Sabbath Afternoon, February 1
Memory Text:
“But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” KJV — Jeremiah 9:24
“No man, without divine aid, can attain to this knowledge of God. The apostle says that “the world by wisdom knew not God.” Christ “was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.” Jesus declared to His disciples, “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.” ST April 12, 1910, par. 2
“In the last prayer for His followers, before entering the shadows of Gethsemane, the Saviour lifted His eyes to heaven, and in pity for the ignorance of fallen men He said, “O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee.” “I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world.” ST April 12, 1910, par. 3
“Christ came to reveal God to the world as a God of love, full of mercy, tenderness, and compassion. The thick darkness with which Satan had endeavored to enshroud the throne of Deity was swept away by the world's Redeemer, and the Father was again manifest to men as the light of life. ST April 12, 1910, par. 4
“When Philip came to Jesus with the request, “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us,” the Saviour answered, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” Christ declares Himself to be sent into the world as a representative of the Father. In His nobility of character, in His mercy and tender pity, in His love and goodness, He stands before us as the embodiment of divine perfection, the image of the invisible God. ST April 12, 1910, par. 5
Sunday, February 2
Love and Justice
Read Psalm 33:5, Isaiah 61:8, Jeremiah 9:24, Psalm 85:10, and Psalm 89:14. How do these texts shed light on God’s concern for justice?
“Through Jesus, God's mercy was manifested to men; but mercy does not set aside justice. The law reveals the attributes of God's character, and not a jot or tittle of it could be changed to meet man in his fallen condition. God did not change His law, but He sacrificed Himself, in Christ, for man's redemption. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19).... AG 74.2
“God's love has been expressed in His justice no less than in His mercy. Justice is the foundation of His throne, and the fruit of His love. It had been Satan's purpose to divorce mercy from truth and justice. He sought to prove that the righteousness of God's law is an enemy to peace. But Christ shows that in God's plan they are indissolubly joined together; the one cannot exist without the other. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10). AG 74.3
“By His life and His death, Christ proved that God's justice did not destroy His mercy, but that sin could be forgiven, and that the law is righteous, and can be perfectly obeyed. Satan's charges were refuted. AG 74.4
“The grace of Christ and the law of God are inseparable. In Jesus mercy and truth are met together.... He was the representative of God and the exemplar of humanity. He presented to the world what humanity might become when united by faith with divinity. The only-begotten Son of God took upon Him the nature of man, and established His cross between earth and heaven. Through the cross, man was drawn to God, and God to man. Justice moved from its high and awful position, and the heavenly hosts, the armies of holiness, drew near to the cross, bowing with reverence; for at the cross justice was satisfied. Through the cross the sinner was drawn from the stronghold of sin, from the confederacy of evil, and at every approach to the cross his heart relents and in penitence he cries, “It was my sins that crucified the Son of God.” At the cross he leaves his sins, and through the grace of Christ his character is transformed.” AG 74.5
Monday, February 3
God is Entirely Good and Righteous
Read Deuteronomy 32:4 and Psalm 92:15. What do these passages teach about the faithfulness and righteousness of God?
“Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord. Psalm 144:15. TMK 127.1
“I will thank the Lord my God for His great goodness and mercy and love expressed to the human family. I am impressed we should cultivate cheerfulness; and what does this do? It reveals to the world the peace and comfort that it is our privilege to claim. It is not honoring our Lord and Saviour to carry a shade of gloom. Many do this....” TMK 127.2
“The tenderness of God to His people, His unceasing care for them, the riches of the wisdom of the methods He has taken to lead them to Himself, demand our gratitude offerings expressed in most earnest devotion to serve Him with all humility of mind and contrition of soul. The Lord is gracious, and He would have His people represent His loving-kindness by acknowledgment in cheerful thanksgiving to God. All who appreciate the favors of God will be a happy people.” TMK 127.5
Read Psalm 9:7, 8 and Psalm 145:9–17. What do these verses teach about God?
“To God we owe all we have and are. In Him we live and move and have our being. We have not been forgotten by Him. In His book each human being has a page, on which is recorded his whole history. Constantly and untiringly God is working for our happiness. The treasures which He has placed within our reach are numberless. “The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works. Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. The earth is full of His goodness. Creation proclaims, with myriad voice, the forbearance, love, and compassion of the Almighty. ST January 2, 1901, par. 2
“Thru all the ages God has manifested for the human race a love that is without a parallel. He so loved man that He bestowed on him a gift that defies computation. That the abundance of His grace might be revealed, He sent His only-begotten Son to our world, to live a man among men, to spend His life in the service of humanity. In our behalf the Son of the Infinite God was numbered with the transgressors. Christ was the channel thru which the Father poured into the world the rich stream of His grace. God could not give less than the fulness, nor was it possible for Him to give more. ‘Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’” ST January 2, 1901, par. 3
Tuesday, February 4
God Changeless Character
Read Malachi 3:6 and James 1:17. What do these passages teach about God’s character?
