Growing in Christ Bible Study Genesis to Revelation Week 14

Read Leviticus 21-27


1. Read Lev. 22:17-25. What is God prohibiting in these passages?


    Read Mal. 1:6-14 for more insight. How does God view these sacrifices?


    1Chron 21:18-25 gives an account of David that relates to this. Briefly summarize.


    How does this principle relate to us today?



2. Read Lev.23. Fill out the chart below of the seven feasts

            Feast                         Verses             What it was celebrating           Symbolism

  A.                                                                                                             John 18:28

                                                                                                                   1Cor. 5:7

 
  B.                                                                                                             1Cor.5:8

                                                                                                                   1Pet. 3:8,9


   C.                                                                                                            1Cor. 15:20



   D.                                                                                                              Acts 2:1



    E.                                                                                                           1Cor. 15:52



    F.                                                                                                         Matt 25:31-46

                                                                                                                Matt 13:48-50


    G.                                                                                                        Zech. 14:16-19

                                                                                                            Ezek. 37:26,27


3. In summary the laws can be divided into 2 categories. Watch the following video.

1. What is the frst category?

What characterizes these impurities?

List 4 different laws that fall into this category

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2. What is the second category?

What characterizes these impurities?

List 4 different laws that fall into this category

_____________________________________________

__________________________________________________

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3. I would add a third category. I'd call it "National impurities".

Lev. 18:1-3 describes what these laws are - to be different than all the nations around them. List 4 different laws that would fit into this category.

____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

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4. Read Leviticus 25. Then read Luke 12:15-21. The second passage reminds us of today's philosophy of accumulating wealth. What is God's plan on accumulating wealth as illustrated by Lev. 25?

Notes to students/teachers

As we try to make sense of the laws in Leviticus, not only as they applied to them, but if and which apply to us today, it helps to break them down into categories. First was national purity. These were given so that as a nation they would be different than all other nations. This included what they ate, how they dressed and their appearance from beards to hair to tattoos among other things. Many of these laws, as we saw in the last lesson had health issues associated with them so they wouldn't suffer from the same illnesses as the Egyptians or the Canaanites. Second was ritual purity. These had to do with emissions, discharges, menses, skin lesions, corpses and others. The common denominator in these was they all represented life leaving the body. God is" into " life and death or the like is contrary to His design. It wasn't a sin to have a baby and bleed afterward so no offering had to be made for sin. Yet the people did need to do things to symbolically get rid of the "death" so they could associate with life. Lastly was moral purity. These laws had to do with breaking the 10 commandments such as sexual immorality laws, idolatry laws, blasphemy laws, thieving laws, murder laws, and even treating God so disrespectfully as to offer Him sacrifices that won't be missed . People who did these became out of relationship with God and an appropriate recompence had to be paid.

The seven feasts were foreshadowing of great milestones in God's eternal redemptive plan. Many of these were related to the harvest season. Four of these have been fulfilled and three are pending. The fascinating thing is they were fulfilled on the exact day of the feast. Jesus was crucified as our Passover lamb on the Passover. He bore our sins in death on his sinless (unleavened) body and took them to the tomb so we could be sinless on the feast of Unleavened Bread. This feast week ended on the Feast of Firstfruits where Christ our firstfruit raised from the dead defeated death on Easter. Pentecost, 50 days later, was the harvest feast where they celebrated the peak of the harvest coming in and the Holy Spirit came to the Earth on that day, seeing a great harvest of souls. Now we are waiting for the feast of trumpets where the trumpet was blown as the harvest was basically over and people could come in from their work and celebrate. We are currently waiting for the trumpet to blow and for us to be called up and celebrate at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. The Day of Atonement was when sin was purged from the camp and I believe this symbolizes the separation of the sheep and goats judgement after Armegeddon at the end of the Great Tribulation when we come back with Christ to reign on the Earth for 1000 years (Millenium). During that 1000 years it appears we will take pilgrimages to Jerusalem every year to see Christ ruling on His throne and worship Him. This will be during the feast of Tabernacles which the Jews celebrated to remember their time living in tents in the wilderness and God's faithfulness to them. What I take from this - look for Christ to come some year on Rosh Hashanna (mid-September)  http://www.thoughtsfromtherightbrain.blogspot.com/2011/04/im-going-to-predict-day-of-rapture.html

Lastly, the whole view of Sabbath rests and years of Jubilee taught the Israelites that they were aliens or short-timers on the planet. What they "owned" wasn't theirs to keep; they were allowed to live on God's land. It taught them the whole concept of stewardship - we are managing God's wealth for Him. What a difference from today's philosophy of the accumulation of wealth. http://thoughtsfromtherightbrain.blogspot.com/2010/12/monopoly-game-american-dream.html

Growing in Christ Bible Study Genesis to Revelation Week 13

Read Leviticus 1-20

A.Fill out the following chart

         Name of offering                What verses                It's function             It's significance to us
 
  1.



