My notes on Exodus chapters 4-14
4.
Even after hearing God’s own voice, Moses is very doubtful (and reluctant) about the success of his Egyptian mission. Perhaps, he was content with his current family life, tending the sheep of his father-in-law, Jethro. More likely, like many of us, he did not yearn to face the old Egyptian ghosts of his past.
Most of us might have such a Moses situation in our life. Although God’s direction and blessings might be apparent, we fail to discern it, or might wallow in our own doubts, debating over whether the direction and blessings are valid or not. We might be happy to remain in our current fruitless state rather than facing various ghosts which we’d rather stay away from!
But God gives a sign through an ordinary, dead wooden rod (probably the shepherd’s staff), which when thrown on the ground, is transformed into a live serpent. Moses fled upon the manifestation of the serpent, but after obeying God’s instruction, he takes up the serpent by the tail, and it is transformed back into the rod. To further encourage him, Moses follows God’s directions and places his hand on his chest only to find it leprous. When placed on the chest again, it became normal. These signs are to convince the Israelites that it is God Himself who has sent Moses to deliver them. If they still won’t believe, Moses is told to take water from the river and pour it over the dry land, upon which it will become blood.
The pessimistic Moses tells God of his oratorical shortcomings. God points out that He is the creator of the mouth and the senses, and will be with Moses’ and teach him what to say. Maybe this is something which we should ask God for: that He will be with our mouths and teach us what to speak! But Moses’ consistent lack of confidence makes God angry and He decides to use Aaron, Moses’ brother, as the spokesman to speak out the words uttered by Moses.
6.
We know that God is very powerful, and could have even appeared/spoken to the Pharaoh in person. But still He uses humans, such as Moses and Aaron, to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt. Even in our lives, He could appear and vanquish our enemies- but He wants us to have faith in Him, and then He will reward us by working in wondrous ways.
7.
It is God who tells Moses what to speak to Pharaoh. But why does God harden Pharaoh’s heart when He could have redeemed the Israelites easily? God wanted to demonstrate a mere fraction of his infinitesimal strength to the Egyptians- He wanted to lay His hand upon Egypt and bring the Israelites out of Egypt by using many wonders. The second sign- the turning of Nile into blood- would have troubled the people, for the Nile was their sole source of water, and was held as a divine entity.
8.
Pharaoh never keeps his word.
9.
Despite all the plagues, the Pharaoh’s heart was hardened by the Lord. One might ask why the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart? The answer is in verses 14-16: So that they (the Egyptians and the whole world) will know that there is no one like the Lord in all the earth. For this very reason, was this Pharaoh raised up, so that he will be used to demonstrate God’s power.
In the case of the plague of hails, some of Pharaoh’s men heeded the warning and kept their cattle and servants from the fields. Others didn’t and paid the price.
Another feature is that God commanded Moses to throw the ashes, to stretch the rod, etc, and Moses obeyed without questioning.
10.
God was asking Pharaoh to only allow his people to worship in the wilderness and not for total freedom. Pharaoh was not keen to even allow this little request. I suppose that the Israelites wouldn’t have dreamt of leaving Egypt, but as seen later, God worked in a marvelous way.
11.
The final plague was the most lethal, and the one which became the most costliest lesson for Pharaoh, resulting in him deciding to let the Israelites leave for good, with their families, and all their possessions. The final plague would claim all the firstborns- humans and animals.
12.
The month of the deliverance from Egypt became the Israelites’ first month of the year. The Lord institutes the Passover. As Nicky Gumbel pointed out, in the NT, Jesus becomes the lamb which was sacrificed for Passover, at Passover (Matthew 26:2, Mark 14:12). The blood of the lamb (v.13) protected the people from the plague. Moreover, even God’s instruction not to break any bones of the lamb (v. 46) was fulfilled at Jesus’ crucifixion (John 19:33).
The Lord Himself descends to Egypt and slays the firstborns. When Pharaoh’s son dies, he tells Moses to take the Israelites away from Egypt, along with their possessions and flocks. Interestingly, he asks them to bless him too (v. 32). The people, as per the Lord’s instruction, borrowed clothes, gold, and silver from their Egyptian neighbours (in whose eyes they found favour), and thus the Egyptians were spoiled given that they never got those commodities back. More than 600,000 Israelites left Egypt where they had dwelt for 430 years.
