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>>Eric Flickinger:
Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We're glad you're with us today.
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We are taking a journey
through an interesting subject,
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a fascinating subject.
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We are looking at
God's love and justice.
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This is week number three.
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We are taking a look at
how to be pleasing to God.
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What does that mean,
"to be pleasing to God"?
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We're about to find
out. Let's begin with prayer.
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Father, we ask that You will
bless us again today, as You
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have in the past, as we continue
to study more, to learn more
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about Your character of love,
and to see how You are also
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a God of justice.
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We ask that You will
bless our time together today,
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and we thank You,
in Jesus' name, amen.
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Well, our guest this
week, once again, is the author
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of this quarter's "Sabbath
School" lesson, John Peckham.
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He is an associate editor of
the Adventist Review and also
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a research professor at
the Theological Seminary
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at Andrews University.
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John, welcome back.
>>John Peckham: Thank you.
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>>Eric: So we're looking
at how to be pleasing to God.
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There's an interesting
story that you share, an analogy
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of a father and a
son in the introduction
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to this week's
lesson. Walk us through that.
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>>John: I invite you to imagine
a father of a 5-year-old son,
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and that 5-year-old comes to
him with a poorly-wrapped gift.
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And imagine the father
says to him, "You know what?
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"I don't want that
gift. I don't need it.
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"It's worthless to me.
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"And you probably
bought it with my own money.
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So you can keep your
gift, but I love you."
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What would we think
of that kind of a father?
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Words like "heartless"--
>>Eric: Heartless, yeah.
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>>John: ..."cold"
come to mind, right?
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But some people, when they
think of God, they think God is
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like this, that God can
never receive anything from us,
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that God cannot
take delight in us.
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And even if He could,
there would be nothing in us
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worthy of delight.
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And here, this story that
I expand upon in some places,
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I imagine that same story.
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Imagine that son
comes, and the father,
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instead of reacting that
way, he opens up this package,
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and now he finds in
this package, you know,
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the ugliest tie
that he's ever seen.
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Does he say to his son,
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"Son, this is the
ugliest tie I've ever seen"?
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Of course he doesn't. Of course
he doesn't respond that way.
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Even if the tie in and of
itself is worthless to him,
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the tie is still
of value to him--why?
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Because his beloved son brought
it to him as a gift of love.
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And it's because of that
relationship that it is valuable
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to him, even when the offering
itself isn't that great.
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In a similar way, when we bring
offerings to God, when we try
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to serve Him, when we try to
please Him, even that intention
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is received through His
grace as valuable and beloved.
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And not just because He loves
us, although He does deeply
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love us as His children, but
also through His beloved Son,
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Jesus Christ, "who always lives
to make intercession for us."
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And this is taught in 1 Peter 2,
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if you'd be willing
to read that for us.
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>>Eric: We're gonna
look at 1 Peter, chapter 2,
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verses 4-6:
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"Coming to Him as to a living
stone, rejected indeed by men,
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"but chosen by God and precious,
you also, as living stones,
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"are being built up a spiritual
house, a holy priesthood,
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"to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable
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"to God through Jesus Christ.
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"Therefore it is also contained
in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay
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"in Zion a chief cornerstone,
elect, precious, and he who
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believes on Him will by
no means be put to shame.'"
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>>John: So here in this passage,
we have this emphasis on Christ
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as our mediator, Christ
as our great High Priest.
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And it says, among other
things, that He is chosen,
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and through Him, we
can also be chosen, right?
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He's "the
Beloved." If you think of it
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as a capital "B"--we
can be beloved through Him.
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And we can actually bring
acceptable offerings to God
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through Him.
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Through Him, even when we
bring an offering that is soiled
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in and of itself, Christ's
mediation actually makes it
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acceptable to God, that He
actually mediates, so that we
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can actually be pleasing
and delightful to God by faith.
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And this is wonderful
news, and this is how we can
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actually be pleasing to God.
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The book of Hebrews says,
"Without faith, it is impossible
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to please Him." But with faith,
we can be pleasing to Him.
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>>Eric: And there are so many
people who figure, "I don't have
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anything to make
God happy," too--
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and really, that's--they're
kind of missing the point.
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>>John: They're missing it. The
key is the mediation of Christ.
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And for so many people
in their walk with God,
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so many people get discouraged.
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So many people wonder, "How
can I possibly be good enough
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or make it?" And the answer
is the mediation of Christ.
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It's all about Him.
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And if He always lives to make
intercession for you and for me,
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all we have to do is remain in
relationship with Him, and He,
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as "the author and
finisher of our faith,"
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will carry us through.
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>>Eric: Let's talk about
the parable of the prodigal son.
