Categoria: Exodus

On the first day of the first month of the second year God told Moses to set up the tabernacle. They placed the ark of the covenant in its rightful place in the tabernacle together with the table, the lampstand, the altar of incense, the basin on its stand and the altar of burnt offering. They placed all the curtains as the Lord had instructed and placed all the coverings over the tabernacle. They dressed Aaron and his sons in their priestly attire, washed them and anointed them consecrating them as priests. They set everything up as it should be and anointed everything. The altar of incense burned fragrant incense on it and on the altar of burnt offering they offered burnt offerings and grain offerings. And so Moses finished the work.

Then the cloud covered the tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filled the place making it impossible for Moses to enter owing to the overpowering presence of God. Thus the cloud was over the tabernacle by day and a cloud of fire was there by night, and the Israelites only moved on in their journey to Canaan’s land when the cloud moved.

Now they made the priestly garments of woven yarn. They made the ephod (an apron or vestment) made of yarn and linen interwoven with strands of gold. 2 onyx stones were attached to the shoulder parts of the ephod with gold settings, and engraved on these were the names of the tribes of Israel.

Then they made the breastpiece, which was attached to the ephod with gold cords, and it had 12 precious stones mounted in gold with each engraved with the name of a tribe of Israel.

A blue robe was then made for the priest, with yarn and linen pomegranates around the hem alternated with gold bells. A turban was made and a gold plate was attached to it with the inscription HOLY TO THE LORD.

So the work of the tabernacle was completed and everything had been done as God had commanded. Moses inspected everything, approved it all and blessed the people for their good work.

They built the Altar of Burnt Offering out of Acacia wood overlaid with bronze, measuring 1.3 metres high and 2.3 metres square, and with bronze horns on each corner. All the utensils were made of bronze as well as the rings for carrying, with the carrying poles made of wood overlaid with bronze. They then made a bronze basin and stand using the molten mirrors of the women! (There must be a spiritual message here!)

Next the Courtyard was made measuring 46 metres on the north and south sides (having 20 bronze pillars on each side) and measuring 23 metres on the east and west sides (having 10 bronze pillars on each side). The curtains were made of fine twisted linen and their hooks and bands were made of silver, but all the tent pegs were made of bronze.

An overall inventory of the materials used for the Tabernacle showed that a little over 1 ton of gold was used, with contributions from 603,550 men. 3.4 tons of silver were also used as were 2.4 tons of bronze.

Bezalel made the Ark of the Covenant out of Acacia wood measuring 1.1 metres long and 0.7 metres wide and high, and overlaid it with pure gold. He then made the atonement cover of pure gold with gold cherubins at the ends of the cover and whose wings spread across the ark and touched in the middle.

Then a table was made of acacia wood measuring 0.9 metres long, 0.5 metres wide and 0.7 metres high. It was all overlaid with gold including the attached rings and poles, and plates, ladles, bowls and pitchers were made of gold for drink offerings.

Next the Lampstand was made out of one block of solid gold weighing 34 kilos! It had a central branch with 3 sub-branches on each side having cups like almond flowers on each. The central shaft also had 4 cups like almond flowers.

Then came the square wooden Altar of Incense covered with gold, with golden horns on each corner, plus poles and rods covered in gold. Then a perfumer made sacred anointing oil and pure fragrant incense.

Bezalel, Oholiab and all the skilled craftsmen commenced on the big job of artistically creating the tabernacle and the people continued to donate for this. Eventually they had to halt donations because by that time they had more than enough materials.

The construction of the tabernacle started with making the doors, partitions and frames made from Acacia wood. This took place approximately 4 to 6 months after the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt, and the tabernacle was completed about a year after the exodus. What is impressive are the artistic details like the cherubins embroidered into the curtains, the wood covered with gold, silver bases for the frames, the bronze basin with its stand, onyx stones and gems set into the priest’s ephod and breastplate etc. God’s dwelling place had to be perfect and was full of class, quality, art and beauty.

Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and reminded them all never to work on the sabbath, not even was it permitted to light a fire, and the punishment for disobedience was death!

Moses then made an appeal for donations of jewellery and materials from the people for the making of the tabernacle because they needed gold, silver, bronze, yarn, linen, goats hair, ram skins, sea cow hides, acacia wood, oil, incense and precious stones. They also needed skilled craftsmen to make the tabernacle, its curtains, furniture, and clothing, under the coordination of Bezalel and Oholiab who would be their spirit filled leaders in this work. The Israelites gave generously for this cause both from their possessions and from their skills.

Moses went up Mount Sinai to meet with God again carrying with him stone tablets to replace the ones with the law which he had broken, and Moses stayed there a long time without eating or drinking. There God renewed his covenant with Israel and ordered them to not make treaties with incumbent nations when they reached Canaan but instead destroy all their pagan idolatrous sites.  The Israelites should celebrate their festivals to the Lord with the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Ingathering. They should also keep the Sabbath. When Moses came down the mountain carrying the 2 tablets of the Testimony his face shone from the glory of God so that the people were afraid to approach him. Moses put on a veil when he had finished speaking to the people.

God told Moses that it was time for the Israelites to leave Mount Sinai and start heading for Canaan, where an angel would drive out the native peoples so that the Israelites could take over as he had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. However God said he would not go with them as they were a stiff-necked people prone to serious sin. This saddened the Israelites and they wore no jewellery as a sign of repentance.

Moses had a special tent of meeting outside the camp where he met with God face to face as a man speaks with his friend. Moses asked God to teach him his ways and God said he would go with the Israelites as Moses had requested. We again see God changing his mind as a result of Moses’s intercession. Moses also asked to see God’s glory to which God partially agreed though he couldn’t see his face as that would be lethal. God hid Moses in the cleft of a rock from where Moses could see his back but not his face.

This chapter contains some amazing things such as the fickleness of the Israelites faith, including that of the future high priest Aaron, and the lethalness of the judgement of God upon the sin of his people.

The Israelites got fed up with waiting for Moses, who was up Mount Sinai receiving the law from God, and which took a long time. 40 days and 40 nights (Exodus 24:18) is not to be taken literally but is an idiomatic expression meaning a long time. So the people got Aaron to make a calf from the women’s gold jewellery, he made an altar in front of it, and the people worshipped it as their deliverer from Egypt! God was furious when he saw this and decided to destroy the Israelites, but Moses interceded, reminded God of his covenant (which the people had broken!) and God changed his mind. When Moses came down the mountain and saw what his brother and the people had done he threw the tablets of the law to the ground and smashed them to smithereens, and asked Aaron what had got into him? So Moses asked the people who was on the Lord’s side and the Levites said they were. Then Moses equipped them with swords and they went round the camp killing a total of 3,000 people and God struck the people with a plague.

God appointed Bezalel and Oholiab to be the chief artisans responsible for the creation and manufacture of the entire Tabernacle and all its different elements. God especially gifted these men in design and craftmanship and filled them with his spirit to do the task.

Then the Lord strictly instructed the Israelites to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest, following the divine creation pattern, and failure to respect the Sabbath would be punishable by death. The Sabbath was to be holy to the Lord.

When God finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai he gave him the tablets of the law inscribed by his own finger and these were put in the ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle.

God instructed Moses to make an altar of incense of wood covered by gold on which was to be burnt incense (representing the prayers of the people) morning and evening. This altar, 0.5 metres square and 0.9 metres high, was to be placed in the tabernacle in front of the curtain which separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Once a year Aaron was to make atonement on this altar.

God then said that when he carried out censuses everyone from 20 years old upwards should pay half a shekel as a tabernacle tax.

God instructed Moses to make a bronze basin with stand so that the priests could ceremonially wash themselves before ministering in the tabernacle.

Then the Lord gave recipes for the creation of exclusive sacred anointing oil (made from fine spices) and holy incense (made from fragrant spices) which nobody could copy.

