Exodus-The LORD is Israel's Shepherd

After Moses prayed and the plague of scarab beetles (or flies) ended, Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go as he had promised. The LORD instructed Moses to go before Pharaoh once again to advise him of the impending disaster should he fail to heed the word of the LORD to let the Israelites leave Egypt. The LORD promised that Egypt’s livestock on the fields at the appointed time of the plague would die, but He would spare the livestock of the people of Israel. The LORD gave Pharaoh an ultimatum, even setting the time when the disaster would strike so Pharaoh could not attribute the deadly plague to coincidence. He would know, without a doubt, that the LORD GOD of Israel was at work when the plague occurred.

 Pharaoh had tried in vain to compromise with the Israelites. He even suggested that they need not leave Egypt to worship their God; they could worship within the borders of Egypt. However, the Egyptians despised the Israelite shepherds and would have viewed their sacrifices to God as an abomination and an offence (Ex 8:25-28). The Bible does not make it clear why the Egyptians hated the Israelites’ occupation as shepherds, especially since they maintained flocks of their own (Gen 47: 5-6). Various extra-Biblical commentaries and sources state that perhaps the Egyptians hated the Israelite shepherds because they used animals as sacrifices in the worship of the LORD and perhaps certain animals were sacred to the Egyptians. The Egyptians, on the other hand, worshiped Hathor - a cow headed goddess. Hathor was revered as a sky goddess as well the goddess of music, love, childbirth, fertility, and mining. Apis, a bull-deity, was also worshiped in Egypt from approximately 3000BC. The Apis bull, a bull selected from the herd based on specific bodily patterns, was regarded as a symbol of the Pharaoh’s courage, fighting spirit, strength, fertility and virility. The bull was housed in a temple and the Egyptians engaged in elaborate burial ceremonies when it died, mourning for many days as if the Pharaoh himself had died. Great celebrations would commence when the priests found a new Apis bull after much searching and deliberation. Other explanations cite a slow but steady influx of “Hyksos” or foreign rulers (allegedly mistranslated as “shepherd kings” by Josephus the historian). These foreigners were often shepherds who conducted raids on the Egyptians, leading to a growing distrust of shepherds.

 The Egyptians had thus elevated the creatures the LORD had made into gods, which they idolized. The plague that decimated Egypt’s livestock proved to the Egyptians that their gods were mere creations of their own imagination. The LORD is indeed the Creator and Sustainer of all life. The LORD revealed to Pharaoh His sovereignty and omnipotence by the great judgments brought against Egypt and its gods. Yet, even in the judgments, God was revealing His mercy and forbearance to the Egyptians. He patiently consulted with their king to secure the release of His people, when He could have released them immediately by His awesome power. He gave Pharaoh many opportunities to relinquish his power, acknowledge the LORD as the true sovereign and release His people. He also did not destroy all of Egypt’s livestock, but only those that were out in the field (Ex 9:3).   

 Pharaoh, however, remained unimpressed and refused to let the Israelites leave Egypt. He sent a delegation to the land of Goshen, the territory where the Israelites lived, to examine the livestock belonging to the Israelites in order to test whether the LORD’s prediction concerning the plague had indeed occurred as predicted. Some commentators believe that Pharaoh, in his position as slave-master of Israel, did this in order to forcefully assimilate the Israelites’ livestock as his own in order to reduce the losses he suffered from the plague. In so doing, he would have been openly challenging and defying the LORD. However, the LORD was not finished with Pharaoh yet…

 Scripture references: Exodus 9:1-7

 

 

No one is like the LORD; He is Sovereign

Despite the many warnings and the first two plagues, Pharaoh continued his stubborn refusal to let the Israelites go. Perhaps his excuse was that his court magicians could replicate these signs. If so, the LORD planned to give him enough evidence of His authority and sovereignty over the magicians and the false “gods” of Egypt. The third plague would be a turning point in the process of deliverance of Israel; from this point on the magicians of Egypt would no longer be able to replicate any of the plagues that the LORD would bring upon Egypt. In fact, many of the plagues that were to follow would make a clear distinction between the people of Pharaoh and the people of the LORD.

