Exodus 4-6
Sorry for the delay for days 18 and 19, my internets were down over the weekend. I trust everyone continued their study anyway?
On Day 18, we get:
- The Lord telling Moses to go see Pharaoh.
- Some Mosaic magic tricks.
- Moses meeting with the children of Israel
- Moses first meeting with Pharaoh.
- The tale of the bricks.
- JEHOVAH
Exodus 4
1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.
Whenever someone says they talked to God, and He talked back, you should always ask for proof.
2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
Moses picks it up by the tail, and it becomes the rod again.
This is the first thing that Moses is to do, to PROVE he talked with God.
If that didn't work, God devised another trick.
6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.
Being able to make your hand appear as though it has leprosy, that's a good trick!
If those two tricks don't work...
9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
Then Moses complains to God that he's not a smooth talker.
10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
Charlton Heston never seemed to be slow of speech and tongue.
Moses asks politely NOT to be the mouthpiece of the Lord.
13 And he said, O my LORD, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
14 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
God says FINE! take your brother. You whiney bastard!
16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.
Aaron will be the spokesman, and Moses will be acting as God.
Moses, his wife and son head back to Egypt.
God tells him to make sure he does all the signs and wonders so that they know it's him.
Aaron meets Moses, and they go and meet the children of Israel. He did the tricks and the people believed God sent him.
Exodus 5
1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
Pharaoh, not played by Yul Brynner, says no.
Instead of letting them go, he says they don't get straw anymore to make bricks.
7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
So they did that.
19 And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.
The officers go and bitch at Moses and Aaron, so Moses goes and talks to God.
22 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, LORD, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.
But it's all part of God's plan.
Exodus 6
The LORD says he's going to show Moses what He's going to do to Pharaoh.
3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
(First time, of five, that JEHOVAH is mentioned in the bible (Kjv1611))
God mentions the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then tells Moses to go see Pharaoh again.
Moses again complains that he's not a good speaker.
30 And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?
And that ends Day 18.
So, what have we learned.
1. God's name as JEHOVAH.
2. Moses 3 tricks to show the people were the snake stick, leper hand, and water to blood.
3. Pharaoh, not Yul, said no.
4. Moses, NOT Charlton, wasn't a good speaker.
5. The children of Israel, weren't happy about not having straw to make bricks.
YIC
V