This chapter contains detailed instructions for the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests which was a process which lasted 7 days with a bull sacrificed every day. Initially Aaron and his sons were to wash at the entrance to the tabernacle and then put on all their priestly attire. Then they should bring a bull so that Aaron and his sons can lay their hands on it before it is sacrificed. Now put some of the blood on the altar horns and pour the rest at the base of the altar. Then burn parts of the liver and kidneys on the altar, before burning the rest of it outside the camp as a sin offering. Then bring a ram on which Aaron and his sons shall place their hands before sacrificing it and sprinkling its blood on the altar. Then cut the ram in pieces prior to burning it as an offering to God on the altar. Then take another ram, Aaron and his sons put their hands on it before slaughtering it, and then put some of its blood on their right ear lobes, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet! Then sprinkle blood and anointing oil on the priests to consecrate them. Then Aaron and his sons will wave before God as a wave offering parts of the lamb plus unleavened bread, cake and wafer, before burning it on the altar, but parts of the ram will be given to the priests, and it will be cooked for them to eat. Then from then on every day they will offer 2 lambs together with a grain offering and drink offering in the morning and late afternoon. Thus the priests will be consecrated as will be consecrated the tabernacle for regular meetings of the people with God.

God told Moses to call his brother Aaron (high priest) and his sons so that they could serve him as priests. He told him to have priestly garments made for them: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash.

The ephod was to be made by skilled craftsman out of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and linen. It was to have 2 shoulder pieces in which would be placed onyx stones with half the names of the sons of Israel engraved on each stone. It would have a woven waistband.

The breastpiece was to be made of the same material in a 22 centimetre double folded square. 12 gemstones were to be attached mounted in gold filigree, and then attach it by gold chains to the ephod shoulder pieces. Place the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece to make decisions for the Israelites.

The priest’s robe was to be made of blue cloth with an opening in the centre for the head. Its hem was to be decorated with cloth images of pomegranates alternated with bells.

A gold plate engraved with HOLY TO THE LORD was to be attached to the priest’s turban by a blue cord. And then the priests were to be anointed and ordained for their special role.

Next God gave instructions for the building of the altar of burnt offering which was to be placed in the outer courtyard of the tabernacle. The altar was to be 1.3 metres high x 2.3 metres long and wide. It was to be made of acacia wood, covered with bronze and have a bronze horn on each corner to which would be tied the sacrifice. The altar would have poles and rings for when the Israelites were on the move.

The outer courtyard which surrounded the tabernacle was to be 46 metres long and 23 metres wide, with finely twisted linen curtains and 20 posts with bronze bases on the north and south, and with 10 posts on the west end. On the east side, which is the side on which the sun rises, there will be a curtain for an entrance 9 metres wide, with fixed curtains either side. All the hangings around the courtyard were 2.3 metres high.

Then the Israelites were commanded to bring clear olive oil for the lampstand and Aaron and his priestly sons were responsible for tending the light in the morning and the evening.

This chapter contains the miniscule details of the Tabernacle’s layout with curtains, supporting frames and covering in exquisite luxurious taste. God cares about detail and stressed the importance of making everything exactly according to the plan shown to Moses on the mountain. From this chapter it is most clear that God loves a beautiful place of worship.

The tabernacle was to have 10 curtains made of blue, purple and scarlet linen with the imagery of cherubins interwoven, each measuring 12.5 metres x 1.8 metres. The curtains were fastened together using golden clasps in groups of 5 with 50 loops at the end of each group. It was also to have 11 curtains of goats’ hair to cover the tabernacle with each measuring 13.5 metres x 1.8 metres and held together by bronze clasps. Additionally the Israelites were to make a further covering for the tabernacle with ram skins dyed red plus the hides of sea cows.

Then Moses was to build 48 wooden frames covered in gold to support the tent structure. Each frame measured 4.5 metres x 0.7 metres and they were set on silver bases. 20 frames were for the south side, 20 for the north side and 8 for the west end. Added to these frames were wooden horizontal cross-bars overlayed with gold.

A curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and linen, interwoven with cherubins, would divide the tabernacle in two parts separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The ark of the testimony would be placed inside the inner Most Holy Place and the golden table and golden lampstand were to be placed in the outer Holy Place. Then at the entrance to the tabernacle would be placed a curtain of yarn and embroidered linen, with gold hooks, and with 5 wooden posts overlaid with gold, set in bronze bases.

God invited free-will offerings from the people of materials which could be used to construct a mobile tent-like temple called the Tabernacle which would be God’s dwelling place amongst his people. The construction and fabrication had to be exactly according to God’s instructions.

God instructed the construction of the Ark of the Covenant which was a wooden chest 1.1 metres long, 0.7 metres wide and 0.7 metres high. It would all be overlayed with gold as would be its rings and poles for transportation. It was to house the stones of the 10 commandments. On top of the Ark there would a golden atonement cover with 2 golden cherubins.

Then a wooden table 0.9 metres long, 0.5 metres wide and 0.7 metres high would be made and be covered with pure gold, as would be its legs, rings and carrying poles.

Next a golden lampstand would be made with a central shaft and 3 branches on each side making a 7-branch lampstand with floral ornamentation.

God called Moses to go up the mountain with Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, and 70 elders. The people could not go up, but they had promised to do all God had said to Moses which he had written down. Moses built an altar at the foot of the mountain with 12 pillars representing the 12 tribes of Israel. There they offered young bulls as fellowship or peace offerings, and Moses read the Book of the Covenant to the people, sprinkling the people with the sacrificial blood saying that it was the blood of the covenant with the Lord in accordance with what he had read. Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and 70 elders went up the mountain and saw God and worshipped Him at a distance. After this Moses went further with Joshua to receive the tablets of stone from God with the law on them. Then Moses went up further alone and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai as a cloud and Moses went up into the cloud and stayed there for over a month.

Laws of justice and mercy: Don’t spread false reports, don’t follow the crowd in wrong doing, if you find your enemy’s donkey lost somewhere take it back to him, don’t deny justice to the poor in their court cases, don’t accept bribes and don’t oppress foreigners.

Sabbath laws: Plough and plant your fields in cycles of 7 years so that you plant for 6 years and let the land lay fallow on the 7th. Work for 6 days and rest on the 7th day together with your animals and slaves.

3 annual Festivals: First of all celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the month of Abib to commemorate leaving Egypt. Next celebrate the Feast of Harvest at the beginning of the harvest and then celebrate the feast of Ingathering at the end of the year. Bring the best of your first fruits to the house of the Lord, but don’t cook a young goat in its mother’s milk!

God then said that he was sending an angel to guide his people along the way and that they should listen to him and obey him always. God said that he would gradually wipe out the inhabitants of Canaan for them and would establish their borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines and from the desert to the River Euphrates.

Now comes a list of laws governing the protection of property. An animal thief will repay between 100 and 400%. There is no guilt linked to killing a burglar unless it happens after sunrise. A thief must make retribution, but if he is moneyless he himself should be sold. If a man’s animals graze in someone else’s fields then the animals’ owner must reciprocate from the best of his land. He who starts a fire must pay for the damage caused. If a man has somebody’s property in their keeping and it is stolen a judge must rule on the matter unless the thief is caught. If a man borrows an animal and it is injured or dies he must make retribution. This is followed by a list of laws covering social responsibilities such as that a man having sex with a virgin must pay the bride-price and marry her. However if the girl’s father is against the marriage the seducer must pay the father the bride-price for virgins. Then sorcery, bestiality and idolatry are said to be punishable with death. Laws are also declared against the ill-treatment of foreigners, widows and orphans. The loan of money is required to be without interest between Hebrews and blasphemy is condemned. Offerings to God should always be forthcoming as were the firstborn of animals and men to be dedicated to God. All Israelites were to be consecrated to God.