   2.



   3.



  4.



  5.



B. What is a wave offering?


  How does a wave offering relate to us?



C.  Read Lev. 8:23,24,30. What is the significance of sprinkling blood on these different areas?



D. Read chapter 10. There is no for sure answer but in your opinion, what did Nadab and Abihu do that caused their death?



E. Read chapter 11. You have probably heard of Kosher and non-kosher food as it relates to Jews. This is part of where this originates. List 5 different rules on clean and unclean animals;

      1. ______________________________________________________________


      2. _______________________________________________________________


      3. ________________________________________________________________


     4. _________________________________________________________________


     5. _________________________________________________________________


    Why do you think God distinguished certain animals as clean and unclean?


     Look up 3 of the animals on the internet and discuss the health dangers of ingesting them.

     1.


     2.


     3.



     Read Mark 7:18-20 and Acts 10:9-16. Write down your beliefs on diet as it pertains to you as a 21st century Christian.



  F. Look up health issues related to mildew on the internet and discuss why God made it an issue.


 

Adjust the magnification on your computer screen and read the following excerpt. Discuss the point it is making.

Adjust the magnification on your computer screen and read the following excerpt. Discuss the point it is making.

Adjust the magnification on your computer screen and read the following excerpt. Discuss the point it is making.

G. Read Lev. 18:6. Prior to this all the patriarchs were praised for and encouraged to marry relatives. Why did God make a law now prohibiting this?

Notes to students/teachers

Leviticus starts out by giving at least 5 offerings. They are in order tresspass, sin, peace(fellowship), grain(meal), and burnt offerings. If we look at them and we see their symbolism, they reflect a growing relationship with God. We start with tresspass. Mankind cannot come into a relationship with God because of sin. God is perfect and can't be in the presence of sin (Hab.1:13) The blood of our tresspass offering, Jesus (1Pet.2:24), has made a way to enter God's presence by removing our sin. John said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the SIN of the world." I think it is significant he didn't say sins. The Sin offering cleanses us from our inner corruption, the sinner inside of us. We sin because we are sinners, we aren't sinners because we sin. (heavy I know)

The next offering is the sin offering. This took care of their daily sins both intentional and unintentional. 1John 1:9 says" if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." To stay in a right relationship with God we need to keep a short account with the Lord. The disciples illustrated this in John 13 when Jesus was washing their feet and Peter wanted his whole body washed, Jesus in effect said, you are already clean (tresspass offering), you only need your feet clean (sin offering). Both these offerings were not optional and neither one smelled sweet to the Lord because there is nothing sweet about sin.

The third offering was the fellowship offering. Once we are forgiven of our sins we grow into the realization that it is all about a relationship with God. Jesus called the disciples that they might be with him.(Mark 3:14). God delivered the Israelites in order to dwell among them (ex.29:46), They shared their offering with God - they waved it to Him and He gave it back to them. Today we wave our houses, car, family, lives, etc. to Him. We say this is for you and He gives them back and says" glorify Me with them."

The fourth offering was the grain offering where they offered the fruit of their labor to the Lord. Likewise we are to use our work, our energy, our time in service for the Lord. Its great to be forgiven and in a relationship with God, but we ware saved to serve. We find this in Eph.2:8-10, Gal.5:6, Titus 2:11-14, 3:5-8, 2Cor.9:13,2John 1:6, James 2:18 and many others.

The highest calling, the Radical calling, is the Burnt offering. These last 3 were voluntary and a sweet smelling offering to God. The burnt offering was totally consumed. Likewise we eventually get to the point where we say to God, "burn me up". I'm all in, I'm all yours. (Gal. 2:20). Although these are voluntary, I can't help but think that a true growing saving relationship with God will progress along these lines.God was very serious about the specifics of these as they are important symbols to us today. We see when Nadab and Abihu treated the specifics carelessly, they were slain by God.

