(36) No Other Gods

Exodus 20:3-6

• You are to have no other gods before me.You shall have no other gods before me.
• You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
• You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
• but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments

When the Israelites were brought out of Egypt and got to live free for the first time in over 400 years, some of course like any other good human went too far and started to forget how they got there and lived according to their own laws. But God laid down the law for them and created the 10 Commandments. But why did He put them into a certain order? Was there a pattern to His law? Perhaps.

The first commandment is to not have any other gods before Him. A different way of saying it is to not have any other gods period. This would stop all unnecessary and harmful distractions from the path of righteousness. Jesus restated (love the Lord your God) that this was one of the top two greatest commands and that all other commands stem from this one and loving your neighbor. To put God first is to follow what He did for us. He created us above all creation and made us the rulers of the earth. He gave us a spirit that He gave nothing else in the universe. He breathed His own breath into man and that separated us from all other living beings. He placed us upon His own pedestal and said this was His greatest of all creation. He wants this feeling to come back to Him. We need to give Him our "first fruits".

Cain and Abel are the first two people we hear about giving back to God. Cain gave some of his life's work to God but Abel gave not only some, he gave his first, his best to God and then some. Abel knew how to sacrifice his own wants and riches to give back to God and put Him first. God was not pleased with Cain but He was with Abel.

Putting God first is a sign of worship. Keeping Him above all things means that we lay down our own pride. It is the beginning of what pure sacrifice and true worship is all about. Without putting God first then our worship isn't what it is supposed to be.

Why not other gods? What is a god anyway? Notice the lower casing of this word. Websters dictionary describes a god (lower cased) as a

being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers
and to require human worship; specifically : one controlling a particular aspect
or part of reality.

So a god, un-capitalized, means anything that you worship or controls one part of your reality. That means anything you allow to control your life could become a god to you. You start to worship it. It could be money. People start to worship money and try to gain as many possessions as they can. They step on others to get to a higher position to get more money. They don't care how they get there as long as they do. They are too focused on beating others or at least trying to be others that all they do is for the glory of money. That is worship. That is a god. Some worship beauty. They spend hours upon hours worrying about their looks. They spend thousands of dollars "fixing" themselves to what they feel is beauty. It becomes their obsession. That is worship. That is a god. Many other things could be considered a god. Anything that takes your desires and moves them beyond passion into obsession can be considered a god.

Why do we not consider God just a god? Because He is different. No other god has said that He created you AND has lived among you AND has died for you AND has created another place for you AND is still around. Some have said many of these but has not and can not say all of them.

Why are other religions considered to only have gods instead of God? Follow what the rest of this lesson says. They are something that offers only a fantasy world. Other gods lead people astray from the truth and reality.

The one and true God shows the path of righteousness. It shows the way to true happiness.

(25) The Tabernacle, Part 4, Exodus 25-31

Last time we talked about a special place that we hold value. But sometimes even within that room there are objects that have special stories that only you will understand. When you look at that certain object you get a feeling that no one else will get because it is the most sacred of all possessions you have. Many things can be moved. You can change a room around and rearrange items but this object can not and will not be moved. This is what the Holy of Holies is all about.

The last section of the Temple (Tabernacle) is the Holy of Holies. This was the inner most part of the sanctuary, the place where God resided or resides in the case of a Christian. There are three main objects in this room; the Veil, the Ark, and the Mercy Seat.

The Veil. The veil was a sign that there was something secretive hidden behind it that only special people could see. Just like a Bride in a wedding, the only one who can see behind the veil is the husband. There was an appointed time for someone to see her. In the tabernacle behind the veil was the Ark. The Ark was the sacred possession. Inside it were other objects that showed how important the Jewish people were to God. Most famous of these things was the Ten Commandments, the law. As a Christian we know the Law to be Jesus. God hid Christ in a safe place until His appointed time, such as the Bride. Christ is God the Father's most valued possession, a part of Himself that He sent to be with His people. When Jesus was crucified, scripture says that the Veil was torn in two. Sacrifices under the old law were always cut in half and separated. The space between them is called the path of death. On one side is life, the other side is death. The veil was split in two as the new path of death, the new law. To get to Christ at the end of our lives, we have to pass through the path of death by going through the split veil; the symbol of Christ's sacrifice. This says that we accept Christ as the sacrifice. We pass through His flesh (Hebrews 10:19-20). Josephus says that horses tied to both ends could not tear the veil apart. So imagine what the priests thought when they saw this non-tearable item being ripped from top to bottom!

