Main Theme: We love God, and out of that love, we obey Him.
Read in Class: Exodus 24:3, 7-17. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What roles do the reading of the Word of God and the sprinkling of blood play in the ratification of the covenant between God and His people? What amazing experience were the children of Israel given here?
Apply: Dwell more on the story of these very privileged men, even sons of Aaron. What warning should this give to us, as Adventists, who, with the light we have been entrusted with, are indeed privileged?
Share: Your friend tells you she has promised God several times that she would quit an addiction, but keeps going back to it. After so many broken promises, she is ready to give up. What do you tell your friend? Hint: 2 Peter 1:4.
Read in Class:Ezekiel 36:24-30. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How does obedience take place in our lives?
Apply: If we have been promised the power to obey, why do we find it so easy to fall into sin anyway?
Share: Your friend asks you, “How do you build a resolve to follow God?” What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Exodus 25:1-9. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What crucial, practical, and theological truths are seen in these verses?
Apply: 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that our bodies are supposed to be a temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in. How do you make sure that your body is an appropriate temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in?
Share: Your friend tells you, in Great Controversy, page 488, Ellen White says, “The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God.” Your friend asks you why it is so important, especially since Adventists are the only people who even teach the doctrine of an investigative judgment. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Exodus 31:1-11. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What special assistance did God give so that all the tabernacle’s details and related services would be prepared and built in a beautiful and proper way?
Apply: The phrase “mercy seat” comes from one Hebrew word, whose root meaning is “to atone.” Why, then, would this “mercy seat” be set right over God’s law? What hope should we see in this fact?
Share: How does your understanding of the sanctuary help you share the Gospel, and what object lessons from the sanctuary do you like to use?
So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words which the LORD has said we will do. Exodus 24:3 NKJV
The difference between knowing and doing is vital. Remember, in the story in Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus did not invite people into His kingdom based on what they knew, but instead on what they did. In Mark 12, a scribe makes a profound comment that drew commendation from Jesus.
So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Matthew 12:32-34 NKJV
While Jesus told the scribe he was not far from the kingdom of God He did not tell him he was already in the kingdom of God. Have you ever noticed or thought about that before? Why did his answer place the scribe near, but not in the kingdom of God? I think I found a clue in Jesus’ conversation with the lawyer in Luke 10.
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” Luke 10:25-28 NKJV
The clue I found is, Jesus said do this and you live. Jesus did not tell the lawyer, say this and you will live, or know this and you will live, but do this and you will live. I realize I am not telling you anything new as far as the fact that we all know we have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. However, the reality of what we already know should really sober us up, when we realize that even after giving a profound answer, the scribe in Mark 12 was near but not yet quite in the kingdowm of God. The answer to the lawyer in Luke 10 was. ” do this and you will live.” The difference between knowing and doing is just as big as the difference between being near God’s kingdom and being in God’s kingdom.
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9-10
You may study this week’s Sabbath School Lesson here.
Main Theme: God gave us practical instructions for daily living.
Read in Class:Exodus 21:12-19. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: What specific regulations were given regarding Hebrew slaves, homicide, and bodily injuries?
Apply: Though in most of the world the evil practice of institutionalized slavery has, for the most part, been abolished, some of its principles still exist, and what can we do, in our own limited sphere, to fight against these principles?
Share: Your friend asks you if you know the signs of someone being a victim of human trafficking, and what to do if you suspect someone is a victim. What do you tell your friend? Hint: See Signs of Trafficking on Shared Hope.
Read in Class:Exodus 22:16-26. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: What issues were dealt with in these laws and how?
Apply: How graceful and patient are you when others reject some of the truths of God’s words, of Jesus Himself?
Share: Your friend asks you how you think foreigners should be treated in your country. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Matthew 5:38-48. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How does Jesus interpret the meaning of the retaliation law? How should we apply it today?
Apply: How should the realization that one day justice will come help you deal with all the injustice that we see in the world now?
Share: Your friend asks you if you find it hard to pray for and bless your enemies. She asks if it’s even practical to expect us to love our enemies in real life. What do you tell your friend?
Study: What promise and command are found in these verses, and how are they closely related?
Apply: What are the ways we can learn to love in the way we are commanded to? Why does it always include “death to self?”
Share: Can you think of someone in your past whom you may need to forgive? Could you please reach out to them this week and share the same amazing grace that God has given to you? Remember, while some things are unforgivable, God’s grace makes the unforgivable forgivable.
