Worship the Creator (2019, Quarter 3, Lesson 6)

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Sabbath (August 3): Worship the Creator

Even before God gave the Ten Commandments to Israel at Mt. Sinai, He had shown the Israelites numerous examples of His power as Creator. In the disastrous plagues on Egypt, the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea and destruction of the Egyptian army, and the daily manna that fell from heaven, God was, among other things, giving His people ample reason to remember and worship Him as their Creator. In this week’s lesson we will study more closely the relationship between worshipping God as Creator and our treatment of other people.

Discussion Questions:

• Read Exodus 20:3-7, and then discuss the following questions:

  • What is the overall focus of the first three commandments? (To worship God.)

  • What is the message of the first commandment? (To worship God alone.) Is this a unique command from the God of heaven, or do you think that other gods, religions, and cults have demanded similar exclusivity of devotion? (This is certainly not a unique command.)

  • In the calls to worship in the second and third commandments, is there any identification of Whom is being worshipped? (No.) What reasons are given to not worship any graven images, or to take God’s name in vain? (The reasons given are centered in justice—God will “visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children” and “not hold him guiltless” that does these things. There is also a glimpse of God’s character of mercy in verse 6.)

• Read Exodus 20:8-11. How does God identify Himself here? (As the Creator.) How are we to respond to the fact that He is Creator? (By worshipping Him on the seventh-day Sabbath.) What should this worship—in a special way on the Sabbath, and in our lives every day—look like? (This worship is explained in the first three commandments.)

• Read Exodus 20:12-17. For what reasons might it be significant that the last six commandments and their focus on our interaction with other people follows the command to worship God as Creator on the Sabbath? (The fourth commandment acts as a hinge that connects our worship of God with our treatment of other people. The call to worship God as Creator comes not at the end nor at the beginning of the ten commandments, but in the middle, showing its central significance in our lives.) 

Sunday (August 4): Idolatry and Oppression

When God formed the nation of Israel, He called them to exist and function as a “peculiar treasure unto me above all people” (Exodus 19:5). As we have studied in earlier lessons, an important part of Israel’s uniqueness was to be its loving and merciful treatment of the oppressed and helpless, and as long as Israel followed and worshipped God, they fulfilled this purpose (compare Ruth 2:1-17). However, when God’s people slipped into idolatry, they quickly began reflecting the hard-hearted and oppressive character of the nations surrounding them.

Discussion Questions:

• Read Psalm 115:3. What reason is given for worshipping God here? (God is identified as the Creator in heaven.)

• Read Psalm 115:4-7. In contrast to the living God, how are false gods described? (Their mouths are silent, their eyes see not, their ears hear not, their noses don’t smell, their hands handle not, their feet walk not.) What does this imply about the false gods’ ability to administer justice or mercy? (The false gods are completely unable to administer mercy or justice.)

• Read Psalm 115:8. How will those people who worship these false gods view and treat the oppressed? (This verse says that we become like what we worship. Those who worship false gods will also be completely unable to administer mercy or justice to others.)

• Read Romans 1:22,23. What kind of false worship is described here? (Worshipping the creation rather than worshipping the Creator.)

• Read Romans 1:28-32. This passage contains a frightening list of evils, many of them centered on injustice and oppression of others. According to this passage, what has lead to such grievous sins? (The refusal to worship God as Creator, and subsequent worship of false gods, results in all of these evils.)

Monday (August 5): A Reason to Worship

The Bible identifies many reasons to worship God. In today’s lesson we will focus on a few of these reasons, especially as they pertain to His justice and mercy.

Discussion Questions

• Read Deuteronomy 10:17-22. What reasons are given for worshipping God here? (God is a just God of judgment.) How should this fact be reflected in the lives of those who worship Him? (We, too, should “love the stranger” and participate in the acts of mercy mentioned in verse 18.)

• Read Psalm 101:1. What two reasons are given for worshipping God here? (His mercy and His judgment.)

• Read Exodus 20:4-6. For what reasons might God’s justice and mercy be identified here in the second commandment, along with the call to not worship any graven images? (As we studied previously, false gods cannot help their worshippers, and, eventually, neither will those who worship them. True worship leads us to worship God as Creator and to also appreciate and reflect His character toward others.)

• Read Psalm 146:7-10. What reasons are given for worshipping God here? (Again, He is a God of judgment and mercy toward the oppressed and afflicted.)

• Read Isaiah 5:15,16. After Isaiah warns about the fate of those who do not reflect God’s character of love and mercy, what promise is given in verse 16? (God will be sanctified.)

