Bible ClinicJ One
A journey into the life, times, and
teachings of the Bible
by Gary D. Strunk
Lesson
5 - From Egypt to Sinai
In this lesson we will leave Egypt,
cross the Red Sea on dry land, sense the impatience and lack of trust of this
new nation of ex-slaves, discover Abread from heaven,@ learn about God=s Sabbath, then you will proceed to Mt. Sinai on your own.
The Passover
Even though the AFathers@ of Israel were Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph etc., to a large extent the Jewish nation dates its origin from
the EXODUS. On the night of the last
plague, when all the first-born of Egypt died,
the LORD ?passed over@ those who put the blood of a lamb
on their door posts. This APassover@ marked the beginning of the
religious calendar year of the Israelites.
Hereafter the first of three annual feasts was the Passover. The inauguration of this feast is described
in Exodus chapters 12 and 13.
1. What was each Israelite family to
select on the tenth day of the first month of the year and then kill and eat on
the fourteenth day? Ex 12:1-6
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2. What symbol signaled the Lord to Apass over@ a house? Ex. 12:7,12,13,22,23 ____________________________
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The Passover is often referred to as
the feast of unleavened bread because for seven days the Israelites were
to put all leaven (yeast) out of their houses and eat only unleavened or flat
bread. Yeast was considered a fitting
symbol for sin, for just as yeast spreads out and affects the whole loaf, so
sin spreads out and affects everything it touches. Putting yeast out of their houses symbolized putting sin out of
their lives.
3. When Jesus began His ministry at
the age of 30, what did John the Baptist call Him?
John 1:29
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4. Many details in the life of the
Messiah were foretold years earlier.
The prophet Isaiah (Eye zay= uh) wrote in the eighth century B.C. How does he picture the Messiah? Isa. 53:7.
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All the animal sacrifices pointed
forward to Jesus, the true Lamb of God.
Once Jesus died, animal sacrifices had no purpose. Their prophetic function was fulfilled. The ultimate consequences of sin is eternal
death. The death of an animal could never make up for the eternal death a
sinner deserves, but Christ=s death could, because it followed a perfect life symbolized by a lamb without
blemish. Christ offers to each of us
His atoning death in place of our eternal death. When we accept His death in place of ours, we are covered by His
blood. The destroying angel Apasses over@ us by virtue of Christ=s blood on the lintel and doorposts
of our hearts. After that, as
symbolized by the unleavened bread, we put sin out of our lives using His
imparted strength.
5. Why and for how long were the
Children of Israel to keep the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread?
Ex. 12:17____________________________________________________________________________________
To understand the meaning of Aeverlasting,@ see dictionary entry at end of the
lesson.
6. How seriously was this
requirement to be observed? Ex. 12:19 ________________________________________
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Crossing the Red Sea
READ Exodus 14.
7. How did the Israelites feel about
the pursuing Egyptian army? Ex. 14:10-13. _____________________________
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8. Who &/or what came between
the Israelites and the Egyptians all night? Ex. 14:19,20 _____________________
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9. What did it give to the
Egyptians? __________________________
10. What did it give to the
Israelites? __________________________
11. In Psalm 78, written 500 years
later, the wondrous works of God in the EXODUS and the wilderness wanderings
are recapped. The pillar of cloud by
day is described as a pillar of _______________ by night? v. 14. For forty years this brought not only light
but warmth to the Israelites on cold desert nights.
12. What divided the sea and dried
the sea bed? Ex. 14:21 _____________________________________________
13. What exasperating thing did the
LORD do to the Egyptians? Ex. 14:23-25 _____________________________
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NOTE: No generation in history ever
witnessed such dramatic evidence of the existence of God, and of His judgments
against their wickedness as did the Egyptians.
Because of their refusal to believe such evidence, they reached a point
of no return, a point called Athe unpardonable sin;@ that point where people refuse to turn to God and do right no matter
what is done for them. So God put to
death those who would destroy others without cause.
Manna
READ Exodus 16.
14. About what did the people
complain after being out of Egypt for only forty-five days?
