Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 1, Exod. 20:8–11, Exod. 16:14–31, Deut. 5:12–15, Psalm 92, Isa. 58:13.
Memory Text: “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Gen. 2:3, NKJV).
Who can imagine what the acts of Creation—light amid darkness, oceans brimming with life, birds suddenly taking flight—must have been like? And the supernatural creation of Adam and Eve? We can’t even begin to grasp how God did it.
But then, after all of this active creating, God turned His attention to something else. At first glance, it did not seem as spectacular as leaping whales or dazzling feather displays. God simply made a day, the seventh day, and then He made it special. Even before humanity would dash off to our self-imposed stressful lives, God set a marker as a living memory aid. God wanted this day to be a time for us to stop and deliberately enjoy life—a day to be and not do, to celebrate the gift of grass; air; wildlife; water; people; and, most of all, the Creator of every good gift.
This invitation would continue even after the first couple was exiled from Eden. God wanted to make sure that the invitation could stand the test of time, and so, right from the beginning, He knit it into the very fabric of time itself.
During this week, we will study God’s wonderful invitation to enter into a dynamic rest, again and again, with every seventh day. * Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 28.
Sunday August 22
Prelude to Rest
God was there at the beginning. The Lord God spoke, and it was. Light divided day from night; firmament, sky, and seas were spoken into existence on the second day; dry land and vegetation followed on the third. God formed the basic framework of time and geography, and then He filled it during the next three days. Lights governed the sky by day and by night. Different from the stories of most ancient cultures, the biblical Creation account makes it abundantly clear that the sun, the moon, and the stars are not deities. They entered into the picture only on the fourth day and are subject to the Creator’s word.
Moses’ description of days five and six (Gen. 1:20–31) is full of life and beauty. Birds, fish, land animals—they all fill the space prepared by God.
What did God’s evaluation indicate about Creation? Read Genesis 1:1–31.
This was not just any space that God had created; it was a perfect place. Teeming creatures filled the earth. Like the refrain of a catchy tune, God kept saying that it was “good” after each day.
What was different about the creation of humanity from the rest of the world? Read Genesis 1:26, 27 and Genesis 2:7, 21–24.
God stooped and began to shape mud. Humanity’s creation in God’s image and likeness was an object lesson in intimacy and closeness. God bent down and breathed life into Adam’s nostrils, and there was a living being. Eve’s special creation from Adam’s rib added another important element to Creation week. Marriage was part of God’s design for humanity—a sacred trust of partnership between ’ish and ’ishshah, “man” and “woman.”
This time, when God looked at everything He had made on day six, the refrain sounded different: “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Gen. 1:31, NKJV; italics supplied).
Think about how radically different the biblical Creation story is from what humanity, without the guidance of God’s Word, teaches. What should this tell us about how much we need to depend on God’s Word for understanding truth?
Monday August 23
The Command to Rest
Creation may have been “very good,” but it was not yet complete. Creation ended with God’s rest and a special blessing of the seventh day, the Sabbath. “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Gen. 2:3, NKJV).
The Sabbath is part and parcel of God’s creation. In fact, it is the culmination of Creation. God made rest and created a space for community where humanity (in those days the core family of Adam and Eve) could stop their day-to-day activities and rest side by side with their Creator.
Unfortunately, sin entered this world and changed everything. There was no more direct communion with God. Instead, there were painful births, hard work, fragile and dysfunctional relationships, and on and on—the litany of woes that we all know so well as life on this fallen world. And still, even amid all this, God’s Sabbath remains, an enduring symbol of our creation and also the hope and promise of our re-creation. If humanity needed the Sabbath rest before sin, how much more so after? Many years later, when God freed His children from slavery in Egypt, He reminded them again of this special day.
Read Exodus 20:8–11. What does this teach us about the importance of the Sabbath as it relates to Creation?
With this command, God calls us to remember our origins. Contrary to what so many believe, we are not the chance products of cold, uncaring, and blind forces. On the contrary, we are beings who are created in the image of God. We were created to share fellowship with God. It did not matter that the Israelites had been treated as slaves with little worth. With each Sabbath, in a special way they were called to remember who they really were, beings made in the image of God Himself.
“And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 281.
Think about how important the doctrine of a six-day Creation is. After all, what other teaching is so important that God commands that we devote one-seventh of our lives, every week, and without exception, to remembering it? What should this fact alone teach us about how crucial it is that we remember our true origins, as depicted in the book of Genesis?
Tuesday August 24
New Circumstances
After 40 years of wandering in the desert, a new generation with vague, if any, memories of Egypt had grown up. They had a very different life experience from that of their parents. This new generation had witnessed their parents’ continued lack of faith, and as a consequence, they, too, had to wander in the wilderness as their parents’ generation died off.
They were privileged to have the sanctuary in the center of their camp and could see the cloud indicating God’s presence hovering over the tabernacle. When it moved, they knew that it was time to pack and follow. This cloud that provided shade during the day and light and heat at night was a constant reminder of God’s love and care for them.
