Lesson One : OPPRESSION: THE BACKGROUND AND THE BIRTH OF MOSES
Introduction: This quarter, we’ll see how God takes the initiative to deliver those who trust in Him. We need simply to accept by faith what He offers us. This is why the book of Exodus should be studied, for it points to what Jesus has done for us all. It is a book about redemption, deliverance, and final salvation—all of which are ours, by faith, in Christ Jesus and what He has secured for us. In the midst of the turmoil and darkness, if our eyes are fixed on God, we can recognize His presence, care, and help as He guides us to the eternal “Promised Land.”
Memory Text: Exodus 2:23-25(NKJV)
“Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.”
SABBATH; The book of Exodus talks about the life full of trials and slavery that the Israelites were subjected to by the Egyptians. In like manner, we face trials that may tempt us to feel that God has forsaken and abandoned us. However, we are reminded to dwell on the delivery that God had for His enslaved children in Egypt and have the faith and hope that God surely listens to the cry of those that trust in Him, and comes to help. Therefore, our eyes are to remain fixed on Him as we look towards the Promised Land.
SUNDAY; Exodus begins with an account of the Israelites, made up of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, who came to Egypt during the time when Joseph was the ruler. Their increase in number posed a threat to the Egyptians and they sought to wipe out the Israelite race. However, the more the efforts to do so by subjecting them to slavery, the more the Israelites multiplied in number. We continue to see God’s love and protection over them, even during this seemingly hopeless situation viewed, from a human perspective.
(READ Genesis 46:27; Exodus 1:1-11)
MONDAY; The slavery of the Israelites had been prophesied to Abraham, and so was their deliverance. Joseph ruled Egypt, but the rulers that succeeded him did not know him and therefore subjected the Israelites to oppression. However much they suffered under the rulership of four Egyptian Pharaohs, the Lord never forgot them and neither did He forsake them in the foreign land. By this, we are assured that we too, can surely trust in God, however bad a situation may be.
(READ Genesis 37:26-28; 39:2&21; 41:41-43; 1 Corinthians 13:12)
TUESDAY; The threat that the Israelites paused on Pharaoh kept increasing and the killing of their male babies was the strategy that he came up with so as to wipe out the Hebrew race. Two Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, were commanded to kill the male babies upon birth, however, they feared God, knew what was right, and they decided not to carry out that command from Pharoah. Because of this great act of obedience to God and their strong faith in Him, the Lord greatly blessed them and their own large families.
(READ Exodus 1:9-21; Psalms 50:15; Acts 5:29)
WEDNESDAY; Despite the tension that was going on in Egypt, a certain Levite had a son born unto him. He was hidden for three months, and this is when he was met with Princess Hatshepsut of Egypt. She named the baby “Moses” meaning “drawn from a river.” Moses was nursed by his mother while being paid by the princess, until the age of twelve
Then he lived in the Egyptian palace where he received their education in preparation to being the next Pharaoh.
(READ Exodus 1:22; 2:1-10, 24&25)
THURSDAY; Regardless of the Egyptian palacial treatment, Moses never forgot His origin. Moses met an Egyptian oppressing his fellow Hebrew and he killed him. Upon knowing that the murder had been widely known, in fear for losing his life, he fled to Midian where he met Jethro, who gifted him with his daugter, Zipporah, because of his kindness towards his daugters at the well. Moses’ life of one hundred and twenty years is divided into three partitions; the first, second and third set of forty years each, was spent spent in Egypt, Midian and the journey of the Exodus, respectively.
(READ Exodus 2:11-25; Deuteronomy 4:6-8; 34:7)
FRIDAY; The good news in all this is that, despite Satan’s plans, God overruled, and He used faithful people(Shiphrah and Puah) to thwart the enemy. We do live in the territory of our enemy, whom Jesus called “the prince” or “ruler of this world.” Satan usurped this position from Adam, but Jesus Christ defeated him in His life and through His death on the cross. Although Satan is still alive and active, as revealed in his attempt to kill those children, his own execution is certain. The good news is that life’s difficulties can be overcome by God’s grace. That grace is our only hope.
(READ “Moses” pp.241-251 in Patriarchs and Prophets by Ellen G White)
CAPTIONS:
SUNDAY; God’s people in Egypt
MONDAY; The historical background
TUESDAY; The Hebrew widwives
WEDNESDAY; Moses is born
THURSDAY; A change of plans
FRIDAY; Further thought
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS;
- The midwives not only knew what the right action to take was, but they took it. What is the obvious message here for us?
- How much are you learning that is ultimately useless for what really matters?
- Was it God’s plan that Moses kills the Egyptian? If not, what does this story teach us about how God can overrule in any situation and use it for His own purposes? How does Romans 8:28 help us understand this important truth?
- Why did God allow the Hebrews to live in Egypt and be oppressed? Why did it take so long for God to intervene on their behalf? Remember, too, that each person suffered only as long as the person lived. That is, the time of suffering for the nation was long, but each person suffered only as long as that single person lived. Why is making that distinction important in seeking to understand human suffering in general?
