Lesson 12: God is Faithful

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Overview Discussion (2) Completed users (1)
Joshua 21:45 – “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”
Core Theme: God’s unwavering faithfulness in fulfilling His promises demands a response of total allegiance, love, and obedience from His people to secure their continued victory and inheritance.

Key Insights by Day:

Sunday: All Came to Pass (Joshua 21:43-45; Ephesians 2:8-9)
  • The conquest narrative climaxes by declaring that every divine promise was fulfilled - the gift of land and victory over enemies was entirely God’s faithful work, not Israel’s merit.
  • Salvation Parallel: Just as the land was God’s gift to Israel, salvation is a gift of grace through faith, not a result of human works.
  • Foundation of Hope: God’s proven faithfulness in the past is the guarantee that all His future promises will also be fulfilled (2 Corinthians 1:18-20).
Monday: A Sign of Concern (Joshua 23:1-5; Ephesians 6:11-18)
  • Joshua warns that future success is not automatic; it depends on continued obedience and reliance on God, who fights for them.
  • Conditional Rest: While God gave them rest from enemies, remaining nations symbolized ongoing spiritual battles.
  • Spiritual Victory: For Christians, victory over sin is secured by Christ’s work but must be lived out through daily reliance on the Holy Spirit and spiritual armor.
Tuesday: Clear Boundaries (Joshua 23:6-13; 2 Corinthians 6:14)
  • The greatest threat to Israel was not military defeat but spiritual compromise through friendship, intermarriage, and idolatry with surrounding nations.
  • Spiritual Warfare: The primary conflict is ideological. Maintaining a unique identity requires clear boundaries to preserve spiritual purity.
  • Modern Balance: Christians must find a balanced relationship with society - mingling to serve, yet maintaining clear spiritual principles to avoid assimilation.
Wednesday: The Anger of the Lord (Joshua 23:15-16; Revelation 14:10)
  • God’s wrath is His holy and just response to covenant-breaking sin. Israel would face the same dispossession they inflicted on the Canaanites if they chose idolatry.
  • Righteous Judge: God’s wrath is not an emotional overreaction but the necessary posture of a righteous Judge against evil.
  • Love and Wrath: God’s love makes His wrath against sin necessary; Christ bore that wrath for believers, reconciling them to God (John 3:36; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Thursday: Cling to God (Joshua 23:11; Deuteronomy 6:5)
  • The antidote to idolatry is not just avoiding sin but actively “clinging” to God in loving, loyal devotion, as in a marriage covenant.
  • Commanded Love: Love for God is a conscious commitment and choice to be devoted to Him, springing from gratitude for His mercy.
  • New Commandment: Jesus renewed the command to love, framing it as self-sacrificial love for one another as the mark of His disciples (John 13:34).
Final Thoughts (Friday):
  • Root Principle: God’s unconditional love does not mean the unconditional pardon of sin. His justice and righteousness are the foundation of His government.
  • The Twofold Reality: Life and blessing flow from obedience to God’s laws; suffering and death are the inevitable results of sin, from which only Christ’s sacrifice redeems us.
  • Our Call:
    • Trust completely in God’s proven faithfulness as the basis for all hope.
    • Maintain spiritual vigilance and clear boundaries to protect our allegiance to God.
    • Cultivate a proactive, clinging love for God that naturally produces obedience and Christ-like love for others.
    • Recognize God’s just wrath against sin while resting in the salvation secured by Christ.
"God's faithfulness gave Israel the land; their faithfulness would determine if they kept it. The same divine grace that wins the victory calls us to daily choose the loyalty that secures it."
 
Last Sabbath school I watch my local Elder do the lesson on the Digital Projector Screen, so nice and well presented, but you could not reply to the discussion, and I have learned to keep my mouth silent. How can a man teach us about God is faithful and the Sabbath School Class does not know genuine faith itself?

God’s unconditional love does not mean the unconditional pardon of sin.

Correct. If God is faithful to you, you have to be faithful to God. How do you show your faithfulness to God?
Mrs White explains

"By appropriating to yourself the precious promises in the Word of God."

This is a process called faith. Not one in twenty SDA people know how and most of us dabble in it.

Shalom
 
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