05-Exodus 2-22
Jan. 24, 2009
In Exodus Chapter 2, around the time Pharaoh had commanded the death of all male Hebrews born, a man and a woman from the descendants of Jacob’s son Levi married. The woman gave birth to a son, and could not allow him to be killed as Pharaoh commanded, because the text says he was a beautiful child. Beauty was a sign of divine favor in those days. The woman hid the baby boy from the Egyptians for three months until she was no longer able to hide him. She decided to place the baby into an ark made out of a wicker basket covered with tar and pitch and placed it in the reeds on the edge of the Nile River. The baby’s sister Miriam hid herself nearby to see what would become of the boy. Pharaoh’s daughter came with her maidens to the riverbank to bathe. She spotted the ark in the reeds and discovered the baby inside. The woman had compassion for the baby as he cried. She could tell the boy was one of the Hebrews, and gave him to his sister when she offered to take him to the Hebrew women to nurse for her. The boy, named Moses by Pharaoh’s daughter, was taken back to his mother for her to nurse. Moses grew up as a member of Egyptian royalty, and was trained in all the wisdom and ways of Egypt. When Moses was 40 years old he came upon an Egyptian striking a Hebrew man. Moses in his heart felt the effects of the burden of Egypt on his Hebrew brethren, and when no one was looking he killed the Egyptian and hid the body under the sand. The next day he came up to two Hebrew men fighting, and tried to break them up. They didn’t respect Moses’ attempt to intervene and asked him in Exodus 2:14 “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses realized that his murder of the Egyptian man was now known and Pharaoh would be looking to have him killed. Moses fled from Pharaoh and the Land of Egypt into the desert of Midian, and came upon a well. While he was there he helped the daughters of Reuel, the Priest of Midian, also known as Jethro to draw water for their father’s flock and protected them from some shepherds nearby. Because of this helpful deed Jethro offered Moses a place to live, and gave him his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. Zipporah gave birth to a son that Moses named Gershom for he was a stranger in a strange land. Forty years passed and the Pharaoh who wanted to kill Moses died. God heard the cries of his people in Egypt and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was now time for the children of Israel to be delivered from Egypt and their bondage. Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, in Chapter 3, near Horeb, which is also known as Sinai, The Mountain of God, when the Lord appeared to him as the fire in a burning bush that was not consumed. Moses was amazed and went to see why the bush was not burned up from the fire. God called out to him from the bush and told him to remove his sandals the ground on which he was standing was holy ground. God spoke to Moses and told him that He had heard the cries of His people and that He would send him to speak to Pharaoh on His behalf. Moses asked God why He chose send him, and who would he say to the Children of Israel had sent him. God told Moses I AM THAT I AM, and to tell them that I AM sent him. In Chapter 4 God continued to tell Moses what he was to do in Egypt, but Moses would only give the Lord excuses on why he could not do as he was asked. He was afraid the Hebrews would not believe him. God then had Moses perform a sign that he would show to the elders of Israel. Moses threw down his shepherd’s staff, and it was turned into a serpent. Moses was afraid but God had him pick it up by the tail and it returned into his staff. God also turned the hand of Moses white with leprosy, and then healed him. Moses then complained to God that he could not speak very well. God became angry with all the excuses and told him that his brother Aaron would speak for him. Moses then returned to his father-in-law Jethro and told him he needed to return to Egypt and his people. Jethro understood and gave Moses his blessing. Then Moses took his wife and child and returned across the desert to the Land of Egypt. On the way the Lord was going to kill Moses because he had not circumcised his son Gershom as required. His wife performed the circumcision for Moses and was angry with him. Moses then left them and met his brother Aaron in the wilderness and told him what the Lord had said. Moses and Aaron gathered the elders of the children of Israel and spoke to them on all the Lord had said, and performed the signs for them. The elders believed them and worshipped. Moses and Aaron, in Chapter 5, went to Pharaoh and told him the Lord said to “let my people go to hold a feast for Me in the wilderness”. Pharaoh refused and told his men