November 8 – 14, 2020
Key Text
“He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness” (Psalm 106:9).
Study Help: Patriarchs and Prophets, 284–290.
Introduction
“The mighty hand of Christ rolled back the waters of the Red Sea, so that they stood up like a wall. Thus He made a dry passage through the sea, and Israel passed over dryshod.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1101.
Sunday
-
COMFORTING THE FEARFUL
1.a. How did the Israelites express their fears when they saw the sea before them and the host of Pharaoh behind? Exodus 14:10–12.
Note: “The Hebrews were encamped beside the sea, whose waters presented a seemingly impassable barrier before them, while on the south a rugged mountain obstructed their further progress. Suddenly they beheld in the distance the flashing armor and moving chariots betokening the advance guard of a great army. … Terror filled the hearts of Israel.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 283, 284.
1.b. With what words did Moses try to quiet their fears? Exodus 14:13, 14.
Note: “Moses was greatly troubled that his people should manifest so little faith in God, notwithstanding they had repeatedly witnessed the manifestation of His power in their behalf. How could they charge upon him the dangers and difficulties of their situation, when he had followed the express command of God? True, there was no possibility of deliverance unless God Himself should interpose for their release; but having been brought into this position in obedience to the divine direction, Moses felt no fear of the consequences.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 284.
Monday
-
GOD MAKES A WAY OF ESCAPE
2.a. What instruction did God give to Moses in view of the imminent danger? Exodus 14:15–18. How did Christ give His disciples a similar charge, when they would find themselves walled in by difficulties? John 16:33.
Note: “Christ did not fail, neither was He discouraged; and the disciples were to show a faith of the same enduring nature. They were to work as He had worked, depending on Him for strength. Though their way would be obstructed by apparent impossibilities, yet by His grace they were to go forward, despairing of nothing and hoping for everything.” The Acts of the Apostles, 23.
2.b. How did the Angel of God make a way of escape for the children of Israel through the sea? Exodus 14:19–22.
Note: “But now, as the Egyptian host approached them, expecting to make them an easy prey, the cloudy column rose majestically into the heavens, passed over the Israelites, and descended between them and the armies of Egypt. A wall of darkness interposed between the pursued and their pursuers. The Egyptians could no longer discern the camp of the Hebrews, and were forced to halt. But as the darkness of night deepened, the wall of cloud became a great light to the Hebrews, flooding the entire encampment with the radiance of day.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 284, 287.
2.c. What lesson should we learn from that experience? Romans 8:31.
Note: “In every crisis His people may confidently declare, ‘If God be for us, who can be against us’ (Romans 8:31)? However craftily the plots of Satan and his agents may be laid, God can detect them, and bring to nought all their counsels. The response of faith today will be the response made by Nehemiah, ‘Our God shall fight for us’ (Nehemiah 4:20); for God is in the work, and no man can prevent its ultimate success.” Prophets and Kings, 645.
Tuesday
-
TROUBLE FOR THE EGYPTIANS
3.a. How did the Lord hinder the host of the Egyptians? Exodus 14:23–25, first part; Psalm 77:15–18.
Note: “The Egyptians dared to venture in the path God had prepared for His people, and angels of God went through their host and removed their chariot-wheels. They were plagued. Their progress was very slow, and they began to be troubled. They remembered the judgments the God of the Hebrews had brought upon them in Egypt, to compel them to let Israel go, and they thought that God might deliver them all into the hands of the Israelites. They decided that God was fighting for the Israelites, and they were terribly afraid.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 235.
3.b. When the Egyptians found themselves struggling to pursue the Israelites, what did they say to one another? Exodus 14:25, last part.
3.c. What happened as soon as the Israelites were safely over the sea and Moses again stretched out his rod? Exodus 14:26–30. How will God work a similar deliverance for His people on the borders of the heavenly Canaan?
