Exodus explains God’s rescue of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. This entire historical event serves as a foreshadowing or “type” for how God will save people through Jesus from the world-system and hell itself. Moreover, the presence of abundant miraculous activity demonstrates that God is trying to arrest our attention in this book. Many themes spring from the pages of this book:
Slavery and freedom. The Jewish people go from a position of abundance and peace under Joseph to 400 years of languishing in Egyptian slavery. When God breaks them out of this imprisonment to Pharaoh, they become his servants, rather than Pharaoh’s servants. Paul picks up on this motif in his letters, calling himself a “slave” (Greek doulos) of Christ.
God’s power over the Egyptian deities. One of the keys to interpreting the ten plagues is understanding that these were power plays against the impotent Egyptian deities. God was showing that he is the one, true God. Other gods are false.
The grumbling and unbelief of God’s people. After God saves the people from the cruel slavery of Pharaoh, they often want to go back! This might astonish us to read, but many Christians have the same profile. Christ rescues them from slavery to the world, but they secretly (or openly!) desire to go back to it.
Exodus answers the question: Who is Yahweh? Pharaoh doesn’t know (Ex. 5:2), the people don’t know (Ex. 6:6-7), and Moses doesn’t even know (Ex. 3:13). By the end of the book, you begin to get a solid grasp on this question.
Table of Contents
How to use this commentary well. 4
Exodus 11 (Prologue to the Passover). 53
Exodus 12 (The Passover lamb). 55
Exodus 13 (The parting of the Red Sea). 61
Exodus 17 (Water for the people). 75
Exodus 18 (Jethro: Delegation and Humility). 83
Exodus 19 (God speaks from the mountain). 87
Exodus 20 (Ten Commandments). 92
Exodus 26 (The Tabernacle). 111
Exodus 29 (Consecration for priests). 115
Exodus 30 (Census & Priests). 118
Exodus 31 (Tabernacle Art and Sabbath Law). 119
Exodus 32 (The Golden Calf). 120
Exodus 33 (God’s “after effects”). 126
Exodus 34 (Moses’ face glows). 130
Exodus 35 (The people bring their precious commodities to build the Tabernacle). 135
Exodus 36 (Repeated instructions on the Tabernacle). 135
Exodus 37-38 (Repeated instructions on the Ark). 135
Exodus 39 (Aaron’s clothing). 135
Exodus 40 (Tabernacle worship). 135
Authorship of Exodus
See our earlier article Authorship of the Pentateuch
Date of Exodus
See our earlier article Date of the Exodus
Canonicity of Exodus
This book is tied up with Genesis’ authority and canonicity, because it begins with a conjunction (“And these are the names of…”). Grisanti writes, “This seemingly obscure statement at the beginning of Exodus suggests a strong connection with the narrative of Genesis. The conjunction points to the connection of this statement with whatever precedes, in this case the end of the book of Genesis.”[1]
The five books of Moses equal one seventh of the entire Bible. Moses himself is mentioned 80 times in the NT—more than any other figure in the OT. So we owe it to ourselves to understand this important section of Scripture.
How to use this commentary well
For personal use. We wrote this material to build up people in their knowledge of the Bible. As the reader, we hope you enjoy reading through the commentary to grow in your interpretation of the text, understand the historical backdrop, gain insight into the original languages, and reflect on our comments to challenge your thinking. As a result, we hope this will give you a deeper love for the word of God.
Teaching preparation. We read through several commentaries in order to study this book, and condensed their scholarship into an easy-to-read format. We hope that this will help those giving public Bible teachings to have a deep grasp of the book as they prepare to teach. As one person has said, “All good public speaking is based on good private thinking.”[2] We couldn’t agree more. Nothing can replace sound study before you get up to teach, and we hope this will help you in that goal. And before you complain about our work, don’t forget that the price is right: FREE!
Questions for Reflection. Each section or chapter is outfitted with numerous Questions for Reflection or questions for reflection. We think these questions would work best in a small men’s or women’s group—or for personal reading. In general, these questions are designed to prompt participants to explore the text or to stimulate application.