      A lot of the next 10 chapters is all about dietary, infectious, relational, sexual, blood, etc. guidelines. Although quite a few of these seem a little bizarre, as science progresses we see more and more the reasons behind them from sanitation, isolation, and antisepsis to a primitive culture coming from a primitive Godless culture of the Egyptians where God wanted to spare them from all the diseases of the Egyptians. Many of the unclean foods carried diseases - worms, rabies, bacteria. Blood and other body fluids and wastes carried diseases and God gave specific rules about them. Hand washing for cleansing is something so common today that we forget it wasn't done back then as noone but God knew about germs. Circumcision was done on the 8th day because clotting factors were highest then and now we know circumcision itself prevents bladder infections, penile cancer and HIV. The laws on monogomy, sexual perversion, discharges, if followed today would prevent the dozens of STDs, not to mention things like cervical cancer. Even things like tatoos are known to cause Hepatitis B and C. Consanguinity (marriage of close relatives) also, due to mutations that are common in family lines become "unmasked" as relatives marry, thus increasing the risk of malformations. Prior to the flood and for years afterward it would have been safe, but as the newly formed post deluge earth did not have the water vapor /greenhouse effect that it once had, people/genes were exposed to cosmic radiation causing mutations. Intermarriage not only was something to avoid because pagan societies did it, but also because it was potentially not safe. In general, God made us, knows everything about us and the planet we live on and has our best interests at heart. He is not out to ruin our fun but protect us and give us a life truly worth living in relationship with Him in total surrender.

Growing in Christ Bible Study Genesis to Revelation Week 12

Read Exodus 32 - 40

1. Read Dan.9:17-21, Ex. 32:11-14, Gen. 18:23-25, Joshua 7:6-10, 2Kings 19:1-6. Write down 3 things you learn from these passages about prayer and being heard by God.

    a. ____________________________________________________________________


    b. ____________________________________________________________________


    c.  ____________________________________________________________________


2. Read Ex. 33:12 -23 & 34:9-27  List the "prayer requests" made by Moses, the case he makes before the Lord, and God's answers.

                              Request                            Case                                         Answer

 Ex.33:12-14


 Ex. 33:15-17


 Ex.33:18-23


Ex.34:8-27                       


    What conclusions can you draw about prayer from these passages?


     How do these "request" match up to yours?


3. God promised to make a great nation of Moses and give them the promised land but not go with them. Why did Moses refuse both those offers?

   Read the quote from chapter 6 of Crazy Love by Francis Chan

The critical question for our generation – and for every generation – is this: if you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?

     How does this relate to this Exodus passage?


     How would you answer that question?


4. Notice the name given to God in Ex. 34:14. What is it?

      Does that name bother you? Why or why not?

    
     It bothered Oprah Winfrey! Watch the below video and see how she "lost" her faith

                    
       How would you respond to Oprah?


5.  Read Ex.35:30 - 36:1. What did the Holy Spirit enable Bezalel to do?


    What principle can you learn from that?




Note to teachers/students:
      In these chapters, God threatened to destroy the people but Moses humbly, passionately interceded for them and his main arguments were using God's promises and God's glory. This was a common denonminator in many prayers that were answered throughout scripture. Is this how we pray, or our prayers concerned with ourselves and our glory. Do we pray passionately or lacksadasily? Evaluate your prayer life; is it filled with "God bless so and so", traveling mercies, illnesses, relational issues, job or school problems? Sure God is interested in those but when is the last time you passionately prayed for His glory to go with you and shine for Him? When is the last time you prayed for God to teach you His ways so you could please Him better? You see, God showed the Israelites His deeds, Moses got to see His ways. The Israelites knew God (sort of) but God knew Moses by name. You may know all about a certain celebrity but it's another thing to have them give you their cell phone number and say, "call me". That's the relationship Moses had with the creator of the universe. Don't you want that? Seek after it with all your life, heart, passion!
     Are you in love with God or the stuff He gives you? Are you excited to get to Heaven to enjoy bliss forever or are you just excited to see Jesus? God offers Moses the "stuff" without His presence and he says, "no way".
     God is a Jealous God. We think of jealousy as a bad thing. "She is my girlfriend and she is talking to so and so. I'm so jealous!" Or, "Why do they get all the attention? I'm just as good as her." That is jealousy of someone. God is jealous for us. He wants the best for us and that best is Him. So He is jealous when anyone is taking His bride away from Him when He has an amazing future for us. That isn't a bad thing, that is a good thing!
      Lastly, we tend to think that God annoints people for "full-time Christian ministry" only. All the other people in the world - school teachers, musicians, artists, and other professionals are in secular positions and are less anointed. Wrong! God gives us abilities in different areas all to use for His glory. Let people see God in how well you nurse or clean teeth or invest people's money, or cdook food or clean houses. Then like Joseph, give God the glory verbally and people will end up praising God which is what it is all about.
    