What personalized reminder of the Sabbath rest did they have? Read Exodus 16:14–31.
Contrary to popular theology, these verses prove that the seventh-day Sabbath predated the giving of the law at Sinai. What happened here?
The special food that God supplied was a daily reminder of the fact that the Creator sustained His creation. In a very tangible way, God was supplying their needs. Every day was a miracle with the food appearing and disappearing with the sun. Any time that anyone tried to hoard for the next day, it would rot and stink; and yet, every Friday there was enough for a double portion, and the leftover to be eaten on Sabbath remained miraculously fresh.
Israel now had the sanctuary service and all the laws and regulations recorded in Leviticus and Numbers. Still, the aged Moses summoned everyone and repeated their history and revisited the laws that God had given (see Deut. 5:6–22).
This new generation finally was poised to enter the Promised Land. Israel was about to undergo a change of leadership, and an aged Moses wanted to ensure that this generation would remember who they were and what their mission was. He did not want them repeating the mistakes of their parents. And so he repeated God’s laws. The Ten Commandments were repeated so that this generation, poised on the brink of conquering Canaan, would not forget.
In our personal experience, the second coming of Jesus never will be more than a few moments after we die. Hence, His return is always near, perhaps even nearer than we might imagine. How does keeping the Sabbath remind us not only of what God has done for us but also of what He will do for us when He returns?
Wednesday August 25
Another Reason to Rest
Israel was camped on the eastern side of the Jordan. They had taken possession of the lands of the king of Bashan and two kings of the Amorites. Once again, at this crucial moment, Moses called Israel together and reminded them that the covenant made at Sinai was not just for their parents but for them too. He then went on to repeat the Ten Commandments, again for their benefit.
Compare Exodus 20:8–11 and Deuteronomy 5:12–15. What is the difference in the way the Sabbath commandment was expressed in them?
In Exodus 20:8, the commandment began with the word “remember.” Deuteronomy 5:12 began with the word “observe” (NKJV).The word “remember” came a bit later in the commandment itself (Deut. 5:15). In this verse, Israel was told to remember that they were slaves. Although this generation had grown up free, they would all have been born into slavery were it not for the miraculous rescue. The Sabbath commandment was to remind them that the same God who was active in the Creation story also was active in their deliverance: “the Lord, your God, brought you out from there with a strong hand and outstretched arm” (Deut. 5:15, NABRE).
This truth fit the then-current circumstances of the Israelites, standing for a second time at the border of the Promised Land, some forty years after the first generation failed so miserably. They were as helpless in conquering this land as their forefathers were in escaping from Egypt. They needed this God who acted with a “strong hand” and an “outstretched arm.”
The Sabbath was about to take on an added dimension. Because God was the God of liberation, Israel was to keep the Sabbath day (Deut. 5:15).
Of course, Creation is never far from the Sabbath commandment, even in Deuteronomy 5, despite the added reason to keep it: the liberation of Israel. In a sense, the liberation of Israel out of the land of Egypt is the starting point of a new creation, similar to the Creation story in Genesis. Israel, as a liberated people, is God’s new creation (see also, for example, Isa. 43:15).
And because the Exodus is seen as a symbol of freedom from sin—that is, Redemption, we can find in the Sabbath a symbol of both Creation and Redemption. Hence, in a very real way, the Sabbath points us to Jesus, our Creator and our Redeemer.
Read John 1:1–13. What do these verses teach us about Jesus as our Creator and Redeemer?
Thursday August 26
Keeping the Sabbath
God commands His people to keep the Sabbath day. Right along with not murdering and not stealing is the command to remember the Sabbath, even though the Bible doesn’t give us specifics on exactly how we are to keep it.
What should be the atmosphere we create and promote on Sabbath? See Psalm 92 and Isaiah 58:13.
Because Sabbath keeping means celebrating Creation and Redemption, its atmosphere should be one of joy and delight in the Lord and not one of gloom.
Remembering the Sabbath does not begin on the seventh day. As the first Sabbath was the culmination of the Creation week, so we should “remember the Sabbath day” all week and plan ahead so that we can set aside our weekly work and thus “keep it holy” when the Sabbath comes. Intentionally preparing during the week and especially on the preparation day (Mark 15:42), or Friday, is key and adds to the delight as anticipation builds for this very special day.
What important aspect of Sabbath keeping does Leviticus 19:3 highlight?
Sabbath keeping also means nurturing our relationships with family and friends. God provides time for focused fellowship with the whole family, and it includes rest for even the servants and the family animals (see Exod. 20:8–11). Sabbath and family go together.
While rest and family time are important principles, Sabbath keeping also means participating in corporate, focused worship of God with our church family. Jesus attended and led out in worship services while on earth. (See Lev. 23:3, Luke 4:16, and Heb. 10:25.)