Discussing Bible difficulties. We highlight Bible difficulties with hyperlinks to articles on those subjects. All of these questions could make for dynamic discussion in a small group setting. As a Bible teacher, you could raise the difficulty, allow the small group to wrestle with it, and then give your own perspective.
As a teacher, you might give some key cross references, insights from the Greek, or other relevant tools to help aid the study. This gives students the tools that they need to answer the difficulty. Then, you could ask, “How do these points help answer the difficulty?”
Reading Bible difficulties. Some Bible difficulties are highly complex. For the sake of time, it might simply be better to read the article and ask, “What do you think of this explanation? What are the most persuasive points? Do you have a better explanation than the one being offered?”
Think critically. We would encourage Bible teachers to not allow people to simply read this commentary without exercising discernment and testing the commentary with sound hermeneutics (i.e. interpretation). God gave the church “teachers… to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12). We would do well to learn from them. Yet, we also need to read their books with critical thinking, and judge what we’re reading (1 Cor. 14:29; 1 Thess. 5:21). This, of course, applies to our written commentary as well as any others!
In my small men’s Bible study, I am frequently challenged, corrected, and sharpened in my ability to interpret the word of God. I frequently benefit from even the youngest Christians in the room. I write this with complete honesty—not pseudo-humility. We all have a role in challenging each other as we learn God’s word together. We would do well to learn from Bible teachers, and Bible teachers would do well to learn from their students!
At the same time, we shouldn’t disagree simply for the sake of being disagreeable. This leads to rabbit trails that can actually frustrate discussion. For this reason, we should follow the motto, “The best idea wins.” If people come to different conclusions on unimportant issues, it’s often best to simply acknowledge each other’s different perspectives and simply move on.
We consulted many commentaries for individual passages of Revelation, but we read these specific commentaries below exhaustively. We give a very short review of each commentary below. The idea is to help students to know where to turn if they are looking for a commentary.
Audio for Exodus
To help your study and preparation, consider listening to these teaching series from various sources:
Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990).
- Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973).
Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006).
Dr. James Allman, Exodus (online class from Dallas Theological Seminary).
Unless otherwise stated, all citations are taken from the New International Version (NIV 2011).
Exodus 1
(1:1) These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family.
While many translations don’t reveal it, the book of Exodus opens with the word “And…” at the very beginning. This, of course, shows that “Exodus is not a new book, but simply the continuation of the Genesis story.”[3] Moreover, the text uses the same phrase as Genesis 46:8 (“Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt…”). Moses, our author, was aware that he was building upon an earlier account.
(1:2-5) Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.
Our author places an emphasis on the fact that only “seventy” Israelites entered Egypt, but an immense multitude exited.[4]
(1:6-7) Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7 but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
God told his people to be “fruitful” and “multiply.” He told this to Adam (Gen 1:28), Noah (Gen 8:17; 9:1, 7), Abraham (Gen 17:2-6), Isaac (Gen 26:4), and Jacob (Gen 28:3). This further connects Exodus with the earlier account of Genesis.
“The land was filled with them.” This most likely refers to the land of Goshen—not all of Egypt.[5]
(1:8-9) Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us.”
17th Dynasty. During this era, foreigners invaded and ruled Egypt. These foreigners were called the Hyksos pharaohs.
18th Dynasty (1570-1310 BC). Ahmose was the founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty, and the Thebes inscription goes into detail regarding the Egyptian political stance toward foreigners. Ahmose chased the Hyksos from their capital of Avaris (i.e. Zoan), and later pharaohs like Thutmose III (1483-1450 BC) chased them out of Syria and Palestine.[6]
This explains why this new pharaoh would have such hatred and suspicion toward Semites like the Hebrews. It also explains why he had no sympathy for honoring Joseph, because he was a foreigner who ruled during the reign of the Hyksos.[7]
Who is the new Pharaoh? In the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, Queen Hatshepsut was the ruler of Egypt, and her son Thutmose II took over after her. We hold that Amenhotep II was the original Exodus Pharaoh (Ex. 1), and his son Thutmose III was the Pharaoh in Moses’ day.