13.
God wants them to dedicate to Him each firstborn, human or animal. As Moses reminds the Israelites, it was by Lord’s own strong hand that they were delivered out of Egypt (v.3, v.9). In this chapter itself, the question is asked as to why God did not lead them through the shortest route- He did not since that would be through the land of Philistines, and the people, fearing losing their lives, might return to Egypt since war was inevitable.
We should ask for God’s presence in our lives just like when He guided constantly the Israelites through the desert- sending angels in a pillar of cloud during day, and in a pillar of fire by night. Although He is so powerful that a word could have brought the entire contingent to Canaan, He still makes them physically walk through the wilderness. Maybe that’s the way He works in our lives- there are times when He does work miraculously when we are transported in the blink of an eye, but there are times when we should walk in the wilderness and face challenges, yet knowing that He is with us.
14.
The Lord hardens Pharaoh’s heart again so that His name will be glorified. When faced by the pursuing Egyptian army, the Israelites are frightened and start complaining. Perhaps, we too do the same often, asking: ‘Why have you taken me down this route when the other was safer?’.
It certainly seems as if the Israelites prefer the suffering life in Egypt than to die in the wilderness. Despite witnessing God’s mighty power, they still were skeptical and relied on their own strengths (or lack of it).
V.13 ‘for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever’, is a good verse to hold as a promise when we are in dire situations. As is v. 14: ‘The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace’.
The Lord tells Moses to hold the rod up, and stretch his hands over the sea. God who uses a strong wind all that night to separate the Sea, and thus providing a dry path which the Israelites use to walk through and reach the other sides. Gumbel comments about how God opening a way through the sea by parting the waters is similar to how He opens a way into His presence by tearing the curtain at the Temple after Jesus’ death on the cross.
Unlike the Israelites, Moses trusts in God’s commands. The pillar of cloud is moved to the back to separate the Israelites and the Egyptians- the same pillar provided light to the former, and darkness to the latter. In the morning, God looks at the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and pillar of cloud, and troubled the Egyptian army. And the sea returns back to normal, and swallows all the Egyptians.
Even after hearing God’s own voice, Moses is very doubtful (and reluctant) about the success of his Egyptian mission. Perhaps, he was content with his current family life, tending the sheep of his father-in-law, Jethro. More likely, like many of us, he did not yearn to face the old Egyptian ghosts of his past.
Most of us might have such a Moses situation in our life. Although God’s direction and blessings might be apparent, we fail to discern it, or might wallow in our own doubts, debating over whether the direction and blessings are valid or not. We might be happy to remain in our current fruitless state rather than facing various ghosts which we’d rather stay away from!
But God gives a sign through an ordinary, dead wooden rod (probably the shepherd’s staff), which when thrown on the ground, is transformed into a live serpent. Moses fled upon the manifestation of the serpent, but after obeying God’s instruction, he takes up the serpent by the tail, and it is transformed back into the rod. To further encourage him, Moses follows God’s directions and places his hand on his chest only to find it leprous. When placed on the chest again, it became normal. These signs are to convince the Israelites that it is God Himself who has sent Moses to deliver them. If they still won’t believe, Moses is told to take water from the river and pour it over the dry land, upon which it will become blood.
The pessimistic Moses tells God of his oratorical shortcomings. God points out that He is the creator of the mouth and the senses, and will be with Moses’ and teach him what to say. Maybe this is something which we should ask God for: that He will be with our mouths and teach us what to speak! But Moses’ consistent lack of confidence makes God angry and He decides to use Aaron, Moses’ brother, as the spokesman to speak out the words uttered by Moses.
6.
We know that God is very powerful, and could have even appeared/spoken to the Pharaoh in person. But still He uses humans, such as Moses and Aaron, to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt. Even in our lives, He could appear and vanquish our enemies- but He wants us to have faith in Him, and then He will reward us by working in wondrous ways.
7.
It is God who tells Moses what to speak to Pharaoh. But why does God harden Pharaoh’s heart when He could have redeemed the Israelites easily? God wanted to demonstrate a mere fraction of his infinitesimal strength to the Egyptians- He wanted to lay His hand upon Egypt and bring the Israelites out of Egypt by using many wonders. The second sign- the turning of Nile into blood- would have troubled the people, for the Nile was their sole source of water, and was held as a divine entity.
