Scripture Studies Chapter 7 The Exodus The Exodus

Scripture Studies Chapter 7 The Exodus

The Exodus l l l The story of Moses and the Pharaoh is probably one of the best known in all Scripture It has been portrayed in a number of movies Most notably “The Ten Commandments” (1956) starring Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Pharaoh Moses is an archetype for heroism He bore a heavy burden for his leadership of the Israelites

The Exodus l Moses may be considered also as a model for our service to Jesus l Moral heroism is acquired in direct proportion to determination to make correct moral choices

The Exodus We will discuss: l The story of Moses’ birth and rescue l How Moses encountered God in the burning bush l The meaning of God’s revealed name l The mission of Israel as a priest to the other nations

The Exodus The literary structure of the Ten Plagues l How the Passover lamb typifies Christ l How the manna in the wilderness typifies the Eucharist l The Ten Commandments l How the Tabernacle reflects the heavenly temple l

The Exodus Read: l Exodus – – – 1: 8 – 2: 15 3: 1 – 22 5: 1 – 6: 1 11: 1 – 12: 50 13: 17 – 14: 31 20: 1 - 20

The Exodus l Complete Chapter 7 Study Questions for

The Exodus The book of Exodus begins where Genesis left off l The events described in Exodus probably occurred sometime between 1700 and 1550 BC l Some authorities say later l Some say the Pharaoh was Ramesses II, who lived about 1303 -1213 BC l But no one really knows for certain l

The Exodus Joseph and his family have relocated to Egypt l His family of seventy people (a symbolically perfect number) has increased and grown strong and wealthy l They controlled a large part of northern Egypt l Yet they were guests in Egypt and had no homeland of their own l

The Exodus l But as the people of Israel moved toward the land God had promised them, God would establish a new covenant l The new covenant would not be with one man, or one family, or one tribe l It would be with a whole nation

The Exodus In Egypt, Joseph was on good terms with Pharaoh and enjoyed a position of considerable civil power and trust l But there was a “regime change” in Egypt l A new Pharaoh had ascended the throne l The new Pharaoh “did not know Joseph” l

The Exodus This means that he refused to have the kind of friendly relationship with Joseph and his family that he predecessors had l The new Pharaoh was suspicious of the Israelites and their power, which he thought was a threat to his own l He feared them, and resolved to neutralize threat l

The Exodus He decided to engage in brutal oppression of the Israelites l He tried to depict them to the Egyptians as dangerous subversives l This is a frequently-used tactic of tyrants l The Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites, and put them to work as forced labor on his construction projects l

The Exodus l Pharaoh had established a program of killing all the male children of the Israelites l In this way, the female Israelites would have to intermarry with the Egyptians l The property of the Israelites would this pass into Egyptian hands

The Exodus And eventually the ethnic identification of the Israelites would disappear l But the Hebrew midwives refused to cooperate l Although many male Hebrew children were slaughtered, some escaped l One of those who escaped was Moses l

The Exodus l Moses was the son of “a certain man of the house of Levi” and “a Levite woman” l The names of his biological parents are unknown l The Levites would eventually become the priests of Israel

The Exodus l One of the Hebrew midwives refused to kill a newborn baby l Instead she hid him l She placed him in a small boat and set him adrift in the Nile River l He was found by the daughter of the Pharaoh, who named him “Moses”

The Exodus Moses means “brought up out of the water” l Pharaoh’s daughter realized Moses was a Hebrew child l She engaged the services of a Hebrew woman to nurse him l Unbeknownst to Pharaoh’s daughter, the woman was Moses’ biological mother l

The Exodus l Moses was raised as if he was the son of Pharaoh’s daughter l He lived a life of privilege in the palace l But his mother secretly taught him the faith of his ancestors

The Exodus l One day Moses walking along and saw an Egyptian taskmaster administering a savage beating to a Hebrew slave l Moses killed the Egyptian l He thus aligned himself with the Hebrew people, and threw away his allegiance to Pharaoh