The Biblical narrative on the third plague is not very extensive when compared to that of the first two plagues. In Genesis, God had formed man out of the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life. In Exodus 8 God, out of the very same dust, created gnats to invade the land of Egypt as punishment upon the sons of disobedience. From the very same dust God, in His infinite power, was able to create man-the pinnacle of His creation-as well as gnats, the lowliest of creation. There are many types of gnats found in the natural environment; some are harmless while others have the ability to bite or sting.  The gnats clung to man and beast and were a great source of torment, hence one can reasonably assume that the gnats that invaded Egypt were of the biting or stinging variety.

The magicians of Egypt, try as they might, were neither able to reproduce the sign nor were they able to reverse it. “This is the Finger of God!” they exclaimed to Pharaoh. However, Pharaoh once again hardened his heart against the sign and Egypt was left to suffer once more.

Scripture refs: Exodus 8:16-19

Exodus-The LORD is the Lifeblood and Source

Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh to request the freedom of the people of Israel, as the LORD had commanded them. They performed the initial sign that should have been proof enough to Pharaoh that the LORD had sent them to deliver Israel. However Pharaoh hardened his heart, just as God had predicted, and he refused to let Israel leave Egypt.

It was the LORD’s intention that Egypt, as well as His chosen people Israel, would know that He alone reigned supreme over creation and every god conceived by the heart of mankind. The LORD clearly identified Himself with His chosen people even though they were a nation enslaved by Pharaoh. God wanted to show Pharaoh that His authority was not diminished by the weakened state that Israel found themselves in; His authority was in fact so great that He would deliver His people and show the nations His unmatched authority.

In Ancient Egypt, the Nile River was the source of life and fertility. Its annual flooding resulted in nutrient-rich mineral deposits along its banks, enabling the Egyptians to plant and irrigate their crops to obtain an abundant harvest. The Nile was also the main source of drinking water for the Egyptians and their livestock. Egypt was often described as a “fertile crescent” because of the Nile River. As a result of the Egyptians’ dependence on the Nile, various cults developed and many Egyptians worshipped the Nile god, Hapi. Hapi was depicted as a man with long hair, a protruding belly and the pendulous breasts of an old woman. The large belly and breasts signified the fertility of the Nile, the lifeblood of Egypt. An old Egyptian hymn states that if Hapi were to fail in granting the Egyptians the annual inundation of the Nile, all the gods would fall to the earth and mankind would perish. Hapi was often regarded as the father of the gods. Hatmehyt was fish-goddess of Egypt and was believed to reside in the river.

Pharaoh’s hardened heart resulted in the LORD’s first physical judgment on Egypt. When Aaron struck the Nile with his rod at God’s command, all the water in Egypt turned to blood and the Nile began to stink. The fish in the river died. This signified that the LORD reigned supreme over the Egyptian god of the Nile, Hapi, as well as their fish-goddess, Hatmehyt. Even the water in vessels of wood and stone turned to blood, signifying that this act could not be ascribed to any natural cause. However, because the Egyptians dug along the Nile for drinking water and their magicians were able to perform the same sign, Pharaoh once again hardened his heart and refused to let Israel go. It was significant that the magicians were able only to copy the signs the LORD performed, but not reverse them. The deities of Egypt and Pharaoh himself were powerless. The LORD showed Egypt that He is the lifeblood of mankind. He is the Creator and source of all things, even the Nile River on which they so depended.

