CHAPTER FOUR The Journey To The Promised Land

CHAPTER FOUR The Journey To The Promised Land Begins The Exodus and the Sinai Covenant

Call of Moses - Birth stories are rare in the Bible. When they occur, it is an indication that the person born is going to be someone important - Exodus begins with the story of Moses’ birth - Moses has Hebrew identity despite his Egyptian upbringing • Reference to him being “drawn out” of the Nile and to his efforts to draw the Hebrew people out of Egypt

Call of Moses - Main theme of entire Moses tradition: • Slavery of the Hebrew people - Moses intervenes in two fights between Hebrew slaves and Egyptian slave masters • Introduction shows that violence will not lead to success for Moses and that he will not defeat the Pharaoh or free slaves by force of arms - God must liberate His people • Moses is the instrument he chose to bring this about

Call of Moses - Moses meets God in a fiery in the desert (Exodus 3) bush - God reveals his name to Moses as “I am who I am” - Moses’ objections (reluctant hero): • Who am I? • Who are you? • I’m not a good speaker • Send someone else

Confrontation & Escape - One common understanding of the ten plagues is that each is directed against a specific Egyptian God - However, this theory fails to account for three plagues that cannot be associated with any of the gods - The Biblical portrayal presents the plagues as directed against the Pharaoh himself - The “Passover” event is related to in the beginning of the story of Moses

Confrontation & Escape - The first nine plagues follow an arrangement of three sets - They are indicated by the special way each introduced set is

Set A: Introduced with a phrase instructing Moses to go to the Pharaoh in the morning 1. ) Nile turns to blood 2. ) Flies 3. ) Hail

Set B: Introduced with the phrase, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh…’” 4. ) Frogs 5. ) Pestilence (cattle dying) 6. ) Locusts

Set C: Introduced by instruction from God to Moses or Aaron to perform an act 7. ) Lice/Gnats 8. ) Boils 9. ) Darkness

Confrontation & Escape - Stories of plagues was not only to show God’s power over Pharaoh - They showed God’s will is for the liberation of slaves - Stories show that earthly powers, such as Pharaoh, cannot maintain oppression when God wills liberation

Confrontation & Escape - Two different oral traditions have been woven together in the book of Exodus to tell the story of how the Israelites left Egypt 1. ) Exodus 10 ended with Moses saying the Israelites were leaving 2. ) Exodus 11 opens with God calling for another plague

Wandering in the Wilderness - While wandering, there began to be complaints from the people against the leadership of Moses - They were unruly, restive, and unsure of their future - Moses selected helpers to help organize the group, • Turned into the idea of elders - The original number of 600, 000 wanderers has been translated into 6, 000

Reception at Mt. Sinai - It was only when the Israelites made an agreement with God at Mt. Sinai that they become a people who will be saved - There were two parts to the agreement with God: • Liberation from Egypt • Learning and keeping responsibilities by the Law - The Ten Commandments summarize the obligations of all who love God

The Ten Commandments • You shall not have other gods besides me • You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain • Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day • Honor your father and mother • You shall not kill • You shall not commit adultery • You shall not steal • You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor • You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife • You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods

Collections of the Law - Three different collections of the Law in the “Books of Moses. ” 1. ) The Covenant Code 2. ) The Deuteronomic Code 3. ) The Levitical (“Priestly”) Code - All contain civil and religious laws - Rather than punishments, restorative justice was used to restore the life of community and society

Approach to Promised Land - The last words of Moses were truly directed at the Jews in Exile as they approached Canaan - Moses reminds the people to keep the covenant God made with them at Sinai - Moses died and was buried before entering the Promised Land, but was able to view it - Some scholars believe the five books of Moses end while “we are still in the wilderness. ” • They are laws for wanderers, like all people are throughout their lives

Vocabulary • Hyksos • Murmurings • Elders • Natural Law • Civil Laws • Religious Laws • Punitive Justice • Restorative Justice • Jubilee