When it split it opened up a way for us to approach the throne of God, or the Mercy Seat, without any shame. The seat was located on top of the Ark. This is the place where God would appear in the time of the Old Law. This is also where the sacrifice for atonement was done (Leviticus 16:15). When Jesus poured His own blood onto the earth, there was no more need for a physical Mercy Seat. We can go directly to Him. No matter what we have done His Mercy Seat is always there willing and waiting for those who want to receive it (Hebrews 9:14-16).

(24) The Tabernacle, Part 3, Exodus 25-31

Do you have that special place where you go to that you keep all of the things that are valuable to you? Maybe it's your den. or family room. Maybe it's your own room that no one else really goes into. Maybe it's only as small as that special chair that no one else is allowed to sit in. This place usually holds something special to you; a memory or a feeling. When someone enters into that special place they come into your presence. Many times the people that want to go into these places have to have special permission from you. You become the one that those around focus on and that is why it is even more important to you. The ones who you love can now share in your thoughts and feelings. This is what the inner most part of the Tabernacle was all about, the Holy Place.

Inside the Holy Place were the following items: a golden lamp stand, a table of showbread, and an altar of incense.

The lamp stand of course is a symbol of light. It was placed in this room because if you make it here you are always in the light (sh'kinah) of God. It doesn't mean that you have made it to the full presence of God but close enough to see Him and want more. This may also be a reference to us being a light to the world since we are in Him and He is the light (Leviticus 24:1-4, John 8:12). We are also to be witnesses. We are supposed to keep the wicks clean and ready to burn. This is an ongoing task. If we let the wicks burn up then what use is our light? We put people in darkness by our actions. A daily worship of God means to be constantly ready to burn the light for others to see.

The showbread may perhaps mean communion with God. It was right near the presence of God because it is the step before you meet God. As with today's communion, before we take it, we need to have been through the rest of the "tabernacle", i.e., the outer courts and inner courts. We need to examine ourselves in the basin and clean ourselves before we partake of the showbread. Once we have taken communion we are ready to see the full image of God, for we have been united in His blood (John 6:35).

In Part 2, we talked about a fragrance being like a new born baby. The scriptures talk a few times about the aroma going up to God. Symbolic or not, just like for us, smell is the strongest thing related to memory and it brings either pleasure or a stench. Our prayers and praises rise like incense. They can either be pleasurable to God or cause Him to turn away from us due to our "stench". This turning away from us means His ears will not hear our words (Pslams 66:18). This altar of incense (our heart) is a place that needs to give off a beautiful aroma (Leviticus 16:12). This aroma can also be a "sinner" turning from his old ways, a heart that is new is like a new born baby. A heart that is repentive is like a new born baby. A heart that is sincere is like a new born baby.

This Holy Place was a place that only those whom God chose to close to Him could go. The ones who can share with God his own heart like David did so long ago.

(23) The Tabernacle, Part 2, Exodus 25-31

Why do you have different rooms in your house? Why do you have a door into these rooms? Simple answers are: each room has its own purpose and the door symbolizes that a new purpose has begun. Other answers may be rooms and doors cause separation for privacy or shows ownership of a certain area. This is the same with God's house- the Tabernacle, the place to worship and meet God. Before we go on, keep in mind that you are today's tabernacle for God. But to understand how important you are today we have to see what the original tabernacle was like and why all of its inhabitants were instructed to be created the way they were. This will focus mostly on Exodus 27 with some others included.

The Court System
Just like your house is divided into sections so was God's house. But these were called courts. There were two main courts- the outer courts and the inner courts. The outer court was an area of fellowship and personal business. It was place to meet others and share things with them. The inner court was a place to start preparing yourself to worship and meet God. For more on what the courts are see this link http://ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com/2008/08/iv-worship.html. But before we get to the courts we have to go through an outer door. In Exodus it was a fence. When Solomon built the Temple it will be known as the Sacred Enclosure. The fence served as a barrier. It prevents the un-Godly from entering into His presence. God can not be around things that are unholy, for He is holy. To be in His presence means you have His protection. The fence kept out all of the wild animals that were wandering in the desert and wilderness. It was not a see through fence because the world will never know what God means until they enter His presence. The Sacred Enclosure by law was a place in the outer courts where the gentile could go to but not pass. The gentile was allowed to do business in this area just like Jews but could not pass the Sacred Enclosure. Because at this time the gentile knew not of what a relationship with the true God was like. It separated them (Isaiah 59:2). But today the gentile by the Grace of Jesus has been allowed to enter. Not to take the place of the Jew but to commune with him. Other scripture

Just like in your house you have set up adornments and accessories that are meaningful to you, so it was with God's house. Linen was added to the house (27:9) because it took a lot of time getting it to the final product. It was made from the flax plant. It was twisted together and beaten. Then boiled in water and wrung out. This process made the linen white and clean. It was a long process making linen to be a valued product, making it expensive. Sometimes our lives take a long time to be refined. Sometimes we get twisted together to make us strong. Sometimes we are beaten to make us tough. Sometimes we go through water to be cleansed so we can be purified. Our lives take a long process to get right but that just shows how important and valuable we are to God. He wants us to be right.

