EXODUS –LESSON 27
LEARN: 2 Corinthians 5:1-4
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
READ: Exodus 16:22-36
1. What was instituted for the children of Israel at the time of God’s provision of manna? v 23
2. What day of the week is the seventh day, the day which is called the Sabbath?
3. When was the seventh day first presented as special from other days by the LORD (though it does not seem to have been given at that time to our first parents as an institution)? Genesis 2:1-3, What reason did the LORD give for this particular day being different from the other days of the week?
4. The keeping of the Sabbath for Israel began at this point in time. When was it actually made a part of the Law? Exodus 19:18; 20:8-11
5. Many people become confused concerning the Sabbath and who is required to keep it. In fact some groups who call themselves Christian meet for worship exclusively on the Sabbath, believing that this is what God requires of Christians. What does the following Scripture teach us concerning this matter? Who is required to keep the Sabbath and why? Exodus 31:15-17
6. Was the keeping of the Sabbath by Gentile Christians listed as a requirement by the early church council? Acts 15:6-20, Explain.
NOTE: Both the Christian Sunday and the Jewish Sabbath have for their basis the expediency of assigning to the worship and contemplation of God some definite and regularly recurring portions of human life, instead of leaving individuals free to choose their own times and seasons. Temporal concerns so occupy men, that, if there were no definite rule, they would be apt to push religious observance into the odd corners of human life, if not even to oust it altogether. PULPIT COMMENTARY The Book of Exodus vol.2 p.53
7. As Christians we worship on Sunday, the First day of the week, rather than on the Jewish Sabbath. What is the Biblical basis for this?
Colossians 2:16
Galatians 4:9, 10
Luke 24:1, 6
John 20:19, 26
Acts 2:1; 20:7
I Corinthians 16:2
NOTE: The Jewish Sabbath was emphatically a day of holy rest- the Christian Sunday s a day of holy activity. The Jews thought that they “hallowed the Sabbath’ by mere inaction. Christ taught that there was no virtue in idleness. On the Sabbath he did his miracles, he taught the people, etc. Therefore the Christian Sunday has been, and is, a day of holy activity. Lay people have felt it to be a special day for imitating their Lord in “going about and doing good”- in teaching, visiting the poor and the afflicted- reading to them and praying with them, ministering to their necessities. Cessation from worldly business has come to be the rule on the Lord’s Day, not from any superstitious regard for mere rest, but in order that the active duties peculiarly belonging to that day not be neglected. PULPIT COMMENTARY The Book of Exodus vol.2 p.53
8. How did the Lord reinforce the concept of the first Sabbath that he called the people to observe? vv 23, 25, 26, 27
9. What was different about saving manna for the Sabbath verses saving it overnight to any other day? vv 20, 24
10. According to verse 27, what happened on that first Sabbath after the manna was given , along with God’s command concerning the observance of the Sabbath?
11. How did the LORD regard the behavior of the people that had gone out to gather manna on the Sabbath? v 28
12. There is a warning given to us about those Israelites behavior in Hebrews 3:7-12, With what words is their behavior towards God described? What is the result of what they did?What is the warning to us?
13. According to Hebrews 3:12-14, what are three things on our part that will keep us from a heart of unbelief?
14. According to verse 28 of our chapter, and Psalm 78:10, was the depravity of these people so great that they COULD NOT obey God’s command? Explain.
15. Verse 29 starts with the word “See.” What did the LORD want the people to understand that the Sabbath was for them?
16. Sad to say, Christians sometimes consider the Lord’s day as a duty to be endured; it is a day that they would rather be free to spend for their leisure. Considering what the LORD told Israel in verse 29 concerning the Sabbath, how should we regard Sunday?
17. What are some of the other important aspects of the regular meeting of a body of believers besides our group worship of the Lord? Hebrews 10:23-25
18. What was manna like? v 31 see also Numbers 11:7, 8
NOTE: Coriander seed is round and gray. Bdellium is pearl-like, grayish –white.
19. What further instructions were given concerning the manna? vv 32, 33
20. The pot of manna was to be kept as a reminder of God’s merciful provision for Israel. Use Hebrews 9:1-5 to explain exactly where the pot of manna was kept.
21. How long did the children of Israel eat manna? v 35