Lesson 4 – The Lamp

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105.

“We are sustained every moment by God’s care, and upheld by His pow- er. He spreads our tables with food. He gives us peaceful and refreshing sleep. Weekly He brings to us the Sabbath, that we may rest from our temporal labors, and worship Him in His own house. He has given us His word to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. In its sacred pages we find the counsels of wisdom; and as oft as we lift our hearts to Him in penitence and faith, He grants us the blessings of His grace.” –Counsels on Stewardship, p. 18.

WHAT WE SHOULD KNOW

1.What happened as a result of sin in this world? What two ways did the parable depict how to detect darkness?

Isaiah 60:2. For, behold, the dark- ness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

Matthew 6:23. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

“‘No man can serve two masters.’ We cannot serve God with a divided heart. Bible religion is not one influence among many others; its influence is to be supreme, pervading and controlling every other. It is not to be like a dash of color brushed here and there upon the canvas, but it is to pervade the whole life, as if the canvas were dipped into the color, until every thread of the fabric were dyed a deep, unfading hue.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 312.

2.What is necessary to eradicate darkness, and how is divine light perceived?

Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Matthew 6:22. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

“‘If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.’ Purity and steadfastness of purpose are the conditions of receiving light from God. He who desires to know the truth must be willing to accept all that it re- veals. He can make no compromise with error. To be wavering and half- hearted in allegiance to truth is to choose the darkness of error and satanic delusion.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 312.

3.What characteristics are present in those who receive the divine light of revelation? How is it provided, and for what purpose?

1 Peter 1:10-12. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: ¹¹Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. ¹²Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the an- gels desire to look into.

Zechariah 4:12-14. And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? ¹³And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. ¹⁴Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

“Concerning the two witnesses the prophet declares further: ‘These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.’ ‘Thy word,’ said the psalmist, ‘is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ Revelation 11:4; Psalm 119:105. The two witnesses represent the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament. Both are important testimonies to the origin and perpetuity of the law of God. Both are witnesses also to the plan of salvation. The types, sacrifices, and prophecies of the Old Testament point forward to a Saviour to come. The Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament tell of a Saviour who has come in the exact manner foretold by type and prophecy.” –The Great Controversy, p. 267.

4.Who is the Light of the world? Who were called to be light bearers in the Old and New Testaments?

there of circumcision? ²Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. ³For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

John 8:12. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Romans 3:1-3. What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. 3For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

Revelation 1:13, 20. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a gold- en girdle…. ²⁰The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

“In like manner, when God was about to open to the beloved John the history of the church for future ages, He gave him an assurance of the Sav- iour’s interest and care for His people by revealing to him ‘One like unto the Son of man,’ walking among the candlesticks, which symbolized the seven churches.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 752.

SEEKING THE OIL OF HIS SPIRIT

5.What task was assigned to the people and to the priestly ministry? Where in the sanctuary did they serve?

Exodus 27:20, 21. And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beat- en for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. ²¹In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

Numbers 8:1, 2. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ²Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.

Psalm 18:28. For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

“Everything connected with institutional service should bear the signature of Heaven. A sense of the sacredness of God’s institutions should be en- couraged and cultivated. The workers are to humble their hearts before the Lord, acknowledging His sovereignty. All are to live in accordance with principles of self-denial. As the true, self-sacrificing laborer, with his spiri- tual lamp trimmed and burning, strives unselfishly to advance the interests of the institution in which he is working, he will have a precious experience, and will be able to say, ‘The Lord indeed is in this place.’ He will feel that he is highly privileged in being permitted to give to the Lord’s institution his ability, his service, and his unwearying vigilance.” –Selected Messages, book 2, p. 176.

WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO

6.When one has lost coins in his house, what three things should he do? What will be the result of such actions?

Luke 15:8. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

Matthew 12:43-45. When the un- clean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. ⁴⁴Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. ⁴⁵Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

“There were many in Christ’s day, as there are today, over whom the con- trol of Satan for the time seemed broken; through the grace of God they were set free from the evil spirits that had held dominion over the soul. They rejoiced in the love of God; but, like the stony-ground hearers of the parable, they did not abide in His love. They did not surrender themselves to God daily, that Christ might dwell in the heart; and when the evil spirit returned, with ‘seven other spirits more wicked than himself,’ they were wholly dominated by the power of evil.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 323.

7.What divine endowment will permeate the Christian’s actions? What will be the result of his endeavors?

Psalm 119:9. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

Jeremiah 33:8, 9. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, where- by they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. ⁹And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.

Philippians 2:15. That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.

“How little do we enter into sympathy with Christ on that which should be the strongest bond of union between us and Him-–compassion for depraved, guilty, suffering souls, dead in trespasses and sins! The inhumanity of man toward man is our greatest sin. Many think that they are representing the justice of God while they wholly fail of representing His tenderness and His great love. Often the ones whom they meet with sternness and severity are under the stress of temptation. Satan is wrestling with these souls, and harsh, unsympathetic words discourage them and cause them to fall a prey to the tempter’s power.” –The Ministry of Healing, p. 163.

For Additional Study

“The Bible is the most ancient and the most comprehensive history that men possess. It came fresh from the fountain of eternal truth, and throughout the ages a divine hand has preserved its purity. It lights up the far-distant past, where human research in vain seeks to penetrate. In God’s word only do we behold the power that laid the foundations of the earth and that stretched out the heavens. Here only do we find an authentic account of the origin of nations. Here only is given a history of our race unsullied by human pride or prejudice.” –Education, p. 173.
“Humanity has in itself no light. Apart from Christ we are like an unkindled taper, like the moon when her face is turned away from the sun; we have not a single ray of brightness to shed into the darkness of the world. But when we turn toward the Sun of Righteousness, when we come in touch with Christ, the whole soul is aglow with the brightness of the divine presence.” –Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 40.