Why is he anonymous? Later in Israelite history, it was proper historical practice to name the Pharaohs (e.g. Shisak and Neco). However, in the 15th century BC, it was the proper historical practice to not record the Pharaoh by name.
(1:10) “Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”
It isn’t that the Israelites were more numerous than the Egyptians. The Pharaoh was raising rhetoric and promoting propaganda to the effect that the Hebrews “will become even more numerous.”
“[They] will join our enemies.” Again, this fits with the 18th Dynasty in Egypt. These pharaohs were understandably worried that their nation would be overthrown by foreigners again. It wouldn’t have sat well with the Pharaoh to see a large and burgeoning group of foreigners right in his backyard.
“Leave the country.” Stuart[8] argues that this is a Hebrew idiom (citing Gen. 2:6; Hos. 1:11). He renders this as “take possession of the land.” This makes sense of the Pharaoh’s propaganda: Not that the Hebrews would leave, but that they would take over.
What is Pharaoh’s plan?
First, Pharaoh turns the Israelites into a slave caste,[9] making them unskilled laborers rather than shepherds (Gen 46:34; 47:4-6, 27). Second, Pharaoh turns up the cruelty on the slaves (v.14). Third, and finally, Pharaoh tries to breed out the Israelites by killing off the baby boys—a horrific form of gendercide and population control (v.16).
Slave caste
(1:11) So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
Rameses is Qantir (Tell el-Dab’a). It is located 17 miles southwest of Tanis.
The names for the store-cities wouldn’t have been the names of the cities when they were built. Instead, Pithom and Rameses would have been a later author renaming them for a modern audience (see “Claim #1” The Dating of the Exodus). This is similar to a historian referring to “New York” which was renamed from the original “New Amsterdam.”[10]
It would’ve also been demoralizing to be slave laborers on Pharoah’s store cities. It would be a constant reminder of who was in charge.
By taking the Hebrews away from their herds and land, this would’ve killed off many people. Would this be the end of the Hebrews…?
(1:12) But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.
Pharaoh’s plan failed! This shows God’s faithfulness to his promise (Gen. 12:1-3). Even though God’s people were oppressed, he was still growing them.
“The Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.” This can also be rendered that the Egyptians were “sick with worry”[11] of the Israelites. The Egyptians were afraid of their population growth because this could lead to a revolt. To respond to this mounting concern, they tried a couple of strategies. First, they tried hard labor; then, they tried infanticide.
Increased labor
(1:14) [The Egyptians] worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
Pharaoh tried hard labor to break the spirit of the Israelites.
Population control: gendercide!
(1:15-16) The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”
When backbreaking labor didn’t work, the Pharaoh tried gendercide to shrink the population growth. This is a practice still applied today—though most cultures who practice gendercide will kill their little girls instead.
The text emphasizes these midwives as heroes. The Pharaoh isn’t named, and neither are the Hebrew elders. But the female midwives are named. In fact, in Hebrew, the language is stretched to emphasize the names of the women: “One who was named Shiphrah, and the other who was named Puah.”[12]
Were there only two midwives? The text doesn’t commit us to this. Some argue that these were the only two who disobeyed, or perhaps the only two who were remembered by name.[13] We agree with Stuart who holds that these two “were almost surely the senior midwives, functioning as the leaders, or administrators, over an indefinite number of others.”[14] It’s quite possible that verse 19 mentions other midwives who follow in the footsteps of Shiphrah and Puah.
“Delivery stool.” This doesn’t refer to women kneeling on rocks. This quiet literally refers to the “genitals”[15] of the newborns.
Why did he kill the males? The Pharaoh likely wanted to kill the boys because this would stop their ability to revolt (Ex. 1:10). Moreover, the Israelites women would’ve become the wives of other slaves and “could be absorbed by the Egyptians in a generation.”[16]
(1:17) The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.
