801 - Sabbath School - 14.Oct Wed

The Toils and Struggles of Law Keepers
There are great benefits to following God’s law, as evidenced in the
people whom God prospered. Joshua closely followed God’s precepts,
and he led the people of Israel well. Time and again, the Lord told Israel
that if they obeyed the law, they would prosper.
Read 2 Chronicles 31:20, 21. What were the key reasons in this passage
as to why Hezekiah prospered?
Whatever education venue we are in, we must stress the importance
of obedience. Yet, our students aren’t stupid. They will notice, sooner or
later, the harsh fact that some people are faithful, loving, and obedient.
And yet—what? Disaster strikes them, as well. How do we explain this?
The fact is, we can’t. We live in a world of sin, of evil, a world in which
the great controversy rages, and none of us are immune to it.
What do these texts teach us about this difficult question? Mark 6:25–
27; Job 1, 2; 2 Cor. 11:23–29.
Without question, good and faithful people, law-abiding people,
have not always prospered, at least as the world understands pros-
perity. And here, too, might be a partial answer to this difficult
question, a question that as we seek to teach the importance of the
law is no doubt going to be raised. What exactly do we mean by
“prosperity”? What did the psalmist say? “I would rather be a door-
keeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wicked­
ness” (Ps. 84:10, NKJV). There’s no question that, by the world’s
standards, even those faithful to God and obedient to His law don’t
always “prosper,” at least for now. We do our students a disservice
to say otherwise.
Read Hebrews 11:13–16. How do these verses help us understand
why those who are faithful still suffer in this life?