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Talk about people who messed up.
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This young man is high on
the list of people who blew it,
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if you will. >>John: Yup.
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>>Eric: And yet it
illustrates God's compassion.
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Walk us through this parable.
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>>John: Yeah, you have this
well-known story, where you have
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this young man who decides
he wants his inheritance early.
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So he goes to his
father and requests it early,
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which is effectively like
saying, "I'd be better off
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if you were dead, Dad,"
right? "I wish you were dead."
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And his father reluctantly
decides that he will give him
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this inheritance, and the son
goes off, and he squanders it
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in short order.
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And he's left in a situation
where he is basically lower
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than pigs. He has nothing.
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And as he is in this situation,
he remembers that it's--even
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being a servant in his father's
house is far better than this.
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And so he thinks, "Maybe I
can go back, and not--no longer
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"as a son,
'cause I forfeited that.
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"But now maybe I can
go back, and I could be
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"one of my father's
servants. Even that would be
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so much better than
the situation I'm in now."
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So he decides to go home.
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But as he's going home,
his father is looking for him.
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His father sees him still a long
way off, and he has compassion
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on him, and he
runs out to meet him.
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Now, this is significant because
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in the Ancient Near East,
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it was not considered
dignified for a lord or a master
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of the house to run out to
meet anyone or to run to anyone.
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People ran to him,
he didn't run to them,
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but in this
case, he doesn't care.
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He sees his son,
and he runs to him
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and welcomes him
back into the house.
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And he restores him back
as his son, not as a servant,
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because of his great compassion.
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And this illustrates--in
the story, of course,
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that father is illustrating
this great love and compassion
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that God has for
all of His children.
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And this is a major theme
throughout the Bible, where God
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is depicted as this parent that
has a love for His children,
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but actually a
love that's even better
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than human parents
have for their children.
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And I want to look in that
regard at Isaiah, chapter 49,
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if we could read that
together, Isaiah 49, verse 15.
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>>Eric: "Can a woman forget
her nursing child, and not have
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"compassion on
the son of her womb?
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Surely they may forget,
yet I will not forget you."
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>>John: We recognize probably
the greatest kind of love known
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in human relationships
is the love of a mother--
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or a good mother, at
least-- for her infant child.
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But even in our world,
even a mother can forget or fail
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to have compassion or
fail to love her child.
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But God says, "I
will never forget you."
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So as wonderful as a mother's
love for her children is,
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according to the
Bible, God's love for us is
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exponentially greater.
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And we even see in that passage
something about the nature
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of God's love, 'cause
there's a play on words there,
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that the major word in Hebrew
for "compassion" is "rakham,"
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and the word that
translates "womb" is "rechem."
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And it's almost
surely from the same root.
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In fact, the word for
"rakham" is actually, like,
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a womb-like mother love.
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And so in this passage, God
is describing that He has this
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mother-like love, but
even greater than that.
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This warm compassion for all
of His people, to draw us into
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relationship with Him so that He
looks at you and He looks at me
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as His beloved child and
invites us all to come home,
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no matter where we've
been or what we've done.
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>>Eric: Beautiful picture there.
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Let me read a
passage here, or a verse,
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Zephaniah,
chapter 3 and verse 17.
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It says, "The Lord your God
in your midst, the Mighty One,
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"will save; He will rejoice
over you with gladness, He will
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"quiet you with His love,
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He will rejoice
over you with singing."
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Now, we may accept that God
wants to have a relationship
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with us. Some people have a hard
time accepting that, but we're
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gonna accept that God wants
to have a relationship with us.
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But here we've got
God singing and rejoicing.
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This is not just "I
want to interact with you."
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This is something
bigger, something more.
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>>John: It is indeed, yeah.
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This passage looks
forward to the day when God's
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redeemed people are restored.
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And He looks on His
people, and He has delight
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and has pleasure, which just
answers very straightforwardly
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that God can indeed take
delight in His people, that
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what matters in
our--what happens in our lives
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matters to Him and
makes a difference to Him.
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And in this passage of
Zephaniah 3:17, this verse
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by itself uses about
every Hebrew word for "delight"
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and "joy" that there
is in the entire language.
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It's almost as if
there's not enough words
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to actually describe the depth
and the magnitude of God's joy
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and delight over His
people in this passage.
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That is how much
joy people bring to God,
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especially when we're reunited
in relationship with Him.
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And you have that phrase
there, some translations,
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"He will be quiet in His love."
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And some commentators look at
that, and they say it's almost
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as if the imagery is
that God looks at His people,
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and He's speechless.
They take His breath away.
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And it's almost like a marriage
metaphor, which is very common.
