FOURTH QUARTER 2025
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #11
DECEMBER 13, 2025
"LIVING IN THE LAND."

 

Memory Text: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1, NIV).

The memory text sets up the focus of this week’s lesson. Israel had conquered Canaan and Scripture records the following: “So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass” (Joshua 21:43-45, NKJV). Chapter twenty-two is an accounting of the 2 ½ Eastern Tribes’ return to their homeland after the distribution of land to the 12 tribes, and of the cities of the Levites. “So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses” (Joshua 22:9, NKJV). Because of the distance of Gilead from Shiloh where the headquarters of Israel was moved, Joshua thought it wise to give instruction to the 2 ½ tribes. He told them to “take diligent heed” of the commandments of God, “to love the Lord your God” Yahweh, “to walk in all His ways,” to “hold fast to Him,” and to serve Him with all their heart and with all their soul. “They were now to dwell at a distance from the sanctuary of the Lord, and it was with an anxious heart that Joshua witnessed their departure, knowing how strong would be the temptations, in their isolated and wandering life, to fall into the customs of the heathen tribes that dwelt upon their borders.”^____Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 518.

 

When the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh came to the region of the Jordan, they built a great and impressive altar. Bad news travels fast and this was no exception. When the children of Israel heard about it, “the whole congregation of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them” (Joshua 22:12, NKJV). Two experiences in their history informed their fears. First was Israel’s harlotry in the land of Moab, the incident at Baal of Peor. “Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So, Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel” (Numbers 25:1-3, NKJV). God’s judgement was swift, God’s people obeyed without doubting, and Phinehas took the lead. “Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.’ So Moses said to the judges of Israel, ‘Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.’ And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 'Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal’” (Numbers 25:4-11, NKJV). Scripture informs us that Phinehas’ swift action was rewarded in that the Lord gave him His covenant of peace to him and his descendants of an everlasting priesthood because he was zealous for God. This is the first story that was in the back of the whole congregation of the children of Israel’s mind as they contemplated what the 2 ½ tribes had done. Swift action seemed to be key to the success of that incident. The second story gave them probably even greater impetus as it represented a lack of diligence in assuring God’s desire that they heed the commandments of God, the law of Moses, that they love the Lord their God, that they hold fast to Him, and that they serve Him with all their heart and with all their soul.

“But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel…So the LORD said to Joshua: ‘Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you’” (Joshua 7:1,10-12, NKJV). According to Achan, he “coveted” a “beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels” and he took them. In the meantime the initial attempt to conquer Ai failed and three thousand men died. No one came forward to expose or confess Achan’s wrongdoing. There must have been a bulge in the floor of his tent, but no family member raised the alarm. His confession came only after an investigative process, and cost the lives of him, his entire family, children and all, plus all his animals. Even his house was destroyed. This left an indelible mark on the whole congregation of the children of Israel. We have two stories, one reflecting absolute obedience and the other a failure to obey and trust God. This was not going to happen again.

Israel responded swiftly, taking as their leader Phinehas to investigate the situation prior to the declaration  of war. In the confrontation, the two stories mentioned above were laid out as a point of reference, striking a sensitive chord on both sides. The harshness of the accusation is contrasted with the humility of the response. “The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, He knows, and let Israel itself know—if it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the LORD, do not save us this day. If we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain offerings, or if to offer peace offerings on it, let the LORD Himself require an account. But in fact we have done it for fear, for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, “What have you to do with the LORD God of Israel? For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between you and us, you children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no part in the LORD.” So your descendants would make our descendants cease fearing the LORD.’ Therefore we said, “Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, 'You have no part in the LORD’" (Joshua 22:22-27, NKJV). Remarkable! The response of the 2 ½ tribes began with the acknowledgement of the greatness of God. Invoking these three names of God, El, Elohim, and Yahweh, declares their devotion to the Most High and their earnestness about this.

We draw lessons from this episode for the church today as we interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ on our journey to the heavenly Canaan. Ellen White has much instruction from this  incident.

“How often serious difficulties arise from a simple misunderstanding, even among those who are actuated by the worthiest motives; and without the exercise of courtesy and forbearance, what serious and even fatal results may follow. The ten tribes remembered how, in Achan’s case, God had rebuked the lack of vigilance to discover the sins existing among them. Now they resolved to act promptly and earnestly; but in seeking to shun their first error, they had gone to the opposite extreme. Instead of making courteous inquiry to learn the facts in the case, they had met their brethren with censure and condemnation. Had the men of Gad and Reuben retorted in the same spirit, war would have been the result. While it is important on the one hand that laxness in dealing with sin be avoided, it is equally important on the other to shun harsh judgment and groundless suspicion.

“While very sensitive to the least blame in regard to their own course, many are too severe in dealing with those whom they suppose to be in error. No one was ever reclaimed from a wrong position by censure and reproach; but many are thus driven further from the right path and led to harden their hearts against conviction. A spirit of kindness, a courteous, forbearing deportment may save the erring and hide a multitude of sins. 

“The wisdom displayed by the Reubenites and their companions is worthy of imitation. While honestly seeking to promote the cause of true religion, they were misjudged and severely censured; yet they manifested no resentment. They listened with courtesy and patience to the charges of their brethren before attempting to make their defense, and then fully explained their motives and showed their innocence. Thus the difficulty which had threatened such serious consequences was amicably settled.…Those who are actuated by the spirit of Christ will possess that charity which suffers long and is kind.”^____Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 519,520.

“While honestly seeking to promote the cause of true religion, the Reubenites were misjudged and severely censured; yet they listened with courtesy and patience to the charges of their brethren before attempting to make their defense, and then fully explained their motives and showed their innocence. 

“Even under false accusation, those in the right can afford to be calm and considerate. God is acquainted with all that is misunderstood and misinterpreted by men, and we can safely leave our case in His hands. He will vindicate the cause of those who put their trust in Him.”^____Ellen G. White, From Eternity Past, 372. 

Ephesians Chapter Four describes church structure with various roles and spiritual gifts. The goal is to equip the church in the work of God, “till we come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”  It also tells us that we are to “speak the truth in love” that we may grow. 

Jesus was concerned about unity, and in His final prayer for His disciples He said, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (John 17:20-23, NKJV). Both of these passages assure us that the foundation of unity is truth. Truth is found in the word of God. The Apostle Paul reminds us that “love suffers long and is kind; does not behave rudely, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NKJV).

Regarding Christ’s prayer in John 17, the servant of the Lord says, “This most touching and wonderful prayer reaches down the ages, even to our day; for His words were, 'Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word.’ John 17:20. While we are not to sacrifice one principle of truth, it should be our constant aim to reach this state of unity. This is the evidence of our discipleship. Said Jesus, ‘By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.’ John 13:35. The apostle Peter exhorts the church, ‘Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another; love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.’ 1 Peter 3:8, 9”^____Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 520.

As we stand on the borders of the heavenly Canaan, our trials will be the same. May God grant us grace as we journey with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

~ Lyndi Schwartz