Bible Study Notes - Exodus Chapters 1-7: Moses and His Commission From God

‘The Israelites Leaving Egypt’ by David Roberts (W.Commons)

The Exodus refers to the nation of Israel leaving Egypt and following Moses to the Promised Land.

The major themes of the Book of Exodus are:
the beginning of the fulfilment of the Abrahamic Covenant
learning about and coming to know God
establishing a lasting relationship with God by being obedient to Him
the need for the law to live as God’s people, distinct from all other nations.

Jacob and his family settling in Egypt was placed at about 430 years before the Exodus. Moses’ birth was around 1525BC, and he was 80 years old when he began his 40 years as Israel’s leader. So, the pharaoh at the time of the Exodus was Amenhotep II.

After Joseph died, the new king of Egypt, most likely a Hyksos ruler, did not know Joesph and his family.

This led to a drastic change as the Israelites fell from favour before the pharaoh to disfavour and enslavement.

‘Israel in Egypt’ by Edward Poynter (W.Commons)

By the time Moses was born, the Hyksos had been driven out, and Egypt was then ruled by Thutmose III, known as the ‘Napoleon of Ancient Egypt’, the pharaoh of oppression; the lives of the Israelites worsened under his rule.

When Moses was three months old, to save him, his mother placed him in ‘an ark of bulrushes… and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank’ (2:3) where he was found by the maidens of the pharaoh’s daughter.

‘The Finding of Moses’ by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (W.Commons)

‘He became her son’ and ‘she called his name Moses, saying ‘“Because I drew him out of the water.”’ (2:10); Moses in Hebrew, ‘Mosheh’, literally means ‘drawn out’.

Even though he was considered the son of the pharaoh’s daughter and, no doubt, was granted the special privileges permitted to those of noble birth, Moses refused to relinquish his native origin.

When he was fully grown, Moses witnessed ‘an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren… he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.’ (2:11-12)

Once Pharaoh learned of what had happened, ‘he sought to kill Moses… But Moses fled… and dwelt in the land of Midian…’ (2:15)

There, he met a man named Reuel and eventually married his daughter, Zipporah, and lived there as a shepherd for 40 years; the couple had two sons.

In the meantime, ‘the children of Israel… cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage… God heard… and… remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.’ (2:23-24)

While tending his father-in-law’s flock, Moses came to Mount Sinai, ‘the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush.’ (3:2)

Intrigued that the bush wasn’t being consumed by the fire, Moses went to investigate and ‘God called to him from the midst of the bush… He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground… I am the God of your father – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.”’ (3:4-6)

‘Moses and the Burning Bush’ after Domenico Fetti (W.Commons)

The Lord told Moses He had heard the cry of His people and had come to deliver them from the Egyptians and bring them ‘“to a land flowing with milk and honey…”’ (3:8), a fertile land of abundant provision.

God then told Moses, ‘“I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”’ (3:10)

But Moses felt incredibly inadequate for such a momentous task.

God assured him, ‘“I will certainly be with you…. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”’ (3:12); Israel was not only being delivered from bondage, but they were rescued to worship God.

Moses asked God what name he should give the people if they asked, and God answered, ‘“I AM WHO I AM.”’ (3:14); this name signifies God’s self-existence and His eternality.

Also, the reason for reiterating that God is ‘“the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and of Jacob”’ is to emphasise that He is the same God through the ages.

But Moses was highly reluctant to take on this immense task, coming up with reasons for not doing it – the people wouldn’t believe him, he wasn’t an eloquent speaker…

God then told Moses to cast his rod (staff) on the ground, ‘and it became a serpent…’; God told him to take it by the tail, and it became a rod again… ‘“that [the people] may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”’ (4:1-5)

 Moses’ reluctance was still not assuaged, and he asked God to send someone else. (4:13)

Angered, God said, ‘“Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well.”’ (4:14)

Under God’s guidance, Aaron would speak to the people on Moses’ behalf, while Moses would speak to Aaron for God; Moses would retain superiority by wielding the instrument by which miracles would be done, the rod of God that the Lord had changed into a serpent and back again.

The Lord told Moses, when he went back to Egypt, ‘“see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.”’ (4:21)

Whenever God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, He never did it against Pharaoh’s will; it was what Pharaoh wanted to do, so God gave Pharaoh over to his sin. And that is what free will choice is about; God doesn’t make us do or not do what we haven’t already chosen to do.

Moses then took his wife and two sons and went to Egypt where, along with Aaron, they spoke to the elders of the children of Israel who believed the words that Aaron spoke and the signs which Moses showed them… ‘they bowed their heads and worshipped.’ (4:31)

In their first encounter with Pharaoh, the brothers said to him, ‘“Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.”’ (5:1)

But Pharaoh refused, accusing the Israelites of being idle and having the time to sacrifice to their Lord, so he commanded they be worked harder.

The Israelites then took out their frustration on Moses and Aaron: ‘“Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and… his servants…”’ (5:21)

Troubled, Moses asked God why He brought trouble on His people, and that He hadn’t delivered them.

God replied, ‘“Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh.”’ (6:1); this made it clear how all that happened had been necessary to set things in motion to deal with Pharaoh.

God then assured Moses of His deliverance: ‘“… say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.”’ (6:6-8); the phrase, “I will” is repeated seven times, marking God’s personal involvement in the affairs of the Israelites. (Emphasis added to highlight the phrase).

The Lord also reiterated that Aaron would be Moses’ prophet; Moses would tell Aaron all that God commanded him, and Aaron would then tell Pharaoh.

‘… the Lord said…: “…I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in… Egypt. But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord…”’ (7:1-5)

The phrase – “I am the Lord” – repeatedly said to Pharaoh made it impossible to deny that God was directly involved in rescuing Israel from Egyptian slavery.

Next week’s post will cover the ten plagues of Egypt and the journey to the Red Sea.