Background Characters Old Testament
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Inter-American division General Conference for distribution of funds based on the laws of the countries where these offerings are collected. Where legally possible, offerings will go to these projects; otherwise special arrangement will be made with the Atlantic Ocean MEXICO Caribbean Sea Nassau BAHAMAS CUBA Mexico City CAYMAN PUERTO VIRGIN ISLANDS HAITIl 1 DOM. REP. RICO ISLANDS ANTIGUA BELIZE JAMAICA Belmopan GUADELOUPE GUATEMALA HONDURAS Guatemala City Tegucigalpa MARTINIQUE Pacific San Salvador BARBADOS EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA Lesser Antilles Ocean GRENADA Managua TRINIDAD Caracas and TOBAGO COSTA RICA San Jose Panama City VENEZUELA PANAMA Georgetown GUYANA Paramaribo Bogota Cayenne FRENCH SURINAME COLOMBIA GUIANA Unions Churches Members Population* Division 1 108 Belize 75 33,364 329,000 Caribbean 589 211,244 3,682,006 Central Mexican 171 67,243 36,752,233 Colombian 1,169 275,272 45,065,000 Cuban 273 29,533 11,225,000 Dominican 618 260,805 10,090,000 Mission Project French Antilles-Guiana 135 29,362 1,077,000 Guatemala 693 211,069 14,027,000 Haitian 473 335,751 9,242,000 *EAQ101001* l1 This quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help rebuild Haiti’s Inter-Oceanic Mexican 964 162,162 27,358,656 *EAQ101001* Mid-Central American 1,045 421,138 14,805,000 Adventist Church’s infrastructure after the devastating earthquake North Mexican 487 120,304 36,083,612 in January 2010. Puerto Rican 296 37,114 3,971,000 South Central American 632 260,030 13,632,000 South Mexican 1,032 288,847 9,415,499 For more information, visit www.adventistmission.org Venezuela-Antilles 814 219,980 28,636,994 West Indies 678 269,620 3,136,000 as of June 30, 2009 Totals 10,145 3,232,946 268,528,000 Dec 2010 Dec Nov Oct MENT A T S TE OLD THE IN S CTER A R A CH ROUND G CK BA IBLE STUDY GUIDE STUDY IBLE B SCHOOL TH A BB A S ADULT n n B in the a b S A Oct A i b l e d u l t ckground b b n Nov A S t h O t u d y n S Dec 2010 c h o o l G u i d e l d T A dventist C estament S eventh-day haracters C hurch Contents 1 Story and History—September 25–October 1 ———————— 6 2 Caleb: Living With the Wait—October 2–8 ———————— 14 3 Hannah: Learning to Be Someone—October 9–15 —————— 22 4 Jonathan: Born for Greatness—October 16–22 ——————— 30 5 Abigail: No Victim of Circumstances—October 23–29 ———— 38 6 Uriah: Faith of a Foreigner—October 30–November 5 ———— 46 7 Abiathar: The Priest—November 6–12 ——————————— 56 8 Joab: David’s Weak Strongman—November 13–19 ————— 64 9 Rizpah: The Influence of Faithfulness—November 20–26 —— 72 10 The Man of God: Obedience Is Not Optional November 27–December 3 —————————————————— 80 11 The Widow of Zarephath: The Leap of Faith December 4–10 —————————————————————— 88 12 Gehazi: Missing the Mark—December 11–17 ———————— 96 13 Baruch: Building a Legacy in a Crumbling World December 18–24 —————————————————————104 Editorial Office 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904 Come visit us at our Web site: http://www.absg.adventist.org Principal Contributors Editorial Assistant Gerald A. Klingbeil Sharon Thomas-Crews and Chantal J. Klingbeil Pacific Press® Coordinator Editor Paul A. Hey Clifford R. Goldstein Art Director and Illustrator Associate Editor Soraya Homayouni Lars Justinen Publication Manager Concept Design Lea Alexander Greve Dever Designs The Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide is prepared by the Office of the Adult Bible Study Guide of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The preparation of the guides is under the general direction of the Sabbath School Publications Board, a subcommittee of the General Conference Administrative Commitee (ADCOM), publisher of the Bible study guides. The published guide reflects the input of the worldwide evaluation committee and the approval of the Sabbath School Publications Board and thus does not solely or necessarily repre- sent the intent of the author(s). 