Teaching God's Word is such an enjoyment, but it is also serious business! Here are a few questions to ask ourselves as we pause tonight from our study in Exodus:
- Are we looking forward to teaching our Bible lessons?
- Do we think about the lessons throughout the week?
- Are we planning for the next class before Saturday at midnight?
- Are we remembering these facts for the future studies?
The older I get, the more I treasure God's Word. Certainly, I have always treasured His words, but now I gain comfort from them and learn something new every time I study. Each and every story holds something new to be learned by the reader. Even as I look back on these few lessons that we have been studying together, I have learned and appreciated a few new things, such as wonderment at what Moses' family called him before he was named by Pharaoh's daughter (no answer in the Bible), the staggering number of Israelites who traveled across the Red Sea (600,000 men, not counting women and children-surely, over a million, maybe two -Ex. 12:37), and, when standing before the burning bush, God told Moses that He was going to bring the children of Israel right back to "this mountain" (Ex. 3:12). Surely, I have read these accounts before, but now appreciate the fact that every time I read, I find a 'new' fact, at least new to me.
Perhaps, you, too, have read these same verses and thought, "Is that how it was? I had learned it differently, but there it is in the Bible," and then quickly changed your thinking. It is amazing how many ideas and thoughts we have had our whole lives, maybe even learning them from a dear friend or loved one, only to find that when we open up God's Word that is not how it was (perhaps how the children of Israel walked on dry land when crossing the Red Sea-Ex. 14:29, etc.) We were mistaken, innocently mistaken, but mistaken just the same. May we both have those tender hearts that can be changed when we learn the Truth. How serious it is that we learn and study, so we can teach others the Truth and not just what we think happened. Serious stuff! (James 3:1)
May we both learn as we study together and teach God's Word to our sweet students. May we appreciate the beauty and design of this Light that God has given to His readers. We must know before we can teach because if we don't teach them the Truth, who will? It must be US! Keep up the good work!