Just like your house there is a way in to the place (the back door is somewhat a new idea compared to time). To get into God's house you had to enter the Gate. There is only one gate. Jesus (John 10:9, 14:6). There was only one door in the Ark that Noah built. And there is only one gate to heaven. Only through Jesus can we actually enter into the presence of God.

Just like your house, there is a place to wash and be clean, so it is with God's house. On the side of the courts was a laver, or basin. This was a place to wash before you went on to worship. Today it could be a symbol of baptism, the washing off detestable flesh and making clean a new creature in Christ (John 13:8-10). Without this washing, the flesh is too much full of stench that the burnt offering will have a horrible aroma that will not please God. A new creature is the like the smell of a new baby.

Lastly, if you notice the tabernacle was a movable place. It is a protege of the new testament temple. You. Your body is now the temple. It is a movable object that you take with you everywhere. God wants us every place we go to be a place of worship. Rick Warren says that we should live a life of worship. This kind of life is described as "walking with God". This is why it is wrong to try and control our own lives, it's not ours to control. God designed us the way we are. We are specific in detail. Each one of us is important to Him like the original temple was.

(22) The Tabernacle, Part 1, Exodus 25-31

The Tabernacle, before the Temple was built, was the place of worship. To understand the Tabernacle, you have to understand what life was like before it was built. God's original plan was to exist with humanity and walk with man on a day to day basis. But the first man sinned and cause a separation between God and man. God can not be around sin for he is holy. But, man without God is hopeless. There is nothing left for man if God was not around. God did not want man to be lost so He allowed a way for man to get the relationship back, worship.

Sin is when we worship our own will (desires) instead of God's. This is what separates us from God. We need a way to bridge the gap. Worship is when we have a relationship with God. To be able to get back that perfect relationship, sin had to be taken away. Sin kills this relationship. Worship helps bring it back. But there is still a separation. Only total atonement for sin can do that. In the OT, it was through sacrifice. But the New Covenant makes Jesus Christ the atonement, or sacrifice.

Eden was God's place on Earth. It was the place that God put His most prized possession, man. It was a place where God went to man to speak with him, to be with him. But Adam sinned. Sin cause man to be thrown out of God's place.

When Adam sinned, he tried to hide his sin by "covering" himself with a fig leaf. This was not good enough. God gave him a new covering; one made with skin of an animal. An animal had to die and the shedding of blood had to happen to cover us completely. Christ died and His blood now covers us. (Genesis 2:25-3:24)

Why blood? Because as in Hebrews 9:22, blood is a life force. When we died through Adam our blood line to God was cut. To get that blood line back, blood (innocent) has to be shed. In the Tabernacle days, it was through a spotless lamb; one without blemish. If they sacrificed an animal that was already dying or defective, what good would it have done? What would it have proven? Sacrificing a pure lamb showed that they could give up something so valuable in order to show their feelings to God. Do not worry, the animal is God's. Rest assured that the lamb was taken cared of. In the New Tabernacle, which is you, we do not have to sacrifice anymore. Christ is the lamb.

Worship involves sacrifice. It costs. When Cain sacrificed his offerings to the Lord he only gave some of it. When Abel sacrificed he gave the first fruits of his labor. He gave the best portions of what he had. Cain did not really sacrifice anything. Abel did. (Genesis 4:1-5) True sacrifice also means we have to be obedient. Obedience sometimes cause us to give up things we desire in order to get the things He desires for us. The bigger the sacrifice the larger act of worship it is. King David said in 1 Chronicles 21:24

• 24 I will not sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.

David knew the real meaning behind worship. Is it any wonder why God had David write all of his Psalms? Worship is the connection that keeps us near to God. It allows us to be close to Him. It brings us back to "Eden", paradise. The Tabernacle was the place for worship. It was ordained by God with specific instructions and emblems. Each emblem had its own purpose and foreshadowed what the Christ would be for us. The Tabernacle was a physical place that was built so that God could exist with man again. But it had to be made holy. Even within the Tabernacle itself there were parts that God would not be present for not all of it was holy.

