Lesson 6: 10 Commandments

Scripture

Exodus: 20:1-17

Quick Summary

Moses went up Mt. Sinai and brought down 10 rules written on stone by the finger of God. Here are God’s rules for the Hebrews/Israelites to live by:

1. God is 1^st
2. No idols
3. Honor God’s Name
4. Remember to Rest (Sabbath)
5. Honor Mom and Dad
6. No Murdering
7. No cheating on people (Adultery)
8. No Stealing
9. No Lying (False Testimony against neighbor)
10. No being jealous of others’ stuff (coveting)

The Point

God’s gives us rules to live by.

Questions for Family Time

1.     Have your kid show you the 10 commandment motions.

2.     Which is the easiest Commandment to follow? Which is the hardest?

Deeper

            It started with just 10 commandments in the desert. Few enough for God to put everything on stone tablets that could easily be carried around. But as the Hebrews became the Israelite and settled in the Promised Land, the rules expanded. Then those rules expanded. By the time the Old Testament was done being written there were 613 rules to live by. By the time Jesus came along, the religious leaders had added to the written laws an entire verbal tradition known as the Tradition of the Elders.
            When I was growing up, we had cattle, and around their pasture was an electric fence. That fence was not to hurt them, but to protect them from the dangers that lay beyond the fence. It protected them from the busy roads and kept them from getting lost. That fence was a boundary for their own good. Much like that, God’s 10 commandments acted as a fence to protect his people from getting lost without God, and from endangering themselves and others. Out of respect for God’s laws, the religious leaders added more laws to make sure they didn’t break God’s laws. It was like adding a second fence to keep people from touching the first. However, many of these laws missed the whole point of God’s original commandments, which was to love God and love others. That is why so often in the New Testament we find Jesus breaking the Tradition of the Elders. Jesus saw how unrealistic these rules were for the average Jew to follow perfectly and that some missed the point completely.
            Maybe you have noticed some modern day churches that have fallen in the same trap. Rules that aren’t realistic or in the Bible for that matter become mandatory for those who want to be part of the community. It’s often because of these rules that Christians are labeled as judgmental. That description usually isn’t placed on us because we believe murder is a bad idea. If that has been your experience with church, I hope this helps explain how we get into that trap, and I ask that you would have grace with us as well. I also want to let you know, that at LUMC we do our best to follow the two rules that Jesus summed all the other rules up with: Love God and Love others. Those two are enough work for us to focus on, and we can’t be judgmental and do them well. So I encourage you to put those two rules as the ones you give priority to over all others.
           

Personal Reflection

1.     What are the traditional rules that you follow that keep you from Loving God and Loving others?

Lesson 5: Water and Manna

Scripture

Exodus 15:22-16:18

Quick Summary

            The Hebrews are free from Pharaoh’s rule but are now stuck in the desert without food or water. They complain because they have nothing to drink, and God gives them water. They complain because they have no food and God give them meat for supper and bread for breakfast. The bread which falls from heaven as dew in the morning is called Manna.

The Point

God will provide.

Questions for Family Time

1.     What did God provide for the Israelites/Hebrews in the desert?

a.      Water, quail (meat), manna (frosted flakes, bread)

2.     What has God provided for you?

Our Song for today:

I hunger and thirst for you, I hunger and thirst for you.

In the desert of my need, you’re the fountain that I seek.

You’re the living water I keep running to.

I hunger and thirst for you, I hunger and thirst for you.

I hunger and thirst for you, I hunger and thirst for you.

Heaven’s Manna, Bread of Life, fill the emptiness inside

Nothing else can satisfy me like your do.

 I hunger and thirst for you, I hunger and thirst for you.

Deeper

            My daughter was 4 months old when I got a call from the emergency room. My husband had been working in construction when a table saw on his work site fell off of its makeshift stand and deeply cut his fingers. With the rest of the week off to recuperate, we went to visit his parents over the weekend and came home to get the call Monday morning that he had been fired. That Thursday, we got another call that his mother had passed away. After two funerals and two weeks away from home, we came home to discover our electricity had been out and all of our perishable food had perished. Our credit cards were maxed out and we had no income. It was the desert of our need.

God fed us in that desert. A Methodist woman came by with groceries to fill our house. Our church provided baby clothes. Most miraculous of all, within a week we got a call about a church in need of a pastor. We had sent that resume long enough before that we had forgotten we sent it.

God met our every need, just as he met the need of the Hebrews in the desert. God doesn’t promise life will be smooth sailing when we trust in him. But when we trust him, he provides what we NEED to get through the desert.     

Personal Reflection

1.     What deserts has God fed you in?

Lesson 4: Crossing the Red Sea

Scripture

Exodus 14:5-31

Quick Summary

            After his son died in the last plague, Pharaoh finally allowed the Hebrews to leave Egypt with Moses. Moses and the Egyptians went out following a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. They got to the Red Sea and got stuck. By that time, Pharaoh had changed his mind and was hot on their trail. On God’s command, Moses raised his staff on the bank of the Red Sea and God split it in two, sending a breeze down the center. The Hebrews walked across on dry land. By the time the Hebrews all got across, Pharaoh’s army was between the walls of water. With one more command from God, Moses raised his staff again, and the water rushed over the pursuing army. The Hebrews were safe and free from Egypt thanks to God!

The Point

God will make a way when we are stuck.

Questions for Family Time

1.     What were the Hebrews stuck between?

a.      The Red Sea and the Egyptian Army

2.     How did God make a way for them?

a.      He split the Red Sea in half, and the Hebrews walked through on dry land.

3.     What happened to the Army chasing them?

a.      They died when the water went back over the path.

Our Song for today:

CHORUS: Pharaoh, Pharaoh, whoa baby, let my people go! (2x)

A burnin' bush told me just the other day
That I should go to Egypt and say,
"It's time to let my people be free -
Listen to God if you won't listen to me!"

CHORUS

Well me and and my people goin' to the Red Sea,
With Pharaoh's best army comin' after me.
I took my staff, stuck it in the stand,
And all of God's people walked on dry land.
Singin...

CHORUS

Now Pharaoh's army was a-comin' too,
So whattaya think that God did do?
Had me take my staff and clear my throat,
And all of Pharaoh's army did the dead man's float.

CHORUS

Well that's the story of the stubborn goat.
Pharaoh should've know that chariots don't float.
The lesson is simple, it's easy to find,
When God says, "GO!" you had better mind!

Deeper

Have you ever found yourself stuck like the Hebrews? Their past was chasing them down. They were trying to follow God, and find their way out, but they had no other place to go. Their past was going to be their death.

Many times, that is what it feels like when we decide to follow God. When we commit to walking away from our old life, and becoming a disciple, we come to places where it would just be easier to go back to our old ways. Even when we know they aren’t right.

It is in those moments that we need to keep walking forward. We need to trust that God will split the waters that stand in our way. It may take some time. The Bible says it took all night for the breeze to dry the seabed. At that same time though, God’s pillar stood between the Hebrews and the Egyptian Army, protecting God’s people.

It is hard to wait for God. It is hard to walk through the sea, seeing water on both sides of you, and not know if you will make it out before the waters come in. It is hard when you know those chariots are right behind you. But God saw the Hebrews through, and landed them on safety on the other side. Keep following God and he will make a way where none seem possible.

Personal Reflection

When have you walked away from your past and had a roadblock? How did you get through? Did you trust God or go back to your old ways?