Ex. 16:1-3 __________________________________________________________________
15. Besides the quail, which He gave
them for a little while, what was the Abread of heaven@ God promised?
Ex. 16:4, 14, 31.
_______________________________________________
16. How much were they to gather
each day? vs. 16-18 ________________________________
NOTE: If you want to know how much
an omer is see v. 36.
If that didn=t help, see the end of this lesson.
17. What happened if they tried to
save some for the next day? vs. 19,20 __________________________________
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18. How much were they to gather on
the sixth day? vs. 5, 22-24 _______________________________________
19. How much manna fell on the
seventh day? v. 25, 26 _______________________________
20. What were God=s people to do on the seventh
day? vs. 23, 29,30.
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21. How were the people to prepare
for the Sabbath? v. 23 _____________________________________________
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The Sabbath had been given to man at
Creation. Gen. 2:1-3. The word Asanctify@ means to set apart for a holy
purpose. Later, Jesus said, AThe Sabbath was made for man.@ Mark 2:27. Thus, after God rested on the seventh day,
He set apart the seventh day from the other days of the week for a holy
purpose, for man to rest and worship.
22. Why did God bless and sanctify
the seventh day? Gen. 2:2, 3 _________________________________________
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No other day has ever been blessed
and sanctified as He has the 7th day.
23. For how long did God give manna
to His people six days a week? Ex. 16:35, Joshua 5:12 __________________
This means that for forty years God
performed a series of what we call miracles.
(Such miracles are in the natural order of things from God=s standpoint.) Miracle #1: Every morning He provided manna, a totally
nutritious food. Miracle #2: If kept overnight it spoiled and bred
worms. Miracle #3: On Friday night, it would keep without
spoiling. Then, for those that might
think manna was just some naturally occurring substance in the desert every
morning, miracle #4: The manna was not there on Saturday morning. But it was there again on Sunday morning. For fifty-two weeks a year for forty years
God provided manna to impress upon His people the importance of the
Sabbath. In fact the Sabbath is
uniquely suited to be a test of whether a person will keep all God=s commandments.
24. Of what were the portions of
manna on different days a test? Ex. 16:4,5 _______________________________
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25. And when they didn=t keep the Sabbath properly, of what
were they guilty? v. 28 ________________________
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During the long enslavement in
Egypt, the Israelites had lost sight of nearly all God=s laws. Now they had to be taught as if it were the first time they had
heard of His laws.
NOTE: You can tell that parts of
the book of Exodus was written sometime after the actual events because
of passages like Ex. 16:34. Moses told
Aaron to put an omer of manna into the ark beside the Testimony. At the point of chapter 16, the Testimony,
(The Ten Commandments) had not yet been given from Mt. Sinai, (Ex. 20) and the
instructions to make an ark (a special box) had not yet been given. (Ex.
25:10-22). Moses is here recording what
Aaron did later. Also verse 35 says the
children of Israel ate manna for 40 years.
Obviously this was written later.
It would be well to read chapters 17
and 18 at your leisure before the next lesson to see some of the interesting
things that happened to them on their way to Mt. Sinai. The ARock@ in chapter 17 is later applied to
Christ.
APPENDIX: An omer is about two quarts.
See the next page for the word Aeverlasting@
Answers:
1. A one-year old male lamb
with no blemish
2. Blood on the lintel and
door posts
3. Lamb of God
4. Lamb brought to the
slaughter or as a sheep
before its shearers is dumb
5. Because God brought
Israel out of Egypt on that day; keep it as an everlasting ordinance
6. Cut off if didn=t observe
7. Very afraid
8. Angel of God in pillar
of cloud
9. Darkness
10. Light
11. Fire
12. Strong east wind
13. Took off their chariot
wheels
14. Hunger for meat
15. Manna
16. One omer per person
17. Bred worms and stank
18. Two omers per person
19. None
20. Stay in place and rest
21. Bake and boil and lay
up for tomorrow
22. Because God ended His
work and rested on the seventh day
23. 40 years
24. Whether they will walk
in my law or no
25. Of not keeping His
commandments and His laws
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