(21) The Decalogue, Exodus 21:1-24:18

Once the Ten Commandments were etched in stone, they became law; a Godly law. But, how does that transpire into man's law? Could you do something to man that was not against God? Is there a way around His law and still get away from helping man? God knew man's heart and knew his intentions. He knew what man would do if there was some loop hole or way out of something. So, God continued with explaining what the law meant. And since Israel was a stubborn nation, then punishment and atonement for breaking the laws needed to be strict. Israel was God's chosen people. They should have known the power of God yet somehow they remained worldly. He would put a stop to it. This is why chapters 21-24 in Exodus are long winded, extreme, monotonous, dare say...boring, along with Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

Almost every aspect of life was written down on how to treat your fellow man. The first four commandments dealt with what your relationship with God should be. The other six deal with your relationship with other people. But notice when the covenant is expanded most of the laws deal with man. When God laid down the law about our relationship with Him, He needed no to expand. He is the Lord, nothing else will do, remember Him and Him only! Stray outside that and you have a problem. But He knew we would do things to each other and needed guidance. These chapters tell us how do deal with servants, injuries, property, social responsibility, justice, mercy, the sabbath and celebration days. Each topic mentioned has its own subtopics as well.

In the end though God tells His people He will protect them if they abide by the rules. He sends an angel out before them preparing their way. Who is the angel? No one knows. It could be any of them but verse 23:21 says he will not forgive your rebellion since my Name is in him. Is that a hint that it could be Christ or is it symbolically saying there is no excuse for rebellion against something from God? You have to be the judge there.

The covenant is finally confirmed with the sacrifice of a life. A young bull (several of them) was sacrificed to claim the testament in blood, the life force, the essence of being. And as a final witness to this covenant God showed Himself to Moses and all the elders of Israel. They ate with Him and had fellowship. But God would not do this all the time. He is too holy to be seen by all so the next step was to build a place where God could meet His creation; the tabernacle.

(20) Freedom is never free, Exodus 13:1-20:26

When someone is in prison and they are forced to give up their lifestyle and freedom in order to pay their sentence of punishment, they start to become accustomed to another way of life. Once they are free they go through a phase called de-institutionalizing. They have to relearn the way of reality. This is why many convicts commit crimes after they have been freed. They do not know how to handle the real world anymore so they revert back to what got them punished in the first place. Same with Israel.

Israel had been a prisoner for over 400 years, they had lost some of their culture and had picked up some of the Egyptian culture. God did not want them to hold on to the Egyptian culture. So, before any of the major traveling went on, God started to set down laws. If He did not then one of two things would have happened; either Israel would not have known how to survive on their own and the nation would have perished or they would want to revert back to Egyptian ways. As you read you will notice they try to revert back many times. It's a wonder why God stayed with them.

Laws, Customs and ways of Life

1. Consecration of the first born-no matter what the child was the first born of all families was to be dedicated to God. This was to remind all of Israel that the one plague that allowed them to go free was that the firstborn of all Egyptians was killed. This is also a foreshadow of the Christ. In order for us to go free the firstborn of God had to die.
2. Manna ,Quail and Water-not even three months had passed and the Israelites were complaining about the outside world. Some of them cried out that they would rather have died in Egypt. But, God listened and gave them plenty of food by sending manna and quail, everyday. They were to trust in Him and not gather any more than what they needed or were told to gather. Still some of them did not trust. And since this happened maybe another major necessity of life was denied to them so they would appreciate being free. They ran out of water. So God caused water to flow from a rock.
3. War- Never thought of this before but the Israelites, although had to take the land that was promised to them, were not the aggressors. The Amalekites attacked them first. And they won't be the last. Why was war necessary? Because the land was consecrated by God hundreds of years earlier with Abraham. The people living in the land now had defiled the land by their practices. What was done there in the past few hundred years had to be wiped out so the land could be worthy again. Plus the people living there would not leave voluntarily.
4. The Commandments-In Greek called the Decalogue or The Ten Words. Words is a term that describes a covenant in OT times. Why were they given? They were a sign to God's people that there was a special bond between them. He chose them to be His people and if they abide by His laws then they will share in His glory and presence. Why these certain laws? First of all its what His original plan was anyway. To love God above all, to remember what He has done and all of His power, to take care of each other by not causing each other to fall by certain acts of selfishness i.e., murder, stealing, etc.. Oddly enough Jesus restated the Ten Words into two: Love God and Love your neighbor. He did not change the law keep in mind, the Ten Words are still a covenant. Jesus just simplified it. He also expanded on it with what we call the Sermon on the Mount.