The first string of laws in this chapter are linked to slaves and their owners. Hebrew slaves were to serve 6 years and then be freed, but if the slave wanted to stay he would have his ear pierced (piercing is not so modern!) and remain for life. If a Hebrew bought a female slave as a wife, but was not happy with her, he could allow her to be redeemed but not by a foreigner. However if he bought the female slave for his son the owner was to treat her as his daughter. If a man married a slave and then married another wife he could not illtreat the slave. If he did illtreat her she should be freed. Then comes a string of laws regarding violence and abuse. He who kills or kidnaps should be killed, as should be he who attacks or curses his parents. If men fight they should compensate with proportionate payments according to injuries. Slave owners will be punished if they beat their slave unless the slave can get up after a day of two! If a pregnant woman is caused to miscarry owing to violence the man will be fined but if serious injury is caused he must be punished proportionately. If a slave owner destroys a slave’s eye or tooth the owner must compensate with freedom. Finally comes a list of laws linked to animals. If a bull kills someone then it must be stoned to death, but if the bull was in the habit of attacking people then the owner should be put to death too. If a man dug a pit but failed to cover it and an animal fell into it then he would have to compensate the loss. If a bull killed another bull then the live bull should be sold and the money be split equally between the 2 owners.

God then communicated the 10 commandments. Israel had many other laws, but these are the most well-known as the cornerstone of Hebrew law. First of all the people were to have no other gods and serve exclusively the Lord. Secondly they were not to engage in any form of idolatry. Thirdly they should never use the name of the Lord in vain. Fourthly they were to rest on the sabbath which was the 7th day of the week. Fifthly they were to honour their father and mother. Sixthly they were not to commit murder. Seventhly they were not to commit adultery. Eighthly they were not to steal. Ninthly they were not to give false testimony and tenthly they were not to covet the possessions of others. As the law was given the pyrotechnics of God’s presence on the mountain terrified the people, but Moses calmed them telling them not to be afraid. God then re-emphasized his abhorrence of idols and said that when they made altars they should either be made of earth or unhewn rocks.

3 months after the Red Sea experience the Israelites set up camp in the Sinai Desert close to Mount Sinai. God told Moses to say to the people that they would be a unique special people for him as long as they obeyed him. Moses conveyed the message and the people committed to obeying God. So God told Moses that he should get the people to spend 2 days consecrating themselves, washing their clothes and abstaining from sex, and that on the third day God would speak to Moses audibly so that the people could hear him. God also said that nobody should touch the mountain or else they would die. Then on the third morning Mount Sinai was rocked by thunder, lightning, fire, smoke and blasts from a trumpet, because the Lord descended there and spoke audibly to Moses. So God called Moses to go up the mountain to him and then to bring Aaron up to him, but no one else could go up.

Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses came to visit Moses together with Moses’ wife Zipporah and their 2 sons Gershom and Eliezer. Moses told him all about what God had done delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and Jethro was overjoyed and offered sacrifices to God. The next day Moses worked all day as judge of the people and Jethro observed how hard he worked, so Jethro suggested that he delegate much of this work to good men who could share his work load. Moses accepted the suggestion and appointed judges to take care of the simpler cases, just bringing the more complicated issues to him.

Despite God’s constant provision for Israel the people’s faith was very limited, and when no water was readily visible and available the people began to moan again. So God instructed Moses to go and strike a rock at Horeb from which water flowed out, and he called the place Massah (testing) and Meribah (quarrelling) because the people quarrelled and tested the Lord there. Then the Amalekites attacked the Israelites, so Moses sent Joshua to take some men to fight them whilst Moses stood on top of hill with his staff raised. Whilst he maintained his arms raised Israel prevailed but if he lowered his arms Israel started to lose. So Aaron and Hur held his hands up all day and by sunset the Amalekites had been defeated. Moses built an altar of praise to God and called it the Lord is my banner.

