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- When the Israelites had no water, did they believe in God to give them water?
-No.
- What should the Israelites have done when they had no water?
-They should have asked God to give them water.
- What did God command Moses to do to get water?
-God commanded Moses to speak to a rock.
- Because Moses and Aaron did not speak to the rock, but instead struck the rock, did God punish them?
-Yes.
- How did God punish Moses and Aaron?
-God told them that they would not enter the land of Canaan.
- Because the Israelites continued to complain, what did God then do to them?
-God punished the Israelites by sending many poisonous snakes among them.
- How is sin like the snakes?
-Just like the snakes bit the Israelites and they died, so sin bites people and they die.
- What did God tell Moses to do to save the Israelites?
-To make a snake out of brass, and to put it up on a pole.
- If the Israelites were to be saved from death, what must they do?
-Look at the bronze snake up on the pole.
- Did the Israelites who looked at the bronze snake on the pole live?
-Yes.
- Did the bronze snake have any power to save the Israelites?
-No.
- Who alone had the power to save the Israelites?
-God.
- Did the sin of the Israelites call for death?
-Yes.
- Even though the sin of the Israelites called for death, what did God do for those who looked at the snake?
-God saved them.
-Because the Israelites did not believe in God, they were not able to enter into Canaan.
-Because the Israelites did not believe in God, they wandered in the desert for forty years until all of the adults died.
-Why did God punish the Israelites?
-Because they refused to believe in God’s Word that Moses brought to them.
-Just as Moses brought God’s Word to the Israelites, so I am bringing God’s Word to you.
-If you are like the Israelites and refuse to believe in God’s Word, God will punish you like He punished the Israelites.
-After forty years and all of the adults had died, God once again led the Israelites to the border of Canaan.
-Because Moses had disobeyed God, God would not allow Moses to lead the Israelites into Canaan.
-Because God would not allow Moses to lead the Israelites into Canaan, God chose a new leader to lead them.
Let’s read Numbers 27:18-20 & 22-23
18-So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.
19-Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence.
20-Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him.”
22-Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly.
23-Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the LORD instructed through Moses.
-Who was the new leader of the Israelites whom God chose to replace Moses?
-Joshua.
-After Joshua became the new leader of the Israelites, God told Moses to climb up a mountain which was near the border of Canaan.
-At the top of the mountain, God showed Moses the land of Canaan which He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants.
Let’s read Deuteronomy 34:1-4
1-Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land–from Gilead to Dan,
2-all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea,
3-the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.
4-Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”
-Because Moses disobeyed God, God did not allow Moses to enter the land of Canaan.
-Did God keep His Word and not allow Moses to enter the land of Canaan?
-Yes.
-God always keeps His Word.
-God never breaks His Word.
-After God had shown Moses the land of Canaan from the top of the mountain, Moses died.
Let’s read Deuteronomy 34:5
5-And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said.
-After Moses died, God spoke to Joshua.
-God told Joshua to prepare to enter the land of Canaan.
Let’s read Joshua 1:1-2
1-After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide:
2-“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them–to the Israelites.”
-After Moses died, Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan.
-Did God keep His promise and give to Abraham’s descendants the land of Canaan?
-Yes.
-Just as God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God gave the land of Canaan to the Israelites.
-Satan and Pharaoh tried to keep the Israelites in bondage in Egypt.
-But God kept His promise to give the land of Canaan to the Israelites.
-The Israelites did not believe God to give them food and water in the desert.
-But God kept His promise to give the land of Canaan to the Israelites.
-God always keeps His promises.
-God can never break even one of His promises.
Let’s read Joshua 11:23a
23-So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions.
-The Israelites now lived in the land of Canaan.
-As long as Joshua lived, the Israelites remembered God.
Let’s read Judges 2:7
7-The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel.
-After a time, Joshua became old and died.
Let’s read Judges 2:8-9
8-Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten.
9-And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
-While Joshua was still alive, the Israelites remembered God.
-After Joshua died, what did the Israelites do?
Let’s read Judges 2:10-13
10-After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what He had done for Israel.
11-Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals.
12-They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshipped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger
13-because they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
-After Joshua died, the Israelites rejected God and became very wicked.
-After Joshua died, the Israelites made images and worshipped the images instead of God.
-The people who were living next to the Israelites in Canaan worshipped images they called Baal and Ashtoreth.