These ways of life were written down due to the fact that the culture of Israel and its original purpose of existence had been watered down by life in Egypt. Before these were written down people lived by faith. Abraham was not "under the law" because he lived by faith. Through the years people had lost faith and never knew what it was like to live by faith. This is why when they got to the dessert they did not know how to trust in God and turned so easily to idols and grievances. So God wrote down these things to help them remember, but since they were a hard-headed people He gave them strict conditions to abide by as written down in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Today we are not "under the law" per se. Jesus is the law. We are back to living by faith. However, we are living in times that say faith is not valid. We are sliding back into Egypt, if you will. This next time God will not send another savior. This next time that our faith needs refining will be the end. Third time is a charm...

(19) The Plagues, Exodus 7:7-12:36

The plagues of Egypt. Why did God use these certain ten plagues to change the mind of Pharaoh? He could have used anything yet He chose to use these. Most of the plagues were directed at the religion of Egypt. Most of the plagues were directed specifically at the gods of the Egyptians. These were signs to show the Egyptians that the one true God was powerful than anything that the gods of Egypt could muster.

1. Plague of the Nile turning to blood: The Nile was of course the Egyptians lifeline. A fertile land region that no one else could control. There were three gods whom the Egyptians felt gave them this control. Khnemu was the guardian of the Nile. Hopi was the spirit of the Nile. Osiris was the creator of Egyptian civilization using the Nile as his bloodstream after he was murdered and his body thrown into the Nile.
2. Plague of the frogs: The goddess of fertility was Heket. She helped women with childbirth and her symbol was a frog.
3. Plague of gnats and the Plague of flies: These were references to Ba'al. The term Ba'al itself means "lord" but later in the Bible a term comes out of this to refer to what we know today as satan; beelzebub or "lord of the flies". Ba'al originated in the Middle East and not Egypt but since the Egyptian kingdom grew and they were always willing to adopt new gods then this became part of their worship. Ba'al had died and his sister resurrected him, virtually a living dead, where flies would be attracted.
4. Plague of Cattle dying: These were direct to Hathor, goddess whose form was a cow, and Apsi who was called the bull god. Both of which have too of long stories to divulge. You can read more about them via Internet.
5. Plague of Boils: Boils of course are a skin irritation that can be treated with medicine. But the Egyptians could not cure this even with the help of Imhotep, the god of medicine.
6. Plague of hail: The weather was also controlled by Egyptian gods such as: Nut, the sky goddess, Isis, who was partly known as a mother of nature and giver of life, and Seth who was known as the protector of the crops and god of storms.
7. Plague of locusts: Again directed at Seth who protected the crops.
8. Plague of darkness: Ra, the sun god.
9. Plague of death (first born): Directed straight at Pharaoh, who was considered one of the gods.

With each plague God Almighty showed that He could out do any Egyptian god there was and it was He who controlled the world not them. Each plague caused the Egyptians to want to get rid of the Israelites. Each plague only effected the Egyptians while the Israelites were protected by God. Even by the fourth plague, the Pharaoh's advisers were telling him to give in and let them go because for the first two plagues they had reproduced the act. Now they are finding out that they can't do what God does.

There are physical explanations for each plague. Such as sulfur in the Nile caused the river to turn red and poisoned to drink, thereby causing all of the frogs to get out of the river since they could jump but the poor fish were left to die. Since the frogs could not go back into the river to be rehydrated they died causing swarms of flies and gnats to devour their left over carcasses. And since there were carcasses that means disease may have spread out of this causing the cattle to die with cowpox and may have spread to humans as small pox which cause irritation of the skin and boils. A freakish once in a hundred years storm produced hail hitting the crops and making the locust fly prematurely all at once and blocking the sun out, or the same hail storm had no rain but only wind causing a dust storm to hit blocking out the sun. And of course the only explanation for the oldest son dying is there must have been a plague...duh! Even if all of these had a natural explanation, then why did they all happen at this certain time and why the coincidence that it didn't happen to the Israelites?

(18) Preparing the way, Exodus 2:24-7:6

Moses' story is more complicated than one would realize. He was a man who did not have a people of his own, for he was Hebrew and he was Egyptian, yet neither group had accepted him. He lived in a place called Midian, yet felt like a foriegner. He even named his first son, Gershom; "foreigner". He was royalty, being raised by Pharaoh's daughter. He was a slave, being born of a Hebrew. Yet he ended up being a shepherd for his father-in-law. He knew of his real kinsmens' troubles and wanted to lead them out of Egypt but no one would listen to him. (Acts 7:20-25) His time had not yet come.

Preparation #1-Life experiences
His first 40 years of his life he had spent in his Egyptian customs. He learned what it was like to have everything. He was educated in the finest of things. He learned how to speak up and was given power in his tenure. Some traditions say he was commander of the southern army of Egypt. In any case, he was being trained to be a leader. But as we have read earlier, he had to flee. Where did he go? To a desert.