1 Shadow Figures istory, secular or sacred, is not told in terms of statistics, program- matic statements, tables, or figures. It often is told through stories. H Jesus Himself was a storyteller, and He told them with great power too (Matt. 7:28; 13:3). This quarter’s lessons all are about stories but not always the common and well- known ones with the “stars,” such as Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah, Daniel in the lions’ den, or David and Goliath. We will look, instead, at characters who did not make the headlines but who existed in the background, the ones easily overlooked and forgotten. Our focus this quarter will be on background characters in the Old Testament. Some are the good guys of the story, some are not. Though not much is written about them, enough is written that the careful reader can learn from these charac- ters—which include women, power brokers, servants, and royalty. In their stories, the challenges that confront these characters are not very different, in principle, from the challenges that we face today. However different their culture and background from ours, they, too, felt the pain of living in a sin-stained world, a world struggling amid the great controversy between good and evil. What makes this battle even more difficult is that it’s not always easy to discern just what is the good and what is the evil, for sometimes the line between them can appear blurry. Often, in the context of the big picture, the lives of these background characters might not seem so important. This is a feeling that many of us can identify with. How easy to think: After all, in the scheme of things, what do any of us, as individuals, matter? In the end, however, these “minor” characters made it into God’s master story, and from their stories we can learn things that can help us write a different and better story for ourselves. Of course, it is not always easy to pay attention to the supporting cast. Instinctively, when we read or listen to a story, we tend to follow the main storyline and focus on the main characters. That’s common and understandable, which is why this quarter we are going to look at the so-called little people and thus get a fuller Through focusing on understanding of the biblical text. the shadow characters Unfortunately, in our contemporary world, we are of the Old Testament, beginning to lose our capacity to listen carefully: too we will read Scripture much action on the screen, too many quick cuts in the video clip, too much noise from the radio. We miss so afresh, looking beyond much. Through focusing on the shadow characters of the obvious to discover the Old Testament, we will read Scripture afresh, look- the joy of learning ing beyond the obvious to discover the joy of learning new truths from God’s new truths from God’s Word. Word. Finally, as we look over the shoulders of the biblical authors and at the supporting cast, it is good to remem- ber the power of our own lives and examples. More than anything else, people in the twenty-first century want to see something work before they consider all the intri- cate ins and outs of a particular cause. Our neighbors, our friends, and our family first want to see our personal story before they are ready to listen to our testimony and to biblical doctrines and beliefs. In this sense, our stories can become powerful tools in our witness to others about what God has done for us. As with these background figures, we can become part of the great story of salvation, even if we might not be the main characters in the grander scheme of the cosmic drama that unfolds around us. Gerald and Chantal Klingbeil, together with their three daughters, Hannah, Sarah, and Jemima, have lived in Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Currently Gerald Klingbeil is an associate editor of the Adventist Review. Where faith, ideas and life come together www.intersection.adventist.org Intersection is a half-hour, weekly television pro- gram broadcast internationally by the Hope Chan- nel. Find local listings at www.hopechannel.tv A production of the Office of the President and the Communication Department of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church. On a good day life in Haiti is hard. In this, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, the majority of people live below the poverty level. But when the 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the island nation last January, it destroyed homes and churches, schools and hospitals. Thousands died, including hundreds of Seventh-day Adventists. Aid agencies, including ADRA International® rushed needed aid to the island nation, aid that meant the difference between life and death. Now it’s our turn to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti—all 300,000 of them—start rebuilding their lives and their faith. In an unprecedented move, the General Conference and the Inter-American Division have chosen to use this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Special Project Offering to help rebuild the Adventist Church in some of the hardest hit areas of Haiti. I’m glad my church cares. I’m glad I can help. For me it’s personal. L e s s o n 1 *September 25–October 1 Story and History sa b b a t h af t e r n o o n Read for This Week’s Study: Gen.