Following the Cloud
The books Exodus to Deuteronomy tell us the story of the longest camping trip in the world. After four centuries of slavery in Egypt, God delivers the people of Israel and leads them to the land He had promised to their ancestors. However, it would take another four decades of an arduous journey through the wilderness to enter the Promised Land. People will have to confront their worst fears - hunger, thirst, sickness, and even death, but the Lord leads them all along on a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
This epic journey of courage and hope is a metaphor for our own spiritual journey. In the eyes of the New Testament writers, Egypt represents the world, and the Promised Land is the Kingdom of God. We are caught in the transitional space between them, where our faith is tested continually. This is a journey of “following the cloud” that demands absolute trust in the mission of God and radical obedience to His calling for our life.
Read:
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
Watch:
Exodus 1/2: https://youtu.be/jH_aojNJM3E
Exodus 2/2: https://youtu.be/oNpTha80yyE
Leviticus: https://youtu.be/IJ-FekWUZzE
Numbers: https://youtu.be/tp5MIrMZFqo
Deuteronomy: https://youtu.be/q5QEH9bH8AU
Prince of Egypt (1998)
Ten Commandments (1956)
TEACHING SCHEDULE
Sept. 11 - History Makers
(Exodus 1:11-21, Matthew 11:25, 26)
The story of Exodus is “the greatest story ever told” in the Jewish tradition and is reenacted multiple times through their religious rituals and festivals. This story pivots Israel’s history from being a family to being a nation. But this is also a universal story that plays out in our everyday life and is told from the perspective of the most unlikely characters.
Sept. 18 - The Burning Bush
(Exodus 3:1-3, Luke 22: 39-44)
In the 430 years of their life as aliens in Egypt, Israel’s deliverance comes through an unexpected leader. Moses was born a Hebrew slave who ended up the prince of Egypt. But when God shows up in his life uninvited, he is a fugitive, hiding from the law.
Sept. 25 - Signs and Wonders
(Exodus 10:1-3, Matthew 12:38-40)
When Moses follows God’s command and confronts Pharoah, things don’t go as planned. In one of the most spectacular interventions of God in history, a series of plagues strike the land and break down the hardened heart of Pharoah. In the end, the blood of the Passover lamb brings the ultimate redemption as Israel breaks free from the chains of slavery.
Oct. 2 - What Is It?
(Exodus 16:13-15, John 6:32-35)
God sustains His people by providing them food from heaven and water from the rock. They ate heavenly food every day for 40 years. Miraculously, when Joshua and the people came to the border of Canaan and ate the food of the Promised Land, the heavenly manna stopped the next day and was never seen again. God told Moses to save a jar of manna so future generations could see how the Lord provided for his people in the desert.
Oct. 9 - A Jealous God
(Exodus 20:1-17, Mark 12:28-31)
God delivers His Law to Moses on Mount Sinai, which later becomes the foundational framework of the Judeo-Christian worldview. In the meantime, people create a counterfeit cult of the golden calf and rebel against Him.
Oct. 16 - Building Without Bricks
(Exodus 40:33-38, 1 Peter 2:4,5)
God provides detailed instruction for constructing a tabernacle where people could seek His presence as a community. People cheerfully offer their wealth, skills, and other resources and finish the construction according to specification. When they erect the tabernacle, God descends in a cloud that fills the tent.
Oct. 23 - Being Holy
(Leviticus 20:7,8,26, I Peter 1:16-19)
God provides detailed instructions for temple rituals in the book of Leviticus. The priests have the sacred duty to mediate between God and man with strict obedience to every letter of the law. Two of Aaron’s sons become guilty of lighting a ‘strange fire’ and are consumed by the same fire.
Oct. 30 - The Minority Report
(Numbers 13:26 – 33, Matthew 27:21-26)
In less than two years, the exodus caravan reaches Kadesh Barnea, the entry point to Canaan. Moses decides to send a reconnaissance team of 12 people to spy out the land. Unfortunately, the majority decision based on fear overrules the minority report based on faith. As a result, the people are destined to wander the wilderness for another 40 years!
Nov. 6 - The Greatest Spectacle
(Numbers 21:4-9, John 3:14-16)
The Israelites grow impatient with Moses, and in response, God sends "fiery serpents," killing many of them. People cry out to God in repentance. God asks Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it upon a pole. Anyone who looks at it immediately after being bitten by the fiery serpent shall live.
Nov. 13 - The Next Gen Leader
(Numbers 27: 15-23, John 21:15-17)
The success of a true leader is determined by his successor. As the journey approaches its final leg, Moses anoints Joshua as the next leader of Israel. As a young man, Joshua functioned as an intern to Moses (Ex 24:13), learning to nurture an intimate relationship with God like his master (Ex 33:11). Moses had been training him all along, from being Hoshea to becoming Joshua (Nun 13:16).
Nov. 20 - Promised Land
(Deuteronomy 34:5-12, Hebrews 11:24-26)
God allows Moses to see a glimpse of the land that will become Israel’s home for the future, but he is not permitted to enter the Promised Land. However, as the story ends, we realize that the true promise Moses received was of cosmic significance that went far beyond anyone’s expectation.
