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Introduction

Memory Text: “I will wait on the LORD, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope in Him” (Isaiah 8:17, NKJV).

God expects Us to trust Him just as the blind girl trusted her father and did as he instructed her, unfortunately, We fail to trust God sometimes and we meet the bad end that comes with distrust for God.

However, God has many ways to speak to His children and if We do not listen to God in one way, maybe we will with another.

Why is “curds and Honey” mentioned in Isaiah 7:15?

The people of Judah would be poor and would have to return to the diet of nomads and because the Assyrians will destroy their crops and fields.

When was the prophecy regarding Syria and northern Israel fulfilled?

The prophecy of the destruction of Syria and Northern Israel was fulfilled two years after Isaiah’s prophecy in 734 B.C. In 732 B.C Israel and Syria had been utterly destroyed.

What significant lesson do we learn from King Ahaz’s decision to put his confidence in the King of Assyria?

“It is better to take confidence in the Lord than to put confidence in princes”, Psalm 118:9. King Ahaz’s enemies were completely wiped out but a greater enemy was to come, and soon his friend became his foe. Our trust should only be on God and not on Man.

To who did the names of Isaiah’s son refer to?

The meaning of Isaiah’s son’s names referred to Judah and Northern Israel.

What hope and why was there still hope for them?

The hope for them was that a remnant would return and the reason for the reason is as a result of God’s promise to be with them all the way (Immanuel).

What is the idea of fearing God?

True fear of God as holy means that you recognize Him as the ultimate power in the universe. The fear that comes with that recognition overcomes every other fear.

How should our fear for God be like, knowing that love has no fear?

Our fear for God should be as a friend with awesome power with whom you share mutual power. This kind of fear is not a fear of hurt but of respect for the power of the person and keep to the boundaries.

What does the message in Isaiah have to do with King Ahaz?

Isaiah’s description of despair resulting from reliance on spirits other than the Lord fits Ahaz well because He relied on the pagan. In verse 21 Isaiah talks about the people getting enraged and cursing their King. The lesson points out that when King Ahaz died He was exempted from being buried in the tomb where he past kings of Israel were buried as they had lost respect for Him and His leadership.

In Conclusion,

The only safe way is to trust God, He is the only One who can truly guide, protect, and provide for those who let Him. There is only gloom for those who turn to other powers aside God. I pray this lesson teaches Us more to put our trust only on God in Jesus’ name.

Introduction

Memory Text: “ ‘ “ ‘If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established’ “ ‘ “ (Isaiah 7:9, NKJV).

Circumstances may cause Us to misunderstand situations, who is and is not at fault. Just like Waddlesworth did not know who the enemy was, King Ahaz did not as well. Not knowing who the enemy is, can lead Us to take the wrong actions.

What terrifying Crisis did King Ahaz face early in his reign?

The Kingdoms of Northern Israel and Syria ganged up to make war with Judah, under the Kingship of Ahaz. They needed to take over their resources and manpower of the small nation, Judah.

What did Ahaz decide to do to resolve this crisis?

Ahaz tried to create a relationship with Tiglath-pileser, King of Assyria, the enemy of his enemies. By so doing, He could have the Assyrians support and defend them.

Was this the right thing for King Ahaz to do?

The answer is no. Rather than King Ahaz to consult God as the only Friend who could rescue Him and His country, He decided to make friends with Tiglath-pileser III.

Why did the Lord tell Isaiah to take his son, Shear-jashub with Him to meet Ahaz?

Shear-jashub means ‘A Remnant Shall Return’. Isaiah would have to introduce his son and by mentioning his name, the message of God will be passed to King Ahaz. A remnant shall return, this means if He does not turn away from his sins he will go into captivity and a remnant from captivity shall return.

What did King Ahaz have to do to address the situation?

He only had to trust in God, He needed to believe in order to be established for the powers that looked huge and fiery were only like two smoldering stumps of firebrands.

Why did King Ahaz respond the way He did to God’s appeal to put Him to test?

Ahaz wanted to be pious and respectful and would not want to put God to test as did the Israelites some years before. The only difference here is that God wanted Ahaz to put Him to test.

What did King Ahaz’s response imply?

King Ahaz’s refusal to put God to the test implied that God was not His God.

Who is the woman, and who is her child?

Though this was a sign that was meant to inspire King Ahaz’s faith, based on the old testament we cannot justify the fulfillment of his sign. Rather we can say it served as a forerunner of Christ for only Jesus was born of a young virgin unmarried woman and His name was Immanuel.

What does it mean for God to be with Us?

Immanuel means ‘God is with Us’ and so no matter what we may be facing, He is always with Us as He had promised. This could be the sign God tried to show to King Ahaz that He would be there to protect them despite His disbelief. He was with Daniel in the lion’s den, He was with Stephen when He got stoned, He was with Jacob while He wrestled overnight, and He is with Us to the end.

In Conclusion,

We should never forget God’s promise to always be with Us despite the situation. We should not lean on the arm of flesh as King Ahaz did. Trust in the Lord and know that When Your World Is Falling Apart, He is always with us and ready to Save if only we trust Him. I pray for God to grant us the grace to acknowledge that He is always with Us and trust Him to deliver Us from all of our troubles in Jesus’ name.

Introduction

Memory Text: In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on the throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple (Isaiah 6:1, NKJV).

The Sabbath afternoon lesson points out that good leadership is based on the confidence of the people in the leaders. Although, over the years, people see hunger as a result of bad leadership, when a leader can no longer be trusted, providing food or having weapons will not work at all.

 Why did Isaiah see the vision of the divine King just the same year King Uzziah died?