overseeing the Hebrews to have them make their bricks without providing them with straw. This made their labors much more difficult because they had to gather their own straw. Pharaoh did not decrease the quota of bricks he required them to make in a day. The Hebrew people were used by the Egyptians to build the elaborate cities in Upper Egypt remaining even today. Israel was angry with Moses for the extra work he had caused Pharaoh to require from them. Moses went back to the Lord to find out what to do. The Lord answered Moses and told him. Moses and Aaron returned to Pharaoh and repeated God’s request to let His people go, and performed the sign of making Aarons staff become a serpent in front of him. This did not sway Pharaoh. He called for his Egyptian magicians and they performed the same sign. He refused to let Israel out of bondage. Moses and Aaron continued to go before Pharaoh and repeat God’s request. Each time he refused, God would send a plague to afflict the Egyptian people. The ten plagues God sent on Egypt to make Pharaoh free His children were: 1. Moses turned the Nile to blood. 2. A plague of frogs from the Nile. 3. A plague of gnats and lice on men and beasts. 4. A plague of flies. 5. A plague of disease on the livestock of the Egyptians. 6. A plague of boils on man and beast. 7. Destructive hail throughout Egypt. 8. A plague of locusts. 9. Three days of darkness. 10. The death of the firstborn men and beasts of Egypt. Before God brought about the tenth plague to afflict Egypt He told Moses to tell the Children Israel how to protect their firstborn from what was about to come. In Chapter 12, Moses told the people to slay a male lamb without blemish of one year old from their flocks. There should be a lamb for each family. They were each to take a bunch of hyssop and paint using the blood of the slain lamb the doorposts and lintels of the entryways to their houses. They were to roast the meat of the slain lamb over fire and consume it entirely along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs quickly before morning. This is the Lords Passover. At nightfall when the Lord sends the destroyer to Egypt and sees the blood on the entryways he will pass over that home and not kill the firstborn inside. The Lord tells Israel to keep this Passover as a feast to the Lord the same day each year to remember how he delivered them from their bondage in Egypt forever. That night the destroyer came and killed the firstborn of Egypt, even Pharaoh’s own son. The angel saw the blood on the doors of the Children of Israel and passed them by without harming the people inside. After this final plague, Pharaoh in his grief agreed to let Israel go. The Lord gave favor to the Children of Israel in the eyes of the Egyptians causing them to give the Israelites all the gold and silver they asked them for. In this way they plundered the wealth of Egypt before they left. Moses gathered the people together and the Lord led them into the wilderness toward Sinai, as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They stopped and camped by the Red Sea. The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he changed his mind about letting Israel go and pursued them with his army to their camp by the Red Sea. The children of Israel saw the Egyptians closing in on them and were afraid and complained to Moses. God went behind the camp between them and Pharaoh thus protecting the Israelites from Pharaoh and his army throughout the night. He told Moses to lift his hands and stretch out his staff over the waters of the Red Sea. Then God caused a strong wind to blow from the east that dried up the sea. The waters became divided like the sides of a canyon. Israel passed through the Red Sea to the other side on dry land. Pharaoh and his army followed them between the walls of water. When Israel was through to the other side the Lord told Moses to again raise his staff over the sea and the waters would return to normal. Moses did this and Pharaoh and his army were drowned in the collapsing walls of water. The Lord wiped out Pharaoh and the Egyptian army saving Israel from the Egyptians. Then they believed in God and Moses. In Chapter 15 the people sang a song to the Lord. Moses and Aaron’s sister Miriam led the women of the camp in worship to the Lord. This happiness was short-lived, for after having marched for three days without finding water the people became very thirsty. The water they finally found was too bitter to drink, and they complained against their leader Moses. After Moses cried out to God he was shown a tree that when thrown into the water would make it sweet. Moses did this and the waters became sweet. God then told Israel that if they would listen to Him and keep His commandments He would heal them of all the diseases of the Egyptians. A