Icebreaker

What’s your favorite thing to do outside?

Recap

We all want to get better in many areas of life, better husbands, better wives, better parents, better friends, and better in our walk with God, but there are a few main areas that we will always need to come back to for refining. During a time in the life of the Israelites where refining is taking place, we learn about three areas – God’s Provision, God’s Protection, and God’s Control – and we ask ourselves, do we really trust that God’s got us covered? 

Scripture Reference

Exodus 16:1-4 and Exodus 17

Focus Questions

The Discovery Bible Study (DBS) method uses eight foundational questions meant to encourage, connect, discover, apply, and multiply. Stick with the scripture referenced above. Allow God to speak to you through this specific passage without looking at other books or scripture. This allows for new discoveries to happen!

Connection: Let’s follow up from last week.

1. How did it go taking your next step in obedience from last week?
2. What wins did you have this past week?
3. What wins are you hoping to have this coming week?

Discovery: Let’s dive into today’s scripture (Exodus 16:1-4 and Exodus 17).

1. What does this teach you about God?
2. What does this teach you about mankind?
3. What questions, doubts, or breakthroughs do you have from this scripture?

Apply: Let’s live this scripture out!

1. How can I apply what I have just learned this week?
2. Which two people will I share this with?

This Week

Read Acts 7:38-39. The Israelites were in the process of being rescued from the bondage and slavery they experienced in Egypt, but they hadn’t yet reached the Promised Land. What do you think it means when we are told the Israelites turned back to Egypt in their hearts? Why is it so tempting to go back to the place we’ve come from rather than tough it out and continue stepping toward the freedom in Christ we are promised? 

Have you ever found yourself in a season of refinement? Perhaps you are there now. Think about why God would want you to go through such a difficult season. What purpose would He have for that? What areas in your life might need recalibration? 

In Exodus 16:4 God provides more manna than the Israelites need in a day, yet he instructs them to only gather enough for one day and nothing more. Still, many Israelites chose to grab all they could and hoard it in their baskets. What are you grabbing in excess? In what way(s) are you trying to control your own provision and not trusting God in it?

In Exodus 17:8-13 we read about a war that is being won through God’s protection alone, yet the only way the battle will be won is if Moses remains obedient. Moses, being human, grows weary and tired. He could have given up, exhausted. Instead, others come to the aid of Moses and help hold his hands steady and in the place God commanded Moses’s hands to be. Identify any area(s) that you need help holding steady in order to stay obedient to God’s protection. Who can you go to for help? Are you able to trust God with your protection right now?

In Exodus 32:1-6 the Israelites are attempting to honor and praise God while also morphing their worship into the ways of the Egyptians and their idols. In what ways do you worship God while embracing cultural relativism (i.e., sex before marriage; drunkenness; swearing; not taking a sabbath, etc.)? Do you look to God first? Or second? Do you trust God with control of your life or are there areas you are still trying to control by yourself?