Friday, September 23, 2016

Lesson 6 / Exodus 11:1-12:28: Night of Death and Deliverance / TBC Men's Study 2016-2017 / Exodus: God Rescues His People

INTERVARSITY PRESS DAILY BIBLE STUDY
Death is a powerful, painful lesson. It gets our attention as nothing else does. It's also unavoidable. It was God's final recourse in showing both his supremacy to Pharaoh and his power to liberate his people. When Pharaoh refused God's ultimatum, thousands perished; when Israel heeded his way of deliverance, thousands lived. The final act of judgment is thus a stark portrayal of how every person's fate hinges on either believing or disbelieving the one true and living God in heaven.
Warming Up to God
Sit quietly for a few moments and recall the events of your salvation. Thank the Lord for the way he "drew you out of Egypt."
Discovering the Word
1.     What is God's promise and instruction to Moses (11:1-2)?
2.     How do you account for the Egyptians' change in attitude toward God's people and Moses (11:3)?
3.     What is to be the nature, scope, and result of God's final judgment on Egypt (11:4-7)?
4.     What steps are the Israelites to take to be spared (12:1-13)?
5.     Why were they to eat the meal "in haste" (12:11)?
6.     Describe the memorial Feast of Unleavened Bread (12:14-20).
Applying the Word
1.     Like Moses, how can we continue to trust God in the face of seemingly irresistible unbelief among friends, family or relatives?
2.     The shield against the "destroyer" (12:23) in Egypt was the blood of a perfect lamb. Christ's blood secures the Christian's deliverance from eternal death (Jn 1:29; Heb 9:14; Rev 5:13). As you reflect on the powerful imagery of the Lord's Passover, and also on Christ's sacrifice, what response and deeds would be appropriate?
Responding in Prayer
Thank Jesus for being your Passover lamb and for the remarkable foreshadowing of his coming to earth in the Israelites' exodus from Egypt.


InterVarsity Press / PO Box 1400 / Downers Grove, IL 60515 / 630.734.4000 / email@ivpress.com



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2016-2017 Tulsa Bible Church Men’s Bible Study – tulsabible.org

For further consideration:
ID: Inductive Questions (Asking the text questions like who, what, where, when, why, & how?”)
CR: Cross References (Comparing Scripture to Scripture, understanding the vague by the clear.)
WS: Word Study (Understanding definition, theological meaning, and usages in other passages.)
1.  CR The Passover is the third of five “By faith” statements in Hebrews 11.  What did faith have to do with the Passover? 
2.  CR The Passover lamb is also a type of Christ described in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. It is also alluded to in John 19:36).  How does the Passover lamb point to Christ?  How could you use this passage to explain the Gospel?
3. Have you ever been part of a Passover Seder?   If yes, what did you think about it?  What similarities between the Passover Seder and the Lord’s Supper can help make the Lord’s Supper more meaningful?  (Hebrew4Christians.com has an outline of the Passover Seder with links to articles about each item.) 
Chosen People Ministries has an article on how the modern Passover Seder highlights the Gospel.

Was God killing the male children is the tenth plague an example of a wrathful and petty god?

What type of God would kill the first-born of Egypt?


Tough Questions Answered: A Christian Apologetics Blog

Were the Ten Plagues Natural Occurrences or Miracles?  Posted by Bill Pratt

Many scholars have noted that many, if not all, of the ten plagues in Exodus 7-12 can be explained by natural causes.  According to Robert Bergen in the Apologetics Study Bible ,
Some have suggested that bacteria turned the waters red, and the poisoned waters killed the fish and forced the frogs to seek cool, moist places away from the Nile. When the frogs died their corpses were a breeding ground for two types of small insects. These, in turn, spread communicable diseases among both animals and humans, resulting in death to the livestock and boils upon the people. A well-timed locust plague followed by a spring hailstorm devastated Egypt’s crops. Shortly thereafter a desert sandstorm or dust cloud darkened most of Egypt. Finally a devastating plague, perhaps one caused by the insects, killed both humans and beasts among the non-Israelites.
If some or all of the plagues can be explained by natural causes, does it follow that these were not miracles? No. God may use natural or supernatural causes to perform a miracle. In cases where God uses natural causes, the timing, intensity, and redemptive purpose behind these events are indicative of God’s intervention.
The greatest skeptic in Egypt, Pharaoh, eventually became convinced that God was behind the plagues, and that they were not just natural occurrences. The people of Egypt came to the same conclusion.