We don’t know who the Pharaoh is, but we know the midwives by name. This is a common biblical theme: People that are so important to humans (Pharaoh) are quite often unimportant to God. God chooses the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Cor. 1:27).
God promised to bless those who blessed Israel and curse those who cursed Israel (Gen. 12:1-3). Therefore, what would you expect to happen to the Egyptians—given this cruelty? God brings plagues down on Egypt to punish them for the slave labor and the infanticide.
(1:18-21) Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” 20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
It’s possible that many years went by between the Pharaoh’s edict and the realization that the midwives were keeping the baby boys alive. After all, in ancient times, the clothing and hairstyles of babies was identical.[17] Moreover, since Pharaoh only worked through the midwives (not making a public policy), it’s likely that he wanted to keep this secretive. It isn’t until verse 22 that Pharaoh goes public with his horrific plan.
(1:22) Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
We see a similar parallel to this when Jesus was born (Mt. 2:16). We also see foreshadowing of how God would judge the Egyptians who were drowned in the Red Sea (Ex. 15:4; Heb. 11:29).
This plan seems unstoppable! But the very plan of Pharaoh turned out to be the deliverance of Israel. One of the boys put in the water became their rescuer, who would defeat the Pharaoh, liberate the people, and overturn an empire…
Exodus 2
Moses, the baby
(Ex. 2:1-10) Was the Moses birth story copied from pagan parallels?
(2:1) Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman.
Moses was from the tribe of Levi. Indeed, both of his parents were Levites, making him fully Levite. This shows that Moses was “prequalified for the service God later gave him.”[18]
(2:2) And she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.
The term “fine” (ṭôb) is parallel to the creation (“God saw that it was good…”). This could be literally translated: “Longing to have/keep him, she hid him—for three months.”[19]
Both parents agreed to this plan (Heb. 11:23). Moses’ father likely worked as a slave, and so, Moses’ mother was primarily responsible to carry out this plan to save their son.
(2:3-4) But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
“Papyrus basket” (tēbāh) is only used in one other place of Scripture—to refer to Noah’s “ark.”[20] The various descriptions of it being sealed and opened all describe something similar to a tiny “ark,” not a “basket.”
(2:1-9) Should believers make irrational decisions like sailing babies down rivers? Moses’ mother didn’t sail the baby down the river. She placed him among the reeds, and she sent his older sister to watch over him (v.4). Furthermore, it’s likely that she knew the Pharaoh’s daughter used this area as a place to bathe. This was the “ancient equivalent of leaving [a newborn] on the steps of a hospital or orphanage… Discovery would be certain.”[21]
(2:5) Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it.
She must have known that the Pharaoh’s daughter bathed in this precise location.
(2:6-9) She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
8 “Yes, go,” she answered.
So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.”
So the woman took the baby and nursed him.
Miriam (Moses’ big sister) didn’t give Pharaoh’s daughter time to think about what to do with the newborn baby. She asked if she could get a wet nurse for her. In a great and loving act of sovereignty, God gives Moses back to his mother, and he even pays her to raise the little boy! Before this act of faith, Moses’ mother was nursing him in fear. Now she has the protection of Pharaoh’s daughter, and she has a steady income for doing it. Moses’ mother must’ve taught him about God during these early years. This is how Moses knows that the Hebrew slaves are “his people” (Ex. 2:11).
(2:10) When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”
Moses was raised by his mother. No doubt, she taught him the faith of the God of Israel. Moreover, Moses knows his siblings well as an adult (e.g. Aaron and Miriam), so he must’ve stayed in contact with his family even after his mother handed him over to the Pharaoh’s daughter.
“She named him Moses, saying, ‘I drew him out of the water.’” The name “Moses” was Egyptian for “son” (i.e. Ahmose and Thutmose). But it was also similar to the Hebrew word mōšēh or māšāh, which means “to draw out.”[22] This could be Egyptian[23] with a Hebrew etymology.
