2 L E S S O N The Exodus The Bible books relating to this session are Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These four books, together with Genesis, are sometimes called The Five Books of Moses, referring to the Mosaic authorship. You will also find them called the Pentateuch, which simply means five books. Exodus means going out. This book describes the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. Leviticus is about the laws of the Levites, the spiritual leaders of Israel. The book of Numbers is so named because it begins with God s telling Moses to number the people. It means to take a census. The book is rich with details about Israel s 40-year journey through the wilderness. Deuteronomy means the second law, so called because it is the record of Moses repeating all the law to his people before he died and just before the people entered the Promised Land. Moses was the significant personality of this period. He lived 120 years, and his life divides evenly into three sections. The first forty years he lived in Egypt as part of the royal family. The middle forty years he was an exile shepherding sheep in the deserts of Midian. He didn t know it, but God was equipping him, first with knowledge of the courts of Egypt, then with familiarity with the desert, so he could effectively lead the Israelites out of Egypt and beyond during his final forty years. This lesson divides into four topics: 1) The call of Moses 2) The Plagues and the Passover 3) The Exodus 4) The Wilderness The Call of Moses As a result of being rescued from the river by Pharaoh s daughter while he was still an infant, Moses grew up in the royal family of Egypt. Witnessing an Egyptian beating one of the Hebrew slaves, he killed the Egyptian and fled to Midian, where he worked as a shepherd for forty years at a ranch owned by Jethro, a priest and prince of Midian. Moses eventually married Jethro s daughter Zipporah. While in Midian, Moses came face to face with God at the burning bush, recorded in Exodus chapter 3. God called him to go back to Egypt to free His people. Read Exodus 3 and 4 for the exciting details. The Plagues and the Passover Hint: If you haven t already done so, this is a great time to memorize the books of the Bible in order. Knowing the Bible books in order will help immensely when you look up a reference in the Bible. Moses and his brother Aaron confronted Pharaoh. God gave Moses several miraculous signs to convince Pharaoh that the true God sent him, but the signs failed to persuade the hard-hearted Pharaoh. Consequently, God sent ten horrible plagues on the nation of Egypt. The ten plagues were: LESSON 2 35
1) Water turning to blood. 2) The Nile River teeming with frogs that crawled into homes and even into the royal palace. 3) Dust turning into gnats that covered people and animals. 4) Swarms of flies filling the air and invading homes. 5) Disease killing the domestic animals of Egypt. (However, no animals owned by Hebrews died.) 6) A fine dust over the whole land. When it landed on people or animals, it caused painful boils. 7) The worst hailstorm in Egyptian history (but there was no hail in Goshen where the Hebrews lived). 8) The worst invasion of locusts in Egyptian history, so thick that the ground was black with them. They ate everything left from the hailstorm and filled the houses of the Egyptians. 9) Darkness so thick it could be felt. No one was able to leave home for three days (but there was light in the Hebrews homes). 10) The Angel of Death came to every home not protected by blood over the doorposts. The firstborn of every family in Egypt died. Following the tenth plague, Pharaoh gave permission for the Hebrew slaves to leave Egypt. Read Exodus 12 for the thrilling story of Passover night. The Angel of Death saw the blood on the doorposts of the homes of the Hebrews, so he passed over those homes and did not take the life of the firstborn. God commanded His people to observe the Passover perpetually. When Jesus instituted the Lord s Supper the night before His crucifixion, He was observing Passover with His disciples. A Point to Ponder What connection do you see between the Passover in Egypt, the Lord s Supper observed by Christians, our salvation, and the work of Christ on the cross? Write a one- or two-sentence response. Be prepared to share your thoughts with the class. The Exodus The Exodus from Egypt is among the most awesome events in all of Israel s history. Exodus 12 14 tells the story, a story so exciting it has been repeated in drama, monologue, and sermons for thirty-four centuries! Read these passages and imagine yourself part of that throng of possibly two million slaves marching out of Egypt. Then read the worshipful song of Moses and his sister, Miriam (Exod. 15:1-21), celebrating the event. The Wilderness God led the people of Israel through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai, where He gave them the law, which included the miraculous writing of the Ten Commandments. At Mt. Sinai, Israel s government was established with God as king. The remainder of Exodus and most of Leviticus and Deuteronomy detail the laws by which the people were to be governed and justice determined. The book of Numbers provides interesting details about experiences in the wilderness travel and the incredible organization involved in the logistics of moving so many people. Become familiar with the map of the Exodus on page 39. Note the route of the Exodus, and the locations of Mt. Sinai, Kadesh-barnea, Edom, and Moab. The exact route of the Exodus is uncertain. Recent research suggests the route and the location of Mt. Sinai may be different from what has traditionally been accepted. The time spent at Mt. Sinai was crucially important for the people because it was here that God fashioned a disorganized crowd of slaves into a nation governed by laws and characterized by freedom. Also at Mt. Sinai God gave Moses the design of the tabernacle, the place God would meet with the representative of His people and where the people would assemble to offer sacrifice and worship. The tabernacle design carried through into the temple that was built much later. See page 38 for a diagram of 36 LESSON 2
the tabernacle design. The arrangement of the tabernacle and its furniture has much symbolic significance. Arriving at the southern tip of Canaan, the people lost faith in God s ability to lead them in victory over the inhabitants of the land. They sent spies into the country, probably to build some assurance. But when the spies returned after 40 days, all but Caleb and Joshua were convinced they couldn t stand against such formidable enemies. So the people refused to invade the land. As a result of their lack of faith (actually rebellion), God sentenced them to 40 years wandering in the wilderness a year for every day the spies were in Canaan. The story unfolds in Numbers 13 and 14. Enemies and hardships confronted Israel throughout their forty-year journey, but God came to their rescue each time. Sometimes, He brought judgment in response to their rebellion and unbelief. Eventually, however, the Israelites arrived at Mt. Nebo, the staging area for their conquest of the Promised Land. Here, just before his death on Mt. Nebo, Moses repeated the law for the people with specific instructions to follow it when they enter the land. Review Now go back to the Bible Lands map on page 30 (or a copy of it). On the map, trace the story of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. Keep reviewing this over and over. Doing so will help you to put it all together. A Point to Ponder Some Bible students consider the slavery and eventual escape from Egypt, the wilderness experience, and the arrival at the Promised Land to be a type, or picture of a Christian s spiritual experience. Do you agree? If so, what symbols or parallel experiences do you recognize? What would Egypt symbolize? Mt. Nebo? The warfare along the route? The Promised Land? Think about it and write a paragraph-long response. Be prepared to share your thoughts with the class. LESSON 2 37
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