 

Scripture references: Exodus 7:14-25

Exodus-Pharaoh's sovereignty challenged

Can you imagine standing before an arrogant king with just a staff in your hand? The LORD has tasked you with the awesome mission of being His agent to deliver His people out of slavery. In case the king demands a sign to prove you are sent by God, He has shown you that when you throw down your staff, it will turn into a serpent. The king, angry at your intrusion into his royal chamber, demands that you prove that God sent you to him. You throw down your rod and it turns into a serpent. You feel vindicated! God is at last showing up to deliver His people. Then, horror of horrors, the king’s magicians throw down their staffs and they become serpents too! The angry monarch glares at you petulantly. Your mind races and there is a lump in your throat. It seems like time is standing still. “What now?” you think.

 One could only imagine the trepidation that Aaron and Moses felt as they stood before Pharaoh. It must have taken every fibre of their faith to remain standing in the presence of the king of Egypt after what looked like the beginnings of a colossal failure. They were reluctant missionaries on a seemingly ridiculous errand. However, God had a plan! Just as hope seemed to fade away, the serpent that had come from Aaron’s staff swallowed up the magicians’ serpents! God had come through for them; they must have breathed a sigh of relief as their hearts gave silent prayers of thanks to Him.

Historical records reveal that the Pharoahs often wore Uraei on their crowns. The Uraeus, in the stylized form of a rearing cobra, was an ornament that adorned the Pharaoh’s crown. It symbolized his divine authority and sovereign rule and was also symbolic of the goddess Wadjet, one of the earliest Egyptian deities, who was often depicted as a cobra. It therefore seemed a fitting sign to Pharoah when the serpent created by the LORD’s power swallowed those conjured up by Pharaoh’s magicians. This signified that Pharaoh’s sovereignty and rule was being challenged by the LORD and none of his gods could protect him or his kingdom from the one true God’s coming judgments.

 The LORD’s mission in Egypt was not just to deliver His people from Egyptian slavery. He planned to expose the idols of Egypt for what they really were; they were not gods for against the great God of the Universe, they were powerless. Pharaoh, though he was revered as a god by his people, was a mere man. This miracle, though dismissed by hard-hearted Pharaoh, was an omen of the coming destruction that Egypt and its king would face if they disregarded the Word of the Sovereign LORD by refusing to let Israel go.

Scripture references: Exodus 7:1-13 

Exodus-The Question of Pharaoh's Hard Heart

Reading through the book of Exodus, have you ever wondered about God’s role in hardening the heart of Pharaoh?  In Ex 4:21 the LORD, in commissioning Moses, stated that He would harden the heart of Pharaoh so that he would not grant Moses’ request to let the people of Israel leave Egypt. This statement about God hardening Pharaoh’s heart is repeated in Ex 7:3-4 and practically demonstrated in his taking no heed of God’s power evidenced by the first miracles performed through Moses and Aaron i.e. Aaron’s rod turning into a serpent and the Nile turning into blood.

However, by reading Ex 3:19 we get a clearer understanding of this important aspect of Scripture. Ex 3:19 reveals God’s omniscience; He knew beforehand the extent of Pharaoh’s obstinacy.  Pharaoh was the proud monarch of Egypt, the greatest nation in the world - a veritable superpower in its day. Pharaoh was revered by his people as a god. Historical references reveal that the Pharaohs were believed to be the sons of Ra, supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon. He was probably the son of the Pharaoh that had commanded that all Hebrew baby boys be drowned in the Nile! Pharaoh’s heart must already have been hardened for him to continue the brutal slavery of the Israelites. His deeds were evidence of his already hardened heart, devoid of compassion.

Pharaoh also lied to Moses and Aaron that he would let the people go if they prayed for the plague of frogs to be reversed. After the frogs were removed, he reneged on his promise, refusing to let the people go. This could not be God’s doing, for God cannot coerce people into disobedience to His commands; He is not a liar, neither does He advocate men should lie. Pharaoh made his own choice to further harden his heart (Ex 8:1-15).  Ex 8:15 clearly confirms this.