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I remember on my wedding
day when I saw my wife, Brenda,
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and when I saw her appear
at the back of the church,
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and I remember
that reaction, right?
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It's a good thing no
one was asking me to speak
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at that moment 'cause I would
have been speechless, right?
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I--and this is the
kind of imagery of God
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looking at His people.
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He's quiet in His love, and yet
He's so delighted that He's also
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imagery of singing.
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And this is the kind of
joy that God has over us,
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and it connects to that parable.
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All those parables--the parable
of the prodigal son, the other
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parables--are talking about
the joy that will be in heaven
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over even one
sinner who is redeemed.
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This brings God amazing joy.
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So if you want to be pleasing
to God, just come to Him
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through His Son,
and you will bring joy.
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You will start a
party in heaven. [chuckles]
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>>Eric: I want to come
back to--you mentioned again
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the prodigal son, the
parable of the prodigal son.
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I want to come back to
that for just a moment.
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We talked about the
father and the prodigal.
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We didn't really touch on
the other significant character
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in that story, and
that's the other brother,
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the one who didn't run away,
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the one who didn't
blow his financial gift.
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And yet, he doesn't
come off scot-free either.
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Help us to
understand him a little bit.
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>>John: Yeah, you have
the brother in this parable
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who feels maybe like
he's shortchanged, right?
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His brother has gone off
and squanders inheritance.
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He's been there the whole time.
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And his brother comes back,
and there's a big party for him.
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And the fatted calf is
slain, and the red carpet
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is rolled out. And he's
been there the whole time,
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and what does he get, right?
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It seems to him
like he deserves more.
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And, of course, the father comes
to him, again, showing him grace
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and mercy because,
actually, he should be delighted
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that his brother
has been restored.
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He should be recognizing
this is a wonderful thing
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that's happening, but
instead he's looking at himself.
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We all have the tendency to
fall into that trap sometimes.
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And the father emphasizes
to him, "Your brother, my son,
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"who was dead, is now
alive again. He's back.
00:12:33.98\00:12:36.62
This is a cause
for celebration."
00:12:36.65\00:12:39.62
And this, again, just
shows how important it is for us
00:12:39.65\00:12:44.29
to recognize
God's love for everyone.
00:12:44.33\00:12:47.93
And, in fact, there is
a justice in God's love.
00:12:47.96\00:12:50.67
We'll emphasize that throughout
the quarter, throughout
00:12:50.70\00:12:53.10
the lessons together, that God's
love--He pays the price to make
00:12:53.13\00:12:57.04
a way for sinners to be
saved and for God to remain just
00:12:57.07\00:13:00.61
and for God to
remain entirely good.
00:13:00.64\00:13:02.68
And yet, on our side, it
is not something we deserve.
00:13:02.71\00:13:06.82
It is almost unfair.
00:13:06.85\00:13:08.88
It would be unfair if
God didn't make a way.
00:13:08.92\00:13:11.09
That none of us deserve it.
00:13:11.12\00:13:12.45
And so the other brother didn't
deserve the inheritance either.
00:13:12.49\00:13:15.22
But actually, this points to how
great God's love and God's mercy
00:13:15.26\00:13:19.53
is, that He makes a way
to restore someone who has
00:13:19.56\00:13:22.93
completely turned their back
on Him, the father in the story.
00:13:22.96\00:13:26.43
He can do the same for you,
and He can do the same for me.
00:13:26.47\00:13:28.84
And He does it in a way
that remains just for all.
00:13:28.87\00:13:32.24
>>Eric: Beautiful picture.
00:13:32.27\00:13:34.14
John, we're
studying this lesson.
00:13:34.18\00:13:36.48
It's a thin lesson,
all things considered,
00:13:36.51\00:13:38.58
on God's love and justice.
00:13:38.61\00:13:39.95
But there is a companion book.
00:13:39.98\00:13:42.12
Talk with us a little bit about
that companion book and why
00:13:42.15\00:13:44.62
somebody might
want to pick that up.
00:13:44.65\00:13:47.02
>>John: Yeah, in that
companion book I get to go
00:13:47.06\00:13:49.26
into much more depth.
00:13:49.29\00:13:51.59
In wider theology, there
are many people that say,
00:13:51.63\00:13:54.10
"God cannot actually be affected
by humans at all," so He
00:13:54.10\00:13:58.30
couldn't have emotions like
delight, that to do so would be
00:13:58.33\00:14:02.14
selfish 'cause love should only
be giving and never receiving,
00:14:02.17\00:14:04.51
and even if He could,
there wouldn't be a way for us
00:14:04.54\00:14:08.04
to bring delight to
Him. And in the lesson--
00:14:08.08\00:14:09.54
in the
companion volume, rather--
00:14:09.58\00:14:11.38
I can go into more depth showing
how the Bible teaches that each
00:14:11.41\00:14:16.02
three of those conceptions about
God are wrong, and you can see
00:14:16.05\00:14:19.35
a picture of God's joy
and delight and how we can be
00:14:19.39\00:14:22.36
pleasing to God in a new
way that emerges from the Bible.
