Exodus 5-7: God's Call and Pharaoh's Resistance

Okay, I can definitely do that! I'll create a Sabbath School lesson outline based on Exodus 5-7 for you.

My beloved friends, as we gather today, let our hearts be stirred by the profound truths found in God's sacred Word. Our ultimate aim is to lead souls to Christ, for the science of salvation should be the burden of every sermon. Today, we will unveil the mysteries of redemption through the lens of a specific period in Israel's history, focusing on the powerful lessons God taught through Moses and the Children of Israel in Exodus chapters 5 through 7.

🌟 The Sabbath School Lesson: God's Call and Pharaoh's Resistance 🌟

In every congregation, there are souls to save, and the Word of God is the divine nourishment that satisfies our spiritual hunger. Let us break the bread of life together, presenting fresh insights and laying solemn responsibilities upon our souls, ever keeping eternal realities in view.

📖 Opening Prayer 📖

Let us pray. Our Gracious Father, we thank You for the privilege of opening Your Word. May Your Holy Spirit guide us into all truth, enlighten our minds, and touch our hearts. Help us to understand and apply the lessons from Exodus 5-7 drawing closer to Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

🧒 Children's Story: The Little Helper and the Big Task 🧒

Children, imagine you have a very important chore to do, like cleaning your whole room before your favorite TV show. You know it's a big job, and you might feel a little overwhelmed. But then, your mom or dad says, "I know this is big, but I will help you, and I will be with you every step of the way!" How would you feel? You'd feel brave and ready, wouldn't you?

Well, in our Bible story today, God asked Moses to do a very, very big job: to tell the most powerful king in the world to let God's people go free! Moses felt too small and not strong enough, just like you might feel about a big chore. But God promised to be with him and give him all the help he needed. He showed Moses signs, like turning his staff into a serpent and making his hand leprous, to prove that God was truly with him. Exodus 4:1-9. God is always ready to help us with the big tasks He gives us, and He will prove Himself to us.

📚 Lesson Outline: Exodus 5-7 📚

Our study today is designed to give us a direct, definite message that helps us choose the right way. We will look at how God reveals His character, the increasing pressure on His people, and His steadfast purpose. Remember, Jesus should always be the central theme, lifted higher and higher, so that sinners are convicted and know what to do to be saved. The cross of Calvary is the life-healing balm that reveals virtue and must be plainly and repeatedly emphasized.

I. God's Command and Pharaoh's Scorn Exodus 5:1-9

• Moses and Aaron Confront Pharaoh: Moses and Aaron deliver God's message: "Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness." Exodus 5:1. This was the Lord speaking, and He spoke through His chosen servants. Pharaoh's initial response was dismissive and filled with scorn.GBJ October 1896, page 21.1.

• Pharaoh's Hardened Heart: Pharaoh declares, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." Exodus 5:2. This hardening of Pharaoh's heart is a significant theme. We see his pride and refusal to acknowledge the true God.ARSH September 16, 1862, page 123.6. God’s purpose was that His name should be made known in all the earth. Exodus 9:15.

• Increased Burden on Israel: Instead of releasing Israel, Pharaoh increases their burdens, forcing them to make bricks without straw. Exodus 5:6-9. This serves to break their spirit and make them question Moses' leadership.EP 549.1. This act shows Pharaoh’s tyranny, as he made them rest from their burdens to prevent them from observing God’s statutes.EP 549.1. This period demonstrates that while servants in Egypt, Israel could not keep the Sabbath.PTJW March 1850, page 50.3.

II. Israel's Murmuring and God's Reassurance Exodus 5:10-23, 6:1-13

• The People's Distress and Complaints: The increased labor causes great distress among the Israelites, and they complain bitterly to Moses and Aaron, blaming them for their suffering. Exodus 5:21. This reveals their lack of faith in the face of adversity. This is not unlike how many are hardened against God’s mercies today, similar to Pharaoh hardening his heart against ten plagues.ARSH September 16, 1862, page 123.6.

• Moses' Plea to God: Moses, in turn, cries out to the Lord, questioning why God has brought such trouble upon His people. Exodus 5:22-23. This is a crucial moment where Moses grapples with the immense challenge.