-Because the Israelites rejected God, they too worshipped the images of Baal and Ashtoreth.
-Who deceived the Israelites so that they rejected God and worshipped images?
-Satan.
-Satan deceived the people, and the people thought that they were worshipping God.
-But the people were not worshipping God.
-The people were worshipping Satan who was hiding in the images of Baal and Ashtoreth.
-Just as Satan hid in the snake to deceive Adam and Eve, Satan was also hiding in the images of Baal and Ashtoreth to deceive the people.
-Satan also hides behind spirits and ancestral spirits.
-People think that when they are worshipping spirits and ancestral spirits, they are worshipping God.
-But they are not worshipping God; they are only worshipping Satan.
-If we worship anyone or anything other than God, who are we worshipping?
-Satan.
-Why does Satan lead people to worship images?
-Because Satan hates God, and does not want anyone to worship God.
-Because Satan hates all people, and does not want anyone to be saved by God.
-Did God know that the Israelites were worshipping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth?
-Yes.
-Was God angry with the Israelites for worshipping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth?
-Yes.
-What did God do to the Israelites?
Let’s read Judges 2:14-15
14-In His anger against Israel the LORD handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.
15-Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as He had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
-Because the Israelites no longer worshipped God, but worshipped the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, God punished them.
-How did God punish the Israelites for worshipping images?
-God sent the enemies of the Israelites to come and destroy all of the crops of the Israelites.
-God sent the enemies of the Israelites to come and steal all of their cattle.
-God sent the enemies of the Israelites to come and make the Israelites their slaves.
-When the Israelites confessed their sins, and asked God to save them, what did God do?
Let’s read Judges 2:16
16-Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders.
-When the Israelites confessed their sins, and asked God to save them, God would choose men and women among the Israelites who would lead the Israelites to defeat their enemies.
-What were these men and women whom God chose to lead the Israelites to defeat their enemies called?
-Judges.
-As long as the judge whom God chose was still living, the Israelites would follow God.
-Yet when the judge whom God chose would die, the Israelites would return to worshipping images instead of God.
Let’s read Judges 2:17-19
17-Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshipped them. Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the LORD’s commands.
18-Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, He was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.
19-But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshipping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
-Even though God punished the Israelites for their sin, God still loved them and protected them.
-Why did God still love and protect the Israelites?
-Because God promised that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would have many descendants who would become a great people.
-Because God promised to send the Savior through the descendants of the Israelites.
-Because God promised to send His message, the Bible, through the descendants of the Israelites.
-God wants all people to hear His message in order that they might be saved.
-Who was the last judge of the Israelites?
-Samuel.
-Samuel was a judge for the Israelites for many years.
-When Samuel became old, there was no one to take his place, for Samuel’s sons did not believe in God.
Let’s read 1 Samuel 8:1-3
1-When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel.
2-The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba.
3-But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
-Because Samuel became old, and because there was no one to take Samuel’s place, the Israelites gathered together and came to visit Samuel.
Let’s read 1 Samuel 8:4-6
4-So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.
5-They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
6-But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord.
-Before Samuel died, what did the Israelites ask Samuel to do?
-The Israelites asked Samuel to choose a king to lead them.
-Why did this make Samuel sad?
-Samuel was sad because the Israelites were rejecting God as their king.
-Who was the king of the Israelites when they were delivered from Egypt?
-God.
-Who was the king of the Israelites when they were led through the desert?
-God.
-Who was the king of the Israelites when they were given food and water in the desert?
-God.
-Who was the king of the Israelites when they were given the land of Canaan?
-God.
-For many years, God had been the king of the Israelites.
-From the time God delivered the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt, God had been their king.
-But now, the Israelites no longer wanted God as their king.
-The Israelites wanted to be like the wicked people living next to them, and have a man as a king.
-The Israelites were rejecting God as their king.
-Here is what God said to Samuel:
Let’s read 1 Samuel 8:7-8a
7-And the LORD told Samuel, “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
8-As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods.”
-What did God say to Samuel?
-God told Samuel that the Israelites were not rejecting Samuel.
-God told Samuel that because the Israelites wanted a king, they were rejecting God as their king.
-Did God give the Israelites a king?
Let’s read 1 Samuel 11:14-15
14-Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there reaffirm the kingship.”
15-So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.
-Even though the Israelites rejected God as their king, God gave them another king.
-His name was Saul.
-Saul was the first man to be king of the Israelites.