, 

and be accepted through the mer­
its of the Redeemer.”
We can rejoice in the knowl­
edge that our God has wrought 
out an at-one-ment for mankind 
in His Son. As Zephaniah brings 
out, we have hope and can rejoice 
in the future God has promised to 
spiritual Israel.  Looking forward 
to when “Satan’s work of ruin is 
forever ended.  .  .  . The whole cre­
ation has groaned and travailed 
together in pain. Now God’s crea­
tures are forever delivered from 
his presence and temptations.  .  .  . 
And a shout of praise and tri­
umph ascends from the whole 
universe.  .  .  .  ‘Alleluia:  for the 
Lord God omnipotent reigneth.’ 
Revelation 19:6.”3
“The great controversy is ended. 
Sin and sinners are no more. The 
entire universe is clean. One pulse 
of harmony and gladness beats 
through the vast creation. ..  .
From the minutest atom to the 
greatest world, all things, animate 
and inanimate, in their unshad­
owed beauty and perfect joy, de­
clare that God is love.”  When this 
hope is realized and the at-one- 
ment is final, then all beings will 
exclaim the truth of Emmanuel: 
God is with us!
REACT
1. Why was God’s work in 
Christ so vital to us?
2.  Is God being fair to His own 
law by pardoning sinners?
1.  The Desire of Ages, p.  758.
2. Selected Messages, bk.  1, p. 240.
3.  The Great Controversy, p.  673.
4.  Ibid., p. 678.
by Paul  Blake 
Paul  Blake is a theology major at Union College,  Lincoln,  Nebraska.
114


Wednesday,  March 25
God Will Then  Rejoice With 
His People
EVIDENCE
Key Text: Zeph. 3:14-18
Zephaniah presents powerful 
and moving images of the love of 
God. Author O. Palmer Robertson 
says that in the word of Zepha­
niah, “God and his people attain 
heights in the ecstasy of love that 
are hard to comprehend.”
“The prophet opens this final 
message with a grand summons 
for the people to rejoice.  The 
prophetic ‘Woe’ had been spoken 
over the royal city of Jerusalem. 
Equally with the foreign nations 
this rebellious community must 
be destroyed.
“Sadness and depression would 
seem to be the order of the day. 
Unrelieved lamentation would be 
expected.  But the prophet can 
look beyond these tragedies.  He 
calls for an unrestrained celebra­
tion of joy.
“Sing!
“Shout!
“Rejoice and be jubilant!
“By piling up every available 
expression for joy, the prophet 
leaps across the vale of gloom into 
the realm of grace-beyond-devasta- 
tion.  In his confidence about this 
future glory, he summons the peo­
ple now to sing this song of 
celebration.”
In verse  17, “the prophet 
moves into the ‘holy of holiest’ by 
a rapturous description of the 
love of God for his people. This 
verse is the John 3:16 of the OT.”3 

“That Almighty God should de­
rive delight from his creation is 
significant in itself.  But that the 
Holy One should experience 
ecstasy over the sinner is incom­
prehensible.
“God is breaking out in singing!
“God joyful with delight!
“All because of you!”
“If the prophet’s mode of ex­
pression appears excessive, it 
must be remembered that God in 
his very essence is love (cf.  1 John 
4:8). As the direct source of all 
true love, he not only is capable of 
achieving every depth of salutary 
love experienced by his creation. 
He by his very nature may excel 
every human emotion of true love. 
If a human being with all the limi­
tations of his nature may revel in 
the purity of essential love in 
short, snatched moments, then 
certainly the Almighty himself 
may reach even greater depths of 
love and sustain these depths 
without restriction of time.
“So these considerations would 
remove any hesitation about un­
derstanding the prophet to be 
affirming that God sinks into con­
templative quietness in his love 
for sinners.  .  .  .  Over you will he 
be quiet in his love.”0
1. O.  Palmer Robertson,  The New International Com­
mentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. 
B.  Eerdmans  1990),  p.  334.
2.  Ibid., pp. 335, 336.
3.  Ibid., p. 339.
4.  Ibid., p. 340.
5.  Ibid., p. 341.
by  Byard  Parks
Byard  Parks  is  a  junior  theology/business  major  and  Union  for  Christ
director at Union College,  Lincoln,  Nebraska.
115


Thursday,  March 26
End of The Rainbow
HOW-TO
Key Text: Zeph. 3:17
We rely on promises. As chil­
dren we decide on friendships 
through them. If a playmate vows 
to share a pack of bubble gum at 
recess,  we wait and see if they 
keep their word.  If they do,  a 
friendship is made.  If they do not, 
we feel our trust has been 
betrayed.
Promises fulfilled are associ­
ated with faith and security, and 
it is through these associations 
that positive relationships are 
formed.
The Scriptures are full of prom­
ises from our heavenly Father. 
Just as earthly parents vow to 
love and care for their children, 
God does the  same for all man­
kind. As His children, we can 
take these promises and claim 
them for our own. We can expect 
God to keep them.  By doing so, 
we allow Him to fulfill His vows. 
As a result,  a trust relationship is 
formed between us and our heav­
enly Father.
In our readings we find God’s 
promises to us communicated 
through the  prophet Zephaniah.
In verse  17 of chapter 3 there is a 
vow from our Lord that He will be 

with us,  and He is willing to save 
us.  In claiming such a powerful 
vow, we can find peace and 
strength for our everyday lives. 
During a stress-filled finals’ week 
or a job interview,  God is there. 
Beyond praying for His presence, 
we can claim His promise and in 
doing so feel a confidence that He 
will fulfill it.
Surely God is pleased when we 
claim His words for ourselves. It 
gives Him an opportunity to dis­
play His love in caring for us.
But beyond that, in using God’s 
promises we are illustrating that 
His words have meaning in our 
lives, and we are willing to build 
a trusting relationship with Him. 
We are willing to build a relation­
ship built on promises fulfilled.
In reading Zephaniah’s writ­
ings we discover messages to the 
wayward Israelites. Yes, we find 
reprimands for the erring nation, 
but above these stern words we 
see messages of hope.  God gives 
promises of a return and a home 
for His sinning children. Just as a 
child truly expects to be given the 
birthday present promised by a 
loving parent, we should expect 
the gifts from our Lord.  By read­
ing these words and claiming 
them for our own,  we are building 
a faith relationship with our Lord.
by Kerri Allen
Kerri  Allen  is  a  senior  elementary  education  major  at  Union  College,
Lincoln, Nebraska. 
116


