Teen Scene: October- December 2022

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corp.

Teen Scene is an age-appropriate Christian quarterly lesson guide for young people ages 15-17. In addition to introductory material and biblical exposition, each lesson contains lesson applications along with activities and questions that enhance the students’ understanding of the presentation. Biblical principles are specifically written to reflect the interests and problems of growing teens. It follows the International Uniform Sunday School Lesson Outline from the National Council of Churches.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Aug 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781681679631

Book preview

A Protective Family

Exodus 2:1–10

Background Scriptures:

Exodus 2:1–10, 15–22

NOW a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman.

2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three

3 months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river.

4 His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.

5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it.

6 When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. This must be one of the Hebrews’ children, she said.

7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?

8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Yes. So the girl went and called the child’s mother.

9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages. So the woman took the child and nursed it.

10 When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, because, she said, I drew him out of the water.

Dictionary Term

Protect: keep safe from harm or injury.

KEY VERSE: The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. (Exodus 2:2, NRSV)

As we get older, the world generally gets scarier. The evil deeds committed by members of our society are particularly difficult to witness as they endanger other people as well as all creation. The overwhelming experiences of injustice don’t help our fight for a better world. As chaos and disaster loom over us, how do we survive and navigate these threats to our safety and our faith? Oftentimes, there are genuinely good-hearted people in the world who work against the evil and destruction to which we are routinely exposed. But while they work against larger, wide-scale threats, who can we depend on to protect us during the dangers we face every day?

We all have people we are close to that we feel can help protect us from these terrors. For some, it’s a group of close friends or colleagues; for others, it’s their family. Either way, it’s easy to see how far our loved ones are willing to go to protect us. In today’s lesson, we’re exploring one of the earlier biblical accounts of a strong familial bond and just how much they were willing to do to ensure the safety of their youngest family member. The Hebrews of Exodus were in the midst of great oppression by the Egyptian people, and Moses and his family were no exception.

All Part of God’s Plan

Before the start of this Scripture, the king of Egypt ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill any male babies that were born to the Hebrew mothers. He allowed the female babies to live, but wanted to thin the Israelites’ population, fearing that they would grow too numerous and side with the enemies of Egypt, should a war break out. But those midwives feared God more than the Pharaoh and didn’t go through with his order. God blessed those midwives for their faithfulness, but the Pharaoh was insistent that all the Hebrew baby boys were to be thrown into the Nile. Moses was born to a Levite man and woman during this troubling time. They attempted to hide him for as long as they could, but ultimately devised a plan that would, hopefully, give Moses a chance to live. In this act of protection, his family worked in accordance with God’s own plan and care, and in turn, God rewarded their hope and trust with protection that transcended the injustice of their own dangerous circumstances. With his heritage as a Levite, Moses was perfectly positioned by God to become the future prophet and priest who would deliver His Law to the people once they were freed from Egypt. God’s planning and protection were at work before Moses was even born. In Exodus 2, God ensured that the Pharaoh’s daughter was the one who found Moses in the reeds. While Moses’ elder sister kept a watchful eye over her baby brother, she took the opportunity presented to her to speak with the Pharaoh’s daughter and offer