January 26: The Ten Commandments

This week’s study covered the Israelites receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19:1-13, Exodus 19:16-19, Exodus 20:1-21).

Here are some of the key things we looked at this week:

• There were three major events for the Israelites (lead by Moses) after they fled from Egypt and prior to receiving the ten commandments
• God parted the Red Sea for them to cross and once they were safe, the waters flowed back in and drowned the pursuing Egyptians. (Exodus 14)
• The people ran out of food. They complained to Moses and did not trust in God. However, God provided manna for them to eat. (Exodus 16: 1-21)
• The people ran out of water. Again they complained to Moses and did not trust in God. They even threatened to kill Moses. However, God, who is continually compassionate, provided water for them to drink from a large bolder. (Exodus 17: 1-7)

• God gave the following ten command
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

• Why did God give the people the ten commandments
• By showing them what the standard of righteousness was, he allowed them (and us) a look into His character (because he is truly righteous)
• To let the people know the standard He holds them to. These are the top ten rules for those who follow God
• To show people how far they are from being able to appease God through their actions. They need to sacrifice because none of them were able to say that they have no broken at least one of these rules. More importantly, it showed them the need they have for Jesus Christ.

The Plagues

A few follow-ups from tonights lesson:

1) How long were the plagues?

We know the following:

• Moses was 80 when the first plague started (Exodus 7:7).
• The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years (Exodus 16:35 and many other references)
• Moses died at the age of 120 (Deuteronomy 34:7), after that there was 30 days of mourning (Deuteronomy 34:8) before the people entered the promised land (Joshua 1)

So, we can tell that the plagues could not have lasted more than a year because at the start of them Moses was 80 and he died at 120 and the last 40 years were spent wandering the desert.  Even if there was some rounding in these numbers, it is clear that the plagues did not last that long.  Based on the days given in the accounts most people think the whole thing lasted around 30 to 50 days.

2) More details on the plagues and gods whose authority was attached by each:

• Turned the water of the Nile into blood (Exodus 7:14-25)
• Hapi (or Apis) and Isis were the god and goddess of the Nile, respectively. 
• Frogs (Exodus 8: 1-15)
• Heqet was the goddess of birth, and had the head of a frog.  Due to this, many Egyptians considered frogs to be sacred.
• Gnats (Exodus 8:16-19)
• Set was the god of the desert (gnats came from the desert sands or dusts)
• Flies (Exodus 8:20-32)
• Ra the sun god (insects potentially blacked out the sun) and Uatchit who was represented by the fly
• Death of Livestock (Exodus 9:1-7)
• Hathor was a goddess with a cow head and Apis was the bull god
• Boils (Exodus 9:8-12)
• Sekhmet was the goddess of power over disease; Sunu was the pestilence god; and Isis was the goddess of healing
• Hail (Exodus 9:13-35)
• Nut was the sky goddess; Osiris was the god of crops and fertility; and Set was the god of storms
• Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20)
• Nut was the sky goddess and Osiris was the god of crops and fertility;
• Not the best quality, but I found the video clip from Planet Earth that I showed you on-line: Desert Locust
• Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29)
• Re and Horus were sun gods and  Nut and Hathor were sky goddesses
• Death of the firstborn (Exodus 11:1 - 12:30)
• Min was the goddess of reproduction; Heqet was the goddess of women and childbirth; Isis was the goddess who protected children; and Pharaoh's firstborn son, who was considered a god

(A lot of this info was taken from "The Bible Knowledge Commentary," Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck.)

January 19: The Passover

This week’s study covers the passover (Exodus 11:1-7, Exodus 12:1-14, and Exodus 12:29-36), which eventually lead to the freedom of the Israelite people from Egypt.  

Here are some of the key things we looked at this week:

• God did not forget his people.  They had been slaves to the Egyptians for 400 years, but God raised up Moses and provided a way out.
• God warned Pharaoh through Moses and 9 plagues before the passover.  Pharaoh's heart was hard and he and his people paid for his lack of faith in God.
• The final plague was to be the death of any first born male (human and animal).  For those who did not follow the instructions (all of the Egyptians) there were horrible consequences.  Every first born male in the whole country died in a single night.
• In order to be saved from this plague, the Israelites were required to sacrifice a lamb.  This again had many similarities to the sacrifice of Christ.
• The animal had to be spotless (similar to sinless)
• The family had to keep the animal with them for 4 days.  They had to get to know the animal.  Much harder to sacrifice.
• After the lamb was killed, the meat had to be roasted and eaten.  This is similar to other sacrifices in the old testament.
• The lambs blood had to be smeared on the door frame of each house in order for God to "passover" the house in the last plague.  By putting the blood on the right, left, and top door frame, the Israelites made a cross.

January 12: Abraham

This week’s study covers a man of great faith: Abraham.  We focused on some high points of his life and when his faith was tested by God.  We used the following passages in our study this week:

- Genesis 11: 27-32

- Genesis 12: 1-7

- Genesis 16: 1-4

- Genesis 16: 11-12

- Genesis 21: 1-5

- Genesis 22: 1-19

Here are some of the key things we looked at this week:

• God asked Abraham (then called Abram) to leave his country at the age of 75 with his wife Sarah (then called Sarai) and follow where he would lead.  If Abram did this, God promised him the following:
• His descendants would become a great nation.  His son Issac was the father of Jacob (later called Israel).  Jacob's 12 sons were the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel.
• Abraham's name would be great.  As Christians, Jews, and Muslims all know Abraham, it is estimated that today (4,000 years later), Abraham is known by at least half of the world's population.  
• Abraham would be blessed and protected by God
• Through Abraham, "all the peoples of the earth will be blessed."  This was a reference to the fact that Christ, the Savior, would come from Abraham's line.
• God fulfilled his promise to give Abraham and Sarah a son when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 years old.  Issac was born to them.
• God kept this promise despite Abraham and Sarah's lack of faith shown through their plan to have a child using Sarah's maidservant.  That son was named Ishmael.  His descendants and Issac's descendants have been at odds ever since.
• God asked Abraham to prove his faith by offering his most beloved and only son (with Sarah) as a sacrifice when Issac was a teenager.  This journey was a true testament to Abraham's faith.
• The journey took 3 days to the spot God required for the sacrifice.
• Abraham left early the next morning, he did not delay.
• He was willing through with it despite his feelings and was only stopped at the last moment by an angel of God.
• There are many parallels between this story and the story of Christ
• God sacrificed His only son
• The ram that God provided was caught by the horns in a thorn bush
• Christ also had a crown of thorns
• The ram would not have had any injuries (it was spotless) because it was caught by the horns.  Chris was also spotless in that he was without sin.

December 15: The Tower of Babel

This week’s study covers the dispersing of the nations at the Tower (Genesis 11:1-9).  We looked at why the nations needed to be split and the evidence for the truth of this story we can see today.

Here are some of the key things we looked at this week:


- The people forgot about God's judgement from the flood and continued to rebel against God.  They stuck together and were trying to build a monument to their own pride despite God's command in Genesis 9:1 to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.


- They all spoke one language, and God said that unless he broke the nations apart from one another and changed their languages, they would be able to do anything.  An analogy is that prisoners are kept in separate cells so that they cannot collaborate to cause trouble.  Sinners are the same way!


- We can see the truth of this story through the evidence in our languages and how they developed.  Here are some interesting resources:


      - Study of Chinese Kanji (This website shows how you can see evidence that the Chinese descend from the descendants of Noah and originally believed and followed God.)

      
      - List of the Nations based on the sons of Noah:

      

      - A map of the nations after the split

      
      - Alphabet tree showing the languages