In Ex 8:20-31, Pharaoh again lied to Moses and Aaron that he would relent if they prayed that the next plague, i.e. flies, would cease. However, verse 32 confirms that he once again chose to harden his own heart and break his promise. When God struck Egypt with the plague of hail and thunder Pharaoh again lied, pretending to acknowledge his sin against God and supposedly repenting. However, no sooner had the plague ceased, than he declared his stubborn refusal to let the people go, revealing that his was not a genuine repentance. God, in His great forbearance and patience, let the hail cease so that Pharaoh would know that the earth belonged to Him. Pharaoh, however, did not yet know the LORD or accept His sovereignty (Ex 9:23-34).

The Scriptures reveal a pattern. Pharaoh’s heart was already hard. God knew his heart, as He knows the thoughts and hearts of every man. When Pharaoh hardened his own heart, God let him continue in his obstinacy in order to use what Pharaoh intended for evil, for His own glory. As a result of Pharaoh’s obstinate refusal to let the people go, many Egyptians would come to know the LORD and a “mixed multitude” would leave Egypt when Pharaoh finally let them go. God used Pharaoh’s proud, stubborn, rebellious heart to showcase his glory and might among the nations of the world (Ex 12:38).

God does not take away anyone’s freedom of choice. That is precisely why he gave Adam and Eve a choice in the beginning; they could choose to obey or disobey.  However, their obedience or disobedience didn’t change who God is for in His great mercy, He wrought for all mankind a plan of salvation. The promised Seed of the Woman would crush the head of the serpent and restore humankind to fellowship with God (Gen 3:15-16).

 

 

 

Exodus-Is this really deliverance?

The Israelites were standing on the brink of  deliverance, or so Moses thought. God had promised to deliver them from Egyptian slavery. The message of impending deliverance had been favourably received by the Israelites and an air of expectancy  enveloped the Israelite camp.

In the excitement of it all, Moses and Aaron had forgotten that God had already predicted Pharaoh's reaction in Ex 4:21. Pharaoh would not let the people leave, not until a great display of God’s power would force him to drive them from his land.

Exodus 5:1 calls God the “God of Israel”. He was the God of Israel (formerly Jacob), but now He identifies Himself as the God of Israel, a nation of slaves. Pharaoh's response to Moses and Aaron’s entreaty is one of sheer arrogance. “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover I will not let Israel go.” As far as Pharaoh was concerned, he was the  ruling monarch in Egypt and his peopled revered and worshipped him as the son of god. Why should he submit to a god of a slave nation? After all, if  their God was so powerful, why did He let them become slaves in the first place? Pharaoh made the mistake of identifying Israel with their God. Israel may have been weak, broken down by slavery, but their God remained strong. Pharaoh had forgotten that the reason for their slavery was precisely because their God had blessed and multiplied them exceedingly!

Pharaoh's response to the request for release of the people of Israel was to increase their workload and refuse them assistance to gather supplies to meet their daily quotas.  They were no longer given straw to make bricks, but were dispersed across Egypt to look for their own straw with no commensurate reduction in their work quotas. The leaders of Israel were put to a test; their faith in God was tried and they were found wanting.  The magnificent cities in Egypt were silent testimonies that the Israelites were not lazy; they were being falsely accused by Pharaoh as an excuse for him to increase the intensity of their persecution.  Even Moses and Aaron were told harshly to “go back to work”.

The faith of the Israelite leaders took strain under  Egyptian abuse and they accused Moses and Aaron of “making them stink in the sight of Pharaoh.” Little did they realize that they had always been so in the sight of Pharaoh. It was easy to look with nostalgia at the past, calling it the “good old days” but they were ever really that good?

Deeply troubled, Moses went to God and questioned the reason for His sending him to Pharaoh. The disappointments in his commission did not drive him away from God, but rather made him run to Him for answers and solace.  In our day, there is precious little time to worship God. If we don’t make time, we  often find ourselves overwhelmed by work and the cares of this world, having neglected our daily devotions. As knowledge is increasing, people are scurrying to and fro, just as the prophet Daniel predicted.  Do not let satan use work, cares and the burdens of this life to distract you from worshipping God. It was his method of choice in Exodus, and it is now too. Let the Word of God sink into your heart and don’t let distractions choke it out of you. Deliverance may not be easy, but it is sure because God has promised it.

