1. Why did the children of Israel murmur against Moses and Aaron?
    •        “And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the
    wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in
    the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us
    forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger”(Exodus 16:2-3).

2. Where would the bread for the children of Israel come from?
    •        “Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go
    out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no”
    (Exodus 16:4; cf. John 6:31-33).

3. What did the children of Israel call the bread left by God for them after the dew was gone?
    •        “And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small
    round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.  And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to
    another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord
    hath given you to eat” (Exodus 16:14-15).

4. Were the children of Israel able to gather enough bread from God for everyone to eat?
    •        Yes, (Exodus 16:18).

5. Why did the Lord say unto Moses, “How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws” (Exodus 16:28)?
    •        Some gathered bread on the Sabbath contrary to the instructions of the Lord (Exodus 16:4-5; 22-30).

6. What was Aaron instructed to put manna in to be laid up before the Lord for generations?
    •        A pot which would be later kept in the holy of holies in the temple (Exodus 16:33; cf. Hebrews 9:3-4).

7. How long did the children of Israel eat manna?
    •        Forty years (Exodus 16:35).

8. What was the next thing the children of Israel murmured against Moses about?
    •        “And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their
    journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for
    the people to drink.  Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink.
    And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?  And the people thirsted
    there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought
    us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst” (Exodus 17:1-3)?

9. What did Moses think the people were ready to do to him?
    •        “And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone
    me” (Exodus 17:4).

10. What was God’s solution to the new issue of the children of Israel?
    •        “And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and
    thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.  Behold, I will stand before thee there
    upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people
    may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.  And he called the name of the place Massah,
    and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is
    the Lord among us, or not” (Exodus 17:5-7)?

11. What was the key to victory over Amalek?
    •        Moses having his hands raised up (Exodus 17:11-16).

12. Who did Jethro bring to Moses?
    •        Moses’ wife and sons (Exodus 18:2-6).

13. What did Jethro advise Moses to change and why did he do so?
    •        Moses was acting as the only judge over the people, so Jethro advised him to let himself and others
    help for Moses would be overburdened and the people would wear away (Exodus 18:13-26).

14. Where was the mountain in chapter nineteen that Moses went upon to speak to the Lord?
    •        The wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 19:1-3; 11).

15. What would Israel be if they obeyed the Lord?
    •        “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar
    treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and
    an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:5-6).

16. Did the people agree to obey God?
    •        Yes, (Exodus 19:7-8).

17. Was the coming of the Lord to appear before the people on Mount Sinai a small thing?
    •        No, (Exodus 19:16-20).

18. Where the people allowed upon Mount Sinai to see the Lord?
    •        No, just Moses and Aaron (Exodus 19:21-25).

19. Was the instruction against idolatry limited to just bowing down before idols?
    •        No, they weren’t to make them (any image of anything in heaven or earth) or serve them at all (Exodus
    20:2-5).

20. What would taking the name of the Lord in vain mean?
    •        Using it in any empty or useless way as this is the definition of vain (Exodus 20:7).

21. What was the instruction concerning the Sabbath Day?
    •        “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the
    seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
    daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in
    six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
    wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).
    •        This should be kept in mind for modern day Sabbath keepers (which the N.T. of Christ does not instruct
    for Christians) as well as though who believe in a “Christian Sabbath” being Sunday.  None of those really
    keep it!

22. Was covetousness limited to just financial matters?
    •        No, it included the wife, servants, etc. (Exodus 20:17).

23. It is certain these instructions are for the children of Israel (Exodus 19:4-8).   Using the New Testament, can you
prove that the instructions Moses gave here to Israel are not binding on us today?
    •        (Romans 7:1-6, Galatians 3:14-29; 5:4, Ephesians 2:11-17, Colossians 2:14, and Hebrews 1:1-2; 8:7-
    13; 9:15-17).
    •        Some of the instructions are binding today because they are repeated in the New Testament which all
    are under today (cf. Romans 13:9-10).

24. Why did God want His fear before the faces of the people?
    •        That they’d sin not (Exodus 20:20).

25. What did God instruct the children of Israel to make rather than idols for Him?
    •        An altar of earth (Exodus 20:22-26).
Having A Basic Understanding of Some Old Testament Truths
Part 9 – The Wilderness of Sin Through Instructions Concerning the Altar (Exodus 16-20)

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© 2008 This study was prepared for the midweek studies of the Sunrise Acres church of Christ in El Paso, TX by Brian A. Yeager.