• God's Renewed Promise: God reassures Moses of His covenant and His unwavering purpose to deliver Israel. He declares, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land." Exodus 6:1. God's presence was promised to Moses for separation and grace. Exodus 33:16.RH June 25, 1861, par. 24. God also revealed His character to Moses: "The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." Exodus 34:6.1888 938.1+2. This patience and grace are always available to us.

III. God's Power Demonstrated: Moses and Aaron Commissioned Exodus 6:14-30, 7:1-13

• The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron: The text provides the lineage of Moses and Aaron, establishing their authority and divine appointment. Exodus 6:14-27. This confirms that they are God's chosen instruments.

• God's Instructions and Moses' Reluctance: God reiterates His command to Moses and Aaron to speak to Pharaoh. Moses expresses doubt about his ability to speak effectively before Pharaoh, stating he is "of uncircumcised lips." Exodus 6:28-30. This echoes his earlier hesitations, but God is patient with His servants.ARSH November 26, 1857, page 18.5.

• The Rod Becomes a Serpent: As a sign of God's power, Aaron's rod is cast down and becomes a serpent before Pharaoh and his magicians. Exodus 7:10. This is God's demonstration that He is the true God.

• Magicians' Imitation and God's Superiority: Pharaoh's magicians attempt to imitate this miracle, but Aaron's rod swallows theirs, clearly showing the superiority of God's power. Exodus 7:11-12. This initial challenge sets the stage for the plagues to come, demonstrating that God's power cannot be fully replicated or overcome. This plague was miraculous, not an eclipse.ARSH June 18, 1857, page 52.19.

IV. The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood Exodus 7:14-25

• God's Judgment on Egypt: God instructs Moses to strike the Nile River, turning all its water into blood. Exodus 7:17-19. This plague was a direct attack on Egypt's lifeblood and their gods.

• The Inability of the Magicians: The magicians try to replicate this, but they cannot alleviate the plague, only make more blood. Exodus 7:22-24. This shows the limitations of their power compared to God's.

• Pharaoh's Continued Hardness: Despite the widespread suffering and the clear demonstration of divine power, Pharaoh's heart remains hardened, and he refuses to let Israel go. Exodus 7:23. This highlights the deep-seated resistance to God's will.ARSH September 16, 1862, page 123.6.

💡 Practical Godliness and Current Relevance 💡

My friends, these accounts are not just ancient history; they are for our learning and admonition. Romans 15:4. Just as God brought Israel out of Egypt, He is leading His people today in an advent movement, a spiritual exodus from the bondage of sin and the ways of the world.GCB May 20, 1913, page 64.6. The line of demarcation between our people and the world must ever be kept unmistakably plain.TSDF 110.8+1.

God's promise to Israel, "I will go with you, and I will give you rest," Exodus 33:14 holds true for us today. When we face overwhelming tasks or opposition, we are reminded that "Go forward" is the word of our Leader. Exodus 14:15.6LtMs, Lt 6b, 1890, par. 13. We are called to be separated from the world, and this separation is known by God's presence with us. Exodus 33:16.

The Sabbath, instituted at creation and reaffirmed at the Exodus, is a perpetual covenant and a sign between God and His people, signifying His sanctifying power. Exodus 31:16-17+1.MM 215.1+6. It is a day God blessed and hallowed. Exodus 20:11.12LtMs, Ms 21, 1897, par. 25+2. It is a memorial of creation.8T 117.3. It reminds us of God's creative power and His desire for us to rest in Him. Parents, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, and teach your children to reverence God's holy day. Exodus 20:8.CCh 262.2+2.

The lessons God taught Israel in the wilderness, as recorded in Exodus, are experiences to be considered by God's people living in these last days.1MR 226.2. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:17.MR760 18.3. It is through Christ that we enter the spiritual fold, and God fulfills His covenant with those who hold their confidence firm unto the end.15LtMs, Ms 35, 1900, par. 19.

