Maadi Women's Bible Study

6. Journey out of Egypt:Exodus (ch.15-16 Song of Moses and a God of Great Grace)

1. Did anything new stand out to you?
2. Look for the repetitive use of pronouns in certain sections of Moses song. Where do they occur and what do they convey?
3. Why did they spend so much of the song singing about the death of Pharaoh’s army?
4. Can you think and share of a time that God responded to your grumbling with grace?
5. In what ways do we try and take over and manage what God generously provides? How has that worked for you?
6. What is it that God desperately longed for from Israel?
7.  

5. Journey out of Egypt:Exodus (ch.12-14 Between a Rock and a Hard Place)

Individually Read Exodus Ex 12:33- ch.14 write down any questions and observations that you note. Look for repeated words, and phrases or situations that sound familiar.

As a group Answer these questions (15 min)

1. Did anything new stand out to you?

2. Many people like the idea of a God who saves but are uncomfortable with a God who judges. Yet the reality is that God saves through judgment. What do you think the phrase “salvation through judgment” means, and where are some places you see this pattern in Scripture?

3. What interesting item did Moses take with him when they exited Egypt? What was its significance to the story?

4. What reason did God give for taking the Israelites the long way around to the Promised Land (verses 17-18a)? What does this same about the human heart?

After Lesson

1. It seems as if God instructed opposing idea. On the one hand he tells the Israelites to “fear not and stand firm” he will do the fighting AND on the other hand he instructs them to walk forward into the sea. How do you understand this and how does it make sense in your own journey forward?
2. William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (1942-1944), is quoted as saying “The only thing of my very own I contribute to my redemption is the sins from which I need to be redeemed”. What does such a statement say to us about our part and God’s part in our rescue?
3. Is there anything going on in your life right now that God might be taking you on the longer route to get there so that the outcome in the end will be far better than taking you on a more direct route?

Father God we know your ‘desert’ – less as land, than pain within:
when you take away our comforts to release us.

You begin by this training, so to teach us how to live more free of sin.

In this ‘desert’ you command us when to act and when to rest.
You break down our suppositions, which assume that we know best.

For our holiness and wholeness you give us this ‘desert’ test.

Lord, we like to know your presence; feel you close – as if by right.
But to deepen faith not feelingsyou may give our souls ‘dark night’.

When your hand is not apparent - keep us safe, and hold us tight.

This experience of learning is, for many, years, not days.
It takes time to break, remake us in your image and your ways.
Feed us, therefore, guide us, heal us, so through all - it ends in praise.

—John Richards, “Hymn: The Wilderness”

 

4. Journey out of Egypt:Exodus (ch.11-12)

Before the Lesson

Individually Read Exodus 11-12:32 write down any questions and observations that you note. 

1. Did anything new stand out to you?
2. How is God portrayed as supremely sovereign in Exodus 11:1–3? What does he control? How does this inform our understanding of our own salvation?
3. Ch. 12:3-13 contains a series of instructions for Israel to follow in preparing the Passover lamb. What do these instructions reveal about the way God extends salvation to his people?

After the Lesson

As a group Answer these questions

1. Is there a significant date in your life that you celebrate and honor in a specific way? What do you do? Do you include others in that celebration?
2. 12:13 God says that placing the blood on door post “will be a sign for you…” Is there a time in your life where God asked you to demonstrate your confidence in his power to rescue or change a situation?
3. In what ways can this Passover account in Exodus shape how you approach the Lord’s Supper, and where you focus your mind as you eat and drink?

3. Journey out of Egypt:Exodus (ch.7:14-10 Nine out of 10 Plagues)

Before the Lesson
Individually Read Exodus 7:14-ch. 10 write down any questions and observations that you note. Look for repeated words, and phrases or situations that sound familiar. 
As a group Answer these questions (15 min)
Did anything new stand out to you?
What patterns do you notice in how the plague narratives unfold? Why do you think  God didn’t just send a single, decisive plague? What is the purpose of having so many plagues? 
Although this section is primarily concerned with God’s judgments against Pharaoh and Egypt, on several occasions Moses intercedes with God on behalf of Pharaoh (Ex. 8:12, 29; 9:33; 10:18). Why might these intercessions be recorded throughout this section? What do they contribute to this narrative filled with judgment? 