8.
Pharaoh never keeps his word.
9.
Despite all the plagues, the Pharaoh’s heart was hardened by the Lord. One might ask why the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart? The answer is in verses 14-16: So that they (the Egyptians and the whole world) will know that there is no one like the Lord in all the earth. For this very reason, was this Pharaoh raised up, so that he will be used to demonstrate God’s power.
In the case of the plague of hails, some of Pharaoh’s men heeded the warning and kept their cattle and servants from the fields. Others didn’t and paid the price.
Another feature is that God commanded Moses to throw the ashes, to stretch the rod, etc, and Moses obeyed without questioning.
10.
God was asking Pharaoh to only allow his people to worship in the wilderness and not for total freedom. Pharaoh was not keen to even allow this little request. I suppose that the Israelites wouldn’t have dreamt of leaving Egypt, but as seen later, God worked in a marvelous way.
11.
The final plague was the most lethal, and the one which became the most costliest lesson for Pharaoh, resulting in him deciding to let the Israelites leave for good, with their families, and all their possessions. The final plague would claim all the firstborns- humans and animals.
12.
The month of the deliverance from Egypt became the Israelites’ first month of the year. The Lord institutes the Passover. As Nicky Gumbel pointed out, in the NT, Jesus becomes the lamb which was sacrificed for Passover, at Passover (Matthew 26:2, Mark 14:12). The blood of the lamb (v.13) protected the people from the plague. Moreover, even God’s instruction not to break any bones of the lamb (v. 46) was fulfilled at Jesus’ crucifixion (John 19:33).
The Lord Himself descends to Egypt and slays the firstborns. When Pharaoh’s son dies, he tells Moses to take the Israelites away from Egypt, along with their possessions and flocks. Interestingly, he asks them to bless him too (v. 32). The people, as per the Lord’s instruction, borrowed clothes, gold, and silver from their Egyptian neighbours (in whose eyes they found favour), and thus the Egyptians were spoiled given that they never got those commodities back. More than 600,000 Israelites left Egypt where they had dwelt for 430 years.
13.
God wants them to dedicate to Him each firstborn, human or animal. As Moses reminds the Israelites, it was by Lord’s own strong hand that they were delivered out of Egypt (v.3, v.9). In this chapter itself, the question is asked as to why God did not lead them through the shortest route- He did not since that would be through the land of Philistines, and the people, fearing losing their lives, might return to Egypt since war was inevitable.
We should ask for God’s presence in our lives just like when He guided constantly the Israelites through the desert- sending angels in a pillar of cloud during day, and in a pillar of fire by night. Although He is so powerful that a word could have brought the entire contingent to Canaan, He still makes them physically walk through the wilderness. Maybe that’s the way He works in our lives- there are times when He does work miraculously when we are transported in the blink of an eye, but there are times when we should walk in the wilderness and face challenges, yet knowing that He is with us.
14.
The Lord hardens Pharaoh’s heart again so that His name will be glorified. When faced by the pursuing Egyptian army, the Israelites are frightened and start complaining. Perhaps, we too do the same often, asking: ‘Why have you taken me down this route when the other was safer?’.
It certainly seems as if the Israelites prefer the suffering life in Egypt than to die in the wilderness. Despite witnessing God’s mighty power, they still were skeptical and relied on their own strengths (or lack of it).
V.13 ‘for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever’, is a good verse to hold as a promise when we are in dire situations. As is v. 14: ‘The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace’.
The Lord tells Moses to hold the rod up, and stretch his hands over the sea. God who uses a strong wind all that night to separate the Sea, and thus providing a dry path which the Israelites use to walk through and reach the other sides. Gumbel comments about how God opening a way through the sea by parting the waters is similar to how He opens a way into His presence by tearing the curtain at the Temple after Jesus’ death on the cross.
Unlike the Israelites, Moses trusts in God’s commands. The pillar of cloud is moved to the back to separate the Israelites and the Egyptians- the same pillar provided light to the former, and darkness to the latter. In the morning, God looks at the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and pillar of cloud, and troubled the Egyptian army. And the sea returns back to normal, and swallows all the Egyptians.
posted by sann2282 at 5:09 pm
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