🙏 Call to Decision 🙏

The standard by which to measure character is the royal law. The law is the sin detector; by the law is the knowledge of sin. But, praise God, the sinner is constantly being drawn to Jesus by the wonderful manifestation of His love in that He humbled Himself to die a shameful death upon the cross. What a study this is! Angels have striven, earnestly longed, to look into this wonderful mystery. This picture is of the highest value to be placed in every sermon, to be hung in memory's hall, to be uttered by human lips, to be traced by human beings who have tasted and known that the Lord is good, to be meditated upon, to be the groundwork of every sermon.

My dear friends, what will you do with the light you have received today? Will you, like Pharaoh, harden your heart against God's clear commands and His manifest power? Or will you, like Moses, respond to God's call, trusting in His presence and promises, even when the path seems difficult and the burdens increase?

God is calling us to obedience, to keep His commandments, and to acknowledge as sacred that which He calls sacred. Obedience will bring a knowledge of true sanctification.MM 215.1. Let us not neglect the opportunities of the Sabbath, using it for careful study of God's Word and daily review throughout the week, making the lesson a treasure fixed in our memory.TEd 156.3+1. Let us commit to memory His precious Word.2TT 559.1.

I urge you today, choose to obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29. Choose to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, knowing that all these other things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33. Just as God will by no means clear the guilty, Exodus 34:7 He is also merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. Exodus 34:6-7.NWAD CLEAR.40+1.

Let us commit to daily study of God's Word and His Sabbath school lessons. Let us make them a priority in our homes, filling our minds with truths that will be a wall of defense against the world.GCB May 27, 1909, page 171.2+1. If we can get all our people to studying the Sabbath-school lessons daily, we shall have solved many problems that now perplex us in every department of the work.GCB May 27, 1909, page 171.2.

Will you, by God's grace, humble yourselves and respond to His call to holiness? Will you choose to walk in His law and keep His Sabbaths as a sign of your allegiance to Him? What are you going to do?

May God bless you as you make your decision for Him. Amen.

Here is the sermon outline:

Sermon Outline: Exodus 5-7 - God's Call and Pharaoh's Resistance

Theme: Leading souls to Christ through understanding redemption as illustrated in Exodus 5-7.

I. Introduction

• Salvation as the burden of every sermon.
• Importance of God's Word for spiritual nourishment.
• Focus on eternal realities.

II. Opening Prayer

• Request for guidance and enlightenment through the Holy Spirit.
• A desire to draw closer to Christ.

III. Children's Story: The Little Helper and the Big Task

• Analogy of a child's big chore and God's promise to help.
• Moses' task of freeing Israel and God's support.
• God demonstrates His power through signs.

IV. Lesson Outline: Exodus 5-7

• Purpose: Choosing the right way through understanding God's character and steadfast purpose.
• Central Theme: Jesus, and the Cross.

A. God's Command and Pharaoh's Scorn Exodus 5:1-9

• Moses and Aaron deliver God's message to Pharaoh.
• Pharaoh's hardened heart and refusal to acknowledge God.
• Increased burden on Israel as a result.

B. Israel's Murmuring and God's Reassurance Exodus 5:10-23, 6:1-13

• The people's distress and complaints due to increased labor.
• Moses' plea to God for relief.
• God's renewed promise of deliverance and covenant.

C. God's Power Demonstrated: Moses and Aaron Commissioned Exodus 6:14-30, 7:1-13

• Genealogy of Moses and Aaron, confirming their divine appointment.
• God reiterates command; Moses' reluctance.
• Aaron's rod becomes a serpent as a sign of God's power.
• Magicians' imitation and God's superiority.

D. The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood Exodus 7:14-25

• God's judgment on Egypt.
• The Inability of the magicians.
• Pharaoh's Continued Hardness.

V. Practical Godliness and Current Relevance

• Lessons from Exodus are for our learning and admonition.
• The modern-day advent movement as a spiritual exodus.
• The promise of God’s presence and rest today.
• The Sabbath as a sign of sanctification.
• Importance of obedience to God's commandments.
• Daily Sabbath School Lesson Study is important.

VI. Call to Decision

• Challenge to respond to God's call, not harden hearts like Pharaoh.
• Invitation to obey God and seek His kingdom first.
• Emphasis on daily study of God's Word and Sabbath School lessons.
• Asking for commitment to holiness and Sabbath observance.