Read Numbers 20 (remember Exodus 17)

The notes in my bible say that this may have been the start of the 40th year of their time in the desert. 40 years earlier, Moses was instructed to take his staff and bring water from a rock (Exodus 17) in response to the peoples grumbling. This would have been the children of those people and again they were grumbling. It always brings me to tears thinking of Moses leading the grumblers for 40 years, and in his anger, sinning in this way.

• What is the sobering warning here?

• Why do you think God judges Moses so strictly?

Spend a few minutes reflecting on areas in your own life where you may be allowing sin and rebellion to gain a foothold.

Read Exodus 32 – 33:6

Can you imagine being Moses – who held his arms up to part the Red Sea. Now surely God had parted the waters and dried up the ocean floor- but Moses was the “front man.” And then the people refer to him in 32:1 “as for this fellow Moses, who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Therefore the logical plan was to make their own gods.

• What’s Aaron’s part in leading the people astray? What makes you sad in his response?

• It is sobering to think that 3000 people died that day. What part does their own sin play? And what part does Aaron’s leadership fail them? How is Moses’ leadership different?

• Who do you lead? Who are your followers? James warned us this spring that we are accountable for how we lead others. (James 3:1)

Spend some time just sitting with the Lord and asking the Holy Spirit to show you yourself. If someone had followed you all day yesterday, would they have been drawn closer to Jesus because of how you lived and walked? The Father wants to show us ourselves so that we can be more conformed into the image of His son.

Grace.

This morning, sit and ponder the great majesty of God. The picture of Him with fire and smoke, speaking out the commands with a loud trumpet.

I do not always picture God in His majesty, but I want to see Him in that more consistently so that I will truly realize that my faith can rest in Him, His character and His promises.

Read Exodus 19 – 20

The Lord tells Moses that the Israelites will be His treasured possession out of all the other nations if they follow Him. If you read the rest of the story, we learn that even though they do not follow well most of the time, He remains faithful.

• In 19:16-20, God gives the people a picture of himself. How does this compare with the picture that you carry in your mind of Him?

• Take a piece of paper and list out the ten commandments.

In Mark 12, Jesus says that the whole law is summed up in the two commands “love God” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” How do you see this worked out in the ten you just listed?

We are going to finish listening to the story of Exodus and this will fill in any gaps for chapters that we are not reading!

Read Exodus 16 – 17

I know that I am so often just like the Israelites. But we will see them over and over resort to grumbling and complaining instead of trust and rest.

• What is your default in anxious situations?

• How have you learned to trust? Or if trusting is still really hard, who can you reach out to and ask for prayers for this?

• Manna literally means “what is it!” How does the Lord test and grow their faith using the gift of the manna?

God shows more of His character and personality here being their Provider (Jehovah-Jireh) and their Banner (Jehovah-Nissi). And Moses builds another altar.

• What is he remembering with this altar building?

Read Exodus 13:17 – 14:31

Wow! The herd of Israelites was 2-3 miles long. That stretches from The Beacon all the way to Camp Ray Bird. And all those people walked across on dry land.

• Imagine seeing the pillar of cloud and fire. What do you think you would learn from that experience?

• Even after all the Lord had just done in Egypt to deliver them, the people respond in complete fear when they see that they are being pursued. What do you think could have helped them to respond differently?

• What brings out the fear in you?

• Is there a situation right now that the Lord is asking you to be still and to trust Him?