    

The Christian World View - Peretti Video - The Chair

     We are discussing "The Christian World View" in Sunday School and my thoughts always go to this video by Frank Peretti which I feel is the best treatise on the subject I've ever seen. Yes, it is dated (secular humanism and New Age were the buzz words of the late 80s earl 90s). Yes, people in the audience pick their noses and look like they belong to the NRA. Yes, Frank Peretti is weird and we wonder if people are laughing at him or with him. But, the content is unparalleled, the exposition of Acts 17 is superb, and the conclusions are timeless. Check it out. This is a great and rare resource on the Christian Worldview.

Growing in Christ Bible Study Genesis to Revelation Week 11

Read Exodus 20 - 31

List the 10 commandments                                                                           

1.                                                                                                                 

2.                                                                                                                 

3.                                                                                                                 

4.                                                                                                                 

5.                                                                                                                 

6.                                                                                                                 

7.                                                                                                                 

8.                                                                                                                 

9.                                                                                                                 

10.                                                                                                                  

Read Ex.20:2. What one word shows that they aren't "saved" by obeying the 10 commandments?

Watch the video below that discusses the purpose for the law.

Read Matt. 22:34-40. Jesus says the 10 commandments can be divided into basically 2 commands. What are they?   

                

                                                                  

 Put brackets ({) around the one group and brackets around the other group to the left of the numbers.

Read Matt. 5:22,23,28. Jesus seems to be adding to the 10 commandments "crimes of the mind". However, one commandment (at least) does deal with thoughts rather than actions. Which one is it?

Which of the 10 isn't repeated in the New Testament (Ex.31:16,17)                                       

Read Heb 4:1-11. Suggest why this may be the case.                                                         

Read Rom.7:10-13. Why was the law given?                                                                     

What did it's function become?                                

Read Gal. 4:1-7. What do you see as the function of the Commandments according to these verses?

Read about the instructions for the tabernacle. Read Hebrews 8:5. Why was God so specific about the details?

Read 2Sam.6:3-7. Why was God so specific about the poles?

Look at the diagram below of the tabernacle. Look at theNew Testament verses below and tell how the different parts of the Tabernacle point to Christ and our salvation

                                                        

                                                                            symbolism

The Gate - John 14:6, Matt.7:13,14                                                                             

1. The Brazen altar - Col.1:22                                                                                     

2. The Laver - Heb.10:22                                                                                             

High Priest - Heb. 2:17,18                                                                                      

Priests - 1Pet.2:9                                                                                                    

3. Table of shewbread - John 6:35                                                                                    

4. Golden Candlestick - John 8:12                                                                                    

5. Altar of incense - Rom. 8:34                                                                                        

Holy of Holies - Heb. 9:24                                                                                             

Curtain - Mark 15:38, Heb 10:20                                                                                    

6. Ark of the Covenant - Heb. 10:19-22                                                                         

Sacrificial lamb - Heb. 10:8-10                                                                                      

Atonement cover - Rom 3:24-26                                                                                    

                        

                                                .     

Note the order that these items appear. Relate this to the Christian experience.

What do you learn from Bezalel in chapter 31? (Col.3:17)

Note to students/teachers

Wow, what a pivitol passage! For the next year the Israelites will be at Mt. Sinai. And what a growing process for Moses. From seeing God as a burning bush now, due to radical obedience and fellowship he now sees God as a burning mountain so intense everyone was afraid to even look at it. God now gave His people some laws. Note they were already His people thru the blood offered on the doorposts by faith. Now an invitation to a closer walk with God. If you do these things you will please God and have a blessed life. They all promised they would but it didn't take long to reneg.