Is this practice plausible? Yes. Raising foreign children in the court nursery is spoken of in the 18th Dynasty (e.g. Moses).[24] The Egyptians at this time raised children of foreign kings. One Semitic child became a vizier to the king, and he was called a “child of the nursery.”[25] This was such a common practice that Moses would’ve been “one among many” others.[26]
Moses, the failed revolutionary
The trajectory for Moses’ life is looking really good. He’s rich, educated, and powerful. Surely God is going to use him to rescue the Hebrews—much like he used Joseph… right?
(2:11) One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
“After Moses had grown up.” Moses is forty years old at this point (Acts 7:23).
“A Hebrew, one of his own people.” When his mother raised him, she must have told him that he was Hebrew, because this passage tells us that he recognized one of his Hebrew brothers.
(2:12) Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
“Looking this way and that and seeing no one.” He must have had some kind of guilt or conviction over killing this man, because “he looked this way and that,” and he buried the corpse in the sand. All of this implies that he knew this was wrong.
“He killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” This was vigilante justice, and it was not only immoral but stupid. Moses didn’t seek God, he didn’t have a plan to rescue the nation, and he had no military power to free the Hebrews. When Moses is operating out of self-effort, he is only able to bury one Egyptian in the sand. When God was ready to move, he buried the whole army.
It’s interesting to note that three of the greatest figures in biblical history were murderers: Moses, David, and Paul. Moses was aware of the purposes of God, but he was doing it in the power of the flesh.
(2:13-15) The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”
14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?”
Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”
15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.
Before you read this, you might’ve expected the people to respect Moses for killing an Egyptian. However, God didn’t empower it. God wants us to do his will, in his way, in his timing. Two out of the three doesn’t work. Moses’ plan was immoral, foolish, and about 40 years too early.
How did the Hebrew man know that Moses killed the Egyptian? For one, it seems that Moses killed the Egyptian in broad daylight—even if “no one was around” (Ex. 2:12). He was watching the Hebrews working (during the day), and that is when he killed an “Egyptian beating a Hebrew” (Ex. 2:11). Perhaps Moses believed this would inspire hope in his people, but he was wrong. Moreover, think about it: Moses buried the Egyptian in the sand. That body must’ve stunk! Consequently, news spread fast: “An Egyptian overseer was missing, an investigation probably was underway or soon would be, and there was every likelihood that the Hebrews would be blamed and severely punished for the overseer’s murder. Such a situation would become the talk of the community and would easily surface someone’s admission, ‘I saw who did it!’”[27] Regardless, Moses’ act made the front page of the paper, so he had to flee, because the news made it all the way to Pharaoh (v.15).
“Who made you ruler and judge over us?” Good question. God didn’t appoint Moses; Moses had appointed himself.
“Midian.” The Midianites descended from Abraham through his wife Keturah (Gen. 25:2), but we are uncertain about the exact location of this region.[28] This is because the Midianites were a nomadic people, and their borders were unclear. Stuart places them in “the central and northern Sinai peninsula” and “northwestern Arabia.”[29] It is most likely modern Saudi Arabia.
The author of Hebrews comments that this must’ve involved some sort of faith to leave the palace: “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward” (Heb. 11:24-26). This might be a case where Moses had the right mindset to leave the palace, but he had immoral methods. God recognized faith in the former, but not the latter. As Cole writes, “It was not Moses’ impulse to save Israel that was wrong, but the action that he took.”[30]
Moses, the nomad
(2:16-21) Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.
18 When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”
19 They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
20 “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”
21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
Moses rescues Reuel’s seven daughters from some menacing Midianite shepherds. Reuel invites Moses into his home, and he gives Zipporah to be his wife and they have a child named Gershom. This all implies that a significant span of time transpired (at least enough time to get married and birth a child).
“Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.” Moses must’ve been an intimidating man. After all, he just killed an Egyptian. Now, he fights off a group of shepherds, and then does the work of seven women.