His next 40 years he was being trained how to survive on the littlest of things. He tended flock, not for himself but for a master, his father-in-law. When he fled he would travel through the lands that God would eventually lead him to when he used him to free the Israelites. Moses came to know the land that God would him send him through.

That last 40 years of his life he led Israel to the Promise Land by using his wisdom of leadership, his ability to confront crowds and his knowledge of the wilderness. God had used a lifetime to prepare a man for one of the greatest purposes in history. To show mankind that God can free us from our own bondage.

Israel was in Egypt for 400 years because they chose to stay. They could have left Egypt once the drought and famine was over during Joseph's time and had gone back to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They put themselves into bondage. God freed the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt. Jesus freed us all from the bondage of sin.

Preparation #2-God Calling

Once Moses had life experiences to prepare him for what he needed to be like, God now called him to fulfill his purpose. Moses was now 80 years old when God called to him. Out of the blue, Moses just happened to be leading his flock in the desert near a mountain; Horeb, "the mountain of God", and called out to him from a bush that was burning.

Why a bush? No one really knows but maybe because of a couple of reasons. First, a bush when set on fire will burn. It was a sign of the power of God. It wasn't a tree because if a tree was burning others may have seen it. A tree is huge and a bush is small. It was a sign that God sometimes uses the small things in life to talk to us. Why didn't he just speak to Moses? The answer lies within a question. Was Moses ready to hear him? Moses was 80. He had spent a life that he had not wanted. Speaking to Moses may not have been enough for a man who thought God may have deserted him. When God calls, he will get your attention, but sometimes it's by the smallest things in our life.

Preparation #3- Acceptance of who you are

Moses even after hearing and seeing God, even after a life of wanting to take leadership of the Israelites, still was reluctant to do what God said to do. He was not willing to accept his fate. He made excuses, "They won't believe me", "Who should I say told me", "I have a speech impediment". With each excuse God answered him. God has a purpose for all of us. We have to accept who we are and God will give us the ability to use what we have.

Preparation #4- Perseverance

When Moses came back to Egypt, his task was not easy. The Pharaoh made the lives of the Israelites harder and many of them blamed Moses. But in the middle of the persecution came the prosecution. God stepped in and things began to happen. If Moses quit and gave up, it would have been a horrible witness to the power of God. But through perseverance God will follow through on His promises.

He may be preparing the way for you. If you persevere in your life's experience and wait upon the Lord, then listen for His calling so he can prepare you for something great, even if it's small.

(17) No Oridnary Man, Exodus 2:1-23

Moses (Moshe), was no ordinary man says the scriptures. His father was Amram, a Levite. His mother was Jochebed who was also a Levite, since Jochebed was actually Amram's aunt (this was before the Law was given). He was the great-grandson of Levi. When the Pharaoh handed out the law that all male Hebrew newborns should be killed, Jochebed hid Moses for three months. When it became apparent she could not hide him anymore she put him in a basket and pushed him down the Nile. Amazingly, the Pharaoh's daughter (let's call her Sitamun) just happened to be there when Moses went floating by. Moses' sister, Miriam, watched on the side of the Nile to make sure he was okay. Miriam talked Sitamun into letting a "Hebrew woman" nurse him for her. Oddly enough who does Miriam go get? His own mother! Not only that Jochebed was paid by Sitamun for taking care of him. Moses was not only supposed to have been killed, but ended up in his own house anyway and his family was compensated for it. Truly, not ordinary.

Moses was not the name that Jochebed gave to her son. His real name is unknown. "Moses" was the name that Sitamun gave him. By the way, why are we calling her Sitamun? Well, if the Exodus was 1488 BC, then the Pharaoh at the time of Moses being born would have been Ahmose I. Ahmose had three daughters and only one of them was not married, which probably meant that she would bear no children, thereby making her more than likely wanting one. God gave her one in this way. Pure speculation. Either way, look at the name 'Moses'. Sounds a lot like her father's name Ahmose. Ahmose means "the moon is born" or "the moon's child". Moses in Hebrew is Moshe which means savior but is also very close to the Hebrew word, mashah; "to draw water" (Exodus 2:10), but it's closest equivalent in old Egyptian is 'mes' which means "son". Sitamun probably named him this to fit both languages. Again, no ordinary man.

Somehow, Moses knew of his heritage. When he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew he defended the Hebrew and killed the Egyptian. The very next day someone was threatening to turn him in for his actions and the new Pharaoh (Amenhotep I) found out. So, he left his home and fled to Midian where he met his future wife, Zipporah. Where did he meet her? She was at a well...drawing water; mashah! No ordinary man!

And his non-ordinary life had still the most non-ordinary experience yet to come.

(16) When was the Exodus?

