God Promises Light

David C Cook COVID-19 Response

Echoes adult

Lesson 8
Winter 2022-23
By: RLD Editorial Team
January 22, 2023

Lesson Focus:

God’s love demands we spend ourselves ending oppression.

Bible Basis:

Isaiah 58:6–10

Materials Needed:

Step 1:

None

Summary & Links:

God’s love demands we spend ourselves ending oppression.

These videos and materials are for your personal use.
If you show videos in class, be sure to have the necessary rights to do so.

Music Video, Traditional: “Just When I Need Him, Jesus Is Near” by George Byrd
Music Video, Multicultural: “What A Beautiful Name” by Aaron Lindsey
Music Video, Contemporary: “Hunger” by MDSN and David & Nicole Binion
Guzik’s Commentary on Isaiah 58
Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Isaiah 58
Spurgeon’s Exposition of Isaiah 58

Memory Verse:

⁶“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
⁷Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
⁸Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness^[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
⁹Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
¹⁰and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.

—Isaiah 58:6–10

God’s love demands we spend ourselves ending oppression.

Materials Needed:

None

EMANCIPATION FOR SLAVES
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and already many communities across America have celebrated the 160th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. On January 1, 1863, a document signed by President Abraham Lincoln went into effect declaring the freedom of enslaved people living in Confederate states that were not yet in Union hands. This freedom was not realized by most slaves in the South until the conclusion of the Civil War, in 1865. Today, slavery remains a scourge in America through forced labor and sex trafficking. “I call upon businesses, civil society organizations, communities of faith, families, and all Americans,” said President Biden in a December 30, 2022, proclamation, “to recognize the vital role we play in combating human trafficking.”

EMANCIPATION FOR ALL
Through Isaiah, the Lord reminded the Jewish people that His will has always been to loose the chains of injustice, feed the hungry, and remove the yoke of oppression. In today’s passage, Isaiah declares God’s promise that those who heed His call to bring emancipation to all who are in forced labor will receive blessing and power from heaven.

Questions

What was your closest encounter with slavery, forced labor, or human trafficking?
How can we fight human trafficking today?
Who is one person whose suffering you could alleviate this week?

Looking for Steps 2, 3 & 4?

You can find Steps 2, 3 & 4 in your teacher’s guide. To purchase a teacher’s guide, please visit: Bible-in-Life or Echoes.

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David C Cook COVID-19 Response

Echoes adult