What are you thoughts about how Pharaoh’s magicians and sorcerers performed some of the same tasks that Moses did with God’s help? 


After the Lesson

As a group Answer these questions

1. Although there isn’t sufficient evidence that every plague is in response to a specific Egyptian god, Ex. 12:12 makes it clear that God is accusing and judging Egypt for their idolatrous lifestyle. What things did the Egyptians idolize and how different are they from idols in our own life?
2. Initially God instructs Aaron to cast down his staff so it becomes a serpent, and when he did so for the Israelites they believed, but later when he does it for Pharaoh he doesn’t believe.What do the different responses reveal about the effectiveness of miraculous signs for bringing about faith?
3. Several times Pharaoh attempts to bargain with Moses and dictate his terms of obedience. (8:25,28 10:11,24) All are rejected. What are some ways we attempt to bargain with God when it comes to obedience?

 

10. The Book of Revelation: So Much More (ch. 19 pt 2 The Invitation No One Wants)

2.Journey out of Egypt:Exodus (ch. 3-7 What's In a Name?)

Before the Lesson

Individually Read Exodus 3-7:13 on the work sheet write down any questions and observations that you note. Look for repeated words, and phrases or situations that sound familiar. (10 min)

As a group Answer these questions (15 min)

1. What are some significant observations that stood out to you in your reading?
2. What verses stand out to you as demonstrating God’s “choosing” verses someone “deserving?”
3. In ch. 2:15 mentions that Moses sat down by a well and there he met the daughters of Jethro. Think of other examples in the Bible of men sitting down at wells. What significance do “wells” have in the larger Biblical story?
4. In 3:22 God says that the Israelites will “plunder” the Egyptians how does v.19-21 describe this process and what strikes you as unusual about it?

   After the Lesson

   As a group Answer these questions

   1. In Ex. 3:8 God says he will bring Israel up out of that land, but then 2 verses later tells Moses “Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people…out of Egypt.” Consider this alongside Mt.28:18-20. What does this reveal about how God carries out his salvation in the world?
   2. In what way is Moses something of a “Third Culture Kid” struggling with identity questions?
   3. According to 4:23 what is the goal of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt? What implications does this have for our lives?
   4. What other point stood out to you today that you could apply in your journey of faith?

1. Journey out of Egypt:Exodus (Ch 1-2)

Before the Lesson

Read Exodus 1-2 on the back write down any questions and observations that you note. Look for repeated words, and phrases or situations that sound familiar. (10 min)

1. Did you notice anything new you had not seen before?
2. In what ways do you see connection and continuation of the Book of Genesis?
3. What names are mentioned and which are not? What significance is there in that?
4. What character qualities do you see already exhibited in Moses’ life that will be used by God later in the story?

    

   After the Lesson Answer these Questions

   1. Although God is not mentioned the writer clearly wants us to make connections and to see His hand at work. Where do you see his handiwork?
   2. In what ways do you recognize aspects of our world today in the oppression account that Israel suffered at the hands of Pharaoh and the Egyptians?
   3. What examples of faithfulness and trusting in the Lord are demonstrated? What can we learn about this for our own lives?

9. The Book of Revelation: So Much More (19)

8. The Book of Revelation: So Much More (ch. 11Two Witnesses)

Questions

1. Discuss your thoughts of this quote. “If you read history; you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.”
2. In what ways do you see the current church at large successfully or unsuccessfully fulfilling its mission as being true and faithful worshippers and faithfully living and proclaiming the good news of the gospel?
3. How does the church offer a better word than what the world offers?
4. How do you work out your role as an individual with how God speaks to us as a community?

 

 

7. The Book of Revelation: So Much More (ch. 8-9)