Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Missionaries in the Home,” p. 143, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4; “The Divine Shepherd,” pp. 476–484, in The Desire of Ages. “Those who are finally victorious will have seasons of terrible perplexity and trial in their religious life; but they must not cast away their confidence, for this is a part of their discipline in the school of Christ, and it i...

A Certain Promise for the Journey “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the L ord forever” (Ps. 23:6, NKJV). When we are in the valley or surrounded by enemies, it is sometimes tempting to believe that we have been left alone. It does not always feel as though God has been doing much; we reason that if He had been helping, we wouldn’t...

Unexpected Detour 2: The Surrounded Table “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over” (Ps. 23:5, NKJV). Throughout our lives, we will inevitably bump into some enemies. How do you deal with them? Have you ever lain awake at night, tossing and turning, dreaming up ways to take revenge on those who are trying to hurt you or destroy you...

Unexpected Detour 1: The Valley “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4, NKJV). It would be nice if the paths of righteousness wound their way only along the grass-covered banks of cool streams. But that is not the way David paints it. Also, along these paths is the valley of the sh...

Locations on the Journey “He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake” (Ps. 23:3, NRSV). Imagine the “paths of righteousness” (Ps. 23:3) stretching out before you, way out into the distance. You cannot see the end, but you know that at the end of the journey is home, God’s house. As you focus a little closer to you, do you see where the path leads? You can see some places clearly, but other par...

A Guide for the Journey: The Shepherd “The L ord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1, NKJV). Some children were asked to draw a picture of God. Without excep- tion, each one drew a picture with a heart somewhere in it. When asked why, they declared unanimously that God is love. It was as simple as that. It is easy to have a good opinion of God and His purposes when everything is going well...

Read for This Week’s Study: Psalm 23, Rom. 12:18–21. Memory Text: “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3, NKJV). Sophie leaned back against her bedroom door and slid to the floor. Tears were welling up fast, and it was only a moment before she was sobbing. “How could he? How could he!” Sophie had just received news that was breaking her hea...

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). All things” were made by Him, Jesus, and yet—according to Scripture— “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). The Creator wept? Even more so, Jesus was “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief ” (Isa. 53:3). The Creator, a man of sorrows, despised and rejected? And He once cried out,...

Further Thought: Ellen G. White, “Joseph and His Brothers,” pp. 233–240, in Patriarchs and Prophets. “The life of Joseph illustrates the life of Christ. It was envy that moved the brothers of Joseph to sell him as a slave; they hoped to prevent him from becoming greater than themselves. And when he was carried to Egypt, they flattered themselves that they were to be no more troubled with his dream...

The Hope of the Promised Land Read Genesis 49:29–50:21. What great themes of hope are found in the conclusion of the book of Genesis? The conclusion of Genesis is made up of three events that are filled with hope. First, there is the hope that Israel will return to the Promised Land. Moses, the author of Genesis, describes Jacob’s and Joseph’s deaths and burials as events pointing to the Promised...

Jacob Blesses His Sons Read Genesis 49:1–28. What is the spiritual significance of Jacob’s blessing on his sons? Beyond the prophecies concerning the immediate history of the tribes of Israel, Jacob sees the Messiah and the ultimate hope of salva- tion. This hope already is indicated in Jacob’s opening words that use the expression “in the last days” (Gen. 49:1), a technical expression that refers...

Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons As Jacob approaches death, he remembers his earlier return to Bethel (Gen. 35:1–15), when he received from God the renewed promise of the “everlasting possession” (Gen. 48:4) that was given to Abraham (Gen. 17:8). The hope of the Promised Land is, therefore, a comforting thought that nurtures his hope as he feels death coming. Jacob turns, then, to Joseph’s two sons, wh...

Jacob Settles in Egypt It’s very interesting how, despite all that Jacob had been told about Joseph’s being alive in Egypt, the Lord still gave him “visions of the night” (Gen. 46:2) and in them commanded him to leave. Jacob leaves the Land of Promise for, of all places, Egypt—which later becomes associated with the one place that God’s people do not want to go (Deut. 17:16). Read Genesis 47. What...

Jacob Goes to Joseph Read Genesis 46. What is the significance of Jacob’s departure from Canaan? When Jacob leaves his place in Canaan, he is full of hope. The assur- ance that he will no longer be hungry and the good news that Joseph is alive must have given him the momentum that he needed to leave the Promised Land. Jacob’s departure echoes the experience of Abraham, though in Abraham’s case he...

Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 46; Rom. 10:12, 13; Genesis 47; Genesis 48; Acts 3:25, 26; Genesis 49; Phil. 2:10; Gen. 49:29–50:21. Memory Text: “So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly” (Genesis 47:27, NKJV). Genesis covers the last years of Jacob and Joseph together. We see Jacob (Israel) leave Canaan...

Further Thought: Ellen G. White, “Joseph in Egypt,” pp. 213–223; “Joseph and His Brothers,” pp. 224–232, in Patriarchs and Prophets. “The three days of confinement were days of bitter sorrow with Jacob’s sons. They reflected upon their past wrong course, especially their cruelty to Joseph. They knew if they were convicted of being spies, and they could not bring evidence to clear themselves, they...

“ ‘I Am Joseph Your Brother’ ” Read Genesis 45. What lessons of love, faith, and hope can be found in this story? It was at that very moment, when Judah talked about the “ ‘evil’ ” that would fall upon ’avi, “ ‘my father’ ” (Gen. 44:34), that Joseph “cried out” (Gen. 45:1, NKJV) and then “made himself known” to his brothers. This expression, often used to refer to God’s self-revelation (Exod. 6:3,...

The Divination Cup Read Genesis 44. Why did Joseph put the divination cup in Benjamin’s sack and not in another brother’s sack? This story parallels the preceding one. As before, Joseph gives spe- cific instructions; and, once again, he fills the men’s sacks with food. This time, however, Joseph adds the strange command to put his pre- cious cup in Benjamin’s sack. The events take, therefore, a di...

Joseph and Benjamin Jacob could not easily allow the departure of Benjamin, his only son with Rachel who remained with him. He was afraid that he would lose him, as he already had lost Joseph (Gen. 43:6–8). It was only when there was no more food (Gen. 43:2) and when Judah pledged to guar- antee the return of Benjamin (Gen. 43:9) that Jacob finally consented to a second visit to Egypt and allowed...

Joseph Confronts His Brothers Read Genesis 42. What happened here, and how does it reveal the providence of God, despite human evil and malfeasance? The famine obliges Jacob to send his sons to Egypt to buy grain. Ironically, it is Jacob who initiates the project (Gen 42:1). The unfor- tunate old man, a victim of circumstances beyond his control, unknow- ingly sets in motion an amazing chain of ev...

Joseph’s Rise to Power For Joseph, Pharaoh’s dreams revealed what God was “about to do” (Gen. 41:28, NKJV) in the land. Joseph, however, does not call on Pharaoh to believe in his God. Instead, Joseph’s immediate response is action. Joseph proposes an economic program. Interestingly, only the economic part of Joseph’s discourse is retained by Pharaoh, who seems more interested in the economic less...

Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 41:37–46, 1 Kings 3:12, Genesis 42, Rom. 5:7–11, Genesis 43, Genesis 44, Genesis 45. Memory Text: “And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt’ ” (Genesis 41:41, NKJV). Joseph is now leader of Egypt, and his own brothers will bow before him without knowing who he is (Genesis 42). Joseph’s brothers will humble themselves when Joseph f...

Further Thought: Ellen G. White, “Joseph in Egypt,” pp. 213–223, in Patriarchs and Prophets. “In early life, just as they were passing from youth to manhood, Joseph and Daniel were separated from their homes and carried as cap- tives to heathen lands. Especially was Joseph subject to the temptations that attend great changes of fortune. In his father’s home a tenderly cherished child; in the house...

The Dreams of Pharaoh Read Genesis 40:1–41:36. How are the dreams of Pharaoh related to the dreams of the officers? What is the significance of this parallel? The providential character of the events continues. Over time, Joseph is put in charge of the prisoners, two of whom happen to be former officers of Pharaoh, a butler and a baker (Gen. 41:9–11). They are both troubled by dreams that they can...

Joseph, a Slave in Egypt We now pick up the flow of Joseph’s stories, which have been “inter- rupted” by the Tamar incident. Joseph is now working as a slave for the “captain of the guard,” who is in charge of the prison for royal officials (Gen. 40:3, 4; Gen. 41:10–12). Read Genesis 39. In light of the example of Joseph’s working as a man- ager under Potiphar, what are the factors that led to suc...