A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns
A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns
First, Jochebed wove a basket out of the long green leaves of the bulrushes growing in the river. Though the weave had been tight to make it watertight, she was not going to take any chances. The basket was sealed with slime and pitch to insure it would be waterproof. Then as she placed her son in the river, she instructed her daughter Miriam as to her plan. Though only a Hebrew slave, Jochebed must have realized how her Egyptian masters viewed the Nile River. It was more than their source of fresh water. It was numbered among their gods. It was inevitable that an Egyptian finding the baby in the river would think of it as a gift of the river god. What Jochebed may not have realized was that the child would be found by none other than Pharaoh’s daughter, thought to be Hatshepsut by many conservative scholars today. The child was not only spared but named by Hatshepsut, Pharaoh’s daughter. His new name was Moses which is related to a Hebrew verb meaning “to draw out of the water” (cf. Ex. 2:10). Miriam arranged to have the child’s biological mother nurse the baby on the understanding that once the child was weaned, he would enter the courts of Pharaoh to be raised as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. For forty years Moses lived in Egypt as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. As such he was no doubt the recipient of the finest education available in that day. According to the religious convictions of the Egyptians, he would be viewed as nothing less than one of the gods of Egypt. He was being trained to someday possibly assume the throne of Egypt. But there were factors not conducive to that ambition. First, there was the political situation in Egypt itself. For a number of years, Hatshepsut reigned as co-regent with Thutmosis III. Though they were co-regents, Hatshepsut was the dominant force during their joint reign and Thutmosis did not seem to have much influence until the powerful female Pharaoh had died. He apparently resented Hatshepsut and there is abundant evidence he defaced many of the great monuments she had erected and sought to destroy her memory in Egypt. If Hatshepsut was the “Pharaoh’s daughter” of Exodus as many conservative scholars suspect, her relationship with Moses became a political liability. The second problem was Moses himself. Though he had been raised as an Egyptian in the court of Pharaoh, he was a Hebrew by birth. Perhaps it was the death of his protector Hatshepsut that forced him to reevaluate his spiritual priorities. Whatever the cause, the result was his turning from the Egyptian hierarchy of gods to faith in the God of Israel. He determined to do what he could for his own people (Heb. 11:24-26). But in doing so, all things came to a head. In protecting a Hebrew slave, he killed an abusive Egyptian. Soon word was out and the new Pharaoh had all the justification he needed to demand the life of Moses (Ex. 2:15). It was time to make a fundamental decision. Perhaps the decision had already been made by Moses sometime before. “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27). For forty years Moses had been a principle member in the most powerful court of the world. For the next forty years he would be a nomadic shepherd wandering about the deserts of Arabia. He married and began raising a family. And he became the keeper of the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. THE CALL TO MOSES (Ex. 3:1-4:28) It was toward the end of that second forty-year period that Moses notes an unusual sight in the desert. While leading his father-in-law’s sheep in a mountain range named Horeb, near Mount Sinai, he noted a bush burning. The unusual thing about this bush is that though it burned,
that is, there was a flame, the bush itself was not consumed by the flame. Recognizing what he saw as out of the ordinary, Moses determined to get a better look at the bush. It was then that a second unusual thing happened at the site. A voice began to speak to Moses out of the burning bush. “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai” (Acts 7:30). That Angel was nothing less than a Christophany, a preincarnate appearance of Christ in the Old Testament. There at the bush, God called Moses to lead Israel out of the land of Egypt which was their land of bondage. Moses knew enough about Egypt to know something of the immensity of the task he was being assigned. As a result, he was hesitant to accept the task. He began to object, giving God various reasons why he was not the one for the task. In the process of his objections, an interesting thing happened. As long as Moses offered God what might be considered good reasons for not accepting this call, God resolved Moses’ problems. But the fifth objection of Moses had its basis only in a rebellious will, and “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses” (Ex. 