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Lesson 7, Now Hear This!, begins with a question our age asks loudly. Many people today are encouraged to speak their own truth and to treat every personal truth as equally valid. But what happens when someone's truth collides with Jesus Christ, who is the Truth, and with His written Word? The Bible shows what happened when God's people faced that collision. Sunday begins in the wilderness, where Israel turned angrily on Moses and Aaron. Monday and Tuesday follow the story of Jeremiah, whose scroll was burned by a king and whose warnings were mocked by a nation. Wednesday turns to the religious leaders of Jesus' day, who honored dead prophets while plotting against the living Messiah. The last two days bring the lesson home. Thursday reminds us that these sad accounts were written for our admonition, so that we do not repeat them. Friday turns to Ellen White, who also met both acceptance and rejection, and who trusted that the best proof of her gift was the messages themselves. The thread through the whole week is that the prophets were often unwelcome, but they were never wrong to speak, because God's guidance was lifesaving, and still is. Anger at God's Messenger When Israel heard the spies' report, the people were furious with Moses and Aaron (Num. 14:4-11). But the real target of their anger was God, because they did not trust Him, and Moses and Aaron were easy targets. Their fear of the giants in Canaan was understandable, but unbelief opened the door to Satan's influence, and fear quickly turned into rebellion. Joshua and Caleb urged them to trust God, since if the Lord was pleased with them He would bring them into the land. As Ellen White wrote, when people yield their hearts to unbelief they come under Satan's control (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 389). It is easy to trust God when life is comfortable. The test comes when trusting Him costs us something. Destroying the Message, Part 1 For years Jeremiah warned Judah that Babylon would come, and as the end approached, God's appeals grew more urgent. The nation's sins were open and persistent, including idolatry, child sacrifice, adultery, and tyranny. Even so, God's appeals were redemptive. He told Jeremiah to buy a field as a sign that the people would one day possess their land again (Jer. 32). When Jeremiah's words were read in the royal court, King Jehoiakim cut the scroll into pieces and burned it in the fire (Jer. 36:20-26). But destroying a message does not destroy the truth. God told Jeremiah to write it again, and the king's contempt only brought more harm on himself and his family. Destroying the Message, Part 2 The response to the prophets throughout Israel's history was rejection, with only rare exceptions. Jeremiah served under several kings, with Babylon at the door, and even Zedekiah refused to humble himself before the Lord's prophet. Second Chronicles 36:15, 16 says that God sent His messengers again and again because He had compassion on His people, yet they mocked them, despised their words, and scoffed at the prophets until there was no remedy. God sent prophets for centuries because He desires that people repent and not perish (2 Pet. 3:9). The lesson asks us directly whether we, too, are ever tempted to mock God's messengers. Hypocrisy It is easy to judge the mistakes of others while repeating them ourselves. Jesus used the picture of a plank and a speck (Matt. 7:5), and He told the Pharisees that they were like whitewashed tombs, clean on the outside and unclean within. They decorated the tombs of the prophets and claimed that they would never have shed the prophets' blood, yet they were already plotting to kill the Messiah (Matt. 23:30-35). The warning is for us. We must be careful not to look religious while we nurse rebellion, greed, and hate. For Our Admonition The old accounts of rebellion were given to us for a reason. Paul says plainly that these things happened as examples, so that we would not crave evil as they did (1 Cor. 10:6-12). The past sets the context for the present, and we are not doomed to repeat it if we listen to Scripture and the prophetic messages God has given. God wants our souls to prosper spiritually, and lasting spiritual fullness requires obedience. His Word is eternal (Isa. 40:8) and applies to us today. Receiving and Delivering Her Messages Ellen White received hundreds of visions and prophetic dreams over her lifetime, and some were witnessed by large groups, including skeptics. In 1868 James White described her condition in vision: she was unconscious of her surroundings and could not control when a vision came. Responses to her messages varied, much as in Bible times, and many who rejected her did so out of unbelief or personal disagreement rather than theological objection. She counseled "long patience and brotherly love" toward doubters until they settled their position (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 328). She believed that the best evidence of her gift was the messages themselves, and that God had given enough evidence for faith to rest on the side of truth (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, pp. 231, 232). Christ Connection Jesus is the final prophet whose message was refused. He was despised and rejected, and He faced the same hostility that the prophets met before Him. Yet He spoke truth in love to the end, and He still invites us to hear Him. The invitation of the prophets and the call of Jesus are the same: turn back, and live. Reflection and Application 1. Israel's anger at Moses was really anger at God. When have we resented a message because we did not want to face what it said? 2. How do we respond when trusting God costs us comfort or convenience? 3. What does God's persistence with a defiant Judah reveal about His character? 4. What can we do to keep from looking religious on the outside while holding rebellion or bitterness within? 5. Which lesson from Israel's wilderness failures in 1 Corinthians 10 do you most need to heed? ✨ In essence: "Now Hear This!" shows that God's messages were often unwelcome, yet they were always given in mercy. The history of Israel is recorded for our instruction, and the wise response is to listen, to humble ourselves, and to follow.