freedom: a study in exodus - clover...

GOD KNOWS YOUR PAIN

GETTING STARTED

Get To Know You Exercise

Have each student pick a # between 1

& 37. Use the sheet attached. Ask them

the ? That corresponds to the # they

choose.

What, if any, are your expectations of this group

or what do you hope this group becomes?

How would you define the term ‘Freedom?’

How does this definition apply to an

individual? A group of people?

EXPLORING THE BIBLE

Read Exodus 1:8-22

If you were in the Israelite’s situation

what do you think you would say? What

would you be feeling? What would you ask

God?

Read Exodus 2:1-10

Read Exodus 2:23-25

How do these verses challenge or encourage

your view of God?

Read Exodus 3:1-17

Is there anything that stands out to you

about the way that God calls Moses or about

Moses’ response?

Read Exodus 4:1-23 &29-31

What 5 reasons did Moses give for not

accepting God’s call? Which of these 5 rea-

sons have you ever used to escape God’s

call on you?

FREEDOM: a study in exodus

KEY VERSE / MEMORY VERSE

...the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery & cried out for

help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God

heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with

Abraham, with Isaac & with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—

God knew.

Exodus 2:23-25

DIGGING DEEPER

When we are going through a difficult time

we’re often tempted to believe lies. Have

you ever believed any of the following lies?

A. God has abandoned me

B. God isn’t doing anything about

my pain so I have to take care of it

myself.

C. My pain is unimportant & there is

no reason to talk about it or deal

with it.

D. God doesn’t care or isn’t able to

act

Are there any areas of your life that you feel

enslaved? Would you be willing to ‘cry out

to God for deliverance?’ Would you be will-

ing to have someone in this group pray with

& for you?

WEEK ONE //Exodus 1-4

community group study

GOD WILL DELIEVER

GETTING STARTED

What would you honestly say exerts the

greatest influence on your decisions?

“What you think about when you think about

God is the most important thing about you.”

A.W. Tozer

What do you think about when you think about

God?

In Exodus 5:2 Pharaoh admits that he doesn’t

know God. How did his ignorance of God

impact his decision?

EXPLORING THE BIBLE

The people trusted God (4:31), but things went from

bad to worse. How did the people respond (5:20,

21). How do you think you would might have

responded?

What is Moses’ response to the people’s frustration?

(5:22)

How many times does God say “I will…” in chapter 6.

God addresses Moses 5 times in Chapter 6. What

are the 1st & last words that God communicate to

Moses in his 2nd address to Moses (verse 2 to 8).

What do you think that God is communicating to

Moses with these “I am” & “I will” statements?


Key Verse:

I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of

the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I

will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of

judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God,

and you shall know that I am the Lord your God…

Exodus 6:6, 7

DIGGING DEEPER

Have you experienced disappointment with

God that has lead to any cynicism,

pessimism, or distrust of God or his love for

you?

How can you find encouragement in

knowing the true character of God?

Read Romans 8:18-39. Is there anything

that stands out to you as an encouragement

from these words? Write that verse or

phrase on a note card & carry that with you

in a place that you’ll see it this week as a

reminder of who God is & what He will do.

WEEK THREE //Exodus 5-6


GETTING STARTED

What do you think it means to have faith in some-

thing or someone?

Why does God perform these acts? (7:5, 17; 8:10, 22)

Identify the ten plagues:

7:20 ___________ 9:10 ___________

8:6 ___________ 9:23 ___________

8:17 ___________ 10:13 __________

8:24 ___________ 10:22 __________

9:6 ___________ 12:29___________

Why did God choose these things as plagues?

How does Pharaoh generally respond to the

plagues?

EXPLORING THE BIBLE

Why did God slay the firstborn of Egypt? Was God just in

this act?

What were the rituals that God called the people to in the

Passover meal? What is the significance of each?

12:5

12:7

12:8

12:11

How much faith did the people have to have in order to

follow this strange ceremony?

