"OUR STORY"
5. Exodus: Moses and the Hebrews
Why did Moses fail to be a Hebrew leader as a young man?
Why was Moses called as an old man to deliver the Hebrews from slavery?
- Read Exodus 2:11-22: Moses' early attempt to be the Hebrews' deliverer
- Remember that Moses was brought up as an Egyptian prince.
- But somewhere along life's way he discovered that he was truly a Hebrew (perhaps from his mother or sister)
- What do you think caused him to want to take leadership over the Hebrew people?
- How did his first effort to be their leader end up?
- What was Moses forced to do to save himself?
- How do you think he felt about this disaster?
What was the covenant God made with the Hebrews in the wilderness?
- Read Exodus 2:23 -3:14: God's call to Moses to free the Hebrews
- How had Moses changed over the years?
- What was he doing when God came calling?
- What was his reaction this time to the call to take leadership over the Hebrews? (Exodus 4:10-17)
- Why do you suppose he was now more the way God wanted him to be for the task?
- What exactly was it that God had Moses do to convince Pharaoh to free the Hebrews from slavery? (Exodus 7-10)
- The Nile River turned into blood
- The plague of frogs
- The plague of gnats
- The swarm of flies
- The death of the Egyptian cattle
- The boils and sores
- The hail and fire
- The plague of locusts
- The three days' darkness
- Why do you suppose that it took so many efforts to convince Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go? Why would God want to harden Pharaoh's heart against Moses?
- Why do you suppose that the "pass over" of the angel of death was the final act in this drama? (exodus 12:29-36)
- What were the miracles that God performed for the Hebrews as they entered the wilderness? (Exodus 14, 16 and 17)
- the parting of the Sea and the drowning of the Egyptian army
- the quail and the manna (bread)
- the water from the rock
- the defeat of the Amalekites
- Did this make unshakable believers out of the Hebrews? Why did they do so much complaining?
Why did that first generation fail to enter the Promised Land?
- Read Exodus 20:1-20: the 10 commandments
- Remember how once the Hebrews were free of Pharaoh, God called Moses to the top of Mount Sinai--to receive a set of Laws God was granting to this motley crew?
- Why were the 10 commandments and the Law important gifts of God to the Hebrews?
- They really had no government or society of their own
- They needed to know how to behave as a distinct people or nation called "Israel"
- They needed to know how to build their new lives lives around service to God and to their fellow Hebrew
- What were the two main sections of the 10 commandments?
- The laws concerning right relations with God
- The laws concerning right relations with other people
- What did the Hebrews do that forced Moses to return to the mountain to get a second copy of the commandments? (Exodus 32:1-14)
- They thought Moses was perhaps dead because he had been up the mountain so long
- They asked his brother Aaron to design them an idol (golden calf) they could worship
- Finally coming down from the mountain, Moses discovered theHebrews worshiping the idol--and got so furious that he smashed the stone tablets that God had written the 10 commandments on
- Why did the Hebrews need Moses as an "intercessor" before God?
- Read Numbers 13:17 - 14:23: the Israelites become afraid to enter the Promised Land
- Remember that God told the Hebrews/Israelites to send spies into the Promised Land to study the Promised Land before they entered it. Why?
- How did the Israelites react to the report brought back by the spies?
- Why did their reaction get God so angry?
- How did Moses talk God out of his plan?
- What did God finally determine to do about the faithlessness of the Israelites?
Copyright
© 2002 by Miles H. Hodges. All Rights Reserved.