Sabbath School Lesson for August 9-15, 2025
Introduction of Lesson 7, The Bread and Water of Life
Memory Text: “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.’ So the people rested on the seventh day.” Exodus 16:28-30 NKJV
The Israelites had learned to trust Moses as the spokesman for God when they saw the miracles performed that led to their escape from Egypt. But their faith often wavered with each new challenge they encountered on their long journey to Canaan. There were many lessons for them yet to learn that required self-control, sacrifice, patience, and unselfishness. God was not through providing them with miracles to encourage their obedience and grow their faith.
The Lord had some very unique ways to satisfy their basic physical needs of food and water on the desert. The manna (called bread from heaven in John 6:31) had built-in miracles that they witnessed every day. And the water, pouring forth from a rock, was an unforgotten miracle they would also learn to cherish. After all, Jesus WAS the Rock (1 Corinthians 10:4).
When Jesus told the disciples to pray for their “daily bread”, they knew what a true and everlasting blessing their bread was from that miracle of manna. We also mustn’t forget the Last Supper when Jesus explained to them that the unleavened bread was a symbol of His broken body. Their drink, the sweet, not bitter, unfermented wine, was also in remembrance of His shed blood.
- Sunday: Bitter Waters
- Monday: Quail and Manna
- Tuesday: Water From the Rock
- Wednesday: Jethro
- Thursday: The Bread and Water of Life
Sunday: Bitter Waters
Since we can’t live longer than 3-5 days without water, it’s no wonder that there was worry and complaining among the travelers when there was no drinkable water at their first encampment, after three days of strenuous walking. The water they found there was called Marah, meaning “bitter”. You may recall Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi calling herself “Mara” after the bitter loss of her husband and two sons.
The solution God had for this unfortunate lack of water was for Moses to find a tree and cast it into the waters. To their amazement and joy, this simple act made the water clear and drinkable. It may also have pointed forward to when Jesus would die for them by “hanging on a tree” (Acts 5:30).
It was a relief to find their next encampment was an oasis, with twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees (Exodus 15:27). Clearly, God was providing for them with both natural and supernatural means.
Verses and questions:
Exodus 15:22-27
- What lessons might the Lord have desired for His children through this trial of bitter water?
- How could they prevent having disease, according to verse 26? What other things would their willing obedience have prevented?
Monday: Quail and Manna
After about a month and a half of traveling, their food supplies were exhausted, and Moses and Aaron were again angrily reproached. The complainers let their present hunger blind them to the miracles God had already shown them just days before.
Appetite has often been a focal point of Satan’s temptations. He knows our intense need for food and drink, so he uses it to his advantage. The very first sin of mankind in the Garden of Eden involved eating from the forbidden tree. And later, Esau lost his birthright over a bowl of lentils.
To prove God heard their complaints at this critical time, He sent them first a cloud of quail at twilight for their meat. The manna that was on the ground the next morning showed them how the Sabbath should be kept. For five days they were instructed to gather just enough manna for one day. But on the sixth day, they were to gather twice as much to last them over the Sabbath hours. Miraculously, the double portion did not spoil or breed worms, as it had on the other days when they tested God by gathering too much.
Verses and questions:
Exodus 16:1-36
- What was the cause of the Israelites grumbling this time, and how did God handle it?
- What do we learn about God from this episode in the wilderness?
Tuesday: Water From the Rock
God had already performed a miracle earlier when He made the bitter waters turn sweet and drinkable at one location. But as they traveled on, with their water supplies again depleted, they came to a place where no water flowed. Once again, the people complained to Moses, ready to stone him. It seemed some of them were hardening their hearts, just as those back in Egypt.
This time God told Moses to stand on the rock of Horeb and strike the rock with his rod. He did so in front of the elders, and instantly water poured forth from the rock. To remind them of this miracle, Moses named the place Massah and Meribah which meant that it was a place of “testing” and “contention or quarreling”.
1 Corinthians 10:4 tells us how important this water from the rock was for their spiritual growth. Jesus clearly was the Rock that provided their thirsty souls with life-sustaining water. The rock metaphor is also found in several Old Testament references (Psalm 18:2, 62:2). He is our rock, our fortress, our salvation.
Verses and questions:
Exodus 17:1-7 and Psalm 78:15-16
- What can we learn from this episode about ourselves and about God?
Wednesday: Jethro
Moses’ father-in-law Jethro was a Midianite priest. The Midianites were descendants of Abraham, but not through Sarah. Midian was one of the sons of Keturah, whom Abraham had married after Sarah’s death. This nomadic people proved to be allies, but sometimes adversaries of the Hebrews. In this case though, Moses found a worthy friend in Jethro, who took him in when he fled Egypt as a youth.
Jethro came at this point of the exodus to visit Moses, along with Moses’ wife Zipporah and their two sons. Jethro rejoiced when told of all the miracles God had performed in order for the Egyptians to release them from bondage.
The next day, after seeing how exhausting it was for Moses to judge all the cases brought before him, Jethro had an excellent idea for the establishment of a better judicial system. He suggested that Moses select capable men of good character to judge over smaller groups of the vast multitude of travelers. There could be rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and even tens of people, greatly reducing Moses’ workload. Moses welcomed the idea and immediately began to choose those who would help him, freeing him to judge only the most difficult cases.
Verses and questions:
Exodus 18:1-27
- With all Moses’ military training, why do you think he had not thought of Jethro’s plan to divide the work of judging everything himself?
- What can we learn from this incident about our own willingness to accept counsel from others?
Thursday: The Bread and Water of Life
God has given us physical hunger and thirst in order to keep us alive. But He has also endowed us with spiritual hunger and thirst, which only a relationship with Him can satisfy. When we hunger and thirst after God, we are kept alive for eternity.
This is why Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, called Himself “living water” (John 4:10). And also why He spoke to the Jews, calling Himself “the Bread of Life” (John 6:48).
God provides us with daily bread and everything else in our lives. The miracle of manna should have been a daily reminder of their Provider, just as the water which poured from a rock should have reminded them that Jesus was the Rock–their fortress, refuge, and protection.
Spiritual thirst and hunger can only be satisfied with a taste of heaven through God’s Son, Jesus. He has given us all we need for life, both now and for eternity.
Verses and questions:
John 4:9-14 and 6:31-35, 41, and 48
- How important are bread and water to life?
- What was Jesus trying to tell us with these examples of bread and water?
1 Corinthians 10:11 and 2 Timothy 1:7
- What kinds of admonition (warning or advice) are we given in the stories of the Exodus?
- How are we strengthened by these examples?
Friday: Final Thoughts
Before we read about Jethro’s visit, a thrilling story of another military victory is found in Exodus 17. A fierce, boastful tribe of Amalekites, who were descendants of Esau, made a totally unprovoked attack on the escaping Hebrews.
But Moses, under God’s direction, stood on the top of a hill above the battlefield and raised his rod in the air. As long as his arms and rod were raised, Joshua’s small forces of Israelites found they were winning the battle. Moses’ arms tired and they had to be propped up under rocks, but their perseverance paid off and the Israelites miraculously defeated their oppressors.
As Romans 8:37 tells us, “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” And 1 John 4:4 adds, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” God not only sustains us with food and water, He pours out His protection when we humbly ask for His help in overcoming any obstacle in life.
Next Week: Covenant at Sinai
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