Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

“The angel of the Lord” appeared to Moses in flames of fire “from within a bush” ( Exod. 3:2, NIV ). It was the Lord Jesus Himself speaking to Moses “from within the bush” ( Exod. 3:4, NIV ). Do not be confused with the title “angel of the Lord” as a depiction of Jesus Christ. The term angel itself simply means “messenger” (Hebrew mal’akh), and it always depends on the context whether this angel i...

After Moses fled to Midian, he had a relatively easy life. He married, had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer ( Exod. 18:3, 4 ), and was part of the extended family of Jethro, his father-in-law and a priest in Midian. He spent 40 relaxed years being a shepherd, like David ( 2 Sam. 7:8 ), enjoying God’s presence, especially as revealed in nature. Yet, this time was not simply for Moses to smell the flow...

Read for This Week’s Study Exod. 18:3, 4; Exod. 3:1–22; Gen. 22:11, 15–18; Exod. 6:3; Joel 2:32; Exod. 4:1–31; Gen. 17:10, 11 . Memory Text: God’s call to us will often change the direction of our lives. However, if we follow that call, then we discover that God’s path is always the best route for us. However, sometimes—at first—it isn’t easy to accept God’s call. Such is the case for Moses and hi...

Read Ellen G. White, “Moses,” pp. 241–251, in Patriarchs and Prophets, which will give you significant insights into the studied portion of the biblical text for this week. The biblical text states that “the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive” ( Exod. 1:17, NKJV ). Ellen G. White aptly comments on the faithfulness of the midwi...

Read  Exodus 2:11–25 . What events quickly transpired to change the entire direction of Moses’ life? What lessons can we learn from this story? What would Moses do? Would he succumb to the lure of Egypt and to the pleasures of the court, or would he endure hardship with his embattled people? Events soon forced a decision for him. “When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Mos...

Read  Exodus 2:1–10 . What role did God’s providence and protection play in Moses’ birth story? The historical background of Moses’ birth and life is thrilling because he lived during the time of the famous Egyptian eighteenth dynasty. One king during this dynasty—Thutmose III, called the “Napoleon of Egypt”—is considered one of the most famous pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Though under a death sente...

One cannot understand the book of Exodus without presupposing the teachings of Genesis. The Jews moved to Egypt, and, after a time of great prosperity and peace, they were enslaved. But God did not abandon His people to their problems, even though it may sometimes have seemed so. No doubt many of the Hebrew people despaired of their plight. Yet, in the time of distress, God comes to help with His...

When Jacob’s family arrived in Egypt after experiencing famine in Canaan ( Genesis 46 ), the Egyptian king was friendly toward the Hebrews because of Joseph and all that he had done for the Egyptians. “And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.’ Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen...

The book of Exodus is called in Hebrew  shemot , literally “names” in English, according to the opening words of that ancient document. “And these are the names” is how it begins. The names of the patriarch Jacob’s family are enumerated right at the start. Read  Exodus 1:1–7 . What crucial truth is found here? The book of Exodus begins with a reminder of God’s blessing. When the patriarch Jacob an...

The God revealed in the book of Exodus is the loving Lord who at the appointed time—and with His mighty actions—brought salvation and deliverance to His people (Gen. 15:12–16). The exodus from Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea were pivotal and unique events—God’s spectacular and marvelous acts. No greater or more glorious event ever happened in the history of ancient Israel before the Cross. I...

Read for This Week’s Study Exod. 1:1–22; Gen. 37:26–28; Gen. 39:2, 21; Acts 7:6; Gal. 3:16, 17; Exod. 2:1–25 . Memory Text: The book of Exodus resonates with accounts of the oppressed, the marginalized, the persecuted, the exploited, and the degraded. Thus, people today who feel abandoned, forgotten, and enslaved can find hope, because the same God who saved the Hebrews can save them as well. The...

Read Ellen G. White, “The Unseen Watcher,” pp. 535–538, in Prophets and Kings. “Every nation that has come upon the stage of action has been permitted to occupy its place on the earth, that the fact might be determined whether it would fulfill the purposes of the Watcher and the Holy One. Prophecy has traced the rise and progress of the world’s great empires—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome....