What is the Passover lamb a foreshadowing of? Read 1

Peter 1:18, 19 & 1 Cor. 5:7


Key Verse

The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my peo-

ple go, that they may serve me in the wilderness. But so far, you have

not obeyed.” Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the

LORD…

Exodus 7:16,17

DIGGING DEEPER

Pharaoh confessed his sin, but then proved insin-

cere, what are the marks of true repentance?

God sends plagues according to the things that

the Egyptians worshipped (ie. The Nile, frogs,

etc.) What are the things that we worship other

than God? What will God do to let go of these

things?

Read Romans 3:23-26. What has the blood of

Jesus accomplished for those who have faith in

him?

WEEK THREE //Exodus 8-12


PLAGUES & PASSOVER

What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything

that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you

seek to give you what only God can give. A counterfeit god [idol] is

anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your

life would feel hardly worth living. The true god of your heart is what

your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding

your attention. What do you enjoy daydreaming about? What occupies

your mind when you have nothing else to think about? Idolatry is not just

a failure to obey God, it is a setting of the whole heart on something

besides God.

Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller

CROSSING OVER

GETTING STARTED

Why did God take the people on the long

route? Do you ever question why God has you

on what seems to be the “long way?”

God guided the believers to the Red Sea by

cloud & fire. How does God guide His followers

today?

When did the Israelites become afraid? How

did they respond in their fear? (14:10-12)

Their fear gave led them to have selective

memory. What did they really say while in

Egypt? (see 1:23 & 5:21)

EXPLORING THE BIBLE

What did the Israelites get out of through the Red

Sea? According to Romans 6:16-22 what does a rela-

tionship with Christ bring us out of?

A.W. Tozer said, “we are saved from & saved to.”

The Israelites were saved from slavery in Egypt to

freedom in the Promise Land. What would you say

you are you saved from & to?

According to 14:13, 14 whose actions accomplished

the people salvation? Read Romans 4:5. Whose

actions accomplish our salvation?


Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord,

which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians

whom you see today, you shall never see again. The

Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

Exodus 14:13, 14

DIGGING DEEPER

The people entered the wilderness coming

off a true encounter with God & a great wor-

ship experience (15:1-21). But their attitude

quickly changed in verses 22-24. What

changed? How easy is it to turn from prais-

ing to complaining?

Have you ever had a time in your life where

you were trapped between the Red Sea &

on oncoming army? How did God work in

that time?

WEEK FOUR //Exodus 14—15


Cosimo Rosselli The Crossing of the Reed Sea (1481)

GETTING STARTED

Where is your favorite place to eat in Austin?

If you were forced to go with out food for a few

days how do you think you would be feeling?

In 16:1 we are told that the people are in the

wilderness for at least a few weeks & we will

read that they are in that wilderness for 40

years. Who lead them into the wilderness?

Why?

Think about your week so far, have their been

any things that you have ‘grumbled’ or

complained about?

Paul Tripp says, “Grumbling is the background

drone of a discontented heart.” What do the

things that we complain about reveal about our

hearts?

BREAD OF HEAVEN//Freedom from Self Reliance

EXPLORING THE BIBLE

In verse 3 the people talk about how great they had

it while in Egypt. Read Exodus 1:13, 14. Do you

think people have a tendency to remember things as

better than they really were?

In verse 8, Moses clarifies that their complaint was

really aimed at God. What do our complaints say

about our relationship with God?

What were the rules of getting the bread mentioned

in the following verses:

V. 16-18

V. 19-21

V. 22-26

What is the significance of each of these rules?


Key Verse

...in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then

you shall know that I am the Lord your God.

DIGGING DEEPER

What do you think is God’s desire in having

the people rest on the 7th day?

Do you find it difficult to find times to really

rest during your week? What things refresh

you?

Read John 6:22-51.

What is the difference between manna &

the Bread of Life?

What do you think it means that whoever

comes to Jesus will never hunger? Would

you say that you are satisfied in Christ?