Even though our weekly routines and rhythms may be rushed, yet, deep in our hearts, there is a yearning for true Sabbath rest, true communion with our Maker. Remembering to stop all our business and planning to spend time with God and nurture our relationships, we can enter into the rhythm and rest of Sabbath.
What has been your own experience with the Sabbath and the blessings that can come from keeping the Sabbath? In what ways could you do more to make it the sacred time it is supposed to be?
Friday August 27
Further Thought: “God gave to men the memorial of His creative power, that they might discern Him in the works of His hand. The Sabbath bids us behold in His created works the glory of the Creator. . . . On the holy rest day, above all other days, we should study the messages that God has written for us in nature. . . . As we come close to the heart of nature, Christ makes His presence real to us, and speaks to our hearts of His peace and love.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 25, 26.
“One of the important reasons why the Lord delivered Israel from slavery to Egypt was that they might keep His holy Sabbath. . . . Evidently Moses and Aaron renewed the teaching about the holiness of the Sabbath, because Pharaoh complained to them, ‘Ye make [the people] rest from their burdens.’ Exodus 5:5. This would indicate that Moses and Aaron began a Sabbath reform in Egypt.
“The observance of the Sabbath was not to be a commemoration of their slavery in Egypt, however. Its observance in remembrance of creation was to include a joyful remembrance of deliverance from religious oppression in Egypt that made Sabbath observance difficult. In the same way, their deliverance from slavery was forever to kindle in their hearts a tender regard for the poor and oppressed, the fatherless and widows.”—Appendix note in Ellen G. White, From Eternity Past, p. 549.
Discussion Questions:
1. Some Christians, including even some Adventists, consider theistic evolution a viable explanation of Creation. How does the Sabbath show theistic evolution and Seventh-day Adventism to be incompatible? What purpose is there in keeping the seventh day holy in commemoration of billions of years, especially when the Word of God is explicit about its being made holy after the first six days of Creation?
2. What do you say to the argument that the day doesn’t matter, just as long as we have one day of rest a week? Or, on the other hand, how do we respond to the claim that Jesus is our Sabbath rest, and, therefore, there is no need to keep any day as a day of rest?
3. How can keeping the Sabbath holy be a reminder of freedom and liberation? How can we avoid making it restrictive and legalistic?
4. Some claim that keeping the seventh-day Sabbath is an attempt to work our way to heaven. What is the logic, however, in claiming that by resting on the seventh day, we are trying to work our way to heaven?
Power of a Smile
By Dale Wolcott
The Chinle Seventh-day Adventist Church isn’t exactly located in the best neighborhood on the Navajo Reservation in the U.S. state of Arizona. As the pastor, I live in a trailer beside the church building. Several wellrespected neighbors, including a Navajo Nation police officer, live in nearby trailers. But one house is looked down on as the local “drug house.” Its unkempt yard and constant stream of random foot and vehicle traffic lend credibility to its reputation as a supplier of illegal liquor and more.
The church board has discussed how to best relate to those neighbors. We have prayed for them and even visited, praying with them and sharing literature and invitations to church events. The family’s children have occasionally attended children’s programs. But we have not seen any breakthroughs. Then along came the COVID-19 pandemic. The church was closed, and our public meetings moved onto the telephone. Although the church has access to the internet, many families here don’t have internet at home.
One day, Catherine walked across the church yard with a big smile. She wanted to apologize for missing our call-in midweek prayer meeting because she had joined her husband and their two daughters, Katelyn, 11, and Kallie, 9, in organizing their own evening worship by a creek.
“Oh, and we took the neighbor kids with us,” Catherine said. “Which ones?” I wondered aloud. “The ones right next door here,” she replied, gesturing toward the infamous “drug house.”
Surprised, I asked Catherine how she had managed to invite the children. Catherine smiled proudly. “Their big sister noticed how happy our girls seem to be every day when they walk by their house on the way to the church to do their schoolwork,” she said. The girls usually live at Holbrook Seventh-day Adventist Indian School, located about 90 minutes away by car, but were sent home because of COVID-19. Since the family did not have internet, the girls were studying at church.
“The big sister wanted to know why Katelyn and Kallie smile instead of looking mostly sad like her own little sisters. She also wanted to know why Katelyn and Kallie are always singing. So we invited them to evening worship,” Catherine said. “How did it go?” I asked.
“When we finished, they asked if we could do it again the next day,” she said. “My children have been touched by the Lord, and they can see it.”
Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help Holbrook Indian School. Thank you for planning a generous offering.
Part I: Overview
The climax of all God’s creation is the Bible Sabbath. During the first three days of Creation week, God created light, formed the heavens and earth, and created water and land and all kinds of plants. On the fourth day, He made the sun, moon, and stars. The next two days, God made fish and fowl and land animals and human beings. On the seventh day, God hallowed, or set apart as holy, the Sabbath as a day for human beings to reverence God for the wonders of creation, enjoy loving relationships, and enter into fellowship with their Maker. In this week’s lesson, “The Rhythms of Rest,” we will discover how the Sabbath is knit into the fabric of time as a memorial to our Creator for His gift to us of life, both temporal and eternal.
