Sabbath School Lesson for March 23-29, 2024
Overview of Lesson 13, Wait on the Lord
Memory Text: “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 NKJV
Lots of waiting is found in the Scriptures. It’s not a particularly desired state to be in. But it is something God says we must do. We often find it hard to wait for things in this life. When we’re young, we can’t wait to grow up. And when we are grown, we can’t wait for a new job to start, a wedding to happen, a baby to be born, or the time when we can retire from work.
In the Bible, too, we find that Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for the birth of a promised child, the Israelites under the yoke of bondage in Egypt waited 430 years to return to Canaan, and Daniel knew there was a 70-year-wait before the Jews could go back and rebuild Jerusalem.
God certainly must understand our anticipation and longing for His return. But He expects us to stay busy during our times of waiting. This busyness certainly helps us handle the waiting period. We must wait patiently, eagerly, and with perseverance and courage. It’s not time wasted. Our Spirit-driven activities prepare us for the event, as well as help prepare others who need to hear the gospel.
This study outlines how and why we are to wait on God in these last days:
- Sunday: The Call of Waiting–We are to do it with patience, eagerness, and perseverance.
- Monday: Peace of a Weaned Child–We must wait without pride or self-centeredness, and have child-like dependance on God (Ps. 131).
- Tuesday: Bringing in the Sheaves–We will sow in tears and reap in joy (Ps. 126).
- Wednesday: Waiting in God’s Sabbath Rest–We see the Creator and Redeemer as we praise Him on the Sabbath (Ps. 92).
- Thursday: Joy Comes in the Morning–We long for the Resurrection Morning, when our waiting is over.
Sunday: The Call of Waiting
God calls us to courageously wait for His Second Coming. This waiting must be done patiently, with eager anticipation and trust. Although some waiting on earth is stressful, with disappointment as a possible outcome, we know that God’s promises are dependable. He has shown us from past experiences in the Bible that He comes through for His people, even though there may be much to endure during the wait.
The deep longing for God’s presence we feel during these times has been compared to the intense thirst we have in a dry land, where there is no water (Psalm 63:1). God is indeed with us, however, through His Holy Spirit. He gives us the desire, or thirst, for a new creation, which compels us to patiently wait for the fulfillment of our dreams.
Jesus’ death and resurrection are the surety of our hopes for a Second Coming, bringing with it the joy of our own Resurrection Morning that brings us into the full presence of our Father in heaven.
Bible Verses:
- Psalm 27:14, 37:7, 40:1, Galatians 5:5, and Romans 18:25
How do these verses describe how we are to wait for God’s promises?
- Psalm 63:1, 42:2, and John 7:38
Why is this earth like a dry, parched land?
Why is Jesus said to be “living water”?
Monday: Peace of a Weaned Child (Ps. 131)
A short psalm of just three verses, Psalm 131 is packed with imagery that enables us to understand what we are going through during the wait God has called us to endure in the last days.
A child before being weaned is known for his self-centered desire for his mother’s milk. He begins to learn through the weaning process, however, to be nourished by solid food. In like manner, God works to remove our ambitious pride by the solid food of going out and completing His work of spreading the gospel to the world.
Psalm 131:1 reminds us not to be concerned by complicated, profound, religious matters, but instead to have a childlike faith to finish the task He’s given us. We are strengthened by the solid testimony of His word.
Bible Verses:
- Psalm 131:1-3
What does this psalm teach us about our relationship with God, and what we are to do to prepare for His Coming?
- 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 and Hebrews 5:13, 14
What does the Bible mean about having the “solid food” of a weaned child? What are we weaned from?
Tuesday: Bring in the Sheaves (Ps. 126)
Once again, great images leap to our minds in Psalm 126, when we reflect on the activities in agriculture. The extensive labor during the planting and nurturing times is rewarded by the harvest at the end of the growing season.
We have great things that await us when the harvest of this world is over and we are with the Lord forever in the New Earth. We can understand our long wait here better when we consider that what begins with weeping at night will end with joy in the morning (Psalm 30:5).
