Sabbath Afternoon - March 11
Memory Text:
“Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. KJV — Psalm 50:14, 15
Take no thought for the morrow, for it will take care of itself – why cross bridges before you come to them? Why worry how you are to fill up your stomachs and with what you are to cover your bodies tomorrow if they are cared for this day? Why worry about your own needs, why not worry how to advance the Kingdom of God? Putting in overtime to make tents or cobble shoes for a living is all right if you do not say, “I will do this and the other and get money to buy and build this or that.” You should instead say, “If God permits, I will do this or that, so that I may get here or get there, do this and the other for the advancement of His cause.” Whatever the aim behind your act it must be for the advancement of His Kingdom.
Why not make your chief interest His business? Why not the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, so that “all these things be added unto you”? Why work to feed yourself? Why not work for God and let Him feed and clothe you? He is far more capable of providing for you than you will ever be. Why not let Him take charge of your work, of your home, of your body?
Sunday - March 12
Putting God First
Read 2 Chronicles 20:1–22. What important spiritual principles can we take from this story for ourselves, whatever struggles we are facing?
Until called to the throne at the age of thirty-five, Jehoshaphat had before him the example of good King Asa, who in nearly every crisis had done “that which was right in the eyes of the Lord.” 1 Kings 15:11. During a prosperous reign of twenty-five years, Jehoshaphat sought to walk “in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside.” PK 190.1
In his efforts to rule wisely, Jehoshaphat endeavored to persuade his subjects to take a firm stand against idolatrous practices. Many of the people in his realm “offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.” 1 Kings 22:43. The king did not at once destroy these shrines; but from the beginning he tried to safeguard Judah from the sins characterizing the northern kingdom under the rule of Ahab, of whom he was a contemporary for many years. Jehoshaphat himself was loyal to God. He “sought not unto Baalim; but sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in His commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.” Because of his integrity, the Lord was with him, and “stablished the kingdom in his hand.” 2 Chronicles 17:3-5. PK 190.2
With confidence Jehoshaphat could say to the Lord, “Our eyes are upon thee.” For years he had taught the people to trust in the One who in past ages had so often interposed to save His chosen ones from utter destruction; and now, when the kingdom was in peril, Jehoshaphat did not stand alone; “all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.” Verse 13. Unitedly they fasted and prayed; unitedly they besought the Lord to put their enemies to confusion, that the name of Jehovah might be glorified. PK 200.1
God was the strength of Judah in this crisis, and He is the strength of His people today. We are not to trust in princes, or to set men in the place of God. We are to remember that human beings are fallible and erring, and that He who has all power is our strong tower of defense. In every emergency we are to feel that the battle is His. His resources are limitless, and apparent impossibilities will make the victory all the greater. PK 202.4
Laden with spoil, the armies of Judah returned “with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 20:27, 28. Great was their cause for rejoicing. In obedience to the command, “Stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord: ... fear not, nor be dismayed,” they had put their trust wholly in God, and He had proved to be their fortress and their deliverer. Verse 17. Now they could sing with understanding the inspired hymns of David: PK 203.1
Through the faith of Judah's ruler and of his armies “the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest.” 2 Chronicles 20:29, 30. PK 203.5
Monday - March 13
Trust God, Not Your Own Resources
Read 1 Chronicles 21:1–14. Why did David decide to number Israel or count his soldiers? Why did his commander Joab counsel against this?
“Though the people of Israel were proud of their national greatness, they did not look with favor upon David's plan for so greatly extending the military service. The proposed enrollment caused much dissatisfaction; consequently it was thought necessary to employ the military officers in place of the priests and magistrates, who had formerly taken the census. The object of the undertaking was directly contrary to the principles of a theocracy. Even Joab remonstrated, unscrupulous as he had heretofore shown himself. He said, “The Lord make His people a hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel? Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.” The numbering was not finished when David was convicted of his sin...” PP 747.1
“The history of David affords one of the most impressive testimonies ever given to the dangers that threaten the soul from power and riches and worldly honor—those things that are most eagerly desired among men. Few have ever passed through an experience better adapted to prepare them for enduring such a test. David's early life as a shepherd, with its lessons of humility, of patient toil, and of tender care for his flocks; the communion with nature in the solitude of the hills, developing his genius for music and poetry, and directing his thoughts to the Creator; the long discipline of his wilderness life, calling into exercise courage, fortitude, patience, and faith in God, had been appointed by the Lord as a preparation for the throne of Israel. David had enjoyed precious experiences of the love of God, and had been richly endowed with His Spirit; in the history of Saul he had seen the utter worthlessness of mere human wisdom. And yet worldly success and honor so weakened the character of David that he was repeatedly overcome by the tempter.” PP 746.2
Jesus pulled nothing out of storage, so to speak. He received day by day a fresh supply for all His needs, for Himself and for His work. Yes, everything – topics for His teaching, the wine at the marriage, the bread to feed the multitude, and even the coin to pay the tax. All these He received as He had need of them. Never did He lack a thing. If we make God’s Kingdom our chief business as He did, work for It as He worked for It, pray as He prayed, trust as He trusted, – then there will be no reason for us to receive less than He. Heaven’s wealth will be at our disposal. In fact He assures us: “All these things shall be added unto thee.”