This lesson reveals that throughout the centuries, the Sabbath has been a memory aid for God’s people, constantly reminding them of their Creator. If the Sabbath were faithfully kept in each generation, there would be no atheists, agnostics, or secular humanists. The Sabbath speaks of a God who created us, is concerned for us, and cares for our daily needs. It also is a reminder of the power of God to deliver. The all-powerful Creator delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt and can deliver us from the bondage of the sinful habits that enslave us. On Sabbath, we rest in the blessing of the One who created us, the One who redeemed us, the One who is sanctifying us, and the One who is coming again for us. The Sabbath is heaven’s oasis of rest in the parched desert of our frenzied, secular world.
Part II: Commentary
The awesome wonder of space speaks of an all-powerful God who is the Creator of the universe. Frank Borman was commander of the first space crew to travel beyond the Earth’s orbit. Looking down on the earth from 250,000 miles away, Borman radioed back a message, quoting Genesis 1:1, “ ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’ ” As he later explained: “I had an enormous feeling that there had to be a power greater than any of us—that there was a God, that there was indeed a beginning.” Many of this world’s greatest thinkers have been so moved by the incredible design, complexity, order, and vastness of the universe that they have developed a bedrock faith in God. Let me give you some examples.
Some people think science is antagonistic to faith. Yet, most of the great figures who shaped the scientific enterprise from the beginning have been devout believers—such people as Copernicus, who discovered that the sun, not the earth, is the center of our solar system; Isaac Newton, who revealed the law of gravity; Blaise Pascal, who invented the first calculator; and James Maxwell, who formulated the laws of electromagnetism. All were Christians who felt that the study of nature did not challenge their faith but rather strengthened it.
Genesis 1:1 is the foundation for all of Scripture. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (NKJV). The Hebrew word for “create” in this passage is bara’. It refers to something God did. This Hebrew verb is always linked to God’s creative activity. God has the ability, the awesome power, to create something out of nothing. God speaks, and the earth comes into existence. He speaks, and the earth is carpeted with living green. He speaks, and trees and flowers flourish. He speaks, and the sun, moon, and stars instantly exist.
God’s Unlimited Power To get just a small idea of how unlimited God’s power is, let’s consider just one object in the heavens: the sun. Did God create the sun? Certainly. Genesis 1:14–16 tells the story of God’s creating two lights to rule the heavens: the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night. We exist on one of the planets that revolve around the sun. The sun produces more energy in one second than humans have produced in all their history. Take all the electrical power and all the energy produced by solar or coal or gas since the beginning of time, and the sun produces more in one second.
The sun has a diameter of approximately 860,000 miles and could hold a million planets the size of earth. But the sun is just one of at least 100 billion stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. One star called the Pistol Star gives off ten million times the power generated by our sun. One million stars the size of our sun can easily fit within the sphere of the Pistol Star. Some scientists estimate that there are ten billion trillion stars in the universe. Someone has said that there are about the same number of stars as there are grains of sand on the seashore.
The prophet Isaiah beckons us to meditate on God’s creative power in these words, “Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing” (Isa. 40:26, NKJV). The seventh-day Sabbath is an eternal memorial, an everlasting sign, a perpetual reminder of God’s incredible creative power.
At the conclusion of Creation week, Genesis 2:1–3 declares, “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (NKJV). God rested, but not because He was tired. He rested refreshed in the beauty and majesty of the world He had made. He rested as an example to us. The Sabbath is a weekly pause to praise the One who made us. As we worship on the Sabbath, we open our hearts to receive the special blessing He placed in this day that was placed in no other day.
A Creator Who Cares The Sabbath reminds us that we are not cosmic orphans on some spinning globe of rock. It points us to a Creator who created us with a purpose and loved us too much to abandon us when we drifted from that purpose. The Sabbath reminds us of the One who has provided all the good things of life for us. God’s care is illustrated in the triple Sabbath miracle of the falling manna. Twice as much manna fell on Friday. None fell on the Sabbath. If the Israelites gathered more than they could eat on any single day of the week except Friday, it would spoil. On Friday, the manna that was kept over to be eaten on the Sabbath did not spoil. Sabbath worship during those 40 years of wilderness wandering reminded the Israelites of a Creator God who cared for them.
It is important to notice carefully that the Israelites kept the Sabbath before the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. The Sabbath commandment in Exodus 20:8–11 begins with the word “remember.” It points back to a God who created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. If, as some people believe, God set this world in motion and it evolved over millions of years, there would be absolutely no need for the Sabbath and nothing to remember.
