S.S.S. Study
He is all I need
(the story of the exodus)
Part 1
Exodus 1:6-7 A nation free and thriving
Israel as a nation grew rapidly under the protection and provision of the days of Joseph's appointment over Egypt, all throughout not only Joseph's life but Joseph's entire generation the children of Israel enjoyed complete freedom to worship, to sacrifice to God, to live by Gods laws and prosper.
In the early days of the USA great revival multiple times swept through our nation, shutting down every bar in some towns, some places saw more than 25% of the entire town turn to Christ in a matter of months, thousands were added to the church and much of the political sphere consisted of professing, practicing Christians.
Exodus 1:8-11 A nation falls
Verse 8 says "Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph." Here we find the beginnings of Israel's problems, Israel had lost its representative in the house of Pharaoh, Joseph was no longer around and seemingly no one had taken his place as a counselor to the pharaoh. Therefore the children of Israel were viewed as a threat to the power of the worldly leader in whose country they dwelt.
Some would say that this is America but I do not believe that we are there yet, while yes this nation has turned almost entirely from God and it seems that religious freedoms may soon fall we are not Emperor Nero's Rome, or China during the Boxer revolution, or Russia during the Cold War, or the Middle East today, or North Korea today.
Nero is most commonly known by Christians as having used Christian men, women, and children to light his garden by night by strapping them to poles and adorning them with wax vests.
In China during the Boxer revolution
George Ernest Morrison, a reporter with the London Times newspaper, filed this report from Beijing:
“As darkness came on, the most awful cries were heard in the city, most demonical and unforgettable, the cries of the Boxers, ‘Sha kuei-tzu’ (kill the devils), mingled with the shrieks of the victims and the groans of the dying. For Boxers were sweeping through the city, massacring the native Christians and burning them alive in their homes.”
Over 250 missionaries and 20,000 Christians were killed in 55 days.
Exodus 1:12 God uses affliction
In this verse just as in history we see that God takes the affliction that the world attempts to deter Gods people with, and uses it to in fact motivate and multiple His people and see great things done. In China today it is reported that thousands of people every day join the underground church movement. In Paul's day we read of his affliction and it's result. Philippians 1:12-14
Exodus 1:13-14 What sin does to you.
Exodus 1:13-14 "And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour."
Before salvation every man on earth is a servant of sin, but when a man becomes a child of God, God desires that mans service and he is free from sin. Romans 6:16-23, unfortunately we can still choose to serve sin rather than God. Romans 7:18-25.
Later in this lesson series we will see many times where the children of Israel desired to return to Egypt (a picture of the world, and of sin) instead of continuing on to serve their God.
Exodus 1:22 "And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive."
Exodus 2:1-10 God raises up a leader
Through the adversity God used the parents of Moses who are not even named in this passage, to preserve a boy, of the house of Levi (The Levites would be the only ones who would be allowed to carry the ark of The Lord) literally put him in Gods hands and trust God to preserve him. After all Egyptians had been given the decree to kill all Hebrew boys. Here again just as we saw many times in the life of Joseph God uses an unGodly person (the daughter of Pharaoh) to work His will.
Can we trust God like Moses's parents did? Can we put our own life in an ark and let go of it?
What does the Bible say about Trusting God?
2nd Samuel 22:31, Psalm 4:5, Psalm 9:10, Psalm 37:39-40, Proverbs 3:5, Isaiah 26:4, Nahum 1:7
We know that we can trust God because He is righteous, pure, everlasting, a strong tower, a fortress, a defense, our father, our Savior, and just because the Bible says we can in these verses but don't just look at what God has said, look at what He has done!
If you believe that the stories in Gods word are true, then why do we struggle to trust God with such little things, when He has done such mighty things? I believe that it is not necessarily a lack of trust in our God that causes us to doubt His ability to see us through, but a lack of faith in our own relationship with God causes us to doubt that He would even want to see us through. Daniel prayed three times a day, David showed great courage in facing a giant, Paul preached in the streets. I can barely remember to pray, and study my Bible.
I want to reassure you, God does care about what your going through wether you have been a good child or bad. God wants a good relationship with you, He knows we our sinners, after all He is the God who wrote Romans 6:23 " For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
You will never match up to the righteousness of God, but God cares about you.
Romans 5:6 "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."
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