Read in Class:Exodus 19:9-25. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: How did God prepare Israel to receive the Ten Commandments?
Apply: How do you understand the idea of the Ten Commandments as an expression of God’s love? What does that mean? How is God’s love revealed in them?
Share: Your friend notes that in Exodus 19:10, the people are told to wash their clothes in preparation for keeping the commandments. Your friend asks if this is why in Revelation 22:14, some translations say, “wash their robes,” while others say “keep the commandments.” What is the parallel between “washing our robes” and “keeping the commandments?” What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Exodus 20:1-17. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: What are the principles of the Decalogue, and how is it organized?
Apply: in John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Why is it important to keep the commandments out of love, rather than just to receive a reward? How can we be sure we are not just doing it for the sake of the latter?
Share: Your friend says that she heard that God’s biddings are His enablings, and that His commands are actually promises. Is that true? If so, can you explain to your friend why?
While many people believe that God changed the law or His covenant at the cross, speaking of the covenant in the Old Testament, God told us through David,
My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. Psalms 89:34 NKJV
Here God is saying He is not going to change His covenant. So did God change His covenant at the cross? Well let’s look at God’s covenant in the Old Testament. Of course a covenant is a promise. So what were God’s promises?
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel. Genesis 3:15 NKJV
Did God change this promise at the cross? Of course not. He fulfilled this promise at the cross.
In Genesis 12:1-3 God promises Abram a Savior, among many things.
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV
Were any of these promises done away with at the cross? Not at all. As a matter of fact we read in Galatians,
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29 NKJV.
The NLT makes it even more clear at to exactly what this means.
And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. Galatians 3;29 NLT
Instead of God’s covenant to Abraham being changed, it was extended to everyone who believes.
At Sinai God makes a promise,
You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:4-6 NKJV
In the original manuscripts, the word “obey” is “shama.” It means to listen. The word “keep” is derived from the Hebrew word “shamar.” It means to regard, care for, or treasure. God says, ” Keep my covenant,” and we know that God’s covenant is a promise. How are we supposed to keep God’s promise? We aren’t. God is telling us to listen to His voice and treasure His promise! The word “shamar” is also used in Genesis when Adam was told to shamar the garden, or keep the garden. Was Adam told to obey the garden? No, of course not. He was told to regard, treasure, and care for the garden. In this passage, God instructs His people to treasure His covenant promises, and by doing so, they will become His special people, made holy, preserved from corruption, and a kingdom of priests. Was this promise changed after the cross?
by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4 NKJV
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV
Once again we see that God’s covenant does not change from Old Testament to New Testament. Everything promised in the Old Testament becomes reality in the New Testament – as long as we trust in His great and precious promises. That’s because God’s covenant given to Adam, Abram and Moses is an eternal covenant as expressed in Psalm 89:34. This is why Monday’s lesson of last week brought out that the “New” Covenant was actually a renewing of the everlasting covenant God originally gave to Adam, Abram and Moses.
When God spoke of a “new” covenant in Jeremiah 31, He used the word, “hadashah,” which means to renew. Abram forsook God’s everlasting covenant when he took Hagar as his wife. He stopped trusting God’s promises and covenant and tried working things out on his own. At Sinai instead of trusting God’s promises, Israel started making their own promises, saying, “All that God said we will do.” (See Exodus 19:8) The Covenant at Sinai was never the problem. God’s Covenant was never intended to be about legalism. The Covenant God made was all about grace. Hebrews 8:8 says the problem was with the people. They started making their own promises instead of trusting God’s great and precious promises. When people kept trying to make their own promises and work things out on their own, God had to renew the original covenant He made in Genesis 3:15, which is based on better promises – God’s promises, rather than people’s promises. For more see Better Promises Make a Better Covenant. When Paul speaks of the “old covenant” I believe he means “old” as in “useless.” because our promises are useless. Paul is not referring to the original everlasting covenant as the old covenant. He is referring to the legalistic covenant that man made at Sinai as the old covenant as in useless. Man-made covenants are useless in both Old and New Testaments.
The “New” Covenant of grace is actually the everlasting covenant of grace found all the way through both the Old and New Testaments, beginning in Genesis 3:15. God never changed this covenant. But He renewed this covenant whenever people tried to change covenants by making their own promises. The “New” Covenant is the original everlasting covenant, which is God making promises to man. The “old” Covenant, which is a useless covenant, is a covenant man made after God made the everlasting Covenant. When Abram took Hagar, he was making his own legalistic covenant apart from God’s everlasting covenant. The same for the Jews when they promised at Sinai that they themselves would do what God had promised.