00:14:22.39\00:14:26.70
>>Eric: Fantastic.
00:14:26.73\00:14:28.00
If you would like to
pick that up, you can do so
00:14:28.03\00:14:30.00
very easily by
going to itiswritten.shop.
00:14:30.03\00:14:33.27
Again, itiswritten.shop.
00:14:33.30\00:14:35.30
Look for the companion book to
this quarter's "Sabbath School"
00:14:35.34\00:14:38.14
lesson on "God's
Love and [His] Justice"
00:14:38.17\00:14:41.14
by John Peckham.
00:14:41.18\00:14:42.64
We're going to be back in
just a moment as we continue
00:14:42.68\00:14:44.98
our journey
through this week's lesson.
00:14:45.01\00:14:47.98
We'll be right back.
00:14:48.02\00:14:49.98
¤¤¤
00:14:50.02\00:14:52.02
>>male announcer:
Loving well is a way of life.
00:14:53.99\00:14:56.36
And loving well means wanting
the very best for others.
00:14:57.69\00:15:02.00
"Go ye therefore,"
becomes, "I'll go. Send me.
00:15:02.03\00:15:06.57
"Send me across the
world or across town.
00:15:06.60\00:15:09.74
"Work in me to impact
lives for such a time as this.
00:15:10.74\00:15:15.21
"And if I can't go myself, I
want to send others who can take
00:15:15.24\00:15:18.95
the everlasting
gospel to the world."
00:15:18.98\00:15:22.32
It Is Written's office
of planned giving gives you
00:15:22.35\00:15:25.15
the opportunity to leave a
legacy, to make a major impact
00:15:25.19\00:15:29.49
for Christ, to lead
others to faith in Jesus
00:15:29.52\00:15:33.50
in preparation for eternity.
00:15:33.53\00:15:36.97
Let God use you to
enable others to go.
00:15:37.00\00:15:41.27
To learn more,
visit HisLegacy.com.
00:15:41.30\00:15:44.31
That's HisLegacy.com.
00:15:44.34\00:15:46.64
¤¤¤
00:15:46.68\00:15:51.68
>>John Bradshaw: You
know that at It Is Written
00:15:53.65\00:15:54.95
we are serious about
studying the Word of God,
00:15:54.98\00:15:57.45
and we encourage you
to be serious as well.
00:15:57.49\00:16:00.12
>>John: Well, here's
what you do if you want to
00:16:00.16\00:16:01.96
dig deeper into God's Word.
00:16:01.99\00:16:03.46
Go to itiswritten.study
for the It Is Written
00:16:03.49\00:16:06.80
Bible study guides online,
00:16:06.83\00:16:08.60
25 in-depth Bible
studies that will take you
00:16:08.63\00:16:11.10
through the major
teachings of the Bible.
00:16:11.13\00:16:13.60
You'll be blessed, and
it's something you'll want to
00:16:13.64\00:16:15.60
tell others about as well.
00:16:15.64\00:16:16.94
Itiswritten.study.
00:16:16.97\00:16:18.81
Go further: itiswritten.study.
00:16:18.84\00:16:21.34
¤¤¤
00:16:23.18\00:16:28.15
>>Eric: Welcome back to
"Sabbath School," brought to you
00:16:28.18\00:16:30.15
by It Is Written.
00:16:30.19\00:16:31.49
This week we are
taking a look at how we can be
00:16:31.52\00:16:33.86
pleasing to God, what
that looks like in the Bible,
00:16:33.89\00:16:37.23
and, more importantly,
what it looks like in our lives.
00:16:37.26\00:16:40.13
John, I want to take a look
at a few passages from Scripture
00:16:40.16\00:16:43.43
here, one in Isaiah, one in
Psalms, and one in Proverbs--
00:16:43.47\00:16:46.94
and you draw these
out in the lesson--
00:16:46.97\00:16:49.20
and let's see what we can learn
about the depth of God's delight
00:16:49.24\00:16:53.27
in here. I'm going to
start with Isaiah 43, verse 4:
00:16:53.31\00:16:56.11
"Since you were precious in
my sight, you have been honored,
00:16:56.14\00:16:59.95
"and I have loved you;
therefore I will give men
00:17:00.05\00:17:03.79
for you, and
people for your life."
00:17:03.82\00:17:07.19
Then we have Psalm 149, verse 4.