WEEK FIVE //Exodus 16


RULES IN RELATIONSHIP: Freedom from Chaos

GETTING STARTED

What rules did your parents have for you when

you were a kid? Can you understand the rea-

sons for these rules now that you are older?

Ultimately, what was the purpose of your par-

ents in making those rules?

Would you say that you are generally a rule fol-

lower who sees limits as a helpful guide, or

would you say that you are one who challenges

rules because the limit you?

In verse 2, why do you think that God reminds

Moses of who He is & what He has done before

He gives the commandments?

EXPLORING THE BIBLE

What relationship do the first four commands refer-

ence? What types of relationships do the next six

commands reference? Why do you think they are in

that order? Read Matthew 22:34-40.

What is idolatry? Why would this be such a big deal

to God?

In his book Counterfeit Gods Tim Keller writes, "the

human heart takes good things like a successful ca-

reer, love, material possessions, even family, and

turns them into ultimate things. Our hearts deify

them as the center of our lives, because, we think,

they can give us significance and security, safety and

fulfillment, if we attain them."

What are our cultures potential idols?


I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the

land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall

have no other gods before me.

Exodus 20:2,3

DIGGING DEEPER

What do you think it means to misuse God’s name?

What does it mean for someone to have a good

name or a bad name?

How can we observe Sabbath principles today?

Read Matthew 5:17-30.

What does it mean that Jesus came to fulfill the

law?

How does Jesus raise the accountability to the

‘spirit’ of the law?

What is the hope for those who haven’t obeyed the

law completely? (read Romans 8:1-4)

WEEK SIX //Exodus 20


GOD’S HEART FOR THE POOR // Freedom from Selfish Living

GETTING STARTED

In any society, what is the purpose of having

laws?

Should laws be expected to change a persons

heart or just to control their action?

What do the laws of a country say about what

that that country thinks is important?

What do God’s laws say about who God is &

what God thinks is important?

EXPLORING THE BIBLE

Read Exodus 22:21-27

God creates laws to protect ‘strangers’, ‘widows’,

‘orphans’, & the ’poor.’ What does the need to cre-

ate these laws say about human nature?

What does the creation of these laws say about

God’s nature? (see verse 27)

In verse 21 what reason does God give for the Israel-

ites to not mistreat or oppress ‘aliens?’

Read Jesus words in Luke 6:35, 36. How should

God’s mercy & grace towards you motivate you to

act towards others? Why do we struggle to do this?


You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor

oppress him, for you were strangers in the land

of Egypt.

Exodus 22:21

DIGGING DEEPER

In his book Generous Justice Tim Keller says

that there are 3 levels of help for the poor.

1) Relief—direct aid to meet a physical or

economic need.

2) Development—helping an individual,

family or community with what they

need to move beyond dependency on

relief into a condition of economic self

sufficiency.

3) Reform—Changing conditions & social

structures that aggravate or cause de-

pendency.

Is there anything that you can do as an indi-

vidual or we can do as a group to show

mercy & care for those in need?

Shane & Shane wrote the song “Turn Down

the Music” (from their ‘Everything is Differ-

ent’ album) based on this idea. Listen to the

song individually or as a group.

WEEK SEVEN //Exodus 22


WHAT DO YOU WORSHIP?

GETTING STARTED

Can you remember a time when you acted out

in the absence of your normal authority figure?

(ie. assistant coach running practice, your boss

puts someone else in charge, babysitter, substi-

tute teacher). Why do you think we are prone

to do this?

The Israelites were struggling with the habitual

sin of idolatry both in Egypt & after the exodus

(Josh. 24:14, Ezek. 20:4-9; 23:3, 8). Habitual sin

is confusing, because it is often something that

we hate, yet can’t seem to shake because it

provides some comfort, relief, power, control,

or pleasure.

Can you relate to Israel’s struggle with a par-

ticular habitual sin? How should they have

dealt with their habit of sin?

What were the people’s reasons for wanting to

make new god’s?

EXPLORING THE BIBLE

What activities were a part of their new worship

service in verse 6?