“An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds.” Moses must’ve still been dressed like an Egyptian. Otherwise, these women never would’ve identified him in this way. It’s also possible that Moses had an Egyptian accent of some kind. We’re unsure.
“Reuel” might mean “friend of God” or perhaps “shepherd of God.”[31] But whatever the meaning, his name doesn’t carry any meaning in the narrative. Later, he is called “Jethro” (Ex. 3:1) and later “Hobab” (Judg. 4:11). This shouldn’t surprise us because “double names are known from South Arabic sources,”[32] and other cases of possessing two names are well known (Judg. 7:1).
“Zipporah” can mean “warbler” or “twitterer.”[33] That is, she was named after a small bird.
“Gershom” (gēr šām) comes from the words “alien” (gēr) and “there” (šōm). It can be rendered as “a resident alien there.”[34]
How did Moses feel at this time? Perhaps he thought that God had a powerful plan for his life, and that’s why he killed the Egyptian. But those were all delusions of grandeur. Moses was:
- Morally disqualified. He killed a man in cold blood without a judicial process.
- Moses botched the great revolution he wanted to lead. He couldn’t even murder one Egyptian without ruining his entire plan.
- A lousy leader. Moses failed to garner the respect of his people.
- Disgraced and poor. Overnight, Moses went from being a high official in Pharaoh’s palace to becoming an outlaw and nomad in the desert.
- Moses travels around Midian for the next 40 years. There is a gap of 40 years between verse 22 and 23 (Ex. 7:7). Let that sink in. Moses was forty when he went into hiding (Acts 7:22), but he will spend an additional 40 years in the wilderness herding sheep.
God might’ve had a plan for Moses’ life back in Egypt, but all of that is out the window. So, Moses named his son based on how he’s feeling: “A foreigner in a foreign land.”
But God had a different plan! At the end of Moses’ life, we don’t read about a loser or reject. Instead, we read, “Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face” (Deut. 34:10). God was using this time to teach Moses how to trust him, how to take criticism (Ex. 2:14; 5:19-21; 17:3; Num. 14:2; Deut. 1:27), how to learn humility (Num. 12:3), how lead a nation, how to navigate the desert, etc. Most importantly, Moses needed to learn that God would be the one to save his people—not Moses. That’s precisely what we read about next.
God will save his people—not Moses
(2:23-25) During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
The death of the Pharaoh will allow Moses to return. However, this “produced no relief for the Israelites, whose painful slavery continued unabated.”[35]
It’s an interesting question to consider: What sort of theology did the Hebrews have at this time? What would Moses have been taught? God hadn’t performed any recorded miracles for the last 400 years. God had given an obscure, verbal prophecy to Abraham about the people wallowing in slavery for 400 years (Gen. 15:13), but this fulfilled prophecy wouldn’t have been encouraging to the Hebrews! Anything passed down to them from Joseph or the patriarchs would have been from oral tradition.
Regardless, these people prayed to God, and God answered their prayers. Stuart writes, “However little they may have known about the true God at this stage in their emerging corporate theological education, they were during this time earnestly praying to him for help.”[36]
“[God] remembered his covenant with Abraham.” The term “covenant” (bĕrı̂ṭ) appears 25 times in Genesis. This is the first usage in Exodus.
This would make good sense of God’s emphasis on being a hearing, remembering, and seeing being (Ex. 2:24-25). Often, when we’re suffering, we feel like God has made a mistake. However, in this story, God is aware of their suffering. This is the difference between a disappointment and a divine appointment. God was working a plan through these events.
(2:24) If God is omniscient, how could he “remember” something?
Exodus 3
(3:1) Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
“Moses was tending the flock.” The Egyptians hated shepherds (Gen 46:32-34; 47:1-6). This was the “dirty job” of the ancient world. This shows just how far Moses has fallen—from riches to rags. In fact, these weren’t even his sheep. They belonged to his father-in-law. So, he couldn’t even climb to become a small business owner of a disgraced profession. He was an indentured shepherd.