Sabbath is an eternal symbol of our rest in God. It is a special sign of loyalty to the Creator (Ezek. 20:12, 20). Rather than being an arbitrary, legalistic requirement, it reveals that true rest from righteousness by works is found in Him. The Sabbath speaks of a God who has achieved so that we can rest in His achievements. True Sabbath rest is the rest of grace in the loving arms of the One who created us, the One who redeemed us, and the One who is coming again for us. The Deliverer There is another important aspect of the Sabbath command. Deuteronomy 5 restates the Sabbath command to a new generation about to enter the Promised Land. This passage reminds the people that they were slaves in Egypt, and their almighty Creator delivered them.
He is the only One who can deliver us from the bondage of sin. He is the only One who can break the chains that bind us. He is the only One who can deliver us from sin’s clutches. This is the message of the Sabbath—an almighty Creator wants to re-create our hearts.
Part III: Life Application
As you consider the practical application of the Sabbath to your own life, consider the following questions:
• When you think of Sabbath rest, what do you think of? How is the concept of Sabbath rest meaningful to you?
• Why is the Bible truth about Creation important in your life? What practical difference does it make if we were created or we evolved over millions of years? How does your belief in either of these two views impact your life today?
• Have you thought of the Sabbath as a sign of deliverance before? Why is this biblical truth important?
• The Sabbath speaks of resting in a God who provides for all our needs. The falling of the manna illustrates His daily provisions. How does this idea of the Sabbath make a difference in your life?
• Considering this week’s lesson, what do you think Ellen G. White means in the following statement: “At the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully.”—Early Writings, p.
33. She further explains that by the commencement of the time of trouble, she is speaking about a time just before the close of probation when probation is still open.
Lesson 9 *August 21–27
Sabbath Nitaklam August 21
Tukalsung Simding: Piancil 1; Pai. 20:8–11,Pai. 16:14–31, Thuhilhk. 5:12–15, Late 92, Isa. 58:13.
Kamngah: “Tua ahih ciangin Pasian in ni sagih ni thupha pia in siangthosak hi. Banghang hiam cihleh, piansak nasepna ama’ nasep khempeuh panin tua ni in Pasian a tawlnga hi.” Piancil 2:3.
Kua in ngaihsunzo peuhmah ding, piansaklai in—khuamial lakah khuavak, tuipi sungah nuntakna dimvat, van a vasate lengvat cih khawng! Lamdang takin Adam leh Eve hong piandan khawng e. Pasian in koici sepding cih peuhmah ei’ ngaihsut phak theih hivetlo hi. Hih a gamtang teng a bawlkhit ciangin Pasian in thu dangkhat ngaihsun kik hi. A bawl masak ngapite vasalengte bang hilo in thupi khollo bang ding ahi hi. Ni sagih ni pen sehtuam ngiat hi. Mihingte leitungah a om ngeingai mapekin, amau phawk ding thukhat Pasian in ciangtanhkhin hi. Tua ni-in nasepna pan tawlnga in, lungnuam takin lopa-hingte, huihkhite, tuite, mihingte leh na khempeuh in Pasian piak nopna sungah nuamsa dingin deih hi.
NulehPa masa tegel Eden pan a paikhiatkhit nangawn, tua nopsakna ngah ding hong deihsak veve hi. Pasian in hunzat siamdan sittel nuam ahihmanin, a kipatcil panin, hunte sungah hong helhsak hi.
Tukal sung in, Pasian in, ni sagih ni Ama’ tawlngakna sungah lut dingin hong sam ngetngut ahihna thu i sin ding uhhi.
Sunday August 22
Tawlngak Na’ng Kipatna
Akipatcil lai in Pasian a om hi. Topa Pasian pau in piangpah hi. Khuavak in sunleh zan khenkhia a; tualo vanleh leitung leh tuipite ninihni in piang hi. Ni thum ni in leikeu leh ankungte piang hi. Pasian in hun leh lei maitang a piansak khit nungah, ni thum sungin a dimsak hi. Khuavak in sun leh zan tawh vantung uk hi. Taanglai ngeinate bang hilo in, Laisiangtho piansakna tangthu in Ni, Kha, Aksi tepen pasiante hilo cih kiptakin gen hi. Piansak nilii-ni ciangin Pasian kammal tawh honglutpan uhhi.
Moses genna ah ni nga leh ni guk(Pian.1:20-31) tegelin nuntakna leh hoihna tawh kidim hi. Vasate, ngasate, leitung ganhingte in Pasian bawlsa awngthawlpi dimsak uhhi.
Pasian in a bawlsate tungtang koici muh hiam? Piancil 1:1–31.
Pasian in awngthawl mawkmawk a bawl hi lo a; a cingtaak mun ahi hi. Ganhingpilte in leitungah dim uhhi. La aw zaknophuai mahbangin Pasian in nisimin “hoihhi” ci den hi.
Mi a piansakna leh a dangte khempeuh a piansakna koibangin kilamdang hiam? Piancil 1:26, 27 leh Piancil 2:7, 21–24.
