Sabbath School 3rd Quarter 2025: Exodus

Mark Finley

HopeLives365

08 Covenant at Sinai

I hope you're enjoying this series of Sabbath School lessons on the book of Exodus as much as I am.

Anytime you study a spiritual book of the Bible, like Exodus or any other of the books of the Bible, you receive deep spiritual insight by concentrating on that book.

And I'm finding that in these lessons on Exodus, and I know you are too.

We're on lesson number 8, the covenant at Sinai or the 10 Commandment law.

Many people look at the 10 Commandments as kind of a legalistic requirements of the Old Testament, but yet, as we will see in our lesson, the law is a revelation of the character of God and the 10 commandments are really a gift of love.

So let's pray as we enter in to this series of lessons.

Father in heaven, we thank you with all of our heart for the opportunity to study your word.

What a thrill it is to let the Bible speak to us as we study.

And let your power come down upon us as we study your words.

So open our hearts as we study about the law of God.

Give us divine insight, give us a fresh look at this study.

Our memory text for this week is from Exodus 19, verse 4 to 6.

It says, you've seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people, for all the earth is mine and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Now I was interested in the paragraph after the memory verse where the author of our lesson, Yuri Miskola, says this, he said, where did God lead Israel after he had liberated them from Egypt?

Well, when I read that question, I jumped right in and said, you know, of course God led them through the desert, through the wilderness, the promised land.

But I kind of took a double take when Dr.

Mescala said, however geographically correct that answer is theologically wrong.

And I said, theologically wrong, what do you mean?

You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself." So the real answer to the question theologically is that all through the wilderness wanderings, God was leading Israel to himself.

When he led them through the Red Sea and opened up the sea, God was leading them to himself.

To see that miracle was to be a miracle that reflected the drawing power of God, drawing Israel to himself.

When the bitter waters of Marah were sweetened, God was leading them to himself.

When manna fell from heaven, God was leading them to himself.

When Moses struck the rock and water came out, God was leading them to himself.

And when God revealed himself to them in Mount Sinai, And as they came to Sinai, they had been traveling about 2 months through the deserts and they had come through the sea, they'd come through the wilderness, they came to Sinai, a mountain called Jebel Musa, elevation 7, 497 feet or 2, 285 meters.

So they come to Mount Sinai and They had been traveling, as I mentioned, 2 months, and do you know they would spend about 1 year at Sinai?

As they came there, God spoke to them and God gave them some very special promises.

Exodus 19, we begin there verse 1, in the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt.

So it's the third month out of Egypt, so they've been traveling about 2 months.

On the same day, they came to the wilderness of Sinai.

God calls Moses up onto the mountain in verse 3, and he says, I brought you out on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

What does it mean, I brought you out on eagles' wings?

When eagles made their nests, may high in the mountains, and the mama eagle had the little eaglets, when the eaglets were growing, they would begin to grow, but they'd be really afraid to jump out of the nest.

Mama would at times push the little eagles off the edge of the nest, and they begin to tumble down.

Then mom would come and swoop as they were tumbling.

They would land on her wings, and mom would carry the little baby eagles on eagles' wings.

So what Jesus is saying is, you have been thrown out of your nest in Egypt.

You've been traveling through the wilderness, but I'm going to carry you.

He says in the trials of life, in the difficulties of life, in the heartaches of life, I'm not gonna let you fall like that mama eagle carries her little baby eagles, those eaglets on eagles' wings.

God says, I'm gonna protect and carry you.

Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." God says, I have called you out of Egyptian bondage, and I've called you out to be a special treasure to me.

I've called you out, God says, as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." The paragraph just before the end of Sunday's lesson states it clearly.

They were to be God's special treasure because he wanted Israel as his channel to illuminate the world with the knowledge of him and his character.

This covenant was a legal establishment of a relationship between God and his people.

Now there's a certain something that we call the covenant formula.

And the covenant formula often begins this way.

I will be their God, they shall be my people.

You find that in Exodus 6, verse 7, Leviticus 26, verse 12, Jeremiah 24, verse 7, Jeremiah 31, verse 33, Hebrews 8, verse 10, And remember when the Holy City comes down out of heaven, the New Jerusalem descends and God says, I will be to them a God, they shall be my people.

This is called the covenant formula or the covenant relationship, where God is saying, I will make a covenant with my people, and nothing shall break that covenant except their disobedience.

God promises to them that they would be a special people, but they must prepare to receive the gift of love in the 10 Commandments.

So in those last verses of Exodus 19 from verse 9 to verse 25, we see God preparing them for that gift.

God sanctifying his people to reveal God's glory, because the truth of the matter is that God's glory was gonna be revealed on Mount Sinai.

And if they were not prepared to receive the glory of God, they would be annihilated actually.

So God says to them in Exodus chapter 19 verse 12, you shall set bounds for the people.

He's speaking to Moses all around saying, take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base.

Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

If you are going to experience the glory of God in your life, may I say to you, you gotta set bounds.

Set bounds on your eyes not to behold the evil on the internet, TV.

Set bounds in your ears not to listen to music that is going to defile your conscience.

Set bounds in your diet that you're not gonna eat things that plug up the blood that's flowing to the brain that cuts out the red blood cells and causes them to be sluggish so that you don't get oxygen to your brain.

Set bounds in where you go and say, God, I want to receive your love and your grace.

I want to be prepared to receive the gift of your grace that leads me to obedience to your law.

And then he goes on, Moses goes down from the mountain, verse 14, to the people, and sanctified the people, washed their clothes.

So there is a sense in which God leads us to a deep, meaningful experience with Him so that we can experience more of Him.

He leads us to the period in our life after we have been justified by His grace, to be sanctified by his power, so day by day, moment by moment, week by week, month by month, year by year, we can draw closer and closer to him in the process of sanctification.

So, they were gonna receive the glory of God.

They were gonna experience the presence of God.

And the Bible says in verse 18, now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in the fire.

Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace.

The whole mountain quaked greatly when we're in the presence of God, when the presence of righteousness, the presence of goodness, the presence of holiness, and God says, prepare your hearts.

Aren't we preparing to meet God ourselves again?

Aren't we on the verge of the kingdom when Jesus will come?

The earth will be illuminated with his glory?

Aren't we again waiting for that glory of the coming of Christ?

God says, this is no more business as usual, No more pleasures as usual, get ready, get ready, get ready for the coming of Jesus.

So in Tuesday's lesson, they come to Sinai.

God gives them the gift of the Decalogue.

Now here in Exodus 20, verse 1 to 17, we see God giving him that gift.

And I want to read to you the introduction of the gift.

He says in verse 1, "'God spoke all these words saying, "'I am the Lord, your God, "'who brought you out of the land of Egypt, "'out of the house of bondage.'" Why is that the introduction to the 10 Commandments?

InVerse 3rd Quarter 2025: The Book of Exodus

Justin Kim

Felecia Lee

Joe Reeves

Jonathan Walter

Hope Channel

08 Into the Desert

Coming to you from Silver Spring, Maryland, welcome to Inverse, a Bible-based conversation on life principles, contemporary issues, and thought-provoking perspectives.

Now here's your host, Justin Kim, with Inverse.

Maybe it's a new vacation or a new relationship that you had and you're just thinking it's gonna go great and then boom something happens and it's the worst experience you ever have.

Hey welcome to Inverse my name is Justin And we're talking about the book of Exodus.

We are in chapter, what chapter are we in?

Chapter 14, and the Israelites have just experienced freedom and now they're out on a vacation of sorts.

And just when things are supposed to be better and they're entering into the amusement park, things get to be horrible.

We're so welcome to have in the studio, we have Felicia, Jonathan on my right, your left, and then we have Joe.

We used to have Sebastian on the show and he would always say aloha, And it was 1 of these- For some unexplainable reason.

But yeah, no, it's very, very good to have all of you guys here as well.

And we want to encourage you guys to study along the Bible with us.

We really, really, really like the Bible.

That's 1 thing that unites all of us here.

And we wanna share that love of scripture.

And it's not just reading and studying, but also experiencing.

So we have a Bible study guide called Inverse.

That's the show, but also the Bible study guide that you can also study at inversebible.org.

And we have about 8, 9, 10, 7, anyway, a lot of stuff, a lot of years' worth of Bible studies there.

Practical for people of all ages, but specifically young adults.

And we define young adults as anyone from 18 to 30, 40, 50, 60 plus, right?

Jono, if you can pray for us and then we'll get into the Bible text.

Father, I thank you for this day, this opportunity to pause and study scripture, to learn more about you, about how you deal with us and who you are and who we are.

We pray that your spirit will teach us and guide us into all truth.

I pray that you will be with us here and those watching and listening as well.

We are in Exodus chapter 14 and we're trying to take a little bit of a different angle on this.

Let's start from verse 1 and we'll just read a couple verses, stop, talk, and this is kind of a nice narrative.

It's not what's nice what's happening to them, but it's nicely written for us to study.

And we really encourage you, hey, take out your Bibles.

I know it's on the screen and if you don't have anything or if you're driving, don't do it.

But read along with us in on your phone, on your Bibles.

All right, let's start from chapter 14, verse 1.

Now the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the children of Israel that they turn and camp before Pihiroth between Migdal and the sea opposite Baal Zephon and you shall camp before it by the sea.

For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, they are bewildered by the land, the wilderness has closed them in.

Then I will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will pursue them, and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his armies, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord, and they did so." All right, we'll start with Joe.

Well, 1 thing that's standing out to me, this phrase about hardening Pharaoh's heart, we've talked about, because it's all through Exodus so far.

But let's not miss the foreknowledge of God.

I mean, all through this story, God is telling Moses what is going to happen next.