• Read Ezekiel 20:41. According to this promise, what is one way that God will sanctify Himself? (God will sanctify Himself in and through His people. When those who worship God treat others as He does, God is praised.) Where will God rescue His people from so that He can be sanctified in them? (God promises that He will “bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered.” The nations God’s people were redeemed from were idol-worshipping nations, and in addition to a promise of physical restoration, God is promising that He has the power to transform and renew His people’s devotion to Him, purity of worship, and love for others.)

• Read Isaiah 61:11. What will be the result when God works the miracle of sanctifying Himself in His people? (“Righteousness and praise [will] spring forth before all nations.”)

Tuesday (August 6): Religious Oppressors

God’s prophets repeatedly called Old Testament Israel away from idolatry and oppression to true worship of God, yet their messages were largely ignored. Instead, the effect of many of Israel’s priests and other religious leaders over time was to place an undue emphasis on the act of sacrifice, while neglecting the change of heart and the faith lessons that God intended this service to accomplish. Some idea of this long yet gradual slide away from God can be seen in the dimensions of the altar of burnt offering over time:

• The altar in Moses’ wilderness sanctuary was about five feet high and seven feet square. Assuming four square feet was needed to burn an average offering, three burnt offerings could be offered simultaneously.

• The altar built by Solomon was about 15 feet high and 30 feet square, and could accommodate 56 simultaneous offerings.         

• Some scholarly and historical estimates state that the altar of burnt offering in “Herod’s temple” at the time of Christ was as large as 22 feet high and 75 feet square. This size altar could have accommodated 351 simultaneous offerings.

                   

Christ reacted strongly to this unbalanced worship in His two cleansings of the temple:

Jesus looked upon the innocent victims of sacrifice, and saw how the Jews had made these great convocations scenes of bloodshed and cruelty. In place of humble repentance of sin, they had multiplied the sacrifice of beasts, as if God could be honored by a heartless service. The priests and rulers had hardened their hearts through selfishness and avarice. The very symbols pointing to the Lamb of God they had made a means of getting gain. Thus in the eyes of the people the sacredness of the sacrificial service had been in a great measure destroyed. The indignation of Jesus was stirred; He knew that His blood, so soon to be shed for the sins of the world, would be as little appreciated by the priests and elders as was the blood of beasts which they kept incessantly flowing. {DA 590.1}

Discussion Questions:

• Read Isaiah 1:10-12. What was God’s attitude toward the sacrifices offered in Isaiah’s time? (He did not delight in it, but was actually repulsed by it.)

• Read Matthew 21:12,13. What was Christ’s response to the injustice and oppression practiced by the priests and other religious leaders of the day, especially in regard to their attitude toward the sacrificial services and the money to be earned from them? (He “cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple.”)

• Read Malachi 3:1-4. This passage is prophetic of the Messiah’s cleansing of the literal temple in Jerusalem, but it also points to a greater work of cleansing within human hearts. What wonderful promises are contained in this passage that apply to us today? (Christ can purify our hearts and minds so that our lives can be an offering in righteousness, and this will be “pleasant unto the Lord.”)

Wednesday (August 7): A Way to Worship

In today’s lesson we look at Isaiah 58, a beautiful yet challenging chapter that presents the work that God’s people are to do. Writing about this chapter, Ellen White said:

I have been instructed to refer our people to the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. Read this chapter carefully and understand the kind of ministry that will bring life into the churches. The work of the gospel is to be carried by means of our liberality as well as by our labors. When you meet suffering souls who need help, give it to them. When you find those who are hungry, feed them. In doing this you will be working in lines of Christ’s ministry. The Master’s holy work was a benevolent work. Let our people everywhere be encouraged to have a part in it.—Manuscript 7, 1908. {WM 29.3}

Discussion Questions:

• Read Isaiah 58:1-4. What is God’s warning to His people in these verses? (Isaiah is sharing the same message that so many of the other prophets, especially of his time, were given: Israel’s worship of God had slipped into an external cycle of formalism and show, but their daily lives were full of self-seeking, disregard for the need of others, and violence.) How has God responded? (He has taken “no knowledge” of their fasting or their worship.)

• Read Isaiah 58:6,7. What is God’s counsel to His people? What will make for “true fasting”? (To show mercy to others and point them to Jesus as the Cure for sin.)

True fasting was designed to purify the motives and reform the life. But with the Jews the practices of religion had become a cloak for oppression of the weak, robbery of widows and orphans, and all forms of briery, deceit, and injustice….The true purpose of religion is to release men from their burdens of sin, to eliminate intolerance and oppression, and to promote justice, liberty, and peace. God intended His people to be free, but the leaders of Israel were making slaves and paupers of them. (SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4 [1955 edition],p. 306).