Pasian in kunsuk in buansawk hi. Pasian’ limmeel sunin hong bawlna in Amah tawh kinai takin hongomsak hi. Pasian awnsukin Adam’ nak sungah huih thunsukin nungtasak hi. Adam nakguh panin Eve a bawl zong pen piansakna kaal sungah a thupiang thupi mahmah ahi hi. Mite’ adingin kiteenna zong Pasian in hong bawlsak a, ’ish leh ’ishshah, “pasal” leh “numei” pen Pasian bawlsa ahi hi. Tutung ni guk ni hong tun ngawngaw ciangin a-aw tumdang deuh hi: “Pasian in a baawlsa khempeuh enin, hoihsa mahmah hi” (Piancil 1:31) cihi.
Laisiangtho sung a piansakna tangthu leh Pasian makaihna omlo mihingte’ tangthu a kilamdanzia ngaihsunpha in. Thumaan thutak telsiang nadingin Pasian’ kammal tungah kingak ding a thupitna bang hong hilh naci hiam?
Monday August 23
Tawlngak Na’ng Thupiak
Piansakna pen “hoih mahmah” napi picing nailo hi. Tua piansakna in Pasian thupha piak Ni, ni sagih Sabbath ni tawh kikhup hi. “Pasian in ni sagih ni thupha pia-in, siangthosak hi. Piansakna nasep ama’ nasep khempeuh panin tua ni-in Pasian a tawlnga hi” (Piancil 2:3).
Sabbath ni pen Pasian piansaksa khat mah ahi hi. Piansaksate sung panin a sangpen zong ahi hi. Pasian in tawlngakni bawlin, mihing (Adam leh Eve innkuan) in nasep silbawl khempeuh pan, Piangsakpa geizuanin a tawlngak nadingin a bawlsak hi. Mawhna honglutin leitung na khempeuh a khelgawp manbek ahi hi. Pasian tawh talsik kizopna omthei nawnlo hi. Nausuah gimna, nasep haksatna, kisiatbaihna leh unau kisiatna cihbang atuamtuam leh biakpiak haksatna cihte hi leitungah hong laang hi. Tuate kawmkal mahah Sabbath kiplai a, hong piansakna ciaptehna leh hong thaksuaksak kikding lam-etna ahi hi. Mawhna ommaa in Sabbath kisam ahihleh, mawhna omkhitin kisamsem zawlai ding hi.
Tua khitpek, Pasian in Amite Egypt panin a lakkhiat lai in, tua sehtuamni mah phawkkik dingin sawl hi.
Paikhiatna 20:8–11 simin. Sabbath in Piansakna tawh kizom a nithupi ahihna bang gen hiam?
Hih thupiak tungtawnin Pasian in i bulpi hong hilh hi. Mi tampi upna bangin eitepen avot luathang peuhleh utthuthu in apiang i hikei a, Pasian’ limmeel suunin hong kibawl hi. Amah tawh kikhawlkhawm ding hihang. Israel mite bangpen sal bangin kineubawl mahmah zawzen hi. Pasian limmeel sunin hong kipiangsak ahihna Sabbath nisim in phawk tawntung ding hihang.
“Sabbath in Piansakna ciaptehna ahih mahbangin, Khazih hong itna leh vangliatna ngahna ahi hi.”—Ellen G. White. The Desire of Ages, p. 281.
Niguk sung piansakna bangzah thupi cih ngaihsun in. I hun neih khempeuh lak panin khen sagih suah khenkhat, kaal khat khatvei Pasian kiang i ki-aap ding bangzah thupi naci hiam? Piancil laibu sungah ombangin eima’ pianna bulpi hih bekmah in hong hilh na cithei hiam?
Tuesday August 24
Hun Thak
Gamlakah kum 40 a vakvai khituh ciangin, Egypt a phawk nawn taktaklo khangthakte vive hong khang uhhi. Anu apate’ tawh nuntakzia hong kilamdang luata hi. Hih khangthakte in, anu apate’ uplohna leh a sulzuiteng hangin gamlakah vakvai in sigawp uh cihthu hong tellua mah mah uhhi.
Amau hamphatna khatah a giahphualuh laizangah biakbuk kilam a, Pasian’ ompihna ahi biakbuk tungah meekai in uap hi. Tua a kikhin nakleh puanlom zial in zui uhhi. Tua meei in sun in nisaliah in zanin meitaang leh khualum sakna hi a, Pasian’itna omtawntung cih phawksakna ahi hi.
Sabbath tawlngak ding phawksakna khat a kipia bang ahi hiam? Paikhiatna 16:14–31.
Tulai hun in alaang mahmah upna tetawh kilehbulhin, hih munin Sinai ah akipia Ni sagih ni Sabbath thukham pulakkhol hi.
Bangthu piang hiam?