Friday,  March 27
Going  Home
OPINION
Key Text: Zeph. 3:20
I suspect most of us have no 
use for streets of gold and other 
obviously materialistic analogies 
of heaven. Apparently Zephaniah 
didn’t either, because instead of 
promising us  silver-lined man­
sions, he speaks of God’s bringing 
us home.
Home is a much more comfort­
ing parallel.  Even those of us who 
are products of tumultuous child­
hoods can imagine the family 
gathered around a glowing fire­
place on Friday evening drinking 
hot chocolate while Father leads 
out in family worship. We can 
visualize home as a shelter from 
the big bad world that threatens 
to rob us of our hard-won values. 
Home in the best sense of the 
word means security, and security 
is something most of us are short 
on.
Home means having parents 
who are proud of our every accom­
plishment,  however insignificant. 
Home means having someone to 

bring you 7-Up when your stom­
ach isn’t feeling so good.  Home 
means having someone to mark 
the important times in your life, 
like the birthday no one else re­
membered.
Someday we will have the 
home that many of us never had. 
Zephaniah tells of the homecom­
ing that is to be ours. “At that 
time I will gather you,  at that 
time I will bring you home” (3:20, 
NIV).  Odd to think that someday 
we will be going home to a place 
we’ve never been. No one will 
have any doubts that heaven 
might not be for them, because in 
the analogies of streets of gold 
and silver-lined mansions we see 
the infinite care that God is 
taking in His plans for our heav­
enly home.  In the cross we see 
the pains that He took to ensure 
that our homecoming would be 
possible.
Most of heaven is left to our 
imagination.  What we know as a 
certainty is that it will be a place 
of security and peace and uncondi­
tional love. And that is what God 
also offers us in the present.
by  Kelly V. Schmitt 
Kelly  V.  Schmitt  was  a  senior  history  and  religion  major  at  Union  Col 
lege,  Lincoln,  Nebraska, when this article was written.
117


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Listen, March 1990
"A few years ago, when I tried to talk about drugs, I’d 
get a few boos,  but it didn’t stop  me.  I’d tell them,  
‘You  don’t  have  to  listen  to  me,  you’ll  see  it 
someday.’ I’ve seen what drugs have done to some  
people I’ve known.”  Henry Lee Sumner, singer
Listen, August 1990
"When you’re a teenager,  it’s hard to realize what a 
precious commodity time is. With drugs you lose so 
much  time;  you’re  losing  time  getting  on  with  
reality."  Amy Grant, singer
Listen, May 1991


♦ 
♦ J our  u t m o s t !
for
] _ his h i g h e s t ;
Gods Best.
That's what every follower of Jesus Christ may achieve as he strives to be 
like Him. This is the "Jesus Effect."
T h e   J e s u s   E ff e c t ,  by  well-known  author  Dennis  Hensley,  uncovers  the 
explosive  spiritual  potential  of  imitating  Christ  in  love,  endurance, 
humility, forgiveness, prayer, and more.
Few  books  can  illustrate  the  miracle  of  G od  working  within  us  as 
practically as this book does. Read T h e  J e s u s   E ffe ct , and let the miracle happen 
for you today.
US$8.95/Cdn$ 11.20. Paper.
A c h ie v in g  Y our  P erso n al  B est  'T h ro u g h  C h ris
D e n n i s  Hens le9 

Available 
now at your 
local ABC, 
or simply 
order by 
phone!  Call 
toll  free: 
1-800-765- 
6955 (in the 
U.S.).  Prices 
subject to 
change 
without 
notice.
1  1991  Pacific  Press  Publishing  Association  2360A


Your  w o r s t 
nightmare!
April  17,  1975.  That  was  when  the 
nightmare began for Chanla and his family 
during the bloody occupation of the Khmer 
Rouge.  This  army’s  campaign  of  death 
forever transformed the once-lovely country 
of Cambodia into a corpse-riddled “killing 
field.”
Sa lv a tio n  i n   the  K i l l i n g  Fields,  by 
Aileen  and  Darryl  Ludington,  is  the  gut- 
wrenching story of one family’s  desperate 
and  deadly  flight  to  freedom  and  their 
life-changing  encounter with Jesus  Christ. 

In the midst of unthinkable atrocities, 
one family found ...SALVATION
IN  THE
AILEEN LUDINGTON Ht DARRYL LUDING10N
Their fantastic journey from the killing fields to salvation is one you’ll never forget.
Now available at your Adventist Book Center.
192 pages, paper,  US$9.95/Cdn$12.45.
^-£7-  Books  You  Just  C a n ’t  Put  Down \ ' » » N 
_________________________________ 
from  Pacific  Press
©1991  Pacific  Press  Publishing  Association  2320
Read  any good 
books  lately?
T h e  possibilities  are  en dless  at  y ou r  A dventist  B o o k   Center. 
1-800-765-6955
Books You Just Can’t Put Down
from  Paci fi c  Press