“God's work is the same in all time, although there are different degrees of development and different manifestations of His power, to meet the wants of men in the different ages. Beginning with the first gospel promise, and coming down through the patriarchal and Jewish ages, and even to the present time, there has been a gradual unfolding of the purposes of God in the plan of redemption. The Saviour typified in the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish law is the very same that is revealed in the gospel. The clouds that enveloped His divine form have rolled back; the mists and shades have disappeared; and Jesus, the world's Redeemer, stands revealed. He who proclaimed the law from Sinai, and delivered to Moses the precepts of the ritual law, is the same that spoke the Sermon on the Mount. The great principles of love to God, which He set forth as the foundation of the law and the prophets, are only a reiteration of what He had spoken through Moses to the Hebrew people: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Deuteronomy 6:4, 5. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Leviticus 19:18. The teacher is the same in both dispensations. God's claims are the same. The principles of His government are the same. For all proceed from Him “with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17.” PP 373.2
Read 2 Timothy 2:13; Titus 1:2; and Hebrews 6:17, 18. What do these texts teach about God?
“God condescends to meet man in his human weakness. The Lord has pledged us his word, so that there need be no occasion for questioning and doubt. The Scripture says: “God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us; which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” ST December 23, 1889, par. 1
“How gracious and merciful is our God to thus meet the thoughts of human minds! Surely God could do no more for his people than he has done. These precious promises are not given to a few talented ones, but to all, high or low, free or bond, rich or poor, who have endeavored to comply with his requirements.” ST December 23, 1889, par. 2
Wednesday, February 5
A Repenting God
Read Exodus 32:14 and compare it with Jeremiah 18:4–10. What do you make of these descriptions of God’s “relenting”?
“God in heaven beheld it all, and warned Moses of what was taking place in the camp, saying, ‘Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth Thy wrath wax hot against Thy people, which Thou has brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did He bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from Thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against Thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou swarest by Thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever. And the Lord repented of the evil which He thought to do unto His people.’” TM 100.1
Read Numbers 23:19 and 1 Samuel 15:29. What do these texts teach with regard to whether or not God “relents” or “repents”?
“Awed by these revelations, Balaam exclaimed, “Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel.” The great magician had tried his power of enchantment, in accordance with the desire of the Moabites; but concerning this very occasion it should be said of Israel, “What hath God wrought!” While they were under the divine protection, no people or nation, though aided by all the power of Satan, should be able to prevail against them. All the world should wonder at the marvelous work of God in behalf of His people—that a man determined to pursue a sinful course should be so controlled by divine power as to utter, instead of imprecations, the richest and most precious promises, in the language of sublime and impassioned poetry. And the favor of God at this time manifested toward Israel was to be an assurance of His protecting care for His obedient, faithful children in all ages. When Satan should inspire evil men to misrepresent, harass, and destroy God's people, this very occurrence would be brought to their remembrance, and would strengthen their courage and their faith in God.” PP 449.1
Thursday, February 6
Hold Fast to Love and Justice
Read Matthew 5:43–48. What does this teach about God’s amazing love? How should we act toward others in light of this teaching of Jesus?
“He pointed His hearers to the Ruler of the universe, under the new name, “Our Father.” He would have them understand how tenderly the heart of God yearned over them. He teaches that God cares for every lost soul; that “like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” Psalm 103:13. Such a conception of God was never given to the world by any religion but that of the Bible. Heathenism teaches men to look upon the Supreme Being as an object of fear rather than of love—a malign deity to be appeased by sacrifices, rather than a Father pouring upon His children the gift of His love. Even the people of Israel had become so blinded to the precious teaching of the prophets concerning God that this revelation of His paternal love was as an original subject, a new gift to the world.” MB 74.
“While we were yet unloving and unlovely in character, “hateful, and hating one another,” our heavenly Father had mercy on us. “After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” Titus 3:3-5. His love received, will make us, in like manner, kind and tender, not merely toward those who please us, but to the most faulty and erring and sinful. MB 75.1
“The children of God are those who are partakers of His nature. It is not earthly rank, nor birth, nor nationality, nor religious privilege, which proves that we are members of the family of God; it is love, a love that embraces all humanity. Even sinners whose hearts are not utterly closed to God's Spirit, will respond to kindness; while they may give hate for hate, they will also give love for love. But it is only the Spirit of God that gives love for hatred. To be kind to the unthankful and to the evil, to do good hoping for nothing again, is the insignia of the royalty of heaven, the sure token by which the children of the Highest reveal their high estate.” MB 75.2
Friday, February 7
Further Thought
“Christ's death proves God's great love for man. It is our pledge of salvation. To remove the cross from the Christian would be like blotting the sun from the sky. The cross brings us near to God, reconciling us to Him. With the relenting compassion of a father's love, Jehovah looks upon the suffering that His Son endured in order to save the race from eternal death, and accepts us in the Beloved. AA 209.3
“Without the cross, man could have no union with the Father. On it depends our every hope. From it shines the light of the Saviour's love, and when at the foot of the cross the sinner looks up to the One who died to save him, he may rejoice with fullness of joy, for his sins are pardoned. Kneeling in faith at the cross, he has reached the highest place to which man can attain. AA 209.4
“Through the cross we learn that the heavenly Father loves us with a love that is infinite. Can we wonder that Paul exclaimed, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”? Galatians 6:14. It is our privilege also to glory in the cross, our privilege to give ourselves wholly to Him who gave Himself for us. Then, with the light that streams from Calvary shining in our faces, we may go forth to reveal this light to those in darkness.” AA 210.1