It’s important to consider what kinds of sheaves we will bring to the Lord during that joyful harvest. The fields and vineyards, full of ripened grain, are the result of our labor to rightly represent the Lord and share the gospel of salvation with others. Our work is not in vain. We will rejoice with God, as we see how the Lord has blessed our planting efforts by the number of people who have grown from our testimony.
Bible Verses:
- Psalm 126:5, 6 and 30:5
What kind of sheaves is it talking about here, and how and when will our hard work be rewarded?
- Matthew 9:36-38
What did Jesus say about the meaning of the “sheaves”? Who were they?
Wednesday: Waiting in God’s Sabbath Rest (Ps. 92)
The Sabbath is a sign of God’s covenant with us (Ezekiel 20:20). Without the close relationship it allows us to have with our Creator and Redeemer, we have little to gain on this earth. We live, we suffer, and then we die. But our soul longs for something more. God provides us with the hope that makes our life more bearable, while we wait for His Return.
Psalm 92, one that was meant to be sung on the Sabbath, calls us to see the wonderful works of God through nature (Psalm 92:4, 5). But it also highlights the living sacrifice (Psalm 92:10 and Romans 12:1) we become when we consecrate ourselves to God. God creates us and then He re-creates us, as the full meaning of the Sabbath is meant to convey (Exodus 20:11 and Deuteronomy 5:15).
We become as a palm tree and will grow as the cedars of Lebanon, when we come to His house to worship (Psalm 92:12, 13).
Bible Verses:
- Psalm 92:1-7 and Exodus 20:11
What feature of the Sabbath is seen in these verses?
- Psalm 92:8-15 and Deuteronomy 5:15
What other feature of the Sabbath is seen in this Psalm?
Thursday: Joy Comes in the Morning
The darkness we now perceive in this sinful world will not last forever. We long for the daylight to arrive. Jesus is called the Bright and Morning Star in Revelation 22:16. He will someday break through our darkness and bring with Him the Light that will set us free forever from sin, as described in the book of Revelation.
Jesus’ resurrection was discovered by devoted women who came to His tomb early on the first day of the week and found His body gone. Likewise, our resurrection will occur when the brightness of His Coming illuminates the sky and calls all His people to wake up from their graves. We wait eagerly for the joyous morning reunion we will have with our Lord at that time.
Many verses in Psalms convey the idea of joy in the morning. Psalm 30:5, for example, reminds us that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning”. We can get a glimpse of that final bright day even now. 2 Peter 1:19 says that hopeful glimpse comes as a light that rises in our hearts.
Bible Verses:
- Psalm 5:3, 30:5, 49:14, 59:16, 92:2, 119:147
Why do you think the morning is described as the time of our divine redemption?
- 2 Peter 1:19 and Revelation 22:16
How and when does Jesus become our “Morning Star”?
Friday: Final Thoughts
Hebrews 11, known as the faith chapter, is a catalog of people who have faithfully waited on the Lord to fulfill His promises. But there is more to waiting on the Lord that we must consider.
Philippians 2:13 says that when we abide in Christ, He works in us to “to will and to do for His good pleasure”. Doing what pleases God is also waiting on God. Some people still have servants who wait on them, and almost all of us have been waited on in a restaurant by someone called a waiter. Serving, or waiting, on God, is also part of the waiting process that draws us closer to Him as we wait for His return.
The Psalms fully support all aspects of the waiting process we experience. Although faith and hope are a major part of our waiting, let’s not forget that love may play an even greater part (1 Corinthians 13:13). It is love that compels us to serve God as we are serving others. Doing what pleases Him will make our wait well worth whatever trials come our way.
Here are some hymns that express the concepts studied this week:
- ” ‘Tis Almost Time for the Lord to Come”, #212
- “Bringing in the Sheaves”, *369
- “We Know Not the Hour”, #604
Next Week: The War Beyond All Wars, Lesson 1 of “The Great Controversy”
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