So when Felicia read these verses, it's not the actual story.

It's God announcing to Moses what's about to happen.

And then we'll read the rest of the chapter and then we get to read about it actually happening.

And so God knows what's coming and it's very comforting for our own lives because I don't know what's coming tomorrow, but God does.

And in this situation here, this is the story that the whole book is named after.

Exodus from Egypt, this is their exit from Egypt.

They've been longing for this for what, 400 years?

Slavery, they've been in, and now deliverance.

But often as things get better, there are things can get worse before it gets better and there can still be some challenges.

And so we're gonna have some disappointment in this chapter and some incredible fear mixed in with this.

Can you imagine the emotional tenor that after 400 years, which is far longer than a lot of the modern nations have been around, right?

And so they've been in enculturated in this worldview for that long.

There's a little bit of anxiety, what's gonna happen?

But then the immediate suffering is gone and now they're entering and then now they're, now what is it?

They're not refugees, but they're being hunted by, well, they will be, we'll read.

And I was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people.

And they said, why have we done this that we have let Israel go from serving us?

So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him.

Also he took 600 choice chariots and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every 1 of them.

And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel.

And the children of Israel went out with boldness.

So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi-hah-hah-roth before Baal-sephon." Ah, before Baal-sephon, yeah, that place.

He says he'll let the people go, and then he changes his mind and plague comes.

Let the people go, changes his mind, plague comes.

And after all of this, it just reminds us of how the enemy can so blind you that even when you know something will lead to your destruction, we still plow after that.

And that's what we see Pharaoh doing here.

Well, the wellbeing of his country, it cost him his son.

And then it's like, he forgot all of that.

And it's like, he comes to his mind, he's like, wait, what did we just do?

Adrienne Weiss

Advent HOPE Sabbath School

In His Image

Thank you for a room full of people ready to get to know you, ready to celebrate relationship with you.

I ask that you use me as a humble vessel in this process and that everyone hear what you want them to hear and that their hearts are touched as you would like them to be touched.

I'm actually curious today, how many in the audience are students?

I am a recent graduate and I just want to share a little bit about the process of being a medical student and kind of a testimony about my personal growth.

I really really struggled at the beginning with the concept of what does doing my best mean and what compromises does that include?

Does it mean I can't talk to my family every day?

Does it mean I only study the Bible, never study the Bible?

How do I balance this in the high demand setting of medical school?

And I want to just share today concepts that have helped in that process in finding peace.

And ultimately, through this faith walk of the last 4 years, I had a really vibrant, joyful med school experience.

And I hope to surpass that in residency with some of these concepts.

To set the stage on kind of what I dealt with in medical school, I want to share a story from third year.

I was on my OBGYN rotation, and it was in Florida, so I'm not dropping names.

But I was on surgical oncology, And I walk into the OR 1 morning, 6 in the morning, I've got my granola bar in the pocket, exhausted, giant purple circles, the works.

But I'd done my part as a good medical student.

I'd gotten the right glove size, I'd gotten the right gown, everything was ready.

And I walk in and kind of sidle onto a corner and I'm looking for where the circulating nurse is so I can follow all the procedure and I see the scrub tech and she does this dramatic eye roll like well this could be tricky and then the fellow who's running the surgery walks over to the scrub tech, neither of them makes eye contact with me, neither of them greets me, and they start talking about, oh it's so exhausting having medical students along, they just don't know what they're doing, they always break sterile field, this is just awful, And the fellow turns to the scrub tech.

Again, no eye contact, no recognition that I'm in the room.

And she says, Ah, well, this one's less insufficient than the last 1.

We do the three-hour surgery, no conversation, no eye contact, and I'm thinking, less insufficient.

But as I kind of reflected on it, that kind of turned into my motto moving forward.

Every day I baseline and am insufficient.

We know that, I recognize that, that's why we're in school.

And yet I'm gonna be less insufficient every day.

So what does it mean to do my best, given that I'm insufficient?

And I started realizing that my best just wasn't going to be enough.

So it led me to hold really tightly to 2 concepts.

The first 1 is biblical, and we'll get to the verse in just a second.

And the second is a daily prayer to be used by God.

That is going to be my definition of enough.

So the in my weakness he is strong, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 9 and 10.

But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

For the sake of Christ then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.

For when I am weak, then I am strong." This verse is reassurance that God has got us in the moments when we feel insufficient.

It's also a promise that God will work through us when from all appearances we are insufficient, even less insufficient than yesterday.

And this is what I found most reassuring during medical school, these 2 topics.

I also want to share what I found exciting and energizing, because There are lots of things that are exciting and energizing about this cool career in health care, taking care of people.

And the exciting energizing part is the concept.

We also know that at the time of the fall, that image was distorted.

And I get to strive toward that image and how he intended me to be by getting to know him more.

Back to Menu

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08 Covenant at Sinai

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08 Into the Desert

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In His Image

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08 Covenant at Sinai

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