Wilderness: Family Worship in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

Do you need help teaching the Bible in your family? This guide to family worship helps you engage with your children in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The last four books of the Pentateuch pick up where Genesis left off, showing how God faithfully led Israel out of Egypt and dealt with them faithfully during forty years of wilderness wanderings. Use this simple, helpful guide to teach your children how the types and shadows of the Old Testament have pointed God’s people of all times to Jesus, the ultimate deliverer of His people.

Endorsements

“During the Reformation, family worship around the table was part and parcel of family life. Joel Beeke and Nick Thompson have the admirable goal of recovering such a practice for Christian families today. But family worship is hard work for parents. Besides time, discipline, and perseverance, it takes thoughtful creativity with a good resource alongside the Bible. Beeke and Thompson have provided us with just that. Using four simple steps (review, read, reflect, request), the authors guide families through key passages in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy, providing short but clear explanations and applications. I look forward to giving it a go with my family.” 
—Jonny Gibson, associate professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia; author of Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship 

“There is no book like the Bible—clear enough to speak to a child yet challenging enough to keep the scholar humble. God has revealed in His word all that is necessary for life now and the life to come; it is the divinely inspired manual of true religion. True religion is a family affair, and parents have the responsibility to keep God and the Bible central and foundational in family life (Deut. 6:6–9). Paul said of Timothy that he had known the Scriptures since childhood (2 Tim. 3:15) and implied that his faith could be traced to family influence (2 Tim. 1:5). That remains the paradigm for Christian homes today. This series, Teach Your Children the Scriptures, is a helpful resource to guide parents in this sacred duty. Wilderness focuses on a part of the Bible that is fundamental to learning lessons at the heart of the gospel. Beeke and Thompson simply yet artfully give a synopsis of each passage, highlighting essential truths and offering hints to guide parents in explaining and applying the selected passage in plain and understandable terms. Wilderness is an effective tool to aid parents in fulfilling their mandate to keep religion real at home.” 
—Michael Barrett, senior research professor of biblical studies, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary 

“What a brilliant aid for family devotions!  Pastors Joel Beeke and Nick Thompson have found the sweet spot in this series. Both parents and children will be delighted, edified, and blessed by these books.”
—Rosaria Butterfield, wife of Pastor Kent Butterfield, First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Durham, North Carolina; and homeschooling mother and grandmother

“Wonderfully written, theologically focused, pastorally surefooted, and all within the grasp of children ages 5–12. A marvelous achievement for which parents will be ever thankful. May this series be instrumental in raising a generation of godly men and women who are biblically informed and eager to learn more of all that Scripture teaches.”
—Derek W.H. Thomas, originally from Wales, was the Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina and Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is a Teaching Fellow with Ligonier Ministries. 

“Not many who write about family worship do so from the perspective of these writers. Joel Beeke, for example, was raised in a home where family worship was practiced from the time he was born. Then he raised a family of his own ‘in the discipline and instruction of the Lord’ through family worship. Now his grandchildren enjoy the fruit of this influence, as do the men in his church whom he has trained to lead their families in the daily worship of God in their homes. And now you and your family can profit from these decades of experience and insight through this practical and helpful volume.”
—Donald S. Whitney, professor of biblical spirituality and associate dean at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, and author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Praying the Bible, and Family Worship

Contents

Series Introduction

PART I: WILDERNESS LIBERATION (EXODUS 1–18)

1. Birth of a Nation
2. Persecuted yet Preserved
3. A Deliverer Is Born
4. A Deliverer Is Prepared
5. God Remembers His Covenant
6. The Burning Bush
7. Sent Back to Egypt
8. Let My People Go
9. Faith in the Dark
10. The Battle Begins
11. Water to Blood
12. Frogs, Frogs, and More Frogs
13. More Plagues
14. Pictures of Eternal Truths
15. God’s Power for God’s Glory
16. A Locust Army
17. Darkness and Light
18. One Last Plague
19. The Lord’s Passover
20. Egypt Cries, Israel Flies
21. Pillar of Cloud and Fire
22. On the Brink
23. The Sea Divided
24. The Song of Moses
25. Bitter Trial, Sweet Grace
26. Bread from Heaven
27. Water from the Rock
28. Victory over Amalek

PART II: WILDERNESS WORSHIP (EXODUS 19–LEVITICUS 27)

29. God’s Treasured Possession
30. We Need a Mediator
31. The God of the Law
32. Complete Devotion to Yahweh
33. The Lord of Worship
34. Name Above All Names
35. Sabbath Rest
36. Weighty Authority
37. Living for Life
38. Protecting Marriage
39. From Stealing to Sharing
40. Tell the Truth
41. Content in Christ
42. Covenant Confirmation
43. Covenant Corruption
44. Covenant Mercy
45. Covenant Atonement
46. His Presence Is What We Need
47. Seeing by Hearing
48. A Face Glowing with Glory
49. God’s Tent
50. God’s Ark
51. God’s Table
52. God’s Lamp
53. God’s Incense
54. Holy Clothes for a Holy Calling
55. God Moves In
56. The First Ordination Service
57. The First Worship Service
58. Strange Fire
59. Invited into God’s Throne Room

PART III: WILDERNESS WANDERING (NUMBERS 1–36)

60. A Military Census
61. A Priestly Census
62. True Blessedness
63. Led by God
64. Defended by God
65. Weary with the Wilderness
66. Empowered by the Spirit
67. The Grumbling Continues
68. Do You Fear Giants or God?
69. The Folly of Unbelief
70. God’s Patience Has an End
71. Rebels Eaten Alive
72. Moses, the Rebel
73. Victory Over the Serpent
74. Determined to Bless
75. Moses’s Successor
76. No Compromise

PART IV: WILDERNESS RENEWAL (DEUTERONOMY 1–34)

77. Deathbed Preaching
78. A Jealous God
79. The Shema
80. He Loves Because He Loves
81. Not Our Righteousness
82. Circumcise Your Hearts
83. To All Generations
84. The Final Prophet
85. God’s Blessing
86. God’s Curse
87. A New Covenant
88. Mourning in Moab

Appendix: Remember: Bible and Catechetical Memorization during Family Worship