The Exodus But he had doubts about standing up for what he had done, and hid the body l He soon discovered that his secret was not safe l Other Hebrews knew what he had done, and threatened to reveal it l He ran away and took refuge with Jethro, a Midianite l

The Exodus The Midianites were also descendants of Abraham l Moses married Zipporah, Jethro’s daughter l He settled down and grew old in Midian l Apparently, he tried to forget all that had happened in Egypt l But God had not forgotten l

The Exodus l When Moses was eighty years old, he had an encounter with God l He was leading his livestock in the wilderness of Sinai, near Mount Horeb l Mount Horeb was “the mountain of God”

The Exodus l He saw a bush that was on fire l But the bush was not being consumed by the fire l Moses decided to take a closer look l When he approached. God spoke to him from the burning bush

The Exodus “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ” Exodus

The Exodus l Not just the God of Abraham l If He had been just the God of Abraham, the Ishmaelites and the Midianites could have claimed Him

The Exodus l Not just the God of Abraham and Isaac l If He had been just the God of Isaac, the Edomites (descendants of Esau) could have claimed Him

The Exodus l This was the God of the people of Israel, now held as slaves in Egypt l God told Moses that He had seen their suffering, and renewed His promise to give them a homeland

The Exodus l God appoints Moses to the task of returning to Egypt and leading the people out of slavery l He was understandably reluctant to go l After all, he may have still been a wanted criminal there because of his killing of the Egyptian

The Exodus l Moses needed some convincing that he was the man for the job l First, Moses asked God His name l God responded, “I am who am” l “I am” l In other words, He who IS

The Exodus Like many others in Scripture who are called by God, Moses was reluctant to answer the call l He didn’t think himself worthy l He was too old l He was not a good public speaker l He didn’t want to do it l “Can’t you get somebody else? ” l

The Exodus But God insisted. l He appointed Moses’ brother Aaron to assist him l Aaron was a better public speaker l And it would not really be Moses who was leading the people anyway l It would be God, working through Moses l

The Exodus l l l God’s message to Pharaoh: “Israel is my first-born son” Pharaoh was asked to let the people of Israel go three days into the desert to offer sacrifice It was not a request for “freedom” It was not a request for less difficult circumstances It was a request for “time off” for a religious observance

The Exodus And there was a threat with it l If Pharaoh refused to let them go, God would slay his first-born son l Egypt could be a part of the first-born son relationship with God by cooperating l They could watch Israel and learn to do what Israel did l

The Exodus l But God already knew that Pharaoh would not listen l God “hardened Pharaoh’s heart” l But it all would end with freedom for Israel l But first, God had to demonstrate his power

The Exodus l So Moses (80) and Aaron (83) went to Pharaoh l They were to confront the most powerful king in the world at the time l Exodus 5: 1 -4 l As far as Pharaoh was concerned, Yahweh was just some tribal god

The Exodus l Pharaoh decided to give them something to do to take their attention away from the religious festival they had planned l Exodus 5: 6 -10 l Pharaoh refused to budge l So the cycle of plagues began

The Exodus l Plague of blood (Ex 7: 14 -24) l Plague of frogs (Ex 8: 1 -15) l Plague of “gnats” or “lice” (Ex 8: 1629)

The Exodus l Plague of flies (Ex 8: 20 -32) l Plague on the Egyptian cattle (Ex 8: 9: 1 -7) l Plague of boils (Ex 9: 8 -12)

The Exodus l Plague of hail (Ex 9: 13 -35) l Plague of locusts (Ex 10: 1 -20) l Plague of darkness (Ex 10: 21 -28)

The Exodus l The sacred writer of Exodus has arranged the first nine plagues in three cycles l In each cycle, the first two plagues come after a warning l The third plague in each cycle comes with no warning at all