Pasian piaktuam an pen Piangsakpa in Ama’ piansakna kipsak cih nisimin phawk nading ahi hi. Muhtang mahin Pasian in a kisap bangbang piaden hi. Nisimin Ni leh an-in suakkhawmin tum khawm den hi. A zingciang ading khawng kholnuam leh zong, muatziau lel napi, Friday ahih nakleh, a zah nih kipia in, a zingciang dongmah limci silsellel hi.
Israel in biakbuk nasepna leh thukhamte khempeuh Paikhiatna leh Gamvakna sungah ki gelhbangin neisitset uhhi. Tuapipimah, Moses in mimalkim in tua thukhamnate simkikkik sakin Pasian’piak ahihlam phawksakkik phapha hi (Thuhilhkikna 5:6-22).
Hih khangthakte in khapsa gamah lut ding hong kisa keei uhhi. Israelte in makai kikhel ding hong kulta hi. Hih khangthakte in amau masuan banghiam cih a theih dinguh, Khangham Moses in deih hi. Anu apate’ mawhna lampi zuihkik ding deihsaklo ahih mnanin thukham thu hilhkik phapha hi. Thukham sawmte zong hilhphakik in, tua khangthakte in Canaan gam alakuh ciangin a mangngilh hetloh dingun hilh hi.
Eite zong, Zeisu hong pai dinghun pen i sihkhit sawthetlo pahlel ding cileng; tuahun pen ei’ upmawh sangin naizawtham ding hi. I Sabbath kepcinna in Pasian hong sepsaksa tebek thamlo in Zeisu hong paikik ciangin hong hihsak dingte zong koibangin hong phawk sakphapha na ci hiam?
Wednesday August 25
Tawlngak Na’ng Thudangkhat
Israel mite Jordan nisuahna lamah phualsat uhhi. Kumpi Bashan gamleh Amorite kumpi nihte gamteng laksak khinzo uhhi. Tua ciangin Moses in, Sinai a kibawl thuciamna pen a Pate’ adingbek hilo a, amau ading zong a hihna hilhpha kik hi. Thukhamna sawmte zong amau te’n simphasak kik hi.
Paikhiatna 20:8–11 leh Thuhilhkik 5:12–15 simkhawm in. Sabbath thukham a tellakdan kibatlohna koibang hiam?
Paikhiatna 20:8 ah, thukhamin “Phawk in” cihi. Thuhilhkik 5:12 in “tangun” cileuleu hi. “Phawkin” cih kammal zong Thuhilhkik 5:15 ah hong pai hi. Hih tengah amaute sal ahihlam uh a kiphawk ding cihi. Amaute suakta khinuh ahihhang, Pasian in lamdangtakin honkhia hikeileh salsuante ahi uhhi. Piansaklai in a gamtang Pasian pen amau suahtaklai in zong gamtang cihthu pen Thukham in phawksak hi: “Topa na Pasian un a vanglian khut tawh hong paikhiatpihna naphawk ding uhhi” (Thuhilhkik 5:15). Tu nung kum sawmli lai in khang masate in, a guallelhna uh hih khapsa gamgi ah, tutung khangthakte in anihveina hong dinna uh ahi hi. Khang masate in Egypt pan suahtak nading a thanem mahbangun, khangthakte zong thanem mahmah uhhi. Tua lai in “vanglian khut” anei “a khut zanpa” kisampha uhhi.
Sabbath zong a zop tohtoh dinguh ahi hi. Pasian pen suahtakna ahih manin a Sabbath zong Israel mite’n a tan uh kul hi (Thuhilhkik 5:15).
Thuhilhkikna 5 sungbek nangawn ah a hilhcianzia cihloh buang, piansakna pen Sabbath thukham tawh ki gamla khollolel hi. Thu khat panin Israel mite Egypt pan hong suahtakna in, Piancil laibu sung a piansakna mahbangin, a ki piankiksakna ahi hi. A suakta Israel tepen, Pasian in a piansak thak mite ahi uhhi (Isa. 43:15).
Paikhiatna laibupen mawhna pan suahtakna limkhat ahih mahbangin, Hotkhiatna tawh kisai in, Sabbath in Piansakna leh Hotkhiatna limpua ahi hi. Ataktak in cileng, Sabbath in Piangsakpa leh Honpa honglak higige hi.
John 1:1–13 simin. Hih munin Zeisu pen Piangsakpa leh Honpa a hihlam bangteng gen hiam?
Thursday August 26
Sabbath Tang
Pasian in a mite Sabbathni tang ding thupia hi. Thatlo ding, gulo ding cihte Sabbath ni phawk ding tawh hong piakhawm a, Laisiangtho in Sabbath tandan dingbel amalmal in hong gense nawnlo hi.
Sabbath ni in, eima omzia koibangin bawltawm ding i hihiam? Late 92 leh Isaiah 58:13 simin.
Sabbath tanna in Piansakna leh Hotkhiatna pahtawina ahih manin, Topa sungah lungnop kipaknani hiding a, lungziinna hilo ding hi.