4:14). In His anger, God agreed to make Aaron Moses’ spokesman. It was apparently not part of God’s original plan and for the next forty years, there would be many times Moses might have wished his brother had never been given such a degree of influence. “Then Moses took his wife and his son and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand” (v. 20). He had left Egypt a member of the court, but was returning as a shepherd which was an abomination in the minds of the Egyptians. He had been trained to hold the scepter of Egypt, but was returning with the rod of God in his hand. He was returning to a land in which the gods were numerous and thought to be in control of every aspect of Egyptian life. But he was returning as the spokesman for the God of the Hebrew slaves, the God who declared Himself to be the only true God. It was inevitable that the future would demand a conflict between Moses and the gods of Egypt. THE TEN PLAGUES AND DELIVERANCE (Ex. 7:1-13:22) Moses did as God had commanded him. As the spokesman for Israel’s God, he called on the new Pharaoh, probably Amenhotep II, to let the Hebrew slaves go that they might worship God in the wilderness. Ironically, it was Pharaoh who made the actual declaration of war which was to begin the most unusual conflict of the ages. “And Pharaoh said, `Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go’ “ (Ex. 5:2). In the weeks to follow, Pharaoh would be introduced to the Lord in a most dramatic way. Just as Pharaoh had challenged the Lord’s authority, so now the Lord would challenge the authority of Pharaoh’s gods. It has been noted by many commentators that the plagues of Egypt
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that is, there was a flame, the bush itself was not consumed by the flame. Recognizing what he<br />
saw as out of the ordinary, Moses determined to get a better look at the bush. It was then that a<br />
second unusual thing happened at the site. A voice began to speak to Moses out of the burning<br />
bush.<br />
“And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of<br />
fire in a bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai” (Acts 7:30). That Angel was nothing less than a<br />
Christophany, a preincarnate appearance of Christ in the <strong>Old</strong> <strong>Testament</strong>. <strong>The</strong>re at the bush, God<br />
called Moses to lead Israel out of the land of Egypt which was their land of bondage.<br />
Moses knew enough about Egypt to know something of the immensity of the task he was<br />
being assigned. As a result, he was hesitant to accept the task. He began to object, giving God<br />
various reasons why he was not the one for the task. In the process of his objections, an<br />
interesting thing happened. As long as Moses offered God what might be considered good<br />
reasons for not accepting this call, God resolved Moses’ problems. But the fifth objection of<br />
Moses had its basis only in a rebellious will, and “the anger of the Lord was kindled against<br />
Moses” (Ex. 4:14). In His anger, God agreed to make Aaron Moses’ spokesman. It was<br />
apparently not part of God’s original plan and for the next forty years, there would be many<br />
times Moses might have wished his brother had never been given such a degree of influence.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>n Moses took his wife and his son and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the<br />
land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand” (v. 20). He had left Egypt a member<br />
of the court, but was returning as a shepherd which was an abomination in the minds of the<br />
Egyptians. He had been trained to hold the scepter of Egypt, but was returning with the rod of<br />
God in his hand. He was returning to a land in which the gods were numerous and thought to be<br />
in control of every aspect of Egyptian life. But he was returning as the spokesman for the God of<br />
the Hebrew slaves, the God who declared Himself to be the only true God. It was inevitable that<br />
the future would demand a conflict between Moses and the gods of Egypt.<br />
THE TEN PLAGUES AND DELIVERANCE<br />
(Ex. 7:1-13:22)<br />
Moses did as God had commanded him. As the spokesman for Israel’s God, he called on<br />
the new Pharaoh, probably Amenhotep II, to let the Hebrew slaves go that they might worship<br />
God in the wilderness. Ironically, it was Pharaoh who made the actual declaration of war which<br />
was to begin the most unusual conflict of the ages. “And Pharaoh said, `Who is the Lord, that I<br />
should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go’ “ (Ex.<br />
5:2). In the weeks to follow, Pharaoh would be introduced to the Lord in a most dramatic way.<br />
Just as Pharaoh had challenged the Lord’s authority, so now the Lord would challenge the<br />
authority of Pharaoh’s gods. It has been noted by many commentators that the plagues of Egypt