If one does a study on genealogy and starts with the Bible and Adam you can find the date of the Exodus from one angle. Such as:

1. Adam was 130 when he had Seth, Seth was 105 when he had Enosh, Enosh was 90 when he had Kenan, Kenan was 70 when he had Mahalalel, Mahalalel was 65 when he had Enoch, Enoch was 65 when he had Methuselah, Methuselah was 187 when he had Lamech, Lamech was 182 when he had Noah, Noah was 502 when he had Shem, Shem was 100 when he had Arphaxad, Arphaxad was 35 when he had Shelah, Shelah was 30 when he had Eber, Eber was 34 when he had Peleg, Peleg was 30 when he had Reu, Reu was 32 when he had Serug, Serug was 30 when he had Nahor, Nahor was 29 when he had Terah, and Terah was 70 when he had Abram (Abraham). That is a total of 1948 years. (Genesis 5:3-11:26)
2. Abraham was 75 when he left his father and he was 86 when he had Ishmael. (Genesis 12:4-16:15) The promise of his descendants being slaves in Egypt was somewhere between these two dates. The best thing we can do on this end is split the difference. Say he was 80. That gives us a total of 2028 years from the time of creation of man to the promise of being slaves.
3. Galatians 3:17 says that there were 430 years between this promise and the actual exodus. So that gives us a total of 2448 years after the creation is when the Exodus happened.

From the other angle:

1. Nebuchadnezzar who was king of Babylon and took captive Jewish people from the land of Israel reigned from 605-562 BC, by secular dates. He destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon in 587 BC meaning the kings of Israel and Judah were no more.
2. Counting backwards now are the kings of Judah: Jehoiachin really didn't have a reign, Jehoiakim 14 years, Jehoahaz 0 full years, Josiah 31 years, Amon 2, Manasseh 55, Hezekiah 29, Ahaz 16, Jotham 16, Azariah 52, Amaziah 29, Joash 41, Athaliah 6, Ahaziah 1, Jehoram 8, Jehoshaphat 25, Asa 41, Abijah 3, Rehoboam 17, Solomon 40 years. That gives us a total of 425 years. Which means Solomon would have been king of Judah and Israel around 1012 BC, keeping in line with secular dates.
3. The Temple was built in the 4th year of Solomon's reign (1 Kings 6:1) which means the Temple was built in 1008 BC. The same verse says it was 480 years after the Exodus that the Temple was started. So if you add that together then the Exodus was in the year 1488 BC.

By the way that means 3936 years of man's existence before Christ. As a side note: many scholars believe they were off by 4 years of Christ's birth. But if we add 3936 and 2009 we get 5945 total years of existence of man.

Back to the point, if it was 1488 BC then who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus?  Most think it was Ramesses.  The timeline if that was the case is not accurate.  And if it was 1488 BC then by the standards of those who study the history of Egypt (http://www.egyptologyonline.com/new_kingdom.htm) it was Tuthmosis III, who was 6 years old when he became king but his stepmother (who was also his aunt) ruled in his stead until he was 21. BUT, Tuthmosis III would have been only 16 when the Exodus happened and would have still been under his stepmother-aunt's authority. So maybe the Pharaoh of the Exodus was not a man. Maybe it was Hatshepsut. She was known for trying to be very masculine such as wearing a false beard. Maybe this is why we are not given the name of the Pharaoh because it was not the true and rightful leader. Maybe the son that was taken as one of the plagues was her son who was going to be the heir which caused her so much pain, so she let the Israelites go. But why address her as "he" in the Bible? All pharaohs were considered masculine and given that she posed herself as a man, she became a "man".  Oddly enough, she was famous for restoring monuments and buildings.  And what were the Jews known for?  Building things as slaves.  One of her accomplishments was building the Djeser-djesru which was dedicated to Amon.  The Temple was known as the holiest of holy places.  God would soon replace that with His own.  Tuthmosis III went around and destroyed much of the things that showed she was Pharoah.

Others will have a problem with the Israelites only being in Egypt for actually only 210 years. If they left Palestine to go to Egypt with only 70 people how could they leave only 210 years later with roughly 2 million? Numbers 1:46 says they left with 603,550 men over 20, not even counting the Levites. This means that the population of Israel would have had to double itself every 14 years. According to http://www.ecofuture.org/pop/facts/exponential70.html Israel's population would only have to grow 5% each year to reach the total stated. And according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(real)_growth_rate there are at least 37 countries today that have higher growth rates, so it can be done.  Even if we take the US alone, which has been a country for the past 233 years has grown from 3 million in 1790 to over 300 million in 2009. That is 297 million more people than when it first started. Of course some of that was immigration but it does show how fast a country or people can grow.