00:17:07.22\00:17:10.26
>>John: Psalm
149, verse 4 says this:
00:17:10.29\00:17:13.29
"For the Lord takes
pleasure in His people;
00:17:13.33\00:17:16.77
He will beautify the
humble with salvation."
00:17:16.80\00:17:19.63
>>Eric: And over in
the book of Proverbs,
00:17:19.67\00:17:20.94
chapter 15, we're going
to look at verses 8 and 9.
00:17:20.97\00:17:24.27
It says, "The sacrifice of
the wicked is an abomination
00:17:24.31\00:17:27.21
"to the Lord, but the prayer
of the upright is His delight.
00:17:27.24\00:17:31.35
"The way of the wicked is
an abomination to the Lord,
00:17:31.38\00:17:33.95
but He loves him who
follows righteousness."
00:17:33.98\00:17:38.09
So looking at these, help
us to understand the depth
00:17:38.12\00:17:41.59
of God's delight. What
does His delight look like?
00:17:41.62\00:17:44.76
>>John: Yeah. So in Proverbs 15,
the last one that we read there,
00:17:44.79\00:17:47.76
we see both a positive statement
of God's delight in His people
00:17:47.76\00:17:51.93
and a contrast with a
statement of displeasure, right?
00:17:51.97\00:17:55.47
And so you have very clearly
in that passage that God can
00:17:55.50\00:17:58.94
be delighted or
He can be displeased.
00:17:58.97\00:18:02.01
And actually, Proverbs 15,
verses 8 and 9 puts in parallel
00:18:02.04\00:18:05.65
the language of God's delight
with the language of God's love,
00:18:05.68\00:18:09.08
such that they are
very, very closely related.
00:18:09.12\00:18:11.59
When you see
something in parallel like that,
00:18:11.62\00:18:13.32
there's a very close relation.
00:18:13.36\00:18:14.99
So He talks about being
delighted in His people,
00:18:15.02\00:18:16.96
and He talks
about loving His people.
00:18:16.99\00:18:18.73
And, in fact, it's
not just in Proverbs 15.
00:18:18.76\00:18:21.23
This language of
delight-- "chaphets" is one
00:18:21.26\00:18:23.40
of the Hebrew words used
throughout the Old Testament.
00:18:23.43\00:18:25.90
It's very closely
associated with God's love.
00:18:25.93\00:18:29.60
And the converse is true.
00:18:29.64\00:18:31.71
Things can be done
that are displeasing to God.
00:18:31.74\00:18:34.54
And so righteousness is,
of course, beloved to God,
00:18:34.58\00:18:38.05
and
unrighteousness is the opposite.
00:18:38.08\00:18:40.15
It is displeasing to God and
actually vexing and pains God.
00:18:40.18\00:18:44.22
And so when you see this idea of
love and delight being closely
00:18:44.25\00:18:47.46
tied together, you have this
language in Isaiah that people
00:18:47.49\00:18:51.46
are precious in His sight, that
He honors them, He loves them--
00:18:51.49\00:18:54.96
again, tying love
and delight together--
00:18:55.00\00:18:57.83
and He even says, "Therefore
I will give men for you," right?
00:18:57.87\00:19:00.27
And you have kind of a
foreshadowing of what God does
00:19:00.30\00:19:04.31
in the atonement by, in Christ,
making a way that we can be
00:19:04.34\00:19:09.84
delightful to God through
Christ, making a way to save us
00:19:09.88\00:19:12.81
from our sins, making a way
to draw us into relationship
00:19:12.85\00:19:16.22
with Him. And Psalm 149 is
just one of the many texts that
00:19:16.25\00:19:19.55
makes it clear that God can and
does have delight in His people.
00:19:19.59\00:19:23.29
He takes pleasure in us.
00:19:23.32\00:19:25.53
And this is
actually part and parcel
00:19:25.56\00:19:27.36
of His love for His people.
00:19:27.40\00:19:29.00
>>Eric: So this idea that
some people have that God is
00:19:29.03\00:19:30.93
kind of distant and cold
and uncaring, and He's so much,
00:19:30.97\00:19:35.34
so far above us that--what
do we even matter to Him?
00:19:35.37\00:19:40.94
You look at the Bible--
it's not that picture at all.
00:19:40.98\00:19:43.61
>>John: It's not that
picture at all. God is--
00:19:43.65\00:19:45.45
it is true that God
is transcendent God,
00:19:45.48\00:19:47.28
meaning He is beyond us in
ways that we cannot imagine.
00:19:47.32\00:19:50.45
And God doesn't need us.
00:19:50.49\00:19:52.29
He would be fine
without us in a vacuum
00:19:52.32\00:19:54.96
because
everything depends on Him.