The Exodus 1. Plague of blood (Ex 7: 14 -24) 4. Plague of 7. Plague of flies (Ex 8: 20 hail (Ex 9: 13 -32) 35) 2. Plague of 5. Plague on frogs (Ex 8: 1 Egyptian -15) cattle (Ex 9: 1 -7) 3. Plague of 6. Plague of gnats (Ex boils (Ex 9: 68: 16 -19) 12) 8. Plague of locusts (Ex 10: 1 -20) God tells Moses, “Go to Pharaoh in the morning. . . ” God tells Moses, “Go into Pharaoh. . . ” 9. Plague of Moses gives darkness (Ex Pharaoh no warning 10: 21 -26)

The Exodus Pharaoh shrugged off the first two plagues l His court magicians were able to do something that at least looked similar l But when the plague of gnats came, the magicians were unable to perform and said, “This is the finger of God” l But Pharaoh wouldn’t listen l

The Exodus After the fourth plague (flies) Pharaoh was willing to negotiate l He had seen that the Hebrews were not affected by the flies l Now Pharaoh was willing to allow the Israelites to hold their religious sacrifice, as long as they did not leave Egypt l But Moses would not agree to that l

The Exodus The reason was that the animals the Israelites would be sacrificing were worshipped as gods by the Egyptians l It would be “abominable” to the Egyptians l It was to be a reminder to the Israelites not to fall into the idolatry of the Egyptians l It was to be a reminder to the Israelites to worship only the one true God l

The Exodus l The plagues were also symbolic reminders l The Egyptians worshipped a bull l One of the plagues killed their cattle l The Egyptians worshipped a frog l One of the plagues left mounds of dead, stinking, decomposing frogs

The Exodus l After each plague, the Pharaoh seemed ready to listen to reason l But as soon as the plague was gone, he backed out of the deal he had made l He refused to allow the Hebrews to leave

The Exodus The 10 th and last plague will kill all the first-born of the Egyptians l The Pharaoh had been warned about this from the beginning l The slaying of the first-born was to include the animals of the Egyptians l Symbolically, it would be killing their gods as well l

The Exodus l God gave the people of Israel a special way to protect their own firstborn l They were to choose a lamb without blemish and ritually slaughter it l They were to spread its blood on their doorposts, and eat it as part of a sacred meal

The Exodus The angel of death would pass through Egypt l It would kill the first-born of the Egyptians l But it would spare those whose doorposts had been marked with the blood of the lamb l It would “pass over” those houses (hence “Passover”) l

The Exodus The instructions for the ritual meal were very specific l The Hebrews were to eat unleavened bread l There would be no time for bread to rise when the Pharaoh let them leave Egypt l The lamb had to be roasted, not boiled l

The Exodus They were to prepare to leave quickly l They were to eat with their traveling clothes on, ready to go l And they were to observe this event by re -enacting the meal every year until the end of time l This was to remind them for all time what God had done for them l

The Exodus The Passover lamb is a type of Christ l The blood of the lamb is a type for the blood of Christ l The Passover observance was to prepare them to understand the death of the Lamb of God l The events occurred just as Pharaoh had been warned l

The Exodus Death took the first-born of the Egyptians l But it “passed over” the Hebrews l Exodus 12: 30 -33 l Now the Egyptians were not only willing to let the Hebrews go l They were eager for them to leave as soon as possible l

The Exodus The Egyptians demanded that they leave l They left in haste, in the middle of the night l They took with them only what they could carry l God himself led them into the wilderness with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day l

The Exodus But as soon as the Hebrews were packed and gone, Pharaoh had yet another change of heart l But this one would be his last l He and his nobles realized that they had lost their plentiful supply of cheap (slave) labor l “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us? ” l

The Exodus So the Pharaoh assembled an army to chase after the Hebrews and force them to come back l The Hebrews had reached the shore of the “Sea of Reeds” (usually mistranslated as the “Red Sea”) l They saw the Egyptian army approaching from behind them l Water in front, hostile army behind l

The Exodus 14: 10 -12 l God told Moses to stretch out his rod toward the sea l A storm arose with a hard driving wind from the east l The pillar of fire and cloud moved between the Hebrews and the Egyptians l Neither side could see the other l