Note the order of the commands; the first four dealt with loving God, the last 6 loving "man". The 10th foreshadowed the Sermon on the Mount where not only our actions declare us guilty but our thoughts. Coveting was like that also. A lot of people think the Sabbath was fulfilled by Christ as he entered Heaven and rested once and for all and we can now rest from our works. Still, our bodies need a rest one day a week (Ex.23:12) and it also, like tithing, is a testimony of faith that God can make our 90% and our 6 days more plentiful than if we kept 100% or worked 7 days (Ex.16:29,30) This may be why the N.T. church worshipped on the 1st day rather than the 7th to celebrate its fulfillment.

The tabernacle was God's "dwelling place" among the Israelites. Today Christ dwells inside us individually because Christ came and "tabernacled" among us. (John 1:14). We receive forgiveness of sins through His death for our sins (1Pet 2:24) like the sacrifice on the Brazen altar. Christ is the only entrance into this standing (Acts 4:12) just like the one gate in. But that's just the beginning. We need daily cleansing of sins (John 13:10, 1John 1:9) like the laver and we need to daily feed on Christ (Matt. 4:4) as we walk in the Light (1John 1:7). Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us so we can boldly enter into the presence of God thru the curtain- Christ's body. Isn't that cool! Once again the bottom line, the culmination is entering into God's presence. We think prayer is a means to an end (receiving our requests) but prayer - entering Gods presence- is the end in and of itself. Just like the Israelites were delivered not to go to the promised land but into God's presence at the mount! We are now to be a kingdom of priests, daily ministering to God and people, worshipping and bearing one another's burdens. But this doesn't need to be accomplished by all of us quitting our jobs and being hired by the Church. Notice the testimony of  Bezalel. The Holy Spirit annointed him and he became a great craftsman. God has given you abilities. Turn whatever you have in your hand - like Moses' staff - and let it become the "staff of God"

Growing in Christ Bible Study Genesis to Revelation Week 10

Read Exodus 11-19

A.There are a number of similarities between the Passover and our redemption. Go through Exodus 12 and find them:

                            The Passover                                                                 Redemption

1. Ex.12:3                                                                                     1Cor.5:7


2. Ex.12:5                                                                                     1Pet. 1:18-19


3. Ex.12:5
  The lamb must be in the prime of life        Jesus was 33 years old at  crucifixion




4. Ex.12:6,7  & Lev. 17:11                                                          1Peter 2:24


5. Ex.12:7,22                                                  Rom 3:25,26  & 10:9,10


6. Ex.12:7                                                                                     Matt. 10:32,33


7. Ex.12:22                                                                                  Mark 16:16


8. Ex.12:8                                                                                    John 6:53,56


9. Ex.12:8                                                                                   1John 3:9,10


10. Ex.12:11                                                                                1Pet.2:11, Heb.11:13


11.Ex.12:46                                                                                  John 19:31-36



12.Ex.12:6                                                                                    Luke 23:44


13.Ex.12:28                                                                                  Heb. 11:28



14. Ex.12:43-49                                                                         Acts 10:44-46


B. Look at Ex. 14:4,17,18  &  15:11  &  16:7,10 What word do you see that is common to all these passages?

     Why is this an important concept in the Bible?

Watch the above video. Do you think it is selfish of God to create things for His own glory?  Explain.

     Notice and comment on the result of this in Ex.18:9-12



C. Read Hebrews 11:29. Both the Egyptians and the Israelites had faith. Describe the difference.



D. The people were fed with manna  Read John 6:41-51 and explain the spiritual significance of this.



E. The people drank from the rock.Read 1Cor.10:3, Matt.21:42-44 and John 4:10-14 and explain the spiritual significance of the water and the rock.



F. Read about the battle with the Amelakites in 17:8-16. Explain the spiritual symbolism of Moses and his positioning and his help.



    Why was it important to write it on a scroll for Joshua?



     What is the name of God seen here?                                         What does it mean?




G. Read chapter 18. Was Jethro's idea a good one? (see Numbers 11:16)


    What does this show you about Moses that he listened to Jethro? (Num.12:3)


    How is this a good principle in the running of the 21st century church?



H. Read Ex. 19:9 and 20:20. What was the reason for God's public display?

     Watch the above video and tell what you learned about "fearing" the Lord.