A month after leaving Egypt the Israelites left Elim and came to the Desert of Sin between Elim and Sinai. Here they started to moan about the lack of food saying they would have been better off staying in Egypt as now they were liable to starve to death. So God started to send them manna (a type of delicious bread) in the morning and quails in the evening. They were to collect sufficient for each day (not more and not less) but on the 6th day they were to collect sufficient for 2 days so that they didn’t work on the sabbath. The collected food would last for the stipulated period of time, but if they collected too much it would become full of maggots and begin to smell. God told the people not to grumble at Moses and Aaron because if they did they would be in fact complaining against Himself. And the Israelites ate manna provided by God for 40 years until they reached the border of Canaan.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang a song of rejoicing and victory unto the Lord, and Aaron’s sister and prophetess Miriam danced with tambourines. They praised God for their mighty deliverance hurling the Egyptian troops into the sea. They worshiped God for shattering their enemy by engulfing them in the sea after having delivered themselves on dry ground. They praised God who is incomparable among the gods, majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, doing wonders! The Red Sea deliverance strengthened the Israelites’ faith and belief regarding the future conquering of the land of Canaan. Then Moses led the people from the Red Sea into the desert and they grumbled about the lack of drinking water because when they arrived at Marah (bitter) the water wasn’t drinkable. Moses cried to God who directed him to throwing in some wood which made the water sweet. God then exhorted the people to listen carefully to his voice because he would not punish them with plagues as he was the Lord who heals them. Then they arrived to camp at Elim where there were 12 springs and 70 palm trees.

God told the Israelites to camp facing the Red Sea but Pharoah changed his mind about letting them go and prepared 600 plus chariots and troops to pursue them. When the Israelites saw them they were terrified and complained to Moses that he had had brought them to the desert to die. However God told them not to be afraid because he would deliver them and liquidate the Egyptians. Then God told Moses to raise his staff over the sea and it opened up a pathway through the sea which was totally dry, and the Israelites were able to escape through this pathway. However when the Egyptians pursued them it was no longer dry and they started to get bogged down in their chariots. After the Israelites had crossed, God collapsed the walls of the Red Sea engulfing the Egyptians, and they were all drowned. Thus the Israelites feared God and trusted him and trusted in Moses as they witnessed this miraculous deliverance.

In a direct link with the Passover rescue of the Israelite firstborn God established an annual ritual of the consecration of the firstborn interwoven with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As they moved into Canaan they were to remember to consecrate to God all their firstborn, including that of their livestock, and when their children asked about the meaning of this they should tell them that it was to remember all God did for them bringing them out of Egypt. Then God led the Israelites via the desert road towards the Red Sea, avoiding possible war with the Philistines on the more direct route. Moses took the bones of Joseph to bury in Canaan and God went with his people guiding them with pillars of cloud (in the day) and of fire (at night).

This chapter lays out the rules for the celebration of the Passover and for the Feast of Unleavened Bread which were to be carried out in the spring, constituting the first month of the new ecclesiastical year in commemoration of Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. God told Moses that each Hebrew family should slaughter a year old lamb or kid which was without defect, with small families being able to share. They should then paint the blood on the sides and tops of their front door frames and roast the lamb or kid, eating it with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. They should eat whilst wearing a cloak tucked inside their belt, wearing sandals and holding a staff. (ready to march to freedom!) That same night God would kill the Egyptian firstborn,  but where he saw the blood he would ‘pass over’ and leave them unaffected by the plague of death. God said that the Passover festival together with the Feast of Unleavened Bread should be commemorated every year to remember the great deliverance of God in all future generations. At midnight on the first Passover God struck down the Egyptian firstborn without exception and there was loud wailing throughout Egypt, but where there was blood on the doorposts the angel of death passed over. During the night Pharoah finally gave in and told Moses, Aaron and the Israelites to get out of Egypt, and all the Egyptians urged them to leave quickly! So the Israelites’ 430 years in Egypt came to a close. They were 600,000 men plus women, children and livestock on their way to Canaan. So the Passover commemorates the setting free of the Israelites from slavery, no foreigner could eat of it and no uncircumcised men. God was finally bringing the Israelites out of Egypt!