Why? Moses and Aaron, prophets of God, were predicting the plagues in advance (timing) and describing their intensity and reach. They were also explaining that the plagues were meant to force Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, and this is exactly what happened. There was simply no doubt that the ten plagues were directed by God.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Lesson 5 - Exodus 7:8-10:29: God's Power on the Line / TBC Men's Study 2016-2017 / Exodus: God Rescues His People.

INTERVARSITY PRESS DAILY BIBLE STUDY
Sorry for the inconvenience of not posting the IVP questions.  Intervarsity Press asked that I not repost their study so that it will drive traffic to their site.  Use the link above to access the core questions for this study.

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2016-2017 Tulsa Bible Church Men’s Bible Study – tulsabible.org

For further consideration:
As you read through the ten plagues, here are a few things to look for.
  • 1.     Look for mentions of Pharaoh’s heart hardening.
  • 2.     Look for the responses of the Magicians.
  • 3.     While Pharaoh’s continues to harden, note the responses of his servants (not mentioned in every plague).
  • 4.     Look for mentions of distinction being made between Goshen and the rest Egypt.
  • 5.     Look for mentions of pharaoh, etc. knowing the Lord.
  • 6.     Most commentators see a connection between the plagues and the gods of Egypt.  Use your knowledge of Egyptians gods or a commentary like the IVP Bible Background Commentary or Thomas Constable’s Notes on Exodus. (Which are available for free in the notes section of the NETBible.org) to see how they correspond.

7.     Sometimes making a chart can help track the characteristics of each plague.
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What was the meaning and purpose of the ten plagues of Egypt?
Question: "What was the meaning and purpose of the ten plagues of Egypt?"
Answer: The Ten Plagues of Egypt—also known as the Ten Plagues, the Plagues of Egypt, or the Biblical Plagues—are described in Exodus 7—12. The plagues were ten disasters sent upon Egypt by God to convince Pharaoh to free the Israelite slaves from the bondage and oppression they had endured in Egypt for 400 years. When God sent Moses to deliver the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt, He promised to show His wonders as confirmation of Moses’ authority (Exodus 3:20). This confirmation was to serve at least two purposes: to show the Israelites that the God of their fathers was alive and worthy of their worship and to show the Egyptians that their gods were nothing. …    Finish the article at GotQuestions.org /ten-plagues-Egypt.html


EXODUS 9:19–21—IF ALL THE CATTLE DIED, THEN HOW DID SOME SURVIVE?

PROBLEM: Exodus 9:6 asserts that “all the livestock of Egypt died” in the fifth plague. Yet only a few verses later it instructs them to “gather your livestock and all that you have in the field” into their houses (v. 19). But if all livestock died, then how could there be any left?
SOLUTION: First of all, the term “all” is often used in a general sense to mean “the vast majority.” Further, the plague was apparently limited to the cattle “in the field” (v. 3). The animals in stalls would not have been affected. Finally, the word “cattle” does not generally denote horses, donkeys, and camels which could have been part of the “livestock” that were spared.
In view of these factors, there is no contradiction between the passages. Nor would any reasonable person assume one by the same author within the same chapter who gave such a vivid, firsthand account of the events.

This excerpt is from When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992). © 2014 Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Click here to purchase this book.

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Lesson 4 - xodus 5:1-7:7: Rebuff and Resolution / TBC Men's Study 2016-2017 / Exodus: God Rescues His People.

INTERVARSITY PRESS DAILY BIBLE STUDY


Sorry for the inconvenience of not posting the IVP questions.  Intervarsity Press asked that I not repost their study so that it will drive traffic to their site.  Use the link above to access the core questions for this study.

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2016-2017 Tulsa Bible Church Men’s Bible Study – tulsabible.org

For further consideration:
ID: Inductive Questions (Asking the text questions like who, what, where, when, why, & how?”)
CR: Cross References (Comparing Scripture to Scripture, understanding the vague by the clear.)
WS: Word Study (Understanding definition, theological meaning, and usages in other passages.)
1b. WS/CR (5:1-2) Pharoah said that he would not let the Israelites go because he did not “know” the Lord.  Compare this with the statements in 6:6-7 and 7:15-17.  What was one of God’s purposes in rescuing Israel from the Egyptians?