Note to teachers/students

      Hopefully you are beginning to see the spiritual significance and symbolism of the Old Testament and how it points to the coming Christ. We have had the prophecies in Gen.3:15 that He would come from the seed of a woman, get severely injured by Satan and then He would crush Satan. We see in Gen 12:3, 21:12,28:14, 49:10 that He would come from the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. But now we see some major prophecies fullfilled in the Passover. We see a spotless lamb in the prime of life being killed, its blood put on wood, and if anyone would apply it to their home they would be saved from the wrath of God. Not a bone would be broken, it would happen in the afternoon, and as the people are being saved they feed on the lamb. Not only was the salvation available for the Jews but anyone who applied the blood could be saved. This is what it took to be deliverd from the land of bondage and the satan figure - Pharoah by the Christ figure Moses. They were then baptized into Moses thru the Red Sea (1Cor 10:2) and then fed on the Bread of Life, drank from the Living Water, which came from our Rock. And why were they saved? To go to the Promised Land (Heaven)? No. They were saved to go to the mountain to worship God! One thing that keeps showing up in this passage is "glory". God created us and everything else not because He was lonely and wanted fellowship, but everything was created for His glory. To show His greatness. Moses keeps track of these miracles of God's glory while the Israelites seem to keep forgetting them. He tells of them to his "unsaved" father in law who then realizes God's greatness and worships Him. A lot of people think we are saved to #1 witness #2 go to Heaven. It seems rather we are saved to give God glory, worship Him, and through that others will come to Christ and worship also. Eventually we will go to the promised land where we will worship forever, but that is just a continuation of what should be going on now!

Growing in Christ Bible Study Genesis to Revelation Week 9

Read Exodus 1 - 10
  1. Read Exodus 1:15-21. The midwives were given commands to kill the male babies of the Israelites.
            Why didn't they?


            What excuse did they give?


             Read Ex. 1:22-2:3. Moses' parents and the midwives disobeyed the authority that God had placed over them. Read Ecc. 8:2 and 1Tim 2:1-4. It seems we are instructed to obey those in authority over us. Were they sinning by disobeying and lying?

             Why or why not? (see also Acts 4:18-20, Daniel 3 & 6)


              Come up with some principles on civil disobedience.



    2. Read Hebrews 11:24-27 and Acts 7:20-29. What added information do you glean from these 2 passages that you didn't get from the Exodus account?




      Why do you think the Israelites rejected his leadership the first time?



       What do you think he was afraid of that caused him to flee?



       What can you learn from that account?


3. God's soverignty - God had a plan. Read Gen. 15:13-16. What was God's plan?



                              Read Ex. 3:18-22, 4:21-23, 7:3-5. How was God going to accomplish this?



     If God said this would happen before it even did, did anyone really have free will in this story? Explain.


4. Look at Moses' 5 objections to going and list them and how God responded to them


                     Objections                                                                  God's response

      a.
                                                                                                            (see 7:1, 11:3)
      b.
 
     c.
                                                                                            (see 4:20 - who did the staff now belong to?)
     d.

     e.


5. Look at the 4 compromises Pharoah tries to get Moses to make. List them and relate them to compromises Satan tries to have us make today:

              Pharoah's compromise                                                       Our compromise

    a. 8:25                                                                                    2Cor 6:14-18



    b. 8:28



    c. 10:11




    d. 10:24



6. Look at 5:2 and 9:16. What is God's ultimate purpose behind all this?



7. Read Num. 33:4 and view the diagrams below. What was the hidden meaning behind the different plagues.

Note to teachers/students                                                                                               

There are a number of things to discuss in these chapters - starting with civil disobedience. This could be covered in Daniel ,too but the bottom line is that passage in Acts where they say basically, if it comes down to obeying you or God, we will obey God. Interesting discussions would be praying in school, praying in Jesus' name, witnessing at work, being in plays at school where you are asked to cuss or worse, hiding your creationism views, asked to lie at work, etc. The midwives were certainly blessed for their respect for the sanctity of life

Moses is an interesting character in the Bible. Raised in Pharoahs  household which gave him unique leadership , language, and literature skills (to pen the first 5 books of the Bible), he tried to lead the Israelites out with his own power on his own timetable and failed. When God was ready, he took a broken Moses and with divine intervention delivered the Israelites and God got the glory rather than Moses. God also shows his superiority to all the gods of Egypt as each plague creates a mockery of each of their many gods.

Pharoah (a symbol of Satan) tempts Moses to compromise his full committment to God 4 times without success. I've heard it said, "noone's life is a waste; you canalways be used as a bad example" This was Pharoah in a nutshell. God raised him up because God knew what was in his heart and thru his pride and stubborness basically ruined the most powerful kingdom at that time. Pharoah had a free will and hardened his heart a number of times until finally, God started hardening it. You only get so many chances.