The Exodus The wind blew throughout the night, and a dry path appeared through the water l The Israelites marched through the dry land path to the other side l The Egyptians attempted to follow the same path l But their chariots got stuck in the mud halfway across l

The Exodus God then told Moses to stretch out his rod again l The waters came crashing back and drowned Pharaoh and his army l Israel defeated Egypt without a sword being drawn l God had won the victory for the Israelites l

The Exodus The event was a type for baptism l “. . . Our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea” (1 Cor 10: 12) l The Exodus (“going out” from Egypt) was Israel’s declaration of independence l

The Exodus l But they still had no land no government (other than God) l They were not yet a nation

The Exodus When they no longer had the Egyptians to worry about, the Israelites turned their thoughts to their own welfare l They were hungry l They were thirsty l They were tired l They were grumpy l

The Exodus Again, they began to think of their lives as slaves in Israel as “the good old days” l At least there they had food and drink and roofs over their heads l Here they had nothing l But once again, God would save them l

The Exodus He caused bread to fall from the sky l Every morning, there was a coating of white flakes on the ground called “manna” (meaning “what-is-it? ”) l It was good to eat, something like bread l God also provided them with water to drink from a dry rock in the desert l

The Exodus l The manna is a type for the Eucharist l We see it fulfilled in John 6: 30 -35 l The water from the rock is referenced in 1 Cor 10: 1 -4

The Exodus l After three months of wandering in the desert, the Israelites reached the mountain of God, Mount Sinai l This was the same location where God had revealed His sacred name to Moses in the burning bush

The Exodus l Moses again went up the mountain l And God had a message for the whole nation of Israel l Exodus 39: 3 -8 l If the people would listen to God, they would be a nation of priests

The Exodus That means that Israel was unique l Israel had been chosen to bring the message of God to the entire world l God would talk to them directly and would be their leader and guide l In turn, Israel – as God’s first-born – would carry His message to the rest of the family of nations l

The Exodus l The people purified themselves for three days l A thick cloud descended on the mountain l Moses entered the cloud l The entire people heard the voice of God from the cloud

The Exodus l They all heard the “rules” l We know these rules as the Ten Commandments l They are not just instructions for religious rituals l They are abstract standards of moral behavior

The Exodus I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage Exodus 20: 2 -17

The Exodus 1. You shall have no other Gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or anything that is in the likeness of anything that is in the heaven above, or the earth beneath, or that is under the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to those who love me and keep my commandments

The Exodus 2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain

The Exodus 3. maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it

The Exodus 4. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you 5. You shall not kill 6. You shall not commit adultery. 7. You shall not steal.

The Exodus 8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 9 -10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s

The Exodus The traditional catechetical formula has the “coveting” in to commandments: 9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife 10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods

The Exodus But the voice of God was so terrifying to the people that they asked Moses to ask God not to speak directly to them again, but to speak only through Moses l God did as they asked l God gave Moses a more detailed version of the laws under which they were to live l

The Exodus Then Moses built an altar l He sealed the covenant with a sacrifice l He sprinkled half the blood on the altar l He read the book of the covenant to the people, and they agreed to it l Then he sprinkled the other half of the blood on the people l

The Exodus l The people were united with God in the covenant l Hebrews 6: 13 l Exodus 15: 1 l Exodus 3: 14 l Exodus 19: 5 -6

The Exodus l The Ten Commandments (AKA the Decalogue, “ten words”) sum up and proclaim God’s law l They outline the requirements for our relationship with God and with others l The Ten Commandments unify man’s social life with his religious life

The Exodus l The Ten Commandments also express the “Natural Law” l That is, universal principles for every society l The Tem Commandments were made known to us by both divine revelation and human reason

The Exodus Moses then went up the mountain again, leaving Aaron in charge of the people l He was in God’s presence on the mountain forty days and nights l God showed Moses the pattern for the Tabernacle the tent that would serve as a temple for the wandering people of Israel l It was to be a mirror of the heavenly temple l