00:19:54.99\00:19:57.13
We--He doesn't depend
on us for anything of need.
00:19:57.16\00:20:00.20
And yet He chooses to enter
into relationship with creation.
00:20:00.23\00:20:03.37
And He chooses,
actually, to take delight in us,
00:20:03.40\00:20:08.04
such that He
draws very close to us.
00:20:08.07\00:20:09.87
So He's not only transcendent,
but He's also--the language
00:20:09.90\00:20:12.21
for this is that He's immanent.
00:20:12.24\00:20:13.54
And that actual language
of immanence, it actually
00:20:13.58\00:20:17.05
comes from a Hebrew term
that just means "with us."
00:20:17.08\00:20:19.88
In fact, this is where
the--one of the names for Jesus,
00:20:19.91\00:20:22.05
"Immanuel,"
comes from in Hebrew.
00:20:22.08\00:20:24.19
It's a Hebrew compound
term that means "God with us."
00:20:24.22\00:20:27.12
And that "immanu"
part just means "with us."
00:20:27.16\00:20:29.46
So when you think of immanence,
it's God being close to us.
00:20:29.49\00:20:31.96
In all of these passages, we see
this amazing picture of a God
00:20:31.99\00:20:35.30
who doesn't need us, who does
transcend us, who draws very,
00:20:35.33\00:20:39.33
very close to us in love.
00:20:39.37\00:20:41.40
And actually what happens to
us, what happens in our lives
00:20:41.44\00:20:45.41
makes a huge difference to Him
00:20:45.44\00:20:47.41
because He has bound
Himself to us in love.
00:20:47.44\00:20:50.41
>>Eric: So that God who loves
us, who brings joy--it brings
00:20:50.45\00:20:55.65
Him joy for us to be who we are.
00:20:55.68\00:20:59.52
You talked a
moment ago about marriage
00:20:59.55\00:21:01.86
and the joy that comes in that.
00:21:01.89\00:21:03.69
There's a story of--or a
marriage analogy that we get
00:21:03.73\00:21:07.36
here in Isaiah,
chapter 62 in verse 4.
00:21:07.40\00:21:10.73
It says, "You shall no
longer be termed Forsaken,
00:21:10.77\00:21:14.57
"nor shall your land
anymore be termed Desolate;
00:21:14.60\00:21:17.01
"but you shall
be called Hephzibah,
00:21:19.01\00:21:22.41
"and your land Beulah;
for the Lord delights in you,
00:21:22.44\00:21:26.08
and your land shall be married."
00:21:26.11\00:21:28.82
All right, that could
be a little bit confusing.
00:21:28.85\00:21:31.15
Let's try to make
it less confusing.
00:21:31.19\00:21:33.15
>>John: Yeah, yeah. So
this is language, again,
00:21:33.19\00:21:35.49
where God is speaking
to His covenant people
00:21:35.52\00:21:37.46
who have strayed away from Him.
00:21:37.49\00:21:40.30
The covenant should be broken,
and the covenant is very often
00:21:40.33\00:21:43.87
described by one
of two metaphors.
00:21:43.90\00:21:45.87
It's either this marriage
metaphor here where you have
00:21:45.90\00:21:48.00
God, who is the good husband,
00:21:48.04\00:21:49.34
and you have the wife,
who's strayed away from Him,
00:21:49.37\00:21:51.11
that He's drawing
back into relationship,
00:21:51.14\00:21:52.31
or you also sometimes have
the parent-and-child analogy,
00:21:52.34\00:21:54.38
and sometimes those are
mixed together, like in Hosea.
00:21:54.41\00:21:56.88
But here you have
this marriage analogy where
00:21:56.91\00:21:59.95
the people should be forsaken,
their land should be desolate,
00:22:00.05\00:22:03.69
they should be
cut off in judgment
00:22:03.72\00:22:05.95
from straying far from God.
00:22:05.99\00:22:07.46
But here God promises,
no, He's going to draw them
00:22:07.49\00:22:10.46
in relationship back to
Himself like a beloved wife.
00:22:10.49\00:22:14.20
And so He says, "You
shall be called Hephzibah."
00:22:14.23\00:22:16.36
That language literally
means "my delight is in her."
00:22:16.40\00:22:19.60
It's from that same Hebrew term
I mentioned, "chaphets," before.
00:22:19.63\00:22:22.30
"My delight is in her."
And "beulah" means "married."
00:22:22.34\00:22:25.17
And so He's literally saying,
"I'm gonna give you these names
00:22:25.21\00:22:27.68
that mean
'delight' and 'married,'"
00:22:27.71\00:22:29.68
like a delightful wife.