• Read Isaiah 58:9-11. What promises does God give to His people if they will heed His counsel? (God will answer their prayers. He will guide them and provide for them.)

• Read Isaiah 58:12,13. What additional task does God call His people to accomplish? (To “repair the breach” and restore the “old waste places.”) What does God mean by this? (Specifically, they are to stop ignoring and trampling on the Sabbath, doing their pleasure on this day, and speaking their own words on this day.)

• Read Isaiah 58:14. What promise does God give to His people if they will do this? (They will rejoice in God, He will bless them and provide for them. Israel’s fate as a nation was determined by its attitude toward the Sabbath [see Jeremiah 17:24-27], and God here promises to avert the threatened punishments and destruction if His people will do as He calls them to do.)

• What connections do you see between the first half of Isaiah 58, and its focus on mercy and justice, and the second half of this chapter, with its focus on true Sabbath observance? (Answers will vary.)

Thursday (August 8): Mercy and Faithfulness

Today’s lesson is one that may be hard to swallow, especially for those called to leadership.  After all, leadership sets the standard for those that they lead. In this lesson regarding mercy and faithfulness, we see that the Lord gave serious warnings to the falsehood of many leaders of His time. They thought they were faithful, but because they didn’t have any mercy, their conduct was based on self-righteousness and pride. Today we’ll look at the words of Christ that are a warning to our leaders and to ourselves.

Discussion Questions:

• Read Mark 12:38-40. What type of religious life was Christ warning us against? How can we avoid falling into a similar type of experience? Have you seen in your own life that behavior of a “scribe”? If so, what made you realize your condition? (Answers will vary.)

• Read Mark 12:28-34. Why do you think Jesus used scribes as an example of false religion when He had just seen one who is “not far from the kingdom of God”? What lessons should we apply today to our leadership from this experience? (Answers will vary.)

• Read Matthew 23. In this chapter, what types of conduct can you find there that do not follow the principles of mercy and faithfulness? Make a list of what might be false faithfulness, or a lack of mercy, and how can that be similar to our condition today. What did Jesus say would be the judgment against unfaithfulness and a lack of mercy on the part of the leaders?

Friday (August 9): Mercy, the Sabbath, and the Seal of God

True worship of God as Creator leads to true religion—religion that saves and redeems from sin, and transforms those formerly under the power of sin into channels of blessing for other people. The seventh-day Sabbath remains the sign and memorial of God’s work and power as Creator. It provides a weekly opportunity to refocus our rushed and often selfish lives on our relationship with God and with other people, especially those in need around us. In today’s lesson, we will see how Revelation 14 emphasizes the importance of this true religion at the end of time.

Discussion Questions:

• Read Revelation 14:1. What group of people does John see here? (The 144,000.) What distinguishing characteristic do they have? (The Father’s name, or character, is written in their foreheads.)

• Read Revelation 14:2-5. What are some other characteristics of the 144,000? (Answers will vary.) Whom do they follow “whithersoever he goeth”? (They follow the Lamb, Jesus Christ.) What does this mean? (It means, among other things, that they live as He lived [compare 1 Peter 2:21,22].)

• Read Luke 4:1,16-19. How did Jesus live? (He was filled with the Spirit, worshipped God on the Sabbath, and performed works of mercy and redemption.) What is the lesson for us? (The 144,000 must be doing the same thing at the end of time.)

• Read Revelation 14:6,7. What aspects of true religion are revealed in the first angels’ message? (The first angel reveals that those who receive the seal of God will be preaching, and living, the everlasting gospel, which includes ministering to those in need. It also reveals that those who “follow the Lamb” will glorify God in their lives and worship Him as their Creator.)

• Read Revelation 14:8 and 18:1-7. The second angel calls God’s people out of spiritual Babylon. How would you summarize the root of Babylon’s sin problem? (Answers will vary. Revelation 18:7 reveals that those who make up spiritual Babylon are fundamentally focused on self, for Babylon “hath glorified herself.”) People, like water, cannot just flow out of something—they must also then flow into something else. If the second angel is calling people out of Babylon’s self-focused mindset and lifestyle, then what might they be called into? (Answers will vary. Within the context of our lesson, they are called into a relationship with God that empowers them to faithfully worship Him and minister to others.)

• Read Revelation 14:9,10. The third angel warns about the mark of the beast and the final battle between true and false worship of God. Those that remain in spiritual Babylon receive the mark of the beast, while those that follow Jesus and participate in true religion receive the seal of God. What lessons about worship and service to others can we draw from this? (Answers will vary. Avoiding the mark of the beast and receiving the seal of God involves more than simply going to church on the correct day. It requires a fundamental transformation of character in which God’s priorities—and His love and compassion for other people—becomes part of who we are.)

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