month and a half had passed since leaving Egypt and the people had run out of food to eat, and again they complained about Moses that he had led them out of Egypt to starve in the wilderness. The Lord heard his people and told Moses He would rain bread down from heaven for them to eat even though they did not listen to Him. Bread from heaven would be provided in the morning for six days with a double portion on the sixth day for the Sabbath. Moses spoke to the people of this and reminded them that they were complaining not about him and Aaron, but about God who delivered them from their bondage in Egypt. God provided quail for them to eat that evening, and the bread began the next morning. The dew of the morning had condensed into a substance the people did not recognize. They said to each other “what is it” and called it manna. Moses told them it was the bread God provided for them to eat. It was like white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made from honey. The Lord told Moses to keep some of the manna in a pot as a reminder to Israel of what He has provided to them forever. The children of Israel had run out of water again, and in Chapter 17 they hadn’t learned and complained about Moses again. Moses was afraid of the people and asked the Lord what to do. He told him to strike a rock with the same staff that parted the Red Sea and that water would come from the rock for the people to drink. While they camped there in Rephidim the Amalekites came to make war with Israel. Moses had Joshua form an army to defend them. He went with Aaron and Hur to the mountain to watch the battle. They noticed that when Moses lifted his hands his people would prevail in the battle, and when he lowered them the Amalekites would have the upper hand. Moses grew tired of holding his arms up, and Aaron found a stone for him to sit on. Both he and Hur helped Moses to keep his hands up until the battle was won. After the battle God told Moses to write the account into a book and tell it to Joshua that he would blot the Amalekites from the earth. Moses made an altar to the Lord and called it Jehovah-nissi, the Lord is my Banner. Now in Chapter 18 Moses’ father-in-law Jethro came to him with his wife and children. Jethro noticed that Moses was having trouble finding time to judge the many disputes between his people. Jethro advised him to seek out able God fearing men and teach them the ways of God, then appoint them to be judges over the people to help him. Moses listened to his advice and Jethro left and returned to his home. The people continued their journey until they came to the wilderness of Sinai. Moses went up to God on His Mountain and spoke to Him there. God told Moses to go down to the people and ask them if they were willing to listen to the Lord and follow His law. If they would do this He would make of them a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. He went down the mountain and told Israel what was said. They all agreed to God’s request and Moses returned to the mountain with their answer. Three days later the children of Israel came to meet God at the mountain. God told Moses to tell them to keep away because none of them could look upon the Lord and live. Moses set boundaries around the mountain and went back up. The people could hear the thunder, see the smoke and lightning, and feel the presence of God on the mountain. At Moses’ return up the mountain, in Chapter 20, God first revealed to him the Ten Commandments on which the rest of The Law is based. These ten commands are: 1. Do not have any other gods before the Lord your God. 2. Do not make any idols. 3. Do not take the name of the Lord in vain. 4. Keep the Sabbath. 5. Honor your father and mother. 6. Do not commit murder. 7. Do not commit adultery. 8. Do not steal. 9. Do not bear false witness 10. Do not covet. Again Israel could saw the smoke and lightning, and heard and felt the thunder of God on the mountain, and were afraid. They moved back from the mountain and begged that only Moses would speak to them. They thought that if they heard the voice of the Lord they would all die. Moses then went further up the mountain into the presence of God. God then began to recite to Moses the detailed laws and ordinances by which His children were to live. These laws were given in this order: Chapter 21 verses 1-11 Laws concerning slavery. Chapter 21 verses 12-36 Laws concerning personal injury. Chapter 22 verses 1-4 Laws concerning theft. Chapter 22 verses 5-6 Laws concerning property damage. Chapter 22 verses 7-14 Laws concerning dishonesty. Chapter 22 verses 16-17 Laws concerning immorality. Chapter 22 verses 18-31 Laws concerning civil and religious obligations. This ends our study for this week. The laws concerning obligations will be continued next week in Chapter 23.