Scripture refs: Exodus 5, Luke 8:14

Exodus-The Sign of the covenant

In Exodus 4:1-13, Moses debated with God over his suitability for the appointed task of leading Israel out of Egypt. Even after all the wonderful signs God gave him, Moses asked God to send someone else (v13).

The book of Exodus reveals the Lord as a compassionate God,  slow to anger and abundant in mercy, yet not to be taken advantage of  for He is also a consuming fire. The anger of  the Lord was kindled against Moses, yet God did not strike him dead. Instead He assigned Aaron, Moses’ brother to be a helper to him and a spokesman to the nation of Israel (v14-17).

From the time Moses was attracted to the burning bush, God spoke directly to him in a very personal way. It seems confusing then, that the very God who had so mightily commissioned him a little while before would seek to take his life as he made the arduous journey to  Egypt with his family (Ex 4:20-24).

Ex 4:25-26 reveals that it was Zipporah’s quick thinking in circumcising her son that saved  Moses, and appeased the Lord’s anger against him. Moses had been appointed to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt. As a young boy born to Hebrew parents, he had no doubt been circumcised on the eighth day as was customary. However, being raised in the palace as Pharoah’s adopted son had caused him to be estranged to his own people and he had neglected to circumcise his own son.

Genesis 17:9-14 reveals the significance of the rite of circumcision. It was a sign of the everlasting covenant which God had made with Abraham. Verse 14 reveals that the uncircumcised man-child would be cut off  from his people for not carrying the sign of the covenant. God knew that  the nation of Israel would not accept a leader who would not circumcise his own son, so He made provision for Moses’ son to be circumcised. Moses would have no doubt in his mind regarding his place among the nation of Israel after the circumcision of his son. He no longer had a double identity; he could  no longer play “double-agent.” He  had a singular purpose to surrender to God’s Will and, by the power of  the Almighty, to lead the nation of Israel out of Egyptian slavery.

Circumcision was just the sign of the covenant, a means to an end and not the end in itself. It was an important sign to the nation of Israel, indicating their position as the people of God. It was not circumcision that made  them God’s people, but rather they were circumcised because God had chosen them for His very own. In the same way, God’s people  in this age must have their hearts “circumcised”, always  pliable to His commands. Although salvation is not obtained by obedience, but by acceptance of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, obedience to God’s commands reflects our love for the God who first loved us. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Satan is against the people of God who keep God’s commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Scripture refs: Ex 4:1-26, Rev 12:17, John 14:15, 1 John 5:1-3, James 2:17-26

Exodus: The Beginnings of a Nation

The book of Genesis closes with the  record of Joseph and his family in Egypt due to the famine in Canaan (Ex 1:5). The book of  Exodus opens, not with a family but a nation. God  had already fulfilled the first part of His Promise to Abraham.   God promised Abraham that He would make him a great nation and make his name exceedingly great (Gen 12:2). When faced with doubt and despair concerning who would be his heir, Abraham was commanded by God to look at the stars and try to number them. “So shall your seed be”, God promised (Gen 15:5). Ex 1:7 records the extent of their greatness. The family of 70 had grown into a nation numbering millions because God fulfilled His Promise to Abraham.

However, trouble was on the horizon. Joseph, his father and brothers and all that generation passed away and there came a time when a new king rose to power in Egypt, one who had no remembrance of Joseph. The Bible does not record the length of time that passed before this new Pharoah came to power or the reasons surrounding the Egyptian royal dynasty’s forgetfulness of Joseph’s benevolent rule.  Perhaps, it was because the nation of Israel at its zenith had themselves forgotten how they came to be in Egypt. Maybe they got too comfortable in Egypt, forgetting that their inheritance was not to be in that land, but rather in Canaan. They were a powerful, blessed and great nation but God’s entire Promise was not yet fulfilled. God desired that they should have their own land and that He would be their King, not a Pharoah. Sometimes, God’s Plan for us is different from our own. He  has a better plan and will intervene in mysterious ways to accomplish His Will. Joseph understood that the destiny of his people was not to be in Egypt, favourable though the conditions may have been. In a prophetic utterance before his death, he asked that his bones be carried to Canaan when God visited His people to fulfil the next portion of His Promise to Abraham i.e. their own land! (Gen 50:25-26).

