Sabbath Afternoon, June 7
Memory Text:
“And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.” KJV — Esther 5:2
“From the beginning, God has been working by His Holy Spirit through human instrumentalities for the accomplishment of His purpose in behalf of the fallen race. This was manifest in the lives of the patriarchs. To the church in the wilderness also, in the time of Moses, God gave His “good Spirit to instruct them.” Nehemiah 9:20. And in the days of the apostles He wrought mightily for His church through the agency of the Holy Spirit. The same power that sustained the patriarchs, that gave Caleb and Joshua faith and courage, and that made the work of the apostolic church effective, has upheld God's faithful children in every succeeding age. It was through the power of the Holy Spirit that during the Dark Ages the Waldensian Christians helped to prepare the way for the Reformation. It was the same power that made successful the efforts of the noble men and women who pioneered the way for the establishment of modern missions and for the translation of the Bible into the languages and dialects of all nations and peoples.” AA 53.1
“And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.” Judges 4:4, 5. “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; and she was a widow of about four-score and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” Luke 2:36, 37. Also “Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum” taught Israel (2 Kings 22:14-16). And “Philip the evangelist,…had four daughters, virgins, which did prophecy.” Acts 21:8, 9.
Sunday, June 8
Famine in the “House of Bread.”
Read Ruth 1:1–5. What hardships fell on Naomi and Ruth, and what caused them? How does this reflect the situation that the entire human race now faces?
“Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.” KJV — Ruth 1:1-5
“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” Rev. 12:13, 14.
To begin with, we see from this scripture that the woman left her vineyard (homeland – Palestine) and went into the Gentile world after her child was born; that is, in her Christian period, when the dragon persecuted her through the instrumentality of the Jews (Acts 8:1; 13:46, 50, 51). Next we see that after she was there for some time, conditions became such as to hinder her longer nourishing herself, and that it therefore became necessary that she be nourished by someone “for a time, and times, and half a time.”
Three and one half years after Christ’s resurrection, the church left Palestine (vineyard), and while she was in the Gentile world (wilderness), “the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman [forced the heathen to be baptized into Christianity, and to join the church], that he might cause her to be carried away [heathenized] of the flood.” Rev. 12:15. While thus flooded, she had to be nourished (sustained) by the Lord, because many of her followers were heathenized, and nearly all of those who were not, were carried to death by the “flood.” So had He not nourished her (kept her in existence) by a miracle, the Church would have perished during those dark ages of religion. True, she has been able to nourish herself since the Reformation, but the unconverted (flood) are still in her midst.
Monday, June 9
Ruth and Boaz
Read Ruth 2:5–20. Why is this such a pivotal moment in the story? Why do you think Naomi’s discovery of the benefactor’s identity was such good news?
“Boaz represented the character of the Christian gentleman. Like Abraham, he commanded his household after him to keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment. He showed courtesy to all his servants, and as he passed among his workmen in the field, he said unto the reapers, “The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee.” Here is a lesson for both masters and servants, for employers and the employed. The servants are strengthened in their hearts to do righteously, to be faithful to masters who manifest respectful kindness and courtesy towards them. Christians should be the most courteous people in the world.” HM December 1, 1894, Art. A, par. 1
“But that which especially distinguished the year of jubilee was the reversion of all landed property to the family of the original possessor. No one was at liberty to trade his estate. Neither was he to sell his land unless poverty compelled him to do so. Whenever he or any of his kindred might desire to redeem it, the purchaser must not refuse to sell it. If unredeemed, it would revert to its possessor or his heirs in the year of jubilee. EP 383.5
“The Lord declared to Israel: “The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is Mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with Me.” Leviticus 25:23. God was the rightful owner, the original proprietor. It was to be impressed upon the minds of all that the poor and unfortunate have as much right to a place in God's world as the wealthy. EP 383.6
“Such were the provisions made by our merciful Creator, to lessen suffering, to bring some ray of hope, to flash some gleam of sunshine into the life of the destitute and distressed.” EP 384.1
Tuesday, June 10
Boaz as Redeemer
What do the following passages reveal about Satan’s claim on humanity? (Job 1:6–11; Matt. 4:8, 9; Jude 1:9; Luke 22:31).
“Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth. Let Mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.” Isa. 16:1-5.
“Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.” Isa. 16:1.
The definite article, “the,” lends absolute meaning to the noun, “lamb,” showing that a lamb, the only one of its kind, was the object of the command to send “the lamb” from Moab “to the mount of the daughter of Zion” – Mount Sion in Jerusalem.
“For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Amon.” That is, the lamb had to be taken from Moab because the Moabites were to be “cast out” “as a wandering bird,” “at the fords of Arnon.” Isa. 16:2.
Sacred history records that the one lamb taken from Moab before the Moabites were “cast out of [their] nest,” was the One of Whom John the Baptist said: “Behold the Lamb of God” – Christ. The prophecy shows that the lamb was rushed from Moab to Mount Sion (David’s palace at Jerusalem) – an event which took place when Naomi, with her sons, went to Moab (the “wilderness” – a nation not under the direct care of the Lord and, therefore, not a vineyard) and brought Ruth, the Moabitess, from Moab to Jerusalem: for “Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife…,and she bare a son,…and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David…. And Jesse begat David.” Ruth 4:13-22.
Thus Christ, the Son of David, was “sent” from Moab to Mount Sion – David’s palace; thus showing Christ’s divinity as the Son of God, and His humanity as the Son not only of David but also of Lot – Moab.
O how wonderfully particular is our God: the names, Obed, Jesse, and David in the Hebrew tongue mean Christ – a servant (Obed), who is to be My presence (Jesse), the beloved (David).
Christ being in the flesh a Moabite as well as an Israelite, God says: “Let Mine outcasts dwell with Thee, Moab [Christ]; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler.” “And a man [again pointing to Christ] shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Isa. 16:4; 32:2.
Sent to “take counsel, execute judgment; make” His “shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth” (Isa. 16:3), Christ, our “hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest” “in a weary land,” is a great and perfect shadow, even as midnight at noonday. So also exclaims the Psalmist: “How excellent is Thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings. Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.” Ps. 36:7; 63:7.
And “therefore,” exclaims the Gospel prophet also, “shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.” Isa. 25:3, 4.
“And in mercy shall the throne be established: and He shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.” Isa. 16:5.
Since according to this scripture the establishment of Christ’s throne is yet future, and since furthermore it is to be set up in the tabernacle of David (the which did not take place at His first coming),
Christ, therefore, when He comes to reign in His forthcoming kingdom, will sit on the throne of David. And as He is then to judge, seek judgment, and hasten righteousness, the entire action occurs just before the close of probation – the time in which He can hasten righteousness. So, happily, this prophecy of Christ’s genealogy and of His taking “the reins in His Own hands,” was given for the “admonition and learning” of those who shall be living at the end of time, when “all these things shall come to pass.” Supremely important, therefore, is the need to remember its all-important lessons, and with the faithful act promptly.
Wednesday, June 11
Haman and Satan
Read Esther 3:1–14, Revelation 12:14–17, and Revelation 13:15. What parallels do you find between these passages? How is John’s description of God’s remnant church like Haman’s description of God’s people?
The main point to be noticed in these verses is that after the Dragon and his angels were cast out of Heaven (Satan’s second defeat), and after he had persecuted the Church, and she had taken her flight into the wilderness, the Dragon followed her there, but rather than persecuting her, he cast “water as a flood after her,” hoping to cause her to be carried away by it. In other words, after he saw that he could not stop the growth of the Christian Church by persecuting her followers, he changed his tactics and instead compelled the Pagans to join her, expecting thereby to cause her to be paganized – “carried away.”
The Dragon, though, is again to miss the mark, for the earth is to open her mouth and swallow up the flood; that is, Inspiration definitely forecasts that those who join the Church for some purpose other than to follow and practice the Truth, shall be disposed of by a miracle, be swallowed by the earth, as it were. And when this comes to pass Satan shall have met his third defeat. Summarized, here are his three defeats: No. 1 – Failing to devour the child; No. 2 – Losing the war in Heaven; No. 3 – Failing to paganize the Church by flooding her with the unconverted.
When he meets his third defeat, when the tares which he sowed are burned (for as a flood they are swallowed by the earth, but as tares they are burned by the angels), then it is that the Church will appear “‘Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners,’ she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer.” – Prophets and Kings, pg. 725.
