Do you ever feel like it’s hard to be friends with other teens, especially when they ask you to do something you know is wrong? The midwives in Egypt had a similar problem. The king had ordered them to kill any boy baby born to an Israelite. No question about that being wrong, and no question that it would be dangerous to disobey. What happened? “The midwives . . . feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do” (Exodus 1:17). If you say no when someone tries to get you to do wrong, you show that you respect God and want to please him.
In Exodus 3:14–15 God declares the name by which he is to be remembered forever: “I AM.” What does “I AM” mean? Why is this name special?
I AM (the Hebrew “Yahweh”) means that God is always present with you. When you were a baby, God was I AM, right there with you. Wherever you are today, God is I AM, right there with you. And when you grow old, God will still be I AM, right there with you.
This special name is found many times in the Old Testament. Every time you see the word LORD in capital letters, the Hebrew text used this special name.
How wonderful to have a God who is I AM, always there for you!
These chapters in Exodus tell of several miracles God performed. Certainly there had been locusts and hailstorms in Egypt before. Why then did people think these were miracles? Because Moses predicted the events and because he commanded them to end.
Exodus gives three reasons for these miracles:
• To show that God is Lord of all (Exodus 7:5).
• To show that God cares for his people (Exodus 6:7).
• To show that the gods of Egypt were powerless (Exodus 12:12).
Do you ever wonder why God doesn’t do miracles every day? Does it seem like more people would believe in him if he did? Read John 9:28–34 and 11:1–53 to see if more people believed in Jesus because of his miracles. Miracles don’t create faith. Faith comes when you hear what God says to you in the Bible and believe it.
Do you ever get discouraged? You study hard for a science test and still get a D? You clean your room, and your mom still finds 103 things you need to do before it passes inspection? Is it worth even trying? Does anyone care? Moses felt that way. He told Egypt’s king to let God’s people go, but the king just made them work harder. And that made the Israelites angry with Moses. Nothing was working out like it was supposed to. God had a word for Moses: “I will free you . . . I will take you as my own” (Exodus 6:6–7). If you belong to God, he’s on your side. He’ll bring you through discouraging times to a better tomorrow.
When you say, “I’ll do my homework at six,” do you keep your word? Or when you promise to be home at ten, are you there? True, these are little things. But they’re important because they’re issues of character. And character is shaped day by day, choice by choice. Egypt’s king was a young man at the time of the exodus. The land of Egypt suffered plague after plague because its king kept refusing to do what he said he would. Oh, God probably won’t send plagues your way if you don’t keep every promise you make. But you can be sure he doesn’t want you to be like Egypt’s untrustworthy king.
How do you know if someone really believes in God? Not by what they say, but by what they do. When Moses announced a hailstorm, the Egyptians who believed in God rushed to get their flocks and herds inside (Exodus 9:20–21). This is a pretty good test to apply to yourself as well as to others. Are you eager to obey God’s commands? Do you make choices by asking yourself what’s right, what will please the Lord? There’s no wiser way to live your life, as the people of Egypt found out. The animals of the believing Egyptians survived. The Egyptians who didn’t believe God lost all they owned.
Q: How long were the Israelites in Egypt?
BONUS: Why didn’t God rescue his people sooner?
Some occasions are so important you celebrate them every year. Birthdays. Christmas. Easter. Did you know that God ordered the Israelites to celebrate a special holiday? He told them to celebrate every year their release from slavery. What has God done for you that’s worth remembering and celebrating? Some people celebrate the day they accepted Christ as Savior, a “spiritual birthday.” Some record answers to prayer and look back over that record at least once a year. God is good, and it’s good to celebrate the things he does for you.
Does the Bible say anything about complaining? My parents say I do too much of it. How can I make my feelings known?
Mia
Dear Mia,
There is a passage about complaining found in Philippians 2:14: “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure . . .”
Some people seem to complain about almost everything. That’s what happened when Moses was leading the Israelites to the promised land. Even though God provided them with food in the desert, they complained they were sick of it. Moses grew tired of the complaints.
Some parents feel the same way when their children complain constantly. So listen to yourself. If you have a legitimate complaint, make it. But if you find yourself complaining all the time, try to have a more positive attitude. People will listen and respond much better to someone who doesn’t complain a lot. And everyone around you will feel better too.
Jordan
Advice is often hard to take. Dad wants to show you how to golf. Mom says she knows a better way to study. Your older brother says your shirt is out of style. Hey, whose life is it, anyway? Check out how Moses reacted when his father-in-law Jethro offered advice. Jethro started out in the worst way possible: he said, “What you are doing is not good” (Exodus 18:17). Talk about criticism! But Moses listened. He didn’t get hostile. Instead he realized that Jethro was right, and he followed his advice. If one of the Bible’s truly great men, Moses, can take advice without feeling attacked or getting hostile, maybe you can too.
You find the lost term paper of a classmate who hates you—and give it back to him. You say nice things about the girl who’s spreading terrible rumors about you. To most people that’s crazy. They say you ought to tear up the term paper and get even with that nasty girl. But you don’t, because you’re following a pattern established in Exodus 23:4–5. Why does God tell you to do good to people who don’t like you? Maybe because God wants you to be like him, not like those around you who like to hurt you. And maybe because the best way to get rid of an enemy is to make him or her a friend.
Q: What did the ark of God look like?
BONUS: Why isn’t the ark in Jerusalem today?
Drew gets all A’s. You don’t. Courtney is a good speaker. You’re not. Amber has a good voice. You can’t sing a note. Kind of makes you think you’ll never amount to much, doesn’t it? Of course, you work harder at school than Drew. You may not be a good speaker, but you can fix just about anything on a car. This passage speaks about Bezalel. God gave him talent in all kinds of crafts—from metal work to jewelry design. Bezalel used his talent for God. Any talent you have is a gift from God. He can use your talent for his glory.
Q: Where did slaves get enough gold to make a golden calf?
BONUS: How much gold did the Israelites have?
Jealousy is one of those “bad” emotions, isn’t it? Why then does the Bible say, “the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”? The Hebrew word here describes an intense love. In human beings jealousy usually is selfish. God’s jealousy is different. God’s jealousy is intense love, a love so strong that he wants only what is best for you. That’s why God gets so upset when you sin. He loves you too much to just stand by and see you mess up your life. His intense love makes him jealous of anything in your life that pulls you away from him and the wonderful things he has planned for you.
Have you ever finished a job and then stood back and looked at it with pride and satisfaction? When the Israelites finished building the tabernacle, Exodus says they did all the work “just as the LORD had commanded” and “Moses inspected the work.” Can you imagine the people standing there as Moses looked over their work, proud and happy that they’d done such a good job? Life is pretty similar. You want to be able to look back at the choices you’ve made and feel great satisfaction. You want to watch with pride as God inspects your life and says you’ve lived it “just as the LORD commanded.”
Exodus
Roadmap.
God sets you free—not to do anything you feel like doing but free to live a happy and meaningful life. This book shows how God stepped in with stunning miracles to free the Israelites. And it records the Israelites’ journey through the desert.