The new Pharoah sought to subjugate the nation of Israel. He saw them not as a great ally, but a potential enemy. He made them slaves in Egypt, building the store cities of Raamses and Pithom. It was Joseph who through God’s wisdom had invented store cities! Pharoah also requested the Israelite midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill all infant Hebrew boys and only let the girls live. He sought to weaken Israel, hoping all the older men would die under the harsh conditions of slavery and they would be a nation of women! The midwives however, chose to obey God instead of Pharoah and God honoured them by rewarding them with families and households of their own. Pharoah was on a collision course with God’s Promise and God’s Will for His people and he was fighting a losing battle. Despite the affliction of slavery and the command to kill the infant sons of Israel, Israel blossomed and multiplied under the hand of a gracious God. How ironical that the Bible makes mention of the lowly, God-fearing Hebrew midwives by name but fails to mention the reigning monarch by his name! The lowliest of God’s servants are honoured by Him more than kings (Ex 1:8, 15-21)

Scripture refs: Exodus 1

God's Grace in the Old Testament-Part 5

As we continue our journey of  exploration into God’s Grace, we learn some important truths. The book of Genesis is a book of beginnings, but also a book of revelation. It is a revelation of God’s Grace at work, how He meets with us in the depths  of sin, makes us a Promise, keeps His Promise and forever changes us.

Jacob was the first Patriarch to verbally affirm the effectual working of God’s Grace in His life. Joseph took this a step further. He was able to live out God’s Grace, despite the adverse circumstances that manifested through most of his youth.

As a young boy in the house of his father and a son of Jacob’s most loved wife, Rachel, it was a well-known fact that he was his father’s favourite son. His honest disposition did not help the situation as it created a clear distinction between him and his brothers. At 17 years of age, he was sold into slavery by his brothers and found himself in the household of  Potiphar, a high ranking official in Egypt.  (Gen 37)

Throughout his experience, God was always with him and Joseph never doubted or questioned God. Despite the hard times and afflictions of slavery, he honoured God first and foremost.  When Potiphar’s wife sought to commit adultery with Joseph, Joseph’s first regard was to God. He realized that by complying with her wishes, he would be sinning against God. He did not use his difficult circumstances as an excuse to engage in sinful practices, but rose above them thus maintaining a clean conscience. (Gen 39:1-9)

Sometimes doing the right thing comes at a price, however honourable our actions may be. Joseph’s situation seemed to get progressively worse. For refusing to sin against God in adultery, he was cast into prison yet even in prison, he refused to renounce his God. God rewarded his faithfulness not with freedom, which he must have desired with all his heart. God rewarded him with His Presence. God was with Joseph and so he prospered despite his circumstances and blossomed like a tender root sprouting out of dry ground. He was soon promoted to manager of the prison. Yes, no matter how terrible the place, you can be a manager there too! (Gen 39:18-23)

Just when it seemed that things couldn’t get any worse, Joseph experienced the pain of being forgotten. One of the prisoners whose dream he had interpreted promised to remember him and bring his case before Pharoah should his dream of being reinstated to office come true. However, once he was reinstated, he forgot all about Joseph! The Lord gave Joseph the interpretation of dreams. Many people having such a gift would have used  it to their advantage, taking credit for themselves but Joseph always gave credit to God.

He did the same even when eventually called upon to interpret Pharoah’s dream. God honoured Joseph and gave him his freedom, making him prime minister of Egypt and second in charge to Pharoah. (Gen 40-41, Phil 2:4-14)