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Fall 2022

God’s Exceptional Choice From a mountain in the wilderness of Sinai, God told Moses, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.… You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5–6a). God’s words declare one of the central themes of Scripture: God’s freedom to choose a people to be his own. Our limited understanding will not fully comprehend God’s choices. His selections may defy our standards for determining who is considered “choice.” Ultimately, he is in no way bound by our human standards. This quarter’s Scripture texts unpack the exceptional nature of God’s choice. An Obscure Choice The quarter begins by looking at the narratives in Genesis set amid the nomadic life of the ancient Near East. God demonstrated his choice by calling a descendant of Noah to experience blessing and […]

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Summer 2022

Partners In A New Creation The book of Judges documents a dismal pattern of apostasy, oppression, repentance, and restoration in ancient Israel. But these times of crisis were not unique to the period of the judges (about 1373 to 1043 BC). The two greatest crises Israel faced happened centuries later. These were the exile to Assyria in 722 BC and the destruction of Jerusalem and exile at the hands of the Babylonians in 586 BC. Back to the Future The prophet Isaiah lived through the Assyrian crisis, having begun his prophetic ministry in about 740 BC in Jerusalem. He foresaw the coming oppression by Babylon as a time when the land of Israel would be largely emptied of its people (lesson 1). Even so, he offered hope for a future time when “the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones” (Isaiah 49:13, lesson 2). This […]

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Spring 2022

God Frees and Redeems How can humans live freely? The concept of freedom can have different meanings for different people. For some people, freedom means unchecked following of a person’s impulses and desires. In this regard, there is no concern for how so-called freedom affects others. Undisciplined living destroys freedom rather than enhancing it. This quarter’s Scriptures address three themes of true freedom in God: the power of memory, the significance of right belief, and the role of responsibility. Memory and Freedom As ancient Israel remembered their liberation from Egypt, the memory reinforced the nature of their relationship with God. Centuries after they left captivity, they remembered God’s act of liberation. Three lessons from the Old Testament book of Ezra describe how they rebuilt the temple and experienced liberation. As a result of their freedom, they were filled with joy and celebration, an acknowledgment of God’s faithfulness to his people. […]

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Winter 2021

Justice, Law, History Our holy God is perfectly just. He never finds himself confused or looking for legal precedent for his decisions. He does not turn a blind eye, even when he acts with mercy. Because justice is part of his character, God expects the people who follow him to also practice justice. But when God’s justice comes into contact with sinful humanity, things get messy. This quarter we look at Old Testament passages that reveal God’s desire for justice to characterize human relationships. Just as his love extends to all people, from the street to the palace, so must just treatment reach all, regardless of status. Though justice easily is perverted by the powerful and the elite, God calls his people to a higher way: the way of justice. God Requires Justice God’s law provides his people with a standard for justice. The first unit in this quarter illustrates […]

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