Theme: God demonstrated His power
Objectives
Know: God parted the sea to deliver the children of Israel from the armies of Egypt.
Think: Be at peace with the assurance that God is in control and will accomplish His plan.
Do: Fight the urge to doubt God when faced with difficulty and uncertainty. Trust Him to see you through the situation.
Scripture: Exodus 14:1-31
Notes and questions:
B1 Outline
- God's instructions Exodus 14:1-4
- Pharaoh's actions Exodus 14:5-9
- Israel's fear Exodus 14:10-14
- Go forward Exodus 14:15-18
- God's protecting glory Exodus 14:19-20
- The people in the sea Exodus 14:21-25
- God delivers Exodus 14:26-31
B2 Exodus 14:1, Since Moses was a prophet, God talked directly to him.
B3 Did the Exodus really occur?
- Most rabbis and scholars agree that it did not and that it makes no difference.
- But if it did not then the Bible is unreliable as to historical events, and the Lord Jesus made errors
- Consider some evidence for an Exodus and Israel in Egypt.
B4 Exodus 14:1-4
- Despite the clues of the cities and mention of the "desert has closed in on them," the exact location of these cities is not known.
- Did God deceive, trick, fool, Pharaoh? Is this wrong? Will He do the same to me?
- Evidently Pharaoh had already crossed over the line from the possibility of mercy to that of guaranteed judgment. After his first born had died, Pharaoh still wanted to bring back Israel to be slaves. It must have been a shock the next day, to realize that they have would to do all the work.
- When Pharaoh arrived at the Israelite camp, he saw the "cloudy pillar" move between Israelite and Egyptian camps. You would think that Pharaoh would say, "This is unusual. I think this might be the Israel god that killed all the firstborn. He might fight and kill us." But Pharaoh did not change. God continued to harden Pharaoh's heart, after Pharaoh resisted reality.
- He might do that to us, but He will give warnings first. If we neglect the warning, we will pay for it. James 1:6-9, Romans 1:20-21
B5 Since the lesson has to do with impossibilities, is anything impossible with God (Matthew 19:2)? This does NOT mean that God can lie or make a rock too big for him to life, etc. All things are things in accordance with His character.
B6 Exodus 14:5-9,
- Does God allow us to face difficult times?
- What about those TV preachers who claim that Jesus wants us to be rich, not sick, etc.?
- If this was only a sea of reeds (shallow water), would Pharaoh have thought the Israelites to be trapped?
- Why does God harden hearts? (Because they are resistant to His grace and truth. See Romans 1:18-32).
- From the lesson book:
- Why do you think God allows us to face difficult and seemingly impossible situations?
- When have you seen God move and work in what seemed to be an impossible situation? What lessons did you learn through this situation?
B7 Exodus 14:10-20,
- Israel feared the Egyptian army greatly in spite of great miracles that had already happened. Was God angry with them? No.
- How much are we responsible for in fighting our battles? Does God do everything, something, nothing, or does it depend on the situation? Can you think of any examples?
- Can a leader who fears God be helpful in times like this?
- How did God get glory by killing Pharaoh and his army? (Rebellion leads to judgment. Pharaoh was evil, and it was time for punishment).
- Most interpret the cloud to be dark to the Egyptians but gave light to the Israelites. Why is this? What is God telling Israel by this?
- From the lesson book:
- What are some specific situations in which we need to trust God, but we have a difficult time doing so?
- What attributes of God make Him worthy of our trust in difficult times?
B8 Exodus 14:21-31
- What specific blessings did God give Israel for their deliverance?
- What problems happened to the Egyptians? What did the Egyptians feel when they realized that God was fighting for Israel?
- What blessings does God give us in our problems?
- Why did the wind have to blow all night? Was this a warning to Egypt?
- The Egyptians and Israelites both went into the sea. Why did Israel live, but Egyptians died?
- Would the dry path through the sea be wide or narrow? What difference would it make?
- From the lesson book:
- How can we encourage other believers to trust and believe God when they are going through uncertain times?
- How has God demonstrated His power in your life?
B9 Does God have power today? How do we see it?
B10 Do we need God's power today?
Next week:
- God provides
- Theme: God met the needs of His people
- Scripture: Exodus 16-17:7
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