Some have the idea that the law is the Old Covenan, while grace is the New Covenant. However when Paul said, “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight” in Romans 3:20, Paul was not saying anything new. Paul was stating a truth as everlasting as the original covenant. No one was ever saved by the law before or after the cross. This is showed up in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve tried to use fig leaves to cover themselves. Their fig leaves proved useless in God’s sight, just like the deeds of the law. In Genesis 3:21 an animal had to die to cover Adam and Eve. This represented Jesus dying on the cross – which is the ratification of the everlasting covenant.
So throughout the Old Testament we see the new or renewed covenant whenever God is promising mankind His grace. Throughout the New Testament we see the renewed or everlasting covenant. Maybe we could clear up a lot of confusion by just calling the New Covenant the Everlasting Covenant, and calling the Old Covenant the “useless covenant.” Remember the New Covenant is the renewing of the original everlasting covenant based on better promises – God’s promises.
While we have grace in the Everlasting Covenant. we also have the law in the Everlasting Covenant. This is why I really appreciate how Thursday’s lesson of last week brought out how the new covenant was not about new laws, but about a new heart.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Ezekiel 36:26-27 NKJV
God does not give us new laws. He gives us new hearts that will trust His promises instead of relying on self. God changes our hearts so that we can keep and cherish all the promises God makes for us in His law. In the Ten Commandments God promises He will deliver us from bondage so we won’t need any other gods before us. He promises to fulfil all our temporal and emotional needs so we won’t need to steal or commit adultery. He promises us a weekly Sabbath rest to always remind us to never rely on our own works.
After all the problem at Sinai was not the law, it was the promises the people were making. Again that is why Paul said the fault was with “them” in Hebrews 8:8. When God renews His Everlasting Covenant we will be keeping the law with all our new hearts.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Jeremiah 31:33 NKJV
Now in Jeremiah 31:32 God talks about Israel breaking the covenant when He led them out of Egypt. They broke God’s covenant when they went about to establish their own covenant promises. God never asked them to make their own promises. Remember in Exodus 19:4-6 God asks them to cherish His promises. The useless covenant is mankind promising God. The Everlasting and Renewed Everlasting Covenant is God promising man. By God’s Everlasting Promises of grace in both the Old and New Testaments we have salvation from sin, and are given new hearts that can keep or Shamar, cherish the everlasting law. We escape the corruption in the world by cherishing God’s great and everlasting promises.
by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4 NKJV
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— Galatians 4:24 NKJV
What did Paul mean by Mount Sinai? Many believe he was referring to the Ten Commandments. Was he? Paul speaks favorably of the Ten Commandments in Ephesians 6, and I doubt he would do so if he really thought they led to bondage. Paul also mentions Hagar. Instead of referring to the Ten Commandments, is Paul referring to a Hagar-like attitude at Sinai?
Hagar represents the man-made covenant or man-made promises. Hagar was not really at fault, and God promised to bless her; however, Abraham used Hagar to try to help him obtain the promised child through the works of his own flesh, rather than trusting God’s promise.
Likewise at Sinai the people promised three times,
Their promises are like the “Hagar” mentality. The people were trusting their own promises and works of the flesh, instead of trusting God to work in and through them. When Paul referred to Sinai in Galatians 4:24 instead of the law of the Ten Commandments, he mentions Hagar. In Hebrews, Paul explains that the problem at Sinai was that the people were making their own promises instead of trusting God’s.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Hebrews 8:7-10 NKJV
Paul promotes the Law and says it is to be written on our hearts. The Law was not the problem at Sinai. The problem, Paul says, is how the people tried to establish the Law. They were depending upon themselves instead of God’s promises. Remember Joshua telling Israel that they could not serve the Lord in Joshua 24:19, but they went on and promised they could anyway?