“Horeb, the mountain of God.” We are unsure as to the exact location of Mount Sinai. The traditional site is in Sinai Peninsula in the south. Another view is that it is in “the north east among the mountains of Seir.”[37] Cole writes, “The general geographic details in the Bible seem to point to the southern area: and the traditional site of Ğebel Mûsa, ‘Moses’ mountain’ (7,467 feet), has much to commend it, though others will prefer the higher peaks nearby.”[38]
The morning Moses woke up to shepherd the flocks, he definitely wasn’t thinking that God would call him into an earthshaking plan that would impact eternity. After all, Moses was 80 years old (Ex. 7:7), and he probably felt like he had wasted his life. This probably felt like any other morning…
(3:2-3) There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
(Ex. 3:3) Are miracles like a “burning bush” just pre-scientific myths? Moses knew something was wrong. He knew enough about science to know that bushes on fire usually disintegrate.
(3:4) When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Moses! Moses!” This is a “repetition of endearment.” Stuart writes, “In ancient Semitic culture, addressing someone by saying his or her name twice was a way of expressing endearment, that is, affection and friendship.”[39]
(3:5) “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
(Ex. 3:5) Why does God give Moses an arbitrary command like removing his sandals? God was demonstrating that there is a separation between him and humans. Ten minutes before God showed up, this was a barren and mundane area. The day before this event occurred, animals likely relieved themselves on this bush. But after God shows up, the mountain transforms into “holy ground.” Cole comments, “This is the first occurrence of the word ‘holy’ in the Bible, and it is significant that the concept is linked with God.”[40]
(3:6) Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
It isn’t uncommon to see people “afraid” when they encounter God in Scripture. When Isaiah encountered God in his throne room, he said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!” (Isa. 6:5). Likewise, when Peter witnessed the divine power of Jesus, he said, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Lk. 5:8).
“[Moses] was afraid to look at God.” Even the great Moses was “afraid” to come into God’s presence. God is holy, distinct, and separate.
(3:7) The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.”
The Hebrew here is emphatic. Literally, it reads, “Seeing, I have surely seen… Hearing, I have surely heard.”
(3:8-10) “So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
“I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians… Go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” We might expect Moses to ask, “Wait a minute… Who is going to rescue the people? You or me?” God might’ve answered, “Yes!” God saves people and accomplishes his will through human agency.
“A good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” God promises this nomad a beautiful country, and he reveals his plan to Moses from start to finish. There’s just one problem: Moses doesn’t believe him.
The Excuses of Moses
Moses doubts himself, and rightly so. At this point in his life, he’s an 80-year-old washed up failure. When God calls Moses to lead, he gives a list of very sophisticated excuses. Forty years chasing sheep in the desert had a deadening effect on Moses’ personality.
We might expect God to immediately come down hard on Moses. Instead, he listens to him, and tries to answer his objections and persuade him.
Excuse #1: “Who am I?” (3:11)
(3:11-12) But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
“Who am I?” Moses has been carrying his failure around with him for the last forty years, and he still wasn’t over this. It led to a “spiritual paralysis, inability and unwillingness to undertake any course of action.”[41]
“I will be with you.” God really doesn’t answer Moses’ question, nor does he argue with Moses regarding his weaknesses. Instead, he changes the subject: “I will be with you.” To paraphrase, God answers Moses’ question with a question: “Who are you? Wrong question! You should be asking, ‘Who am I?’” God comforts Moses with his presence.
It doesn’t matter who you are, but who I am.
“When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” This will be fulfilled three months later (Ex. 19:1).
Excuse #2: “Who are you?” (3:13)
(3:13) Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God’s answer to Moses’ first doubt was to assure him of his presence. This raises the question, “If you are going to be with me, then what’s so special about you?” This is why Moses asks about God’s name. This is a way of understanding a person’s character.
(3:14-15) God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”
(Ex. 3:14) What does “Yahweh” mean? God also refers to his promises to console and encourage Moses (vv.15-22).
- “I have always existed and always will exist.”
- “I am always going to be there.”