Tuesday - March 14
Time to Simplify
Read 2 Peter 3:3–12. What is Peter telling us with these words?
“We ought now to be heeding the injunction of our Saviour: “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not.” It is now that our brethren should be cutting down their possessions instead of increasing them. We are about to move to a better country, even a heavenly. Then let us not be dwellers upon the earth, but be getting things into as compact a compass as possible. 5T 152.1
“The time is coming when we cannot sell at any price. The decree will soon go forth prohibiting men to buy or sell of any man save him that hath the mark of the beast. We came near having this realized in California a short time since; but this was only the threatening of the blowing of the four winds. As yet they are held by the four angels. We are not just ready. There is a work yet to be done, and then the angels will be bidden to let go, that the four winds may blow upon the earth. That will be a decisive time for God's children, a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. Now is our opportunity to work.” 5T 152.2
The wise do not consider it a gamble to sell all they have in order to make the kingdom their own. They know that they are getting a bargain, that such an investment will make them rich. Both the man that bought the “field” containing the great “treasure,” and the man who bought the “pearl of great price” sold everything they had in order to close deals. But even though it took everything, they both had enough to buy what they had set their hearts on.
If our hearts are set on wealth, if our love of money becomes greater than our love to help set up the Kingdom, then there is no hope. Such shall find themselves magnetically drawn down into Babylon. We must remember that the love of money is the root of all evil; that it is easier for a camel to go through the needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom. But, sad to say, in spite of this solemn warning, we see even the most informed in the things of God fall victims to such filthy lucre.
If we have the dollar when we need it, also are certain from day to day of our clothing, food, and a bed to sleep in, we should feel rich. We should feel as if we had a million dollars in the bank. Yes, if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and mind the Lord’s business, being slothful in nothing and conscientious in everything, then we shall have all these added unto us (Matt. 6:31-33).
Wednesday - March 15
Priorities
Read Matthew 6:24. What has been your own experience with the truth of these words?
“One marked feature in the teachings of Christ is the frequency and earnestness with which he rebuked the sin of covetousness, and pointed out the danger of worldly acquisitions and the inordinate love of gain. In the mansions of the rich, in the temple, and in the streets, he warned those who inquired after salvation: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness.” “Ye can not serve God and mammon.” RH November 15, 1906, par. 17
“It is this increasing devotion to money getting, the selfishness which the desire for gain begets, that deadens the spirituality of many in the church, and removes from them the favor of God. When the head and hands are constantly occupied with planning and toiling for the accumulation of riches, the claims of God and humanity are forgotten. RH November 15, 1906, par. 18
“If God has blessed us with prosperity, it is not that our time and attention should be diverted from him and given to that which he has lent us. The giver is greater than the gift. We have been bought with a price; we are not our own. Have we forgotten that infinite price paid for our redemption? Is gratitude dead in the heart? Does not the cross of Christ put to shame a life of selfish ease and indulgence?” RH November 15, 1906, par. 19
Matt. 6:24-26 – “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”
These three verses plainly say that to live to make a living, and to worry how you are to fare tomorrow, is nothing less than serving mammon (self); that you cannot serve self and God at the same time; that if you serve God you should be as free from worry of the future as are the birds. Yes, you should be even more confident of His care, for you are worth more than are the birds. You are whole-heartedly to know that so long as you serve Him, He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Read 1 John 2:15–17. How are these three things manifested in our world, and why is the danger they present sometimes more subtle than we realize?
“Those that overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, will be the favored ones who shall receive the seal of the living God. Those whose hands are not clean, whose hearts are not pure, will not have the seal of the living God. Those who are planning sin and acting it will be passed by. Only those who, in their attitude before God, are filling the position of those who are repenting and confessing their sins in the great anti-typical day of atonement, will be recognized and marked as worthy of God's protection. The names of those who are steadfastly looking and waiting and watching for the appearing of their Saviour—more earnestly and wishfully than they who wait for the morning—will be numbered with those who are sealed. Those who, while having all the light of truth flashing upon their souls, should have works corresponding to their avowed faith, but are allured by sin, setting up idols in their hearts, corrupting their souls before God, and polluting those who unite with them in sin, will have their names blotted out of the book of life, and be left in midnight darkness, having no oil in their vessels with their lamps. “Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings.” TM 445.1
“This sealing of the servants of God is the same that was shown to Ezekiel in vision. John also had been a witness of this most startling revelation. He saw the sea and the waves roaring, and men's hearts failing them for fear. He beheld the earth moved, and the mountains carried into the midst of the sea (which is literally taking place), the water thereof roaring and troubled, and the mountains shaking with the swelling thereof. He was shown plagues, pestilence, famine, and death performing their terrible mission.” TM 445.2
Thursday - March 16
When No One Can Buy or sell
Read Revelation 13:11–17. How do financial matters fit in with the end-time persecution?
