Unit 17 – Travelers
Lesson 51 – God Gives the Ten Commandments – Exodus 19-24
Preparation for the Teacher
1. Aim: To lead the people to understand some of the reasons why God gave the Ten Commandments.
2. Explanation of the Aim: Paul the apostle explains why God gave us the law of the commandments when he wrote, “The law was our guardian and teacher to lead us until Christ came. So now, through faith in Christ, we are made right with God.” (Gal. 3:24) The law is a useful school-master to teach us where we go astray from God’s will. When a pupil makes a mistake the law acts as a tutor reproving and correcting the student so they can get back on the right track. The law teaches us that we need salvation found only through faith in Christ Jesus. It is only God’s grace that supplies salvation, not by keeping of the law. The Lord uses the law to show us how inadequate we are to live according to the righteousness of God. The law points us to Christ where we find our adequate, acceptance and justification before God. His laws help expose sin and they give standards for righteous living.
3. The Bible Story: After the Israelites escaped from the Egyptians by the Red Sea, God led them through the wilderness where they arrived at the base of Mount Sinai, God’s holy mountain. It was here that the Lord gave Moses the Ten Commandments along with instructions for the building of the Tabernacle as the center of worship. Through the process of God giving the law we learn how important it is to obey the Lord and only serve Him. God designed the law to enhance our relationship with Him.
4. Prepare to Teach: The INTRODUCTION is used to find out if the people know why God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments? Find out if any of the people know some of the advantages the people of Israel enjoyed because of the Ten Commandments that other nations did not have? Read Gal. 3:24 and ask some of the people if they can explain the meaning of that verse? Ask the people what would happen if a society did not have any laws? The BIBLE STORY teaches how the basic reasons why God gave his people the Ten Commandments. Help the people learn at least three main benefits that the Israelites had after they were given the laws of God. The MEANING FOR OUR LIVES allows the people to make applications from the lesson. Ask the people if they can explain several benefits that the law provided to the Israelites? Find out if the people understand why God still uses His laws in our personal lives and communities? Ask the people why the law is adequate to bring righteousness into the life of any individual? Find out if any of the people can explain why the law is insufficient to bring righteousness, justification, and perfection to any person?
CLASS TIME (Begin With Prayer)
Introduction
Ask the people if they know why God gave the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai? Find out if any of the people know about the advantages that the Israelites enjoyed over others nations because of the Ten Commandments? Read Gal. 3:24 and ask some of the people if they can explain the meaning of that verse? Ask the people what would happen if a society did not have laws?
The Bible Story
God used Moses as the messenger of God’s Ten Commandments. Notice that God is the initiator of all that is righteous, true and holy. People are called to obey what the directives given to them by God. The more we obey God the greater insights He will give us about His will for our life. The people of God were given the Ten Commandments as a covenant by which they were to establish the government of Jehovah. God’s law give us the guidelines by which we are to order our individual lives, our family life as well as our society. The law of God is the basis of all other laws. Let us remember that the Ten Commandments were but a shadow of the good things to come in Jesus Christ. It was Jesus who said, “All of the law of the prophets is summarized by the commandment “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:26,27) However, as we read the Old Testament will learn how Israel broke God’s law and so he declared a new covenant with Israel would be written not on stone, but in their hearts. (Jer. 31:33 and Hebrews 8:7-10)
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were like many professing Christians today. They enjoyed the outward privileges and advantages of being identified with God, but they did not have a personal relationship with God. Do not fall into this same mistake today. The Lord gives us the scripture so that we can know the righteousness of God through a personal saving faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. It is only then that we can truly experience the external and internal power of having a personal relationship with God through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Unlike the people of Israel in the Old Testament we enjoy the personal illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit as we read His word. The Israelites of old had to rely on their mediator Moses to interpret God’s will for them. Our mediator is found in our hearts in the person of Jesus Christ. He illuminates, instructs and inspires us through His word. Through Christ, our personal Mediator, He is our Prophet who reveals God’s will to us. He interprets the principles and promises to us from the scripture. Christ is our High Priest who offers up to God our spiritual sacrifices, not only of prayer and praise, but of devout affections, and holy determinations by the work of his own Spirit in us.
God saw to it that the solemn manner in which the law was delivered, was to impress the people with a right sense of the Divine majesty. God used the Ten Commandments to convince people of their own guilt, and to show that they could not stand in judgment before God by their own obedience. In the law, the sinner discovers what he ought to be, what he is, and what he wants. There he learns the nature, necessity, and glory of redemption, and of being made holy. Having been taught to flee to Christ, and to love him, the law is the rule of his obedience and faith.
When Moses explained to the people what God had said many hardened their hearts. Some people are not moved by the harshest of warnings from God because they are stubborn and not open to correction. Regardless of what is preached to some people they will refuse to hear what is beneficial. Every person must remember that they are born into sin and without God’s mercy they are headed for destruction, judgement and hell’s fire. God graciously gave us the Ten Commandments so that we would see our utter helplessness to become righteous in His sight. We need Jesus Christ to make us acceptable in the Holy eyes of the Creator. We cannot stand in judgment before him according to his righteous law. God gave the law so people would ask the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life? (John 3:1-3) It is only by having saving faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ that we are made righteous, forgiven and justified (Made right) in the eyes of God. He cleanses us from all our inadequacies. In the gospel we read, Christ redeems us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. We have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Through him we are justified from all things, from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses. But the Divine law is binding as a rule of life. The Son of God came down from heaven, and suffered poverty, shame, agony, and death, not only to redeem us from its curse, but to bind us more closely to keep its commands. Let us trust God to help us to live according to God’s commands by the power of the Spirit.
Memory Verse: So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. (Gal. 3:24)
The Meaning for Our Lives
Help the people to make applications from the lesson. Ask the people if they can explain several benefits that the law provided to the Israelites? Find out if the people understand why God still uses His laws in our personal lives and communities? Ask the people why the law is adequate to bring righteousness into the life of any individual? Find out if any of the people can explain why the law is insufficient to bring righteousness, justification, and perfection to any person?
Response
Song: Free from the law
Prayer: Ask the Lord to thank Him for the way the law points us to Christ to find ways that we can please Him in all respects and bear fruit in every good work as we increase in the knowledge of God.
At Home: Ask your parents what are some of the benefits of the Ten Commandments?