God told Moses that he was about to bring the last plague upon Egypt which would finally secure the release of the Israelites. So God instructed the people to ask their Egyptian neighbours for gold and silver for their soon coming journey to freedom. Moses then went to Pharoah and told him that at midnight all the Egyptian firstborn would die, including the cattle, and that loud wailing would be heard everywhere. This would have the effect that the Egyptians would be glad to see the back of the Hebrews. However Pharoah stubbornly refused to set the people free.

Next God sent a plague of locusts in all of Egypt because Pharoah continued to resist setting free the Israelites. The locusts devoured what was left of the crops after the hail and they devoured the foliage of the trees. So Pharoah repented of his sin, but soon retracted once the locusts had left. Therefore God sent a plague of darkness over Egypt for 3 days, but the Israelites were not affected. So Pharoah tried to negotiate a partial release of the Israelites, without them taking their livestock, but this was unacceptable to Moses. So Pharoah lost his patience, told Moses to get lost and threatened to kill him if he saw him again.

Now God sent further plagues to try and force Pharoah to set his people free. First he sent a plague on Egypt’s livestock whilst Israel’s was plague free. This plague caused the death of all Egyptian livestock, yet still Pharoah remained resolutely intransigent. Following this God sent a plague of boils and festering boils broke out on the Egyptians and their animals. God kept calling Pharoah to release his people, but he would not heed. So God sent the biggest hailstorm ever with thunder and lightening and the plantations were ruined. Pharoah was initially relented with this, but once Moses had called off the storm he changed his mind and resisted giving the Israelites their freedom.

God continued to pressure Pharoah into freeing his people through the sending of 3 further plagues of Frogs, Gnats and Flies, but stubborn Pharoah would not give in. Twice he initially said he would release the Israelites, but he went back on his word each time. The Egyptian magicians even managed to imitate the plague of frogs, but not the gnats or the flies. Despite the repeated infestations of frogs, then gnats and then flies, Pharoah would not be moved and just hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

God told 80-year-old Moses and his 83-year-old brother Aaron to go and tell Pharoah everything he told them to say, with Aaron as the spokesman because Moses always said he couldn’t do the speaking because he had faltering lips. (It makes me wonder if Moses was not just scared, but perhaps had some sort of speech impediment?) God said however that stubborn and perverse Pharoah would not budge and that God would even harden his heart further. “In no way does God force Pharoah to act against his own will. To the contrary, he gives Pharoah the courage to obstinately resist and stick to his original plan.” (R.C.Sproul) When Moses and Aaron asked for the release of the Israelites from Pharoah he asked for a miracle in order to back up their request, so they threw a staff on the floor and it became a snake. However Pharoah’s sorcerers and magicians did the same thing before Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Despite this Pharoah continued to reject their request. So God commenced sending a sequence of plagues upon Egypt and firstly turned the Nile into blood killing all the fish in it making it undrinkable, but the Egyptian magicians managed to imitate the plague as Pharoah totally rejected the appeal for freedom.

The Lord said to Moses that now he would see what he would do to make Pharoah set the Israelites free. God emphasized that he had not forgotten his covenant with them and told Moses to tell them that he was going to deliver them from the yoke of the Egyptians and take them to Canaan as he had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. However the Israelites would not listen as they were in a very low state. So God told Moses to go and tell to Pharoah to free the Israelites, but Moses retorted that if the Israelites wouldn’t listen to him the chances of Pharoah listening were a lot less! There then comes a genealogical insertion into the narrative which has the purpose of focusing on the lineage of Moses and Aaron and the steadily unfolding plan of God. “All through the Egyptian bondage, God was quietly and unobtrusively at work so that when the moment of deliverance came His instruments of deliverance were there to meet it.” (H.R.Jones)

Moses and Aaron went and asked Pharoah to allow the Israelites to go and hold a festival for God in the desert, but Pharoah refused and told them to get on with their work. Pharoah was annoyed by their insistence and so increased their workload by no longer supplying the chopped straw used in mud brick making. The Israelites were forced to find their own straw whilst maintaining their daily production levels. Israelite work foremen were beaten by the Egyptian slave drivers for not maintaining their daily quotas. When the foremen complained to Pharoah he just hit back by calling them lazy. So the foremen said to Moses and Aaron that they had only made things worse, and Moses passed the complaint on to God.