Note: “The Egyptians were seized with confusion and dismay. Amid the wrath of the elements, in which they heard the voice of an angry God, they endeavored to retrace their steps and flee to the shore they had quitted. But Moses stretched out his rod, and the piled-up waters, hissing, roaring, and eager for their prey, rushed together and swallowed the Egyptian army in their black depths.
“As morning broke it revealed to the multitudes of Israel all that remained of their mighty foes—the mail-clad bodies cast upon the shore. From the most terrible peril, one night had brought complete deliverance.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 287, 288.
“The heavenly intelligences, angels that excel in strength, are waiting, obedient to His command, to unite with human agencies; and the Lord will interpose when matters have come to such a pass that none but a divine power can counteract the satanic agencies at work. When His people shall be in the greatest danger, seemingly unable to stand against the power of Satan, God will work in their behalf. Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 373.
Wednesday
-
A GREAT DELIVERANCE
4.a. How did the Psalmist describe the passage through the Red Sea by the people of Israel? Psalm 77:19, 20; 106:8–11.
4.b. What was necessary on the part of the Israelites in order for God to open the Red Sea for them? Hebrews 11:29.
Note: “God in His providence brought the Hebrews into the mountain fastnesses before the sea, that He might manifest His power in their deliverance and signally humble the pride of their oppressors. He might have saved them in any other way, but He chose this method in order to test their faith and strengthen their trust in Him. The people were weary and terrified, yet if they had held back when Moses bade them advance, God would never have opened the path for them. It was ‘by faith’ that ‘they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land’ (Hebrews 11:29). In marching down to the very water, they showed that they believed the word of God as spoken by Moses. They did all that was in their power to do, and then the Mighty One of Israel divided the sea to make a path for their feet.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 290.
4.c. How did the Israelites react to the wonderful deliverance that the Lord had prepared for them? Exodus 14:31; Psalm 106:12. What lesson does this experience teach us?
Note: “The great lesson here taught is for all time. Often the Christian life is beset by dangers, and duty seems hard to perform. The imagination pictures impending ruin before and bondage or death behind. Yet the voice of God speaks clearly, ‘Go forward.’ We should obey this command, even though our eyes cannot penetrate the darkness, and we feel the cold waves about our feet. The obstacles that hinder our progress will never disappear before a halting, doubting spirit. Those who defer obedience till every shadow of uncertainty disappears and there remains no risk of failure or defeat, will never obey at all. Unbelief whispers, ‘Let us wait till the obstructions are removed, and we can see our way clearly;’ but faith courageously urges an advance, hoping all things, believing all things.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 290.
Thursday
-
SINGING THE SONG OF VICTORY
5.a. How did the people express their happiness? What are some of the key thoughts from the Song of Moses? Exodus 15:1–21.
Note: “This song and the great deliverance which it commemorates, made an impression never to be effaced from the memory of the Hebrew people. From age to age it was echoed by the prophets and singers of Israel, testifying that Jehovah is the strength and deliverance of those who trust in Him.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 289.
5.b. When, where, and by whom will a similar song be sung again? Revelation 15:2–4.
Note: “That song does not belong to the Jewish people alone. It points forward to the destruction of all the foes of righteousness and the final victory of the Israel of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 289.
“And they sing ‘a new song’ (Revelation 5:9) before the throne, a song which no man can learn save the hundred and forty and four thousand. It is the song of Moses and the Lamb—a song of deliverance. None but the hundred and forty-four thousand can learn that song; for it is the song of their experience—an experience such as no other company have ever had.” The Great Controversy, 648, 649.
Friday
PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS
1 Why was Moses unafraid at the Red Sea? How can I be like him?
2 How did God make a way of escape for the Israelites? How has He at times made a way of escape for you?
3 When will God step in to help His people who are just on the borders of the heavenly Canaan?
4 Why did God choose to bring the Israelites into this difficult situation? Why do we sometimes find ourselves in hard places?
5 Why can the Song of Moses and the Lamb only be sung by a special company?
Copyright 2019, Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24019-5048, U.S.A.