Uzziah was the only King, known to Isaiah as at his time, and what He knew from Him were pride and pomposity, and so Uzziah’s death erased the influence He had created towards his people and Isaiah too. As He died, He saw a new King, an everlasting One, who taught Him rightly and unlike Uzziah, He submitted to be purged of his sins.

Why would God make an appearance to King Isaiah in such a setting as He did?

God made the appearance to Isaiah to show that He is God and He is holy and His people who want to worship Him must worship Him in holiness and purity just as the angels do. It was a demand for His people to turn from their evil ways. It was also to help comfort Isaiah amidst the crisis they were facing, it was for encouragement and to make Him stay faithful.

Why did the Seraph have to use burning coal to touch Isaiah’s lips?

There is no explicit as to why, but we may say probably Isaiah gave the wrong speeches. And so by purifying his lips, his whole self was purified cause His lips represent the person.

Can God’s sanctuary serve as a place of encouragement?

We can say yes because Isaiah’s ministry had already begun when He recalled the encounter He had some time back. Isaiah was in crisis and He used this encounter to encourage Himself. John also in Revelation 5 when He was in bondage, Jesus was already in heaven but He gave Him a vision as the lamb that takes away the sins of the world, although this had happened before, it was only repeated to encourage John and his readers.

Why did God give such a strange message through the Prophet Isaiah to His people?

God’s message to His people was an appeal for them to repent, His love toward His people is unchanging, only that the people compromise and harden their hearts. So because of this, He sent the message (Isaiah 6:9,10) to them to help them see how hardened they are. The people also have a choice to make, to either harden their hearts or heed the word of the Lord. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened but He had the freedom to choose whether to harden his heart or soften it as we can see in Exodus 8:15, 32.

In Conclusion,

The people of Israel were rebellious and even those who were true to God were often discouraged by the rebellion of the others. Isaiah’s ministry seemed hopeless because the people were stubborn. The vision Isaiah had was all He needed to stay faithful in such an iniquitous society. I pray that God strengthens us and encourages Us just when we need it so we do not lose our faith in God in Jesus’ name.

The 1st Quarter of 2021 theme for the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide is Isaiah Comfort My People.

The writings of Isaiah were very strong, emotive, poetic, and powerful. We will study these writings this quarter, the environment where he wrote these powerful writings, and most especially his God who called and inspired him. We acknowledge the Principal Contributor, Roy E. Gane, Editors, coordinator and Art Director, and Illustrator for bringing this lesson to Us at this time. Our special thanks go to God for inspiring them.

Here is an overview of the lessons for this quarter, click any of the lesson topics to see the review. The lessons that are yet to come do not have reviews yet rather they have a suggestion form for Users to send questions and contributions about the lesson, the reviews for the yet-to-come lessons will be available by the beginning of that lesson week.

1. Crisis of Identity—December 26-January 1
2. Crisis of Leadership—January 2-8
3. When Your World Is Falling Apart—January 9-15
4. The Hard Way—January 16-22
5. Noble Prince of Peace—January 23-29
6. Playing God—January 30-February 5
7. Defeat of the Assyrians—February 6-12
8. “Comfort My People” —February 13-19
9. To Serve and to Save—February 20-26
10. Doing the Unthinkable—February 27-March 5
11. Waging Love—March 6-12
12. Desire of Nations—March 13-19
13. Rebirth of Planet Earth—March 20-26

Introduction

Memory Text: “ ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the LORD, ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool’ “ (Isaiah 1:18, NKJV).

The children of Israel had forgotten their identity, they forgot they belonged to God, unlike a small boy who gets separated from his mother and recognizes the mother at the sight of her, the children of Israel did not recognize who God was to them.

In what way did the Israelites lose their identity?

By rebelling against God by sinning, they had lost their identity and hence forgotten who their owner was (Isaiah 1:3)

Why does the Lord reject His people’s offering to Him?

Their offerings were rejected simply because the hands that offered them were “full of blood”, that is guilty of violence and oppression to their fellow (Isaiah 1:15). These sacrifices were instituted by God (Leviticus 1-16) and were meant to be in the context of faithfulness to God and anything aside that cannot be accepted.

What were the people of God expected to do to be reconciled back to God?

They were to learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow (Isaiah 1:17).

What does God do to reconcile them back to Him?

He offers them forgiveness, by so doing they would see the need to purify themselves of their sins.

 Why are there only two choices (to eat or be eaten) that have to be followed without compromise?

This same format has used throughout the bible, it was similar to the scenario in Moses’ time which was about life and death (Deuteronomy 30:19,20). It is only good and bad, whatever is not good is bad and whatever is not bad is good, and God is good, so if God makes any conditional promises, they are for good, and the conditions must be adhered to, in contrast not abiding by those good conditions will incur the bad side and since it is only good and bad, there is no compromise. Also, God is one, and His character is One, He never changes or compromises, so whatever He says must be carefully followed.

Please drop your suggestions to this question below

Why by His statement in Isaiah 5:4, “What more was there to do for my vineyard than I have done in it?”?

This shows that God does not just cut Us off once we go astray because He understands how deceptive sin can be, rather He does everything possible, He waits patiently for Us, He offers Us forgiveness, He gives Us chances, and still show Us His mercies and goodness.

In Conclusion,

God is ever-willing to reconcile Us back to Him. Even if we forget Him, He is always ready to forgive us and draw us back to Him. One of the ways HE does this is by pointing out our condition, remind us of the destructive consequences of our rebellion and urges us to allow Him to heal and cleanse Us. I pray that We never lose our identity for any reason, for God is always faithful to Us, and will never forget us too in Jesus’ name.