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BIBLE STUDY
                                   
                                   
 

Miracles in the Desert of Sin

The people of Israel, led by pillars of cloud and fire and a man who talks face to face
with God, have passed through ten plagues and a parted Red Sea that thundered back
to overwhelm a pursuing army. Now these freed slaves march toward the Promised
Land, their only labor to carry their captors’ plundered treasure. Yet as soon as they face
further obstacles, they begin to grumble and complain against Moses and Aaron.

It’s easy to judge their lack of faith and fortitude. Yet this pattern continues among their
heirs in the faith, in Scripture and – if we’re honest – all too often in our lives as well.

After all, as Paul told followers of Jesus in first century Corinth,

These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that
we don't repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the
beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they
were. Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat
on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless.
Cultivate God-confidence.

I Corinthians 10:11, 12 (MSG). If this was true for men who walked in the flesh with the
Messiah, men on whom the Holy Spirit fell at Pentecost, it must be true for us today.

Read Exodus 16.

1. What were the Israelites complaining about, and why?

2. In I Corinthians 10:6, Paul suggests the Israelites were punished by God “to keep
us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did” (NIV).

a. How can the basic necessities of life – food and water – become evil
things? Compare this to what Jesus said about those who pursued him
after the miracle of the loaves and fishes (John 6:26-40 and 48-51).

b. Paul explains that the audience for the Israelites’ actions is every believer
who will ever live, from their time to the end of time. Does that provide
some perspective on how God eventually deals with their sin?

4/22/10: Lesson 9
3. Why do you think the Israelites found it so difficult to adhere to God’s commands
about how and when to gather manna? How might they have justified their
actions to themselves?

Read Exodus 17:1-7.

4. Whom does Paul identify as the rock from which water flowed at Horeb? See I
Corinthians 10:3. How does this affect your perception of the details of this
miracle?

5. Were the Israelites wrong to tell Moses they were hungry and thirsty? Based on
the negative examples set in these passages, what would have been the right
way to do so? How does that suggest we are to go about making our requests
known to God? See Philippians 4:4-6.

Read Exodus 17:8-16.

6. The Amalekites were bandits and raiders who killed for pleasure. Judging by his
sentence on them, God regarded their unprovoked attack on Israel as
particularly heinous. Why, then, did God not simply wipe them out as he wiped
out Pharaoh’s army? What do the joint leadership roles of Moses and Joshua
here illustrate?

7. Who are the leaders in your life who need your support? What are some ways
you can “hold up their arms”?

4/22/10: Lesson 9