So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.” Joshua 24:22 NKJV
Joshua sees the people are making the same mistake made at Sinai. In Galatians, Paul sees the Galatians making that same mistake. They thought they could earn God’s favor. They thought they could rely on their own promises to keep the Law. By trusting the strength of their own promises, they were making the “Hagar” mistake, just like Abraham. The commandments are good, and while we can’t keep them in the strength of our own promises, what is impossible with us is possible with God. Remember what we read last quarter?
by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4 NKJV
Abraham trusted the works of his own flesh with Hagar, instead of trusting God’s promise. The problem at Sinai was that the same Hagar mentality was present. Paul wants the Law written on the Galatians’ hearts as well as our hearts, by trusting God instead of the works of the flesh.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they [were] bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD showed him a tree, [which] when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I [am] the LORD that healeth thee. Exodus 15:23-26 KJV
What was the significance of Moses putting a tree in the water? How did a tree make the water sweet? In 1 Peter 2:24, Peter refers to the cross as a tree.
who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24 NKJV
In a world of hate and bitterness, Jesus died on a tree to save us from a bitter world. Sin has caused suffering and bitterness but Jesus was lifted up on the cross to make our lives sweet again. This is a story that looks simle in itself, but like many stories of the Exodus, it points us to the cross and the salvation we have in Jesus.
If life has made you bitter, Jesus is offering living water that can make your life sweet again.
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 14:13-14 NKJV
I would like to invite you to find the sweet life through fellowship with Jesus and other believers, by finding a Christ-centered Bible based church in your area. You can find one here.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Main Theme: Along the journey to Canaan, God had to teach Israel over and over to trust and obey.
Read in Class:Exodus 15:22-27. Ask the class to identify the main idea in this passage.
Study: After crossing the Red Sea, what was the background to the first miracle performed?
Apply: What trials and struggles have you brought upon yourself? What comfort can you get in knowing that God will still work on your behalf if you cooperate with Him?
Share: Your friend asks, what was the significance of the branch that made the water sweet? What do you tell your friend? Hint: See A Tree Makes a Bitter Life Sweet Again.
Read in Class:Exodus 16:1-15, 26, 35. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What was the cause of the Israelites’ grumbling, and what followed?
Apply: People like to eat. We were created to like to eat. The rich abundance of food, growing out of the ground (our original diet), reveals not only that God wants us to eat, but that we are to like what we eat, too. How, though, can this wonderful gift, that of food (and our liking to eat it), be abused?
Share: Your friend says that her pastor told her the sabbath was never observed by God’s people until the law was given on Mt. Sinai. What do you tell your friend?
Study: What major steps in the history of the nation took place here?
Apply: Moses could have just brushed off the old man and told him to mind his own business. He didn’t. What important lessons can we learn from his willingness to listen to this person who wasn’t even a Hebrew?
Share: Your friend, who is the head elder of his church, says he would like to delegate more of his responsibilities to others, but is afraid others may not do as good a job as he does, or may do things totally different from what he is used to. What do you tell your friend?
In Exodus 15:1-18, Moses and all the Israelites are singing a song of celebration about how the Egyptians were defeated. Even singing (celebrating?) how they were drowned in the sea. What would this look like today?
Years ago, a friend from church told me about a neighbor who had been molesting his daughters and beating his wife. He died of a sudden heart attack, and my friend told me that when she went to the funeral, the entire family was sitting there dry-eyed. Not a single tear was shed for this abuser. It wasn’t because they were all cried out either. The family never showed any sorrow over his demise. Should the family have been happy that they were delivered from their abuser, and that, because of his death, he will never abuse again? Should Israel have been singing songs of praise because the Egyptians drowned?
I believe this is why so many victories of good over evil have to be celebrated privately. Some think we should be “nicer than God” and judge those who are celebrating the victories God gives them over abusive situations because,
Others don’t even have a clue about the abuse going on and may even sympathize with the abuser, and
Some think we should never celebrate the death of anyone, no matter how wicked.
While it is true that we will not be celebrating the death of the wicked after the thousand years, but rather God will have to wipe the tears from our eyes, there is plenty of biblical support for celebrating the deliverance from evil persons. Let’s consider this passage for a moment.
O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, Happy the one who repays you as you have served us! Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock! Psalm 137:8-9 NKJV
Many find this passage disturbing. It is disturbing, but it has its place. What Babylon has done to Israel will finally come back on Babylon. Israel is not happy to see innocent children killed. However, their innocent women and children were raped and abused by the Babylonians, and God is showing His love by showing He has Israel’s back.
There is no need to create a theology where we are “nicer than God” to the point that we can’t celebrate justice and deliverance from evil. There is no need to create a “god” who does nothing to defend His people, but merely waits for “natural law” to work itself out. Psalm 137:8-9 is simply celebrating the justice of God. A God who takes an active role in defending His people and working out justice is a God of love. We need to know God has our back in order to feel secure in His love. Moses and all Israel could celebrate God’s justice and love when God showed that He had their back and drowned their relentless abusers in the Red Sea.