When Cyrus sacked the city of Babylon, the years of captivity for God’s people were over, and the Persians permitted the Jews to return to the Promised Land and rebuild the temple. Under Cyrus, the Persian Empire became the largest in history, with what historian Tom Holland calls “the largest agglomeration of territories that the world had ever seen.”—Dominion (New York: Basic Books, 2019), p. 25...

One of Babylon’s strengths was the way that the Euphrates River flowed underneath its walls, providing the city with an unlimited supply of water. It also proved to be its weakness. Nitocris, an ancient Babylonian queen, had created earthen works along the river to develop it as a route to the city. In the process, she had diverted the river into a swamp to allow crews to work comfortably. Cyrus r...

After the city of Nineveh had been humbled (612 B.C.) by a coalition army that included both Medes and Babylonians (led by Nebuchadnezzar’s father), the city of Babylon experienced a revival, the likes of which the city had not seen since the days of Hammurabi, their great lawgiver. Under Nebuchadnezzar, who was now free from the problem of Assyrian raids, the city of Babylon grew in wealth and in...

Jonah had a very distinct message for the people of Nineveh. “And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ ” ( Jon. 3:4, NKJV ). It seems pretty clear: the place was doomed. After all, was that not a word directly from a prophet of the Lord? Yet, what happened to Nineveh? Read  Jonah 3:5–10 . Why was this...

The story of Jonah (see  Jonah 1–4 ), while brief, delivers considerable impact. Many believers have found reflections of themselves in this reluctant prophet. The story also contains remarkable overtones of future events. Read  Matthew 12:38–42 . Which parts of the story of Jonah does Jesus refer to as He addresses the scribes and Pharisees? What lessons about the judgment are found in His statem...

Read for This Week’s Study Matt. 12:38–42; Jonah 3:5–10; Rev. 18:4; Dan. 5:1–31; Rev. 16:12–19; 2 Chron. 36:22, 23 . Memory Text: This week will be our final look at accounts that help elucidate our understanding of last-day events. This time we will look at the mission of Jonah to Nineveh; the fall of Babylon; and the rise of Cyrus, the Persian king who liberated God’s people and enabled them to...

Read Ellen G. White, “God’s People Delivered,” pp. 635–652, in The Great Controversy. “In all ages, God has wrought through holy angels for the succor and deliverance of His people. Celestial beings have taken an active part in the affairs of men. They have appeared clothed in garments that shone as the lightning; they have come as men in the garb of wayfarers. Angels have appeared in human form t...

As the years have passed and final events—such as the death decree and the enforcement of the mark of the beast—have not yet happened, some have expressed doubt, even skepticism, about our interpretation of final events, including how Sabbath and Sunday could be central to the final conflict. The book of Revelation is clear: we either worship the Creator or the beast and its image. And because the...

It’s not just the Old Testament that gives us precursors to final events; the New Testament does, as well. Life was not easy for first-century Christians. They were hated by many of their own fellow religionists, who saw them as a threat to the faith of Moses. They also faced the wrath of the pagan Roman Empire. “The powers of earth and hell arrayed themselves against Christ in the person of His f...

Bible students have long seen the connection between  Daniel 3  and what Revelation teaches about last-day events. And with good cause, too, because  Daniel 3 —with the command, punishable by death, to “worship the image” ( Dan. 3:15 )—reflects what Revelation teaches about the command, punishable by death, to worship another image. “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, t...

However much fealty Nebuchadnezzar, impressed by what Daniel had done, at first paid to Daniel and to his God (see  Daniel 2 , especially vv. 46–48), it didn’t last. Read  Daniel 3:1–12 . What significance can be found in the fact that the statue was all gold and that the king demanded that it be worshiped? The king underscored his defiance of God’s message by constructing a statue made  entirely...

One of the most powerful prophecies in all Scripture is  Daniel 2 . Writing more than five hundred years before Christ, the prophet set out world history, starting from his time in Babylon and then through Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the breakup of Rome into the nations of modern Europe as they exist today. In fact, talking about these European nations, one text says that “ ‘they will mingle w...

Read for This Week’s Study Dan. 2:31–45; Dan. 3:1–12, 17, 18; Rev. 13:11–17; Rom. 1:18–25; Acts 12:1–17; Matt. 12:9–14 . Memory Text: This week, we will look at two more Bible stories that foreshadow last-day events in remarkable detail. First, we will examine the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, which has obvious allusions to the issues portrayed in  Revelation 13 . Then we will turn t...