Moses further questioned God as to what if the people didn’t believe him or listen to him, so God gave him some signs to encourage faith. God told Moses to throw his staff on the ground and it became a snake, but when he picked it up it became a staff again. So too God made Moses’s hand leprous and then restored it just by putting it inside his cloak. Hence Moses was to show these signs to the Hebrews to reinforce his credibility. However, Moses still placed obstacles before God saying he wasn’t eloquent enough for the task, but God said he would help Moses speak. Yet still Moses resisted, asking God to send someone else, which infuriated God who said he would make Moses’s brother Aaron his spokesman. Moses therefore went with his wife and children in the direction of Egypt and warned Moses that Pharoah would stubbornly resisted letting the Israelites go. On the way there was an incident because one of Moses’s son’s had not been circumcised. His mother placated the wrath of God by quickly circumcising him so that Moses’s life was spared. Aaron joined Moses, they did the signs before the people and told them of God’s concern about their situation

Moses went to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, and he saw the angel of the Lord in a burning bush which did not burn up. When Moses got nearer God spoke to him telling him to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. God identified himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob so Moses hid his face. God said that he had seen the suffering of his people in slavery and had come down to rescue them and take them to Canaan which was flowing with milk and honey. And God told Moses that he was sending him to Pharoah so as to bring his people out of Egypt. Moses reacted saying “who am I” to do this? God guaranteed that he would be with Moses and that once delivered the people would come and worship on Mount Horeb. Moses also asked God’s name so as to be in a position to answer the Israelites’ possible question about this, and God told him to say that I AM had sent him. So, God told Moses to go and assemble the elders of Israel and tell them that God would set them free and take them to a land flowing with milk and honey. Then with the elders Moses should go and request from Pharoah permission for the Israelites to go on a 3-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord. However, God knew that Pharoah would not agree and that he would need to strike the Egyptians with many things in order that he be willing to set the Israelites free. Nevertheless, God said her would work on the Egyptians so that they would be disposed to give them silver and gold objects prior to their deliverance.

Two Levites married and when they had a son the mother hid him for 3 months to avoid the Pharaonic death decree. When she could hide him no longer she put him in a floating basket amongst the reeds of the Nile. (She had almost obeyed Pharoah’s decree to throw baby boys into the river!) One of Pharoah’s daughters saw the basket and felt sorry for the baby crying. The baby’s sister stepped in and offered Pharoah’s daughter to get a Hebrew nanny (the baby’s mother!) to care for the baby. When the child grew older he was taken to Pharoah’s daughter to be her son and she named him Moses. One day after Moses had grown up he went and observed how his Hebrew people endured hard labour and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew so he intervened and killed the Egyptian. When this came to the ears of Pharoah he wanted to kill Moses so Moses fled to Midian. There a priest called Jethro had 7 daughters who came to a well, where Moses was, to water their flock and he helped them with their task. When their father learnt of Moses’s kindness he invited him to eat and stay with them and he ended up giving his daughter Zipporah in marriage to Moses, and they had a son whom they named Gershom. Considerable time later the king of Egypt died but the Israelites continued to groan in their slavery and their cry for help went up to God. God heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and was concerned about the Hebrews.

There were 70 descendants of Jacob when the Israelites entered Egypt but as time went by they multiplied a great deal. One day a new Pharoah, who didn’t know about Joseph, came to power and he became very wary of the size of the Israelite population which he viewed as a potential danger. So the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites and forced them into slavery, but still they kept growing in numbers. Therefore the king of Egypt ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill the boys being born and only let the girls live, but they feared God too much to do such a thing. When Pharoah realized his order wasn’t being obeyed he questioned the midwives who told him the babies were being born before their arrival. Hence the Hebrew population just kept growing fast so that Pharoah made a decree saying that all mothers must throw new born boys into the river!