00:22:29.71\00:22:31.01
And even though everything
they had done actually should be
00:22:31.05\00:22:34.35
the opposite, that there's
no cause for delight, God says,
00:22:34.38\00:22:37.22
"I'm gonna draw you, and
I'm gonna make you delightful.
00:22:37.25\00:22:39.55
I'm going to have that joy
over you" that we already saw
00:22:39.59\00:22:43.29
in Zephaniah 3:17.
00:22:43.32\00:22:44.63
So it says, "For the
Lord delights in you,
00:22:44.66\00:22:47.46
and your land shall be married."
00:22:47.50\00:22:49.60
So this is
language of the restoration
00:22:49.63\00:22:51.77
of that relationship, using this
marriage metaphor to describe
00:22:51.80\00:22:56.17
the love that God has
for His people and the way
00:22:56.20\00:22:59.34
that He draws them
back into this relationship.
00:22:59.37\00:23:02.74
Now, here we see that
God Himself is invested
00:23:02.78\00:23:05.95
in relationship in a way
that makes a difference to Him.
00:23:05.98\00:23:09.45
And many people
say, "How could this be?
00:23:09.48\00:23:12.29
"Isn't love only
supposed to be one way?
00:23:12.32\00:23:14.99
Is it even maybe selfish
if God is taking delight?"
00:23:15.02\00:23:17.99
Some people have been taught if
you enjoy it, then it's selfish.
00:23:18.03\00:23:20.96
Love should be selfless, right?
00:23:21.00\00:23:23.47
And here I want to go to
Ephesians 5 to see how Paul
00:23:23.50\00:23:26.30
speaks about God's love for us
based on this metaphor of a love
00:23:26.33\00:23:30.47
between a husband
and a wife, Ephesians 5,
00:23:30.51\00:23:32.47
verse 25 and onward.
00:23:32.51\00:23:34.48
>>Eric: "Husbands, love your
wives, just as Christ also loved
00:23:34.51\00:23:37.61
"the church and gave Himself
for her, that He might sanctify
00:23:37.65\00:23:41.85
"and cleanse her with the
washing of water by the word,
00:23:41.88\00:23:45.52
"that He might present her
to Himself a glorious church,
00:23:45.55\00:23:49.36
"not having spot or wrinkle
or any such thing, but that she
00:23:49.39\00:23:52.99
"should be holy
and without blemish.
00:23:53.03\00:23:55.30
"So husbands ought to love their
own wives as their own bodies;
00:23:55.33\00:23:58.97
"he who loves his
wife loves himself.
00:23:59.00\00:24:01.67
"For no one ever hated
his own flesh, but nourishes
00:24:01.70\00:24:05.17
"and cherishes it, just
as the Lord does the church.
00:24:05.21\00:24:08.51
"For we are members of His body,
of His flesh and of His bones.
00:24:08.54\00:24:12.51
"'For this reason a man shall
leave his father and mother
00:24:12.55\00:24:15.32
"'and be joined to his
wife, and the two shall become
00:24:15.35\00:24:18.22
one flesh.'"
00:24:18.25\00:24:19.99
>>John: So here you have this
beautiful imagery of the love
00:24:20.02\00:24:23.02
between a good
husband and a wife.
00:24:23.06\00:24:25.89
And then Paul uses this to
describe the love that Christ
00:24:25.93\00:24:28.66
has for His church, Christ
being the husband and the church
00:24:28.70\00:24:31.70
being, in the metaphor,
an example of the wife.
00:24:31.73\00:24:35.50
And so he says a husband will
love his wife--a good husband
00:24:35.54\00:24:40.98
will love his wife
even as he loves himself,
00:24:41.01\00:24:43.88
"as his own body," in
this imagery of no one hates
00:24:43.91\00:24:47.05
their own body. In other words,
a good husband should love
00:24:47.08\00:24:49.88
his wife as if she
is part of himself.
00:24:49.92\00:24:53.19
And this is the way
the imagery in Ephesians 5
00:24:53.22\00:24:56.12
says that God also loves us.
00:24:56.16\00:24:59.49
So, ideally, in a marriage
relationship, it wouldn't be
00:24:59.53\00:25:03.10
that I have my interests and my
wife has hers, and I'm fighting
00:25:03.13\00:25:06.94
for what I want to have
happen, and she's fighting
00:25:06.97\00:25:09.44
for what she
wants to have happen.
00:25:09.47\00:25:10.94
But actually, if I love her
the way that I should love her,
00:25:10.97\00:25:14.61
then what actually brings her
delight, what is best for her,
00:25:14.64\00:25:17.45
is actually what
should bring me delight.