Having met such a mighty defeat, and having seen that the Church is freed from his flood, the Dragon’s wrath is to be intensified. He will be wroth with the woman and “make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (verse 17), “the Spirit of Prophecy” (Rev. 19:10).
Obviously, the remnant are those who are left after the earth opens her mouth and swallows up the flood. They as a body keep the commandments of God, and have the living Spirit of Prophecy, the Spirit Who dictated the Scriptures, Who has led God’s people into all Truth down through the ages, and Who still is. Thus it is that the Dragon’s wrath, and the Church’s purity, caused by the Dragon’s third defeat, are to bring the time of trouble such as never was:
“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.
Nothing in the world is worth as much as having our names written in the book. And therein we may have our names if we choose to follow the Spirit of Truth and to keep the commandments of God. Here we have seen that those who think that the law, the ten commandments, is “abolished,” that their lives need not comport with the law; and those who think that the Spirit of Prophecy is a thing of the past, that God has left the world to get along as best it can, that He no longer bothers Himself to send a prophet; that all such shall find themselves in league with Babylon the Great, the seat of the Dragon, and rather than having their names written in the Book, they will have the mark of the beast, and have a part in persecuting the remnant which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Thursday, June 12
For Such a Time as This
Read Esther 4:13, 14; Esther 5:1–3; and Esther 9:20–28. What lessons can we draw from these passages regarding our plight in the closing moments of earth’s history?
“The trying experiences that came to God's people in the days of Esther were not peculiar to that age alone. The revelator, looking down the ages to the close of time, has declared, “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17. Some who today are living on the earth will see these words fulfilled. The same spirit that in ages past led men to persecute the true church, will in the future lead to the pursuance of a similar course toward those who maintain their loyalty to God. Even now preparations are being made for this last great conflict. PK 605.1
“The decree that will finally go forth against the remnant people of God will be very similar to that issued by Ahasuerus against the Jews. Today the enemies of the true church see in the little company keeping the Sabbath commandment, a Mordecai at the gate. The reverence of God's people for His law is a constant rebuke to those who have cast off the fear of the Lord and are trampling on His Sabbath. PK 605.2
“Satan will arouse indignation against the minority who refuse to accept popular customs and traditions. Men of position and reputation will join with the lawless and the vile to take counsel against the people of God. Wealth, genius, education, will combine to cover them with contempt. Persecuting rulers, ministers, and church members will conspire against them. With voice and pen, by boasts, threats, and ridicule, they will seek to overthrow their faith. By false representations and angry appeals, men will stir up the passions of the people. Not having a “Thus saith the Scriptures” to bring against the advocates of the Bible Sabbath, they will resort to oppressive enactments to supply the lack. To secure popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for Sunday laws. But those who fear God, cannot accept an institution that violates a precept of the Decalogue. On this battlefield will be fought the last great conflict in the controversy between truth and error. And we are not left in doubt as to the issue. Today, as in the days of Esther and Mordecai, the Lord will vindicate His truth and His people.” PK 605.3
Friday, June 13
Further Thought
“In ancient times the Lord worked in a wonderful way through consecrated women who united in His work with men whom He had chosen to stand as His representatives. He used women to gain great and decisive victories. More than once, in times of emergency, He brought them to the front and worked through them for the salvation of many lives. Through Esther the queen, the Lord accomplished a mighty deliverance for His people. At a time when it seemed that no power could save them, Esther and the women associated with her, by fasting and prayer and prompt action, met the issue, and brought salvation to their people. YRP 270.2
“A study of women's work in connection with the cause of God in Old Testament times will teach us lessons that will enable us to meet emergencies in the work today. We may not be brought into such a critical and prominent place as were the people of God in the time of Esther; but often converted women can act an important part in more humble positions. This many have been doing, and are still ready to do. It is a woman's duty to unite with her husband in the disciplining and training of her sons and daughters, that they may be converted, and their powers consecrated to the service of God. There are many who have ability to stand with their husbands in sanitarium work, to give treatments to the sick and to speak words of counsel and encouragement to others. There are those who should seek an education that will fit them to act the part of physicians.—Special Testimonies, Series B 15:1, 2.” YRP 270.3