Sabbath phawkna cihpen ni sagih ni pan kipan phinglo hi. Sabbath masapen in Piansakna pahtawina ahihmah bangin, Sabbath phawktheih nadingin kal khatbup nasep silbawl geelkhol sit set ding a, Sabbathni in tua teng khempeuh hemkhia sitset in “Sabbath siangthosak” ding hihang. Kal khat sungbup kiginkholh khit ciangin Kiginni (Maku 15:42) Friday ni ciangin, a kisehtuamni adingin lungnopna ngiimkhol ding hi.
Siampi laibu 19:3in Sabbath tanna tawh kisai bang athupi khat peuh gen hiam?
Sabbath tanna tawh innkuanpih lawm leh gualtawh kizopna puahphatna ahi hi. Pasian in innkuanbuppi kikhawlhna thupisak mahmah a, nasem sila leh gankhawite nangawn kihelsak hi (Paikhiatna 20:8-11). Sabbath leh innkuan tonngiat hi.
Tawlngakna leh innkuanhun in a thupit mah bangin, Sabbath tanna in pawlpi innkuanin mapankhopna ahi hi. Zeisu leitung a omlai in Pasian biakpiakna munah paibek thamlo makaihlai hi (Siampi. 23:3, Luka 4:16, leh Heb. 10:25). Nipi kal sim sepleh bawlte ah manmawh mahmah phial mahleng, i lungsim sungah hong Piangsakpa tungah tawldamna taktak i lunggulh ding uhhi. Nasep silbawlteng tawlnga a Pasian tawh hun zat khopna pen, i kizopna puahphatna a hihmanin, Sabbath tawlngakna sungah i lutciat ding uhhi.
Sabbath tawh kisai in, phutkhak khat peuh leh a thuphate na ngah khak peuh a omhiam? Tuani pen a siangtho hun ahihmah bangin, koibangin nazangsiam thei hiam?
Friday August 27
Ngaihsutbeh Ding: “Pasian in A piansakna vanglian hong phawksak a, Ama’ khut tawh a bawlte hong telsak hi. Piangsakpa in a piansakna vangliatnate Sabbath in hong musak hi. Siangtho tawlngakni in, piansaksa-te tungah Pasian’ khutmate i sim ding uhhi. Piansaksa tetawh i kinaih semsem ciang in, Khazih in amah hong omtaktak cih honglak ding a, ama’ nopna leh itna tawh i lungsim hong hopih ding hi.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 25, 26.
“Topa in, Israel mite Egypt pan a hotkhiatna thubulpi-te lakpan khat in, Ama’ Sabbath siangtho tangdingin a deihna kihel hi. Paikhiatna 5:5 ah “Na mite a nasep panun na tawlngasak uh hi” ci in Pharoah a kamtam ciangin, Moses leh Aaron te’n zong tua Sabbath sianthona hilhcian phapha hi. Tua thu hangin Moses leh Aaron in Egypt gamah Sabbath puahphatna bawlkhin cih hong theisak hi.”
“Sabbath tanna peuhmah pen Egypt-te sila ahihna phawkna hisaklo ding hi. Piangsakpa phawkna hi a, Egypt ah Sabbath tanding nangawn haksa mahmahna munah, biakna nenniamna pan suahtakna ngahna lim ahi hi. Sila pan a suahtak manun a lungsim sungvuah mizawng, pa neilo leh meigong nenniam thuakte donnopna lungsim aneitheih nading uh ahi hi.”—Appendix note in Ellen G. White, From Eternity Past, p. 549.
Kikupding Dotnate:
1. Christian pawlkhatte, Adventist pawlkhat nangawn in, piansakna a hilhcianna in, Pasian in damtak in kikhelkhelsak cihbangin hilh uhhi. Sabbath tanna pen Pasian in damtakin khel cih upna leh ni sagih ni tanna koibangin kilamdangsak hiam? Pasian’ kammal Laisiangtho in Sabbath pen piansakna nigukkhit nisagih masapen pan kipan ci napi, a beisa kum awn tampi laipanin ni sagih ni kitangkhin cih upna in bang ngiimna hiding hiam?
2. Ani tektek thupikei e, kalkhat nikhat tawlngak limlim ding hipeuh a cite kiangah bang gen ding nahiam? Ahihkeileh Zeisu in eite’ Sabbath tawlngakna hi a, tawlngakni a dang kisam kei e acite kiangah e?
3. Sabbath tawlngakna in banghangin suahtakna phawksakna hithei hiam? Zeh bangliang leh kumpi thukham bangliangin ngaihsutna koici pelhthei ding hiam?
4. Pawlkhat in Ni sagih Sabbath tanna pen vantung thalawhna peuh ci mawkmawk uhhi. Sabbath tangin vantung thalawh a cih theihna’ng uh bangthu om hiam?