In verse 4 what did the people claim that their new

god did for them? Why would this be so offensive to

God?

How does God refer to the people in verse 7? And

how does Moses respond about the people in v. 11?

What leadership errors did Aaron make in the

following verses?

Verse 2

Verse 5

Verse 24

In verses 25-29, three thousand men are killed as a

result of the sin committed. Do you think God is just

in this? (CRef. Rom. 6:23)


You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to

the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.

Exodus 32:30

DIGGING DEEPER

How does Moses exhibit godly leadership in

these verses?

Verse 11

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 30-32

Read vv. 25-32. What did Moses mean when

he said ‘perhaps I can make atonement for

your sin?’ To what lengths is Moses willing

to go to gain their forgiveness?

Read Colossians 1:19-22. What lengths did

God go to gain our forgiveness?

WEEK EIGHT //Exodus 32


Passionate About Presence

GETTING STARTED

Answer the following questions in way of review:

Why does God deliver the people? (6:6,7)

Why does God provide water for the people?

(17:6,7)

What does God tell the people at Mt. Sinai?

(19:5)

What is the purpose of the Tabernacle?

(40:34- 38)

So in light of these answers, why do God ‘s words

in Exodus 33:3 have such a profound effect on the

people?

According to verse 3, where is God sending the

people? If this place is the goal, then why did they

react like they did in verse 4?

EXPLORING THE BIBLE

According to verse 15, 16 what sets the Israelites

apart from everyone else? Would you say God’s

presence sets you apart from other’s? If God were

absent from your life what difference would it

make?

How does Moses' relationship with God have an

effect on other people’s relationship with God? How

does your relationship with God effect others?

What do you observe about Moses' requests in the

following verses:

V. 13

V. 15

V. 18

What is God’s glory?


The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to an-

ger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping

steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgres-

sion and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visit-

ing the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the chil-

dren’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.

Exodus 34:6, 7

DIGGING DEEPER

Read 34:5-7. What 7 characteristics does

God use to describe himself?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Do you currently, or have you ever, had a

strong desiring for the presence of God?

How have you acted on this desire? What

were the outcomes of your actions?

What is the “promised land” that you’re try-

ing to get to? Is God your goal?

Read Matthew 1:21-23 & Matthew 28:20.

What encouragement do you find in the

thought that God is with you?

WEEK NINE //Exodus 33, 34


THE PLACE WHERE GOD DWELLS

GETTING STARTED

Church buildings today appear to be designed

primarily for functional purposes. We don't

build Gothic cathedrals anymore. We struggle

to find God's presence in our sanctuaries. For

some, architecture is unimportant. For others,

it's a prime source of inspiration. Moses and the

Israelites didn't have to debate the matter. God

gave them his plan for their sanctuary. Beyond

the plans, however, were important spiritual

lessons.

Since even the highest heavens cant contain

God, what does it mean that God came to dwell

with His people?

EXPLORING THE BIBLE

Why would an Israelite feel prompted to give build-

ing materials for the tabernacle (25:2)?

What was the purpose of the sanctuary (25:8)?

In order to meet God, what was required of Moses

(34:1-3)?

How would you describe God, based on what he pro-

claimed to Moses (34: 6-7)?

What principles of godly living in the New Testament

would correspond to God's concern for Israel here

(Gal 5:16-26; Eph 4:20-32)?


Let them build me a sanctuary, that I may dwell

among them.

Exodus 25:8

DIGGING DEEPER

Of what value and importance would it be

for the Israelites to give their own posses-

sions and to build the tabernacle themselves

(35:10)?

The Israelites responded to God's call for an

offering (35:20-29). How do you account for

this outpouring of goods and materials (see

36:3-7)?

What possessions and abilities do you have

for God to use?

What keeps God's people today from giving

willingly, sacrificially and generously?

(adapted from IVP Bible Study)

WEEK TEN //Exodus 25-40


freedom: a study in exodus - clover...

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