(15) Isra'el Who?, Exodus 1:1-1:22

Remember in Genesis, the family of Jacob (who had his name changed by God to Isra'el) had traveled to Egypt to be with Joseph, a son of Jacob who had been sold to nomads and eventually became the 2nd in command of all Egypt, due to a drought, although at first they did not recognize Joseph for it had been 22 years since they had seen each other. The book of Exodus (Sh'mot) starts approximately 210 years after the last page of Genesis.

When the Israelites first came into Egypt around 1698 BC they numbered 70. By the time we start to Exodus it is around the year 1488 BC and the Israelites had multiplied so much that we are not even given a number. Verse 7 says, "the land became filled with them".

After 210 years and many Pharaohs had come and gone, one Pharaoh (king) had risen to power who knew nothing of Joseph. How could the Egyptians forget about a family who was once part of their history? They multiplied fast! The name of Joseph had probably become synonymous with Isra'el and Isra'el had become so numerous that each individual become less important to the Egyptians who would still see these people as foreigners (non-Egyptian). Joseph's name was lost in the crowd. This was also a time of confusion for the Egyptians called the 2nd Intermediate Period. The Hyksos came to power and the kingdom became divided for awhile. The Hyksos controlled the Delta area while native Egyptians controlled from Thebes. Perhaps during this period the Egyptians weren't really in charge of their own country and that is why the new Pharaoh did not know of Joseph.

If the Israelites though were a nuisance to the Egyptians why did they allow them to stay so long? Apparently the Israelites were prosperous for the Egyptians and maybe God had blessed Egypt due to their presence. Verses 9-10 (NAS):

• 9 He said to his people, "Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.
• 10 "Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land."

The Israelites were more powerful than the Egyptians, yet they did not want them to leave the land. Why? Again, apparently the Israelites had made the Egyptians prosperous. So one way to keep them in the land but to keep them less powerful and to dehumanize them was to make them slaves. Verse 11 says that Egypt put slave masters over them and oppressed them with forced labor. But this action backfired; the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied putting even more fear into the minds of Egyptians. This could be where many will get the idea that the Israelites were builders of some of the pyramids. Verse 13 says that they were forced to work with mortar and brick, maybe eluding to the pyramids, at least some of them. It may have been for Egyptian history and glory. It may have been Egyptian architecture but they probably wouldn't have done the work, especially if they had slaves. The point is apparently this did not work to destroy the Israelites either. So, Pharaoh devised another plan: kill all the babies that were born male. But as you will read later...it didn't work either. God used two midwives to attend to this request by Pharaoh who secretly refused to carry out the action and God allowed them to be prosperous as well. And because of their actions, Isra'el became more numerous and powerful. So, Pharaoh had to try and carry out the order some other way...but...

Nothing man can do can stop the power of God. In the end, Pharaoh kept trying to wipe out the name of Isra'el, but with every decision came a backfire and the hand of God kept the name of Isra'el alive. Hence, the name of Isra'el means "protected by God". Who is protected by God? Isra'el, that's who.

(14) Exodus

The second book in the Canonized Bible is Exodus. The Hebrew name for this book is Sh'mot and it does not mean "to leave". Sh'mot means "names". As you can see the first few lines from this book are about the names of the descendants of Israel who were in Egypt. There were 70 descendants of Israel. All of them came to be with Joseph, a child of Israel (Jacob), who had become 2nd most powerful man in the land. Yet by the time we pick up the story, a new king (Pharaoh) had risen to power and he didn't know of Joseph. All he knew is that this people had multiplied and filled the land. This book deals with names more than it does about an escape. It can be separated into 3 main parts (with many other subsections). The following is a breakdown of what it is all about.

• Exodus 1:1-12:51, the dehumanization of Israel. Pharaoh tries to wipe out the names of all the Israelites by hard labor, genocide of male infants, and a refusal to allow them to be a people of their own.
• Exodus 13:1-20:26, the deliverance of Israel. Once Israel had been set free, God would start to re-establish the name of Israel throughout the region by starting their journey to the Promise Land.
• Exodus 21:1-40:38, the rules for Israel. To get their name back they had to prove themselves worthy and were given a set of rules to live by so their names would not be wiped off the face of the earth.

This book is the manual for being Jewish. However it is a direct parallel to the life of Christ and what He means to the world. We are dehumanized as believers in Christ but He delivers us from this world with rules to live by. It shows how God remembers us (those who love Him). It shows how God cares for us (taking our oppression away) and shows how much He wants us to be with Him (living by the law-Christ). It is also an analogy of what God can do in our life. He first prepares us. He then redeems us for His purpose and then He reveals to us what that purpose is.