00:25:17.48\00:25:19.25
In other words, her
best interests should be part
00:25:19.28\00:25:22.75
of my sanctified self-interest,
if you will, right?
00:25:22.78\00:25:25.75
It's like her interests are part
of me, part of my well-being,
00:25:25.79\00:25:30.23
that what delights
her is what I want,
00:25:30.26\00:25:33.16
not only in a sacrificing way,
but also because, ultimately,
00:25:33.19\00:25:37.63
it actually brings me delight as
well because of my love for her.
00:25:37.67\00:25:42.17
This is the imagery that
is used of the way God relates
00:25:42.20\00:25:46.27
to His people, God
relates to His church.
00:25:46.31\00:25:48.78
God, again, has no need of
us, but He willingly enters
00:25:48.81\00:25:52.68
into a relationship with us.
00:25:52.71\00:25:54.35
He condescends.
00:25:54.38\00:25:55.72
And the imagery is that
He makes our best interests
00:25:55.75\00:25:59.55
part of His own
unselfish self-interest.
00:25:59.59\00:26:03.59
And so, in other words,
what actually is best for us,
00:26:03.63\00:26:07.40
what actually will ultimately
bring us the most delight
00:26:07.46\00:26:10.27
and joy--you know, sometimes in
this world we don't know what's
00:26:10.30\00:26:12.27
best for us, so it's not always
the things we have in mind.
00:26:12.30\00:26:14.57
But the things that actually
would bring joy and delight
00:26:14.60\00:26:17.11
for us, this is what
brings delight to God
00:26:17.14\00:26:20.11
because He has willingly
bound His own interest to us
00:26:20.14\00:26:24.95
in such a way that His
own joy and His delight
00:26:24.98\00:26:28.92
hinges on the delight
of His beloved people.
00:26:28.95\00:26:33.59
And I just believe this
is a beautiful metaphor,
00:26:33.62\00:26:36.02
beautiful imagery.
00:26:36.06\00:26:37.69
>>Eric: So let's
touch on something.
00:26:37.73\00:26:39.03
We don't have much time left,
but I want to touch on this idea
00:26:39.06\00:26:41.83
of God taking delight in humans.
00:26:41.86\00:26:45.00
What does that help us to
see about the relationship
00:26:45.03\00:26:46.97
between heaven and earth?
00:26:47.00\00:26:48.47
>>John: Yeah, I think it
shows us that what happens here
00:26:48.50\00:26:52.27
matters more than
we think it matters.
00:26:52.31\00:26:56.34
That what we are doing here
echoes even in heavenly halls.
00:26:56.38\00:27:01.28
As we talked about
earlier in these parables,
00:27:01.32\00:27:03.45
over and over
again, they end with this:
00:27:03.49\00:27:05.15
"There will be joy in heaven.
00:27:05.19\00:27:06.65
There will be
delight in heaven."
00:27:06.69\00:27:08.59
That when we actually serve God,
He not only takes delight in us,
00:27:08.62\00:27:12.46
but when we help others to
come to know God and His love--
00:27:12.49\00:27:15.46
again, everyone who is
brought to God in love,
00:27:15.50\00:27:17.93
this sets off a party in heaven.
00:27:17.97\00:27:20.44
And if it's that important
in heaven, it should be more
00:27:20.47\00:27:22.37
important to us in the way we
conduct ourselves in daily life.
00:27:22.40\00:27:25.84
>>Eric: And that's something
that I think can impact us
00:27:25.87\00:27:28.34
on a day-to-day basis or
a moment-by-moment basis.
00:27:28.38\00:27:32.91
And I hope that as we
continue learning more about God
00:27:32.95\00:27:36.28
and His love for us and
His justice, and we're gonna be
00:27:36.32\00:27:39.29
drawing out some more
ideas on justice here very soon
00:27:39.32\00:27:42.36
and what that really looks like,
00:27:42.39\00:27:43.69
hopefully that's
impacting your view of God,
00:27:43.73\00:27:46.70
and through you, others' views
of God can be impacted as well.
00:27:46.73\00:27:51.93
We are looking at a God
of love and a God of justice.
00:27:51.97\00:27:55.94
And we're still launching
into this quarter's lesson.
00:27:55.97\00:27:59.27
We still have a long way to
go, and we're glad that you are
00:27:59.31\00:28:02.34
a part of this lesson with us.
00:28:02.38\00:28:04.61
Next week, we're going to
be back again as we continue
00:28:04.65\00:28:06.88
looking at God's
love and justice here
00:28:06.92\00:28:09.05
on "Sabbath School,"
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:28:09.08\00:28:11.95
¤¤¤
00:28:11.99\00:28:15.99
¤¤¤
00:28:25.47\00:28:26.94
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