FormerAdventist.com

STUDY Hebrews 11:27-28 (click here for notes)
COLLEEN MOORE TINKER

By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. (NIV)

After Moses killed the Egyptian and tried to break up a fight between two Hebrews, one of the men fighting said to him, " 'Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptians?' Then Moses was afraid and thought, 'What I did must have become known.'

"When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and wen to live in Midian" (Exodus 2:14-15, NIV)

Called Out

1. Many commentators think this passage in Hebrews refers to Moses leaving Egypt for Midian after slaying the Egyptian. The passage in Exodus says Moses was afraid, but the passage in Hebrews says Moses "left Egypt not fearing the king's anger." Of what was Moses afraid, and why did he flee to Midian? (see Exodus 2:11-15; Acts 7:22-29)

2. What personal commitment did Moses's flight to Midian signify? (see v. 24-26)

3. What significant event did Moses' flight from Egypt foreshadow? (see Exodus 12:50-51)

4. Both times Moses left Egypt, what kept him from assimilating into the culture and fading out of history? (see 11:1, 6, 27)

5. How did Moses' attitude change during his forty years in Midian? (see Acts 7:25-29; Exodus 2:23-24; 3:7-11)

6. Instead of Moses feeling called and qualified to lead Israel out of bondage, what did he finally recognize? (see Exodus 3:12-16; 4:10-12)

7. How did God accommodate Moses' faithless reluctance? (see Exodus 4:13-17)

8. What act of covenant faith did Moses have to perform before God would allow him to complete his commission to lead Israel? (see Exodus 4:24-26)

Passing Over

9. What/who was the "destroyer of the firstborn" in verse 28? (see Psalm 78:49; 2 Samuel 15-16; 2 Kings 19:35; 1 Corinthians 10:10)

10. Some say that God does not inflict pain or destruction on people. What does this story suggest about God bringing destruction? (see also Isaiah 37:36; Exodus 32:9-10; Numbers 16:42-49; Psalm 106:21-23; Jeremiah 14:12; Ezekiel 20:13-14)

11. God gave Moses the ritual of Passover to save the lives of Israel's firstborn. This ceremony was to be a yearly celebration for the people of Israel. The story is found in Exodus 12. What was each family in Israel to do? (see Exodus 12:3-11)

12. Families were allowed to share a lamb if their households were too small to eat a whole lamb. What was the significance of putting blood on the doorframes of the houses where they ate the lambs (v. 7)?

13. What was the significance of the blood? (v. 13; Romans 3:25; 5:9; Hebrews 9:22; Revelation 1:5; Revelation 5:9)

14. The death of Egypt's firstborn and the protective blood over the Israelites foreshadow a future event. What is it, and who suffers? (see Romans 2:5-6; Revelation 6:16-17; 19:15; 20:11-18)

15. Who is spared from God's wrath, and why? (John 3:36; Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)

Seeing the Unseen

16. What is meant by Moses "persevered because he saw him who is invisible"? (v. 27) (see John 20:27; 1 Cor. 13:12; 2 Corinthians 5:7; 4:18)

17. Moses couldn't see how he prefigured Jesus. What are some significant ways Moses was a type of Jesus? How was he different?

Application

18. When have you, like Moses fleeing Egypt for Midian, made a change or a major decision that confirmed a difficult commitment?

19. How have you experienced God pursuing you when you were trying to avoid dealing with pain, a crisis, or some other life difficulty?

20. What experience(s) have you had that was a wilderness experience? How did it change you?

22. What do you feel God calling you to do for which He, not your training, has prepared you?

Commitment

23. In what area of your life do you sense God pursuing you, calling you to integrity and accountability?

24. In what unresolved issue in your life is Jesus asking you to persevere by faith?

25. Have you committed your whole life to Jesus, giving him a heart commitment, not just a head commitment?

26. Ask God to help you trust him when your life seems out-of-control. Ask him to help you to stay grounded in reality instead of zoning into denial or avoidance. Ask him to be present in your pain and to bring meaning and peace into your trial. Let Jesus redeem your suffering and transform your sins into monuments of faith and trust.