It is important for me to share this because too many abuse victims have been made to feel guilty for celebrating their deliverance from narcissistic abuse. Too many abuse victims have had to hold their peace, instead of praising God for His miraculous deliverances from evil, because others would not understand. I know Moses would much rather have seen Pharaoh repent and be converted rather than drowned in the sea. Still, Moses had to celebrate the goodness of God by delivering His people and destroying their cruel abusers once and for all.
My second observation deals with the song of Moses. In Revelation 15 we find the song of Moses, but this time it is also the song of the Lamb. Let’s take a look.
And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and [a]over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the [b]saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.” Revelation 15:2-4 NKJV
Here we see another celebration after the victory over spiritual Babylon. God gave Israel victory over Egypt through Moses, and God gave Spiritual Israel victory over the beast through the Lamb. These songs are about experiences, and while Moses and the Lamb both experience victory, they both share another experience. Both were willing to say goodbye to life forever if that is what it took to honor God and save others. Moses did this in Exodus 32:32 when he asked God to blot His name out of the book of life if He could not forgive them. The Lamb, Jesus, experienced this at the cross when He cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?“ Matthew 27:46. Jesus had always called God His Father. In My Father’s House are many mansions. I always do those things that please My Father. I and My Father are One. But when Jesus was on the cross being treated the way you and I deserve, so you and I can be treated the way He deserves, Jesus could not call God His Father, so He cried out, “My God, why have you forsaken me.“ Jesus was not asking why God had forsaken Him until Sunday morning. You don’t forsake someone when you leave them for half the weekend. You forsake them when you leave them forever. Obadiah 1:16 says the wicked will be as though they had never been. Jesus was not dying the death of the righteous. We die that first death ourselves. Jesus was tasting the death of the wicked, which meant experiencing being utterly forsaken by God – forever..
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. Exodus 15:20 KJV
There is a notion that God does not have women prophets. Yet Miriam was a prophet, and we know there were others in Scripture as well. Yet with Miriam, there is another observation that needs to be made. I have heard it said that the only reason God picked Ellen White as a prophet was because there were no men available. After all, God called two men who had refused before He chose Ellen. But those were not the only two men left in the world. There were countless other men God could have called before He called young Ellen Harmon. Now I also believe the Bible teaches that the man is the priest of the family, and that there is a grave spiritual responsibility that God has placed upon the man that many men seem to be ignore today. At the same time, God does not call women only when there are no men available. After all, God was already using Moses and Aaron as prophets, and He still used Miriam at the same time. God uses men and women together. After all, concerning the day of the Lord, does the prophet Joel not tell us,
And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. Joel 2:28-29 NKJV
While the man is the priest of the family, God also uses women. A grave and solemn responsibility rests upon men that many need to wake up to. Meanwhile, God is using women, not as second-class citizens, but right along with men.
Main Theme: The excellent and miraculous ways God provided for and delivered Israel foreshadow how God will deliver us in the last days, and how He already delivered us from sin at the cross.
Read in Class:Exodus 12:31-36. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What strange request does Pharaoh make and why, even as he gives permission for them all to leave?
Apply: How often have we “repented” of actions only because of their consequences and not because those acts were themselves wrong? Why is that not true repentance? How can we learn to be sorry for the sins that, in a sense, we “get away with,” at least in the short term?
Share: Your friend notes that the passage we just read says the Lord caused Israel to gain favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Does this mean in the last days, or even during the time of trouble, God will cause God’s people to gain the favor from some of those who are in the world? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Exodus 13:17-14:12. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How did God guide the Israelites when they left Egypt, and what happened next?
Apply: Think of the last time you faced a terrible situation. What was your first reaction: faith in God or a lack of faith? What lessons should you have learned from that situation that could help you the next time another comes (and come it will)?
Share: Your friend asks, Why do people have such a hard time believing in God even after all He has done for them? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Exodus 14:13-31. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: Despite their lack of faith, what did God do for the children of Israel?
Apply: In the good times, do we thank God enough for His care and protection? What can we do to keep from panicking like Israel did in this passage?
Share: Your friend asks, when trials and tribulations come, how are we supposed to know when to act and when to be still? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Exodus 15:1-21. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What is the content of Moses’ song?
Apply: What is the link between the Song of Moses and the song of the Lamb? See Revelation 15:1-4.
Share: Your friend asks, Why are Moses and Miriam singing after the Egyptians have been destroyed? Shouldn’t they be sad instead? What do you tell your friend?
In Light of The Cross 