3b. CR (6:2-3) How do you reconcile the statement in 6:3 that, “God appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” with Jesus’ statement in John 1:18 that, “no one has seen the Father at any time”?

7b. ID (6:16-25) Genealogies and lists of households can be pretty dry, especially when they are full of names that don’t appear anywhere else in the Bible.  However, this list contains at least ten names that do appear in other passages.  How many of them do you recognize?


Creation Apologetics Research Ministry-----------------------------

By Matt Slick,  the President and Founder of the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry.





Exodus 24:9-11, Exodus 33:11, Exodus 6:2-3; and John 1:18

1.     Has seen
1.     (Gen. 17:1), “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless;
2.     (Gen. 18:1) Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.”
3.     (Exodus 6:2-3), "God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD; 3and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them.”
4.     (Exodus 24:9-11), “Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.”
5.     (Num. 12:6-8), “He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.  I shall speak with him in a dream. 7"Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; 8With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even openly, and not in dark sayings, And he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses ?"
6.     (Acts 7:2), "And he [Stephen] said, 'Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran . . . '"
2.     Has not seen ...

Read the rest of this article at The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website.

Lesson 3 - Exodus 3-4: Stubborn Reluctance Overcome / TBC Men's Study 2016-2017 / Exodus: God Rescues His People.

INTERVARSITY PRESS DAILY BIBLE STUDY
Sorry for the inconvenience of not posting the IVP questions.  Intervarsity Press asked that I not repost their study so that it will drive traffic to their site.  Use the link above to access the core questions for this study.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016-2017 Tulsa Bible Church Men’s Bible Study – tulsabible.org

For further consideration:
ID: Inductive Questions (Asking the text questions like who, what, where, when, why, & how?”)
CR: Cross References (Comparing Scripture to Scripture, understanding the vague by the clear.)
WS: Word Study (Understanding definition, theological meaning, and usages in other passages.)
1. CR (3:6) God identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  What point does Jesus make with this verse in Mark 12.26 / Luke 20.37?  How does that point tie in with what God is saying to Moses in this passage?

2. WS (3:5) When Moses approached the burning bush God told him that he was standing on “holy ground.”  Look up the Hebrew word for holy.  What does the use of that word to describe a piece of ground or dirt teach us about the meaning of God’s holiness (and ours)?

3. ID (3:2ff) What do we learn in this passage about the identity of “the angel of the Lord” in this passage?  (After you have examined the Exodus three passage, you may want to compare your observations with the short article in GodQuesions.org and the Jews for Jesus Scripture comparison chart.)

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament -- Holy
ֹדֶשׁק (qōdeš). Apartness, holiness, sacredness, hallowed, holy (ASV, RSV, similar). The noun qōdeš connotes the concept of “holiness,” i.e. the essential nature of that which belongs to the sphere of the sacred and which is thus distinct from the common or profane. This distinction is evident in Lev 10:10 and Ezk 22:26 where qōdeš occurs as the antithesis of ḥôl (“profane,” “common”).
There is some truth in the idea of R. Otto (see bibliography) that the word “holy” refers to the mysterium tremendum. It speaks of God with a measure of awe. It can be used almost as a synonym of deity. “His holy name” is the name of God. The inner room of God’s dwelling is called the Holy of Holies—the most holy place.
But the biblical viewpoint would refer the holiness of God not only to the mystery of his power, but also to his character as totally good and entirely without evil. Holy objects therefore are those with no cultic pollution which is symbolic of moral pollution. They are not merely dedicated, but dedicated to what is good and kept from what is evil. The separation of men from what defiles ceremonially is but typical of the holiness that is spiritual and ethical. “Be ye holy for I am holy” is quoted from the o.t. (I Pet 1:16; Lev 19:1; 20:7, etc.) and the so-called holiness code is heavily ethical. “Man was made in the image of God and capable of reflecting the Divine likeness. And as God reveals himself as ethically holy, he calls men to a holiness resembling his own” (ISBE, “Holiness”).[1]




ISBE International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. J. Orr, 1929
[1] Thomas E. Mccomiskey, “1990 קָדַשׁ,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 787.