Sunday, October 4 · White Oak Christian Church
The God Who Delivers
Israel stands trapped between Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea, and God moves first, opening a way through water before the people have done anything to deserve it. Deliverance begins when God moves his people toward faith, not when they work up enough of it on their own.
Opening
What did the sermon say deliverance begins with?
Ask this before you read, and again after.
Passages to cover
Point the group to the look-for list.
As we read, look for
- The third option God offers between Egypt and death
- Where God moves first, before Israel does anything
- What Israel's fear makes them forget
Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will work for you today; for you will never again see the Egyptians whom you have seen today. Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall be still.”
Exodus 14:13–14
Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;…
1 Corinthians 10:1–2
…who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.
Colossians 1:13–14
Also read Exodus 14:5–31
Give a few minutes of quiet before the first question.
Discussion
Whoever answers, ask them where they see it in the passages.
-
Why did Israel want to go back to Egypt when they were finally free?
From the sermon Israel forgot God's deliverance and wanted the old chains back.
- What the sermon said
- The sermon said Israel had lost their minds, remembering slavery as better than dying, and that they had forgotten the God who had just delivered them. It compared that turning back to the parable of the sower, where people fall away when hardship comes.
- If the group gets sidetracked
- Groups often, spend the time on how bad slavery really was. Bring it back to the forgetting and the turning back in chapter 14.
- If someone asks
- Why do people who have seen God's power still doubt? The sermon said memories are bad and we all forget, and that fear thrives on controlling us.
- If the group wants more
- Psalms 106:7–12; Hebrews 3:12–14
-
What did God do to Pharaoh's heart, and how does that fit what Pharaoh already chose?
From the sermon Pharaoh hardened his own heart first; God bent it.
- What the sermon said
- The sermon said Pharaoh hardened his own heart in the first plagues, and later God is said to harden it. It said God takes Pharaoh's evil and bends it toward his redemptive purposes, not that Pharaoh had no choice.
- If the group gets sidetracked
- Groups can turn this into a debate on free will and predestination. Bring it back to what the sermon said about Pharaoh choosing death over deliverance.
- If someone asks
- Does God making Pharaoh's heart hard mean Pharaoh was not responsible? The sermon said Pharaoh chose evil himself, and God used it for his purposes.
- If the group wants more
- Proverbs 21:1; Acts 4:27–28
-
What changed Israel's standing before they had a chance to obey anything?
From the sermon God rescued Israel before they obeyed or promised anything.
- What the sermon said
- The sermon said there were no commandments and no promises yet, and God changed Israel's status from condemned to saved before they could obey anything. It said they were rescued not by the quality of their faith but by the object of it.
- If the group gets sidetracked
- Groups often drift to whether faith has to produce good works. Keep it on chapter 14, where God saves them before any obedience.
- If someone asks
- Do we have to do something to be saved? The sermon said we cannot earn our way across the sea and cannot out fail God, and that he invites, pursues and provides.
- If the group wants more
- Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:5
Closing
What is the one step we feel God is calling us to take this week?
Prayer
- For the courage to step toward the sea instead of going back to what is familiar.
- For eyes to see where God is already moving ahead of us.
- For the willingness to name the impossible thing we are facing and keep moving.
Keep going this week
Scan to open this week’s study and ask your own questions.