The Exodus l The centerpiece of the temple would be the Ark of the Covenant, God’s throne on earth l The God of all creation would dwell in the midst of His chosen people in a way that made them different from all other people

The Exodus l Moses expected that the people would be overjoyed when he returned l But he was gone forty days, and the people gave up waiting for him

The Exodus Read the Commentary on Exodus on page 145 l Read the chronography of Julius Africanus on page 145 l Be prepared to answer these questions: l

The Exodus l Why did Pharaoh want to kill all the male children of Israel, but not the females? l Because all the land of Israel would be left with only women, who would marry Egyptian men and bring the land back into Egyptian hands

The Exodus l What incident caused Moses to rebel against the Egyptians? l He saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew and killed the Egyptian

The Exodus l Who was Zipporah? l The daughter of the priest Jethro, who later became the wife of Moses in Midian

The Exodus l How did God identify himself when Moses approached the burning bush? l “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”

The Exodus l What did that answer indicate? l That only those families made up God’s chosen people

The Exodus l What was Moses’ first excuse when God told him to go back to Egypt? l “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt? ”

The Exodus l How was Moses told to identify the God of Israel to the Jewish people? l He was told to say, “I AM has sent me to you”

The Exodus l What is the usual response to God’s call to prophets in Scripture? l They do not wish to respond to God’s request

The Exodus l What was the first demand Moses was told to make to Pharaoh? l To let Israel go three days’ journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifice to God

The Exodus l How did Pharaoh react to Moses nd Aaron’s plea to go and offer sacrifice to God? l Pharaoh decided that the people of Israel had too much time on their hands and ordered that they be given more work

The Exodus l Why would the Isrelites not be able to sacrifice to God among the Egyptians? l Because God required that they sacrifice the very animals that the Egyptians falsely worshipped: cattle, sheep and goats

The Exodus l How did God punish the Egyptians for Pharaoh’s refusal? l God sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians and the last killed all their firstborn sons

The Exodus l Why did the Israelites sprinkle lamb’s blood on their doors on the night of the Passover? l This was the sign to God’s angel of death to pass over the house, instead of going through it and killing the first born son

The Exodus l What were the instructions for the ceremonial feast? l Eat unleavened bread, eat roasted lamb, and eat dressed for travel

The Exodus l What else was required? l The Jewish people were to celebrate a weeklong Passover yearly to remind them of what God had done

The Exodus l What was the symbolism of the blood? l It was a type for the blood of Christ

The Exodus l How did God keep the Egyptians from catching the Israelites? l He kept a pillar of fire between the two groups

The Exodus l How did God succeed in defeating the Egyptians who came after Moses? l God parted the Red Sea (the “Sea of Reeds”) for the Israelites and drowned Pharaoh’s army

The Exodus l Of what sacrament is the Manna a type? l The Eucharist

The Exodus l What is the significance of God choosing the Israelites as a nation of priests? l Israel is to bring His word to other nations

The Exodus l How did Moses seal the covenant between God and Israel after God had given the Ten Commandments? l Moses built an altar and made a sacrifice, sprinkling some of the blood on the altar and some of the blood on the people, and then he read a covenant to the people

The Exodus l How long was Moses alone on the mountain with God? l Forty days and nights

The Exodus l What did God show Moses? l He showed Moses the pattern of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, and visions of heaven as it would be shown in the Tabernacle

The Exodus l The story of Moses offers us another opportunity to analyze how God calls each of us to fulfill a certain part in His plan. God chose Moses to lead the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and Moses was at first unwilling. Read Exodus 4: 1 -17 and list all the ways Moses tries to convince God that he would not be able to free the people of Israel. How does God respond? What does this tell us about what God may be calling us to do?

The Exodus l The Church states that the Ten Commandments “form n organic unity. To transgress one commandment is to infringe on all the others. One cannot honor another without blessing God His creator. One cannot adore God without loving all men, his creatures. The Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) brings man’s religious and social life into unity. ” (CCC 2069) What does this teaching mean? Try to come up with other examples of how disobeying one commandment infringes on another.

The Exodus