Lesson 4: God Loves His People

Before you do this lesson, read these verses from the Zabur:

Psalm 78:1-72 -- O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old-
3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
8 They would not be like their forefathers—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.
9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle;
10 they did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by his law.
11 They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.
12 He did miracles in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand firm like a wall.
14 He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.
15 He split the rocks in the desert and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.
17 But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
18 They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the desert?
20 When he struck the rock, water gushed out, and streams flowed abundantly. But can he also give us food? Can he supply meat for his people?"
21 When the LORD heard them, he was very angry; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel,
22 for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.
23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens;
24 he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Men ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He let loose the east wind from the heavens and led forth the south wind by his power.
27 He rained meat down on them like dust, flying birds like sand on the seashore.
28 He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents.
29 They ate till they had more than enough, for he had given them what they craved.
30 But before they turned from the food they craved, even while it was still in their mouths,
31 God's anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.
34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again.
35 They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues;
37 their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved him in the wasteland!
41 Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember his power— the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,
43 the day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers to blood; they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility—a band of destroying angels.
50 He prepared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague.
51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.
52 But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the desert.
53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 Thus he brought them to the border of his holy land, to the hill country his right hand had taken.
55 He drove out nations before them and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance; he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
56 But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes.
57 Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow.
58 They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols.
59 When God heard them, he was very angry; he rejected Israel completely.
60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among men.
61 He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62 He gave his people over to the sword; he was very angry with his inheritance.
63 Fire consumed their young men, and their maidens had no wedding songs;
64 their priests were put to the sword, and their widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a man wakes from the stupor of wine.
66 He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame.
67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved.
69 He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.
70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens;
71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them.

Now read the lesson and do the test at the end. The lesson explains what you have read in the Zabur.

At Mount Sinai God made a covenant with the People of Israel. The people promised to obey God (Exodus 19:8). God promised the People of the Covenant: "You will be my chosen people." (Exodus 19:5). God never broke this covenant. God was like a father to all the people who accepted His covenant. They were his people indeed.

The Long Safari* to Palestine

After the surprising things at Mount Sinai, God led the People of Israel through the Sinai Desert and into Palestine. Although the safari from Egypt to Palestine usually took only 11 days, the People of Israel spent nearly 40 years travelling to Palestine.

The safari to Palestine took a long time because the People of Israel often turned away from God. We read about this safari in the Taurat. We can also read about it in the Zabur (Psalms).

In the Zabur, chapter 78, we read about some of the important events in the life of the People of Israel. It tells about their safari through the desert and also about some important experiences during their later life in Palestine. Let us look at parts of this chapter from the Zabur.

Verse 12: God brought the People of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. We learned about that in Lesson 2 of this course.
Verse 13: When the people were leaving Egypt, they came to the Red Sea. Pharaoh was sorry that he had let them go and decided to attack them with his army. The people were trapped between Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea. But God sent a great wind which divided the waters and made a path for the people. They passed safely through the divided sea. When Pharaoh tried to follow them through the sea, the water suddenly returned and covered Pharaoh and his army. All were destroyed.
Verse 14: God led the people through the desert with a cloud. At night the cloud became a fire. When God wanted the people to rest, the cloud stood still. When God wanted them to travel, the cloud moved.
Verses 15-16: Sometimes the people became thirsty. Several times God provided water from a rock.
Verses 17-25: The people became hungry in the desert. So God sent food from heaven called manna. The manna was white and covered the ground every morning except Saturday which was the day of rest. The people gathered the manna and ate it. It tasted like honey.
Verses 26-29: Later the people complained* about the manna. They wanted meat. So God sent birds into their camps for the people to eat.
Verses 40-42: The People of Israel often spoke against God. They did not believe that God could give them the land he had promised to Abraham their father. There were many great cities and strong nations in the land. Some of the people wanted to go back to Egypt. For this reason God became angry with them. For punishment they had to live in the desert 40 years.

All of the grown people, except Joshua and Caleb, who had left Egypt died in the desert. Even the Prophet Moses died in the desert. He could not enter Palestine.

The People Enter Palestine

Verse 55: After Moses died, Joshua became the new leader of the people. Slowly Joshua led the tribes of Israel into Palestine. Great battles were fought with the cities and nations living in Palestine. After many years of war, the land became safe for the People of Israel. Each of the tribes received a share of the land. Only the tribe of Levi was without land because it was to be the tribe of priests.

The Kings

Verses 70-71: In Palestine the people became rich. Finally they chose a king. Their first king was called Saul. At first King Saul respected God, but later he turned away from God. For this reason, God did not let Saul be king any more and chose David to be the new king. David was a shepherd when God called him to be king. David became both a prophet and a king.

David's son, Solomon, was very wise and rich. He became king after King David died. King Solomon wrote many proverbs which are in the Bible. He built a great temple for God in Jerusalem. The temple was at the same place where the Mosque of Omar stands today.

During this time the Queen from the country of Sheba visited Solomon. She saw that many things in Solomon's house were covered with gold. Silver was everywhere.

To get so much silver and gold, Solomon taxed the people. He taxed them too hard, and they made a revolution* after he died. After the revolution the People of Israel became two nations: Israel and Judah. Each nation had its own king. The story of these kings is found in the books of Kings and Chronicles in the Bible.

The People Lose Their Freedom

Israel became very evil, and finally the people of Assyria made them into slaves. They were lost among the people of the east. Only Judah was left in Palestine.

Sometimes Judah followed God. Other times the people did evil. Sometimes they even burned their children as a sacrifice to the idol Molech. God punished them by sending the Chaldean army against them. The Chaldeans took most of the people to Mesopotamia as slaves. The Chaldeans also destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.

In Mesopotamia the people admitted their sins and turned to God again. After 70 years God let them return to Palestine. The kings of Mesopotamia were very kind. They let the people build a new Jerusalem and a new temple.

Later Palestine became part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were the rulers of Palestine when Jesus lived.

The People of God Have Faith

Although the People of the Covenant were a small nation, God never forgot the covenant which he had made with them at Mount Sinai. God loved them.

Although they sinned much, God never forgot them. He wanted their faith to grow so that they could show the whole world that God loves people.

Here is a list of difficult words in this lesson.
Safari               -     trip
complain          -     to say that something is wrong or to find fault with something
revolution        -     to change the government completely

Learn this verse. Psalm 25:10: "With faithfulness and love he leads all who keep his covenant and obey his commands."

Test 4: God's Covenant with People

Here is the test for Lesson 4. Write the letter of the correct answer on the line provided.
1)   Palestine was the land which God promised to
      a)   Adam.
      b)   Abraham.
      c)   Noah.   
___
2)   The journey to Palestine took a long time because the People of Israel
      a)   returned to Egypt several times.
      b)   turned away from God.
      c)   got lost in the desert.     
___
3)   The first king of the People of Israel was
      a)   David.
      b)   Moses.
      c)   Saul.     
___
4)   Who built a great temple for God in Jerusalem?
      a)   King Solomon.
      b)   King David.
      c)   King Saul.      
___
5)   Who wrote many proverbs?
      a)   King Solomon.
      b)   King David
      c)   King Saul.    
___
Write "True" or "False" after each of the following sentences.
6)   The People of Israel lived in the desert for 40 years.   ______
7)   The Prophet Moses led the People of Israel into Palestine.     ______
8)   The tribe of Levi did not receive land in Palestine.     ______
9)   After King Solomondied, the People of Israel divided into two nations. ______
10) Although the People of Israel sinned much, God never forgot them.   ______