The lessons for this half year focus on the important Biblical subject of the people whom God loves as the apple of His eye. There are prophecies, promises, blessings, and experiences as well as tests, shaking, faithfulness, and victory. Beginning with the origin of life on earth, the lessons traverse the centuries of history, looking at experiences such as deliverance from slavery, being taken captivity to a strange land, and return from captivity by some who faced the challenges of starting over. Centuries later, Jesus came to earth to carry out His mission as the Lamb of God and establish the Christian church as an international body with a worldwide mission, promising that, despite trials, persecution, and intense struggles, the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
Going back to Egypt with a message of freedom for God’s people, Moses was to tell the Pharaoh that Israel was His “son” and “firstborn.” “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, even My firstborn.” This was repeated: “And I say unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve Me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.” Exodus 4:22, 23.
“When the Hebrew people were suffering cruel oppression under the hand of their taskmasters, the Lord looked upon them, and He called Israel His son. He bade Moses go to Pharaoh with the message, ‘Israel is My son, even My firstborn. And I say unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve Me.’ The Lord did not wait until His people went forth and stood in triumph on the shores of the Red Sea before He called Israel His son, but while they were under oppression, degraded, downtrodden, suffering all that the power and the invention of the Egyptians could impose to make their lives bitter and to destroy them, then God undertakes their cause and declares to Pharaoh, ‘Israel is My son, even My firstborn.’” –The Southern Work, p. 14.
Moses fulfilled his mission to lead Israel to freedom. Egypt was far away, and the sea and the wilderness were victoriously crossed when, looking back at how wonderfully the Lord had protected and guided His people, Moses, in his last song, exclaimed: “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.” Deuteronomy 32:10. Thus, Israel was recognized by God not only as His son but also as the nation that was very personal to Him–“the apple of His eye.”
Centuries passed, and the record of Israel’s history was frequently marred by sin and rebellion. Many of the people lost their hope and faith and went astray. Although only a remnant remained, the value that the Lord saw in them did not change; to Him the faithful were still “the apple of His eye.” “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath He sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye.’ Zechariah 2:8. Yes, “God loves His children with infinite love. To Him the dearest object on earth is His church.”–Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 165.
“It was still the Lord’s purpose, as it had been from the beginning, that His people should be a praise in the earth, to the glory of His name. During the long years of their exile, He had given them many opportunities to return to their allegiance to Him. Some had chosen to listen and to learn; some had found salvation in the midst of affliction. Many of these were to be numbered among the remnant that should return. They were likened by Inspiration to ‘the highest branch of the high cedar,’ which was to be planted upon an high mountain and eminent: in the mountain of the height of Israel.’ Ezekiel 17:22, 23.” –Prophets and Kings, p. 599.
We are now at the end of history, when the last prophecies will be fulfilled. A great work and a great battle are ahead of us. Are we progressing in faith to be ready for these events? Are we the holy missionary people that the Lord needs?
“Christ’s church is to be a blessing, and its members are to be blessed as they bless others. The object of God in choosing a people before all the world was not only that He might adopt them as His sons and daughters, but that through them He might confer on the world the benefits of divine illumination. When the Lord chose Abraham, it was not simply to be the special friend of God, but to be a medium of the precious and peculiar privileges the Lord desired to bestow upon the nations. He was to be a light amid the moral darkness of his surroundings.
“Whenever God blesses His children with light and truth, it is not only that they may have the gift of eternal life, but that those around them may also be spiritually enlightened….‘Ye are the salt of the earth.’ And when God makes His children salt, it is not only for their own preservation, but that they may be agents in preserving others.” –Reflecting Christ, p. 205.
Are we doing what He expects from us in this dark world? Remember, the Lord has a plan and a mission for His people. Let us go forward, remaining firm and solid on the immovable foundation on which His church was established–Jesus Christ. Let us be precious instruments in His hand for the salvation of others; then all ofHis promises will be fulfilled.If we keep this high goal in mind, the study of these lessons will be a great blessing.
“… For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Hebrews 13:5,6.
“Will the Lord forget His people in this trying hour? Did He forget faithful Noah when judgments were visited upon the antediluvian world? Did He forget Lot when the fire came down from heaven to consume the cities of the plain? Did He forget Joseph surrounded by idolaters in Egypt? Did He forget Elijah when the oath of Jezebel threatened him with the fate of the prophets of Baal? Did He forget Jeremiah in the dark and dismal pit of his prison house? Did He forget the three worthies in the fiery furnace? or Daniel in the den of lions?”–Darkness Before Dawn, p. 43.
“He has a tender care for the beings whom He has so loved as to give His dearest Beloved to save.” –Education, p. 256.
“There is one thing in this world which is the greatest object of Christ’s solicitude. It is His church on earth; for its members should be representatives, in spirit and character, of Him. The world is to recognize in them the representatives of Christianity, the depository of sacred truths in which is stored the most precious jewels for the enrichment of others. Through the ages of moral darkness and error, through centuries of strife and persecution, the church of Christ has been as a city set on a hill.” –Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, p. 265.
May we be that light until the end is our prayer.
–The brothers and sisters of the General Conference