Further Thought:

Read Ellen G. White, “The Exodus,” Pages 281-290; “From the Red Sea to Sinai,” Pages 291-302, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “The Temptation,” Pages 114-123, in The Desire of Ages.

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“But of old the Lord led his people to Rephidim, and he may choose to lead us there also, to test our loyalty. He does not always bring us to pleasant places. If he did, in our self-sufficiency we should forget that he is our helper. He longs to manifest himself to us, and to reveal the abundant supplies at our disposal, and he permits trial and disappointment to come to us that we may realize our helplessness, and learn to call upon him for aid. He can cause cooling streams to flow from the flinty rock. We shall never know, until we are face to face with God, when we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known, how many burdens he has borne for us, and how many burdens he would have been glad to bear, if, with childlike faith, we had brought them to him.” — Ellen G. White, “Rephidim,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 7, 1903.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

Amen!(1)

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There was a young man whom we’ll call Alex. He had come out of a very troubled youth: drugs, violence, even some time in jail. But then, through the kindness of a local church member (whom Alex had stolen from), Alex learned about God and gave his heart to Jesus. Though he still had his problems and struggles, and though elements of his past still lingered, Alex was a new person in Jesus. He loved God and sought to express that love by obeying His commandments (1 John 5:1-2). At one point, Alex felt impressed that he should be a minister. Everything pointed to it. He was answering God’s call, no doubt about it.

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At college things went well at first. Then one thing after another went awry, and his life began coming apart. His source of money started to dry up; a close friend turned against him, making accusations about him that were false but that damaged his reputation. Next, he kept on getting sick; no one knew what it was, but it impacted his studies to the point where he was afraid that he was going to have to drop out of school completely. On top of it all, he was fighting fierce temptations with drugs, which were readily available in the local community. At one point he even fell in that area. Alex couldn’t understand why all this was happening, especially because he was sure that the Lord had led him to this school to begin with. Was Alex wrong about that? If so, was his whole experience with God a huge mistake? Even the most basic elements of his faith were coming under doubt.

Imagine that, amid this crisis, Alex comes to you and asks for advice. What would you say? What experiences of your own have you had that could help someone like him? What Bible verses would you use? How helpful might the following verses be in such a situation? Proverbs 3:1-35, Jeremiah 29:13, Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Hebrews 13:5.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they [were] bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD showed him a tree, [which] when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I [am] the LORD that healeth thee. Exodus 15:23-26 KJV

Why did God have Moses put a tree in the bitter water? How did a tree make the water sweet? In 1 peter 2:24, Peter refers to the cross as a tree.

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who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24 NKJV

In a world of hate and bitterness, Jesus died on that tree to save us from a bitter world. Sin has caused suffering and bitterness but Jesus was lifted up on the cross to make our lives sweet again. I and many others believe this is why Moses used a tree to make bitter water sweet again.

If life has made you bitter, Jesus is offering living water that can make your life sweet again.

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 14:13-14 NKJV

I would like to invite you to find the sweet life through fellowship with Jesus and other believers, by finding a Christ-centered Bible based church in your area. You can find one here. 

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Read 1 Peter 1:6-7. What is Peter saying?

Peter is writing to people who were battling through difficulties and often felt very alone. He was writing “to God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1, NIV). This is the area we know today as western Turkey. A few verses later, Peter says that he knows that they are experiencing “grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

What does Peter mean by saying that they are “exiles” and “scattered”? How might that add to their trials?

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Being a Christian during those times was a new thing; believers were small in number and in various places where they were a decided minority who were often misunderstood at best, persecuted at worst. Peter assures them, however, that these trials are not random or chaotic (, 1 Peter 1:7). Genuine faith is the goal of those who persevere through “all kinds of trials.”

Read 1 Peter 1:6-9. What ultimate assurance does Peter seek to give these people amid their trials? What does this hope mean for us, too?

Whatever their trials, whatever they suffer, how can it be compared to the eternity that awaits them when Christ returns? Peter’s words to them are God’s words to us, regardless of whatever we are facing. However difficult or painful our trials, we must never lose sight of the ultimate end, eternal life in a new heaven and new earth, without pain, suffering, or death. With such a promise before us, a promise guaranteed us through the death of Jesus, how important that we not lose faith, but instead, amid our trials, ask the Lord to purge us of everything and anything that stands in the way of our faith.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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“Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil” (Luke 4:1-2, , NKJV).

Read Luke 4:1-13. What lessons can you learn from this account about how to overcome temptation and not give in to sin?

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Temptations can be so difficult because they appeal to things we really desire, and they always seem to come at our weakest moments.

Luke 4:1-44 is the beginning of the story of Jesus’ temptation by Satan, and it brings some difficult issues to our attention. At first glance, it appears that the Holy Spirit is leading Jesus into temptation. However, God never tempts us (James 1:13). Rather, as we have been seeing, God does lead us to crucibles of testing. What is striking in Luke 4:1-44 is that the Holy Spirit can lead us to times of testing that involve our being exposed to Satan’s fierce temptations. At such times, when we feel these temptations so strongly, we may misunderstand and think we have not been following God correctly. But this is not necessarily true. “Often when placed in a trying situation we doubt that the Spirit of God has been leading us. But it was the Spirit’s leading that brought Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. When God brings us into trial, He has a purpose to accomplish for our good. Jesus did not presume on God’s promises by going unbidden into temptation, neither did He give up to despondency when temptation came upon Him. Nor should we.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, Pages 126, 129.

Sometimes, when in the crucible, we get burned rather than purified. It is therefore very comforting to know that when we crumple under temptation, we can hope again because Jesus stood firm. The good news is that because Jesus is our Sin Bearer, because He paid the penalty for our failure to endure that temptation (whatever it was), because He went through a crucible worse than any of us will ever face, we are not cast off or forsaken by God. There is hope, even for the “chief” of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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