Unlike the first beast, the second beast comes from the earth. The sea and the earth obviously point to two different locations. We know that the beasts of Daniel 7, and the leopard-like of Revelation 13, the beasts that arose from the sea, all originated in the Old Country, the lands where humanity originated. Yes, the “sea” befittingly symbolizes the Old Country because the sea is the store-house of the waters, the place where the waters originate, as the Old Country is the place from where humanity spread out.
The “earth,” then, points to a place away from the “sea” and the opposite of what sea stands for, – a country made up of inhabitants who have emigrated from elsewhere. The only such country or nation away from the Old Country and as influential as portrayed in this two-horned beast that arises after the formation of the leopard-like beast, in the Protestant period, is the United States. Moreover, the United States is already a world power, and so we need not be guessing any more. The beast’s two horns point to its two political ruling powers – Democrats and Republicans. Their lamb-like character gives the appearance of innocence, harmlessness, and charitability. The beast’s speaking like a dragon nevertheless repudiates the lamb-like appearance of the horns.
The two-horned beast exercises all the power which the first beast, the leopard-like, exercised, again showing it to be a world power. Indeed, it requires just such a power to compel all the inhabitants of the earth to worship as he commands, and to implement a likeness of a church and state government that is as outdated as are the Middle Ages themselves. Yes, it takes such a power to influence the world, save those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, to bow down to it.
Here you see that this unification of the world, engendered to bring peace and harmony out of the present chaos, will instead bring an even greater time of trouble. And why? – Because though the beast may bring Communism and Capitalism to mutual agreement, and cause them to bow down to the image of the beast, yet those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will never comply. From this you see that the whole plan is directed by a supernatural power whose aim is to boycott the people of God. They shall nevertheless be delivered.
When the beast’s decree is passed that no one can buy or sell, and should be killed for non-conformity, then God only can protect His people, the people whose names are written in “The Book.” Such is His faithful promise: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the Book.” Dan. 12:1.
Verses 16, 17 – “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
This power, you see, is to control the world’s markets, too.
This symbolic forecast of the world government to be set up, plainly points out that the coming world government is to be neither the U.N., nor Communism, but an ecclesiastical power. We know that it is not Communism, because Communism is against religion, and the beast is for it.
When this comes to pass, which is no longer beyond the horizon, then those whose names are written in the “Book of Life” shall be delivered, but all others will have received the mark of the beast. There will be no middle ground, or middle class.
We should now decide what to do, so that we will not be caught off guard. For this very cause the light of Truth has come to us now.
The world government which is to develop from the “League of Nations” and the “United Nations,” is not actually to be absolutely universal, and there are still to be “two worlds,” but rather than there being Capitalism and Communism, they are to be those who worship the beast and his image, and those who worship God and have their names written in the Book. The latter are the only people who will not bow down to the future world government.
If our hearts are set on wealth, if our love of money becomes greater than our love to help set up the Kingdom, then there is no hope. Such shall find themselves magnetically drawn down into Babylon. We must remember that the love of money is the root of all evil; that it is easier for a camel to go through the needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom. But, sad to say, in spite of this solemn warning, we see even the most informed in the things of God fall victims to such filthy lucre.
Friday - March 17
Further Study
It is true that men control and use the silver and the gold, but it must not be forgotten that it all belongs to God, and that if He has need of it, He is well able to take it and do what He will with it, that the builders need not fear a shortage of it if they use it as God would have them use it.
Isaiah 66:1- “Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: Where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest?” The house mentioned here is a spiritual house as in Eph. 2:20-22, of which Solomon’s temple was a symbol. The following quotation is found in Prophets and Kings, pages 35, 36: “Thus as the building on Mt. Moriah was noiselessly upreared with ‘stone made ready before it was brought thither: So that there was neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building’, the beautiful fittings were perfected according to the patterns committed by David to his son.”
That beautiful temple reveals God’s desire for His church. For this reason, God lavished so much wealth upon this palatial structure upon Mt. Moriah. According to estimates given in the monthly bulletin of the Illinois Society of Architects, it reached the tremendous total of more than eighty-seven billion dollars. The several estimates show the total cost to have been $87,212,210,840. This sum represents a nation’s wealth. The question is, How did Israel ever raise such an enormous sum of money to lavish on one single structure? God never asks us to do anything unless He Himself makes it possible.
The tremendous amount of wealth expended on this magnificent temple represents God’s care and love for His people, as well as the glory of the church. Solomon recognized that this temple was but a symbol of a temple which he was not able to build. In 2 Chronicles 2:6, we read: “But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him? Who am I then, that should build Him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?” God asks His people at this present time, “Where is the house which ye build unto me?” (Isaiah 66:1). Douay version reads: “That ye will build to me?” The Hebrew translation reads: “A house that ye can build unto me?”