- “I will do whatever I want to do.”
“The LORD… has sent me to you.” God was authorizing Moses as a prophet.
(3:16-18) “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey. 18 The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.’”
“Assemble the elders of Israel.” The idea seems to be that Moses should collect the leaders first, and work with them to win over the people. God promises that they will listen to Moses (v.18).
(Ex. 3:18) Why does God tell Moses that it would only be a three day trip, if he planned on rescuing them permanently from the Egyptians? One view holds that God may have given an easier request at first to demonstrate how unreasonable the Pharaoh was in relieving the Hebrew slaves. God, in his foreknowledge, knew that Pharaoh wouldn’t release the Jews no matter what (see v.19). This may have revealed to the people just how cruel Pharaoh was.[42] Stuart holds a more plausible, however. He argues that a “three-day journey” was an idiom for a major trip. Thus, this was a way of asking to leave Egypt. He explains that a modern equivalent might be, “Would you give me the remote control?” or “Can I have the keys to the car tonight?”[43]
(3:19-22) “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. 21 And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”
(Ex. 3:22) Why would God command the Hebrews to steal from the Egyptians? After 400 years of slavery, this seems more like receiving back wages, rather than theft. Moreover, they were told to “ask” for this money—not steal it. The point is that God is going to break them out of slavery, and he’s going to give them money as they leave.
Conclusion. God tells Moses the plan from start to finish. He even goes into scrupulous detail. The problem is that Moses doesn’t trust God. He is still hung up on being a failure. So, he give more excuses…
Exodus 4
Excuse #3: “What if people won’t believe me?” (4:1)
(4:1) Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”
“What if they do not believe me?” Earlier, God said, “The elders of Israel will listen to you” (Ex. 3:18). Yet, Moses doesn’t believe this. Moses is probably still haunted by the Hebrew man from forty years ago: “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” (Ex. 2:14) Those words are still ringing in his ears, and he worries that God is leading him to be humiliated all over again.[44] This is despite the fact that God had just told him that they would believe him (Ex. 3:18).
Many servants of God identify with Moses. They doubt that others will respond to God’s truth. They might think, “What if I share God’s truth and everyone laughs at me or ridicules me? Or what if they shrug their shoulders in apathy?”
(4:2) Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
God equips Moses with everything that he needs. Later in the book, we see that these simple tools were enough to even convince the magicians in Pharaoh’s court.
(4:3-5) The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
4 Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
5 “This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
Why did God choose a “snake” to be a sign of Moses’ authority? The cobra snake was a symbol of Egypt—kind of like a modern-day football mascot. The cobra (“urae”) is found in Egyptian art and on the forehead of Pharaoh’s crown. Even King Tut had a cobra on his throne room floor. By using this as a sign, God was showing that he had power over their “team mascot.”
(4:6-8) Then the LORD said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow. 7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. 8 Then the LORD said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second.”
“Leprous” (mĕṣōraʿat) would “include not only actual leprosy but also a variety of serious infectious skin diseases that were likewise feared in biblical times.”[45]
Why did God choose “leprosy” to be a sign of Moses’ authority? Leprosy was incredibly scary for people at this time. By showing his power over this terrifying and permanent disease, God was authenticating himself in a powerful way.
Why did God choose to work through a staff? Moses needed to confront the greatest superpower known to man, and what was he supposed to bring? An oozy? A nuclear warhead? SEAL Team Six? No, a dead shepherd’s staff! This doesn’t make for very good cinema, but it shows a deep spiritual message—namely that God wants to work through weak and wimpy objects to show his glory. God later uses this dead stick to:
- Turn the Nile River into blood (Ex. 7:15-17).
- Bring plagues like frogs, lice, thunder, hail, and lightning (Ex. 8-10).
- Divide the Red Sea (Ex. 14:16).
- Created water for the thirsty people in the desert (Ex. 17:5-6; cf. Num. 20:11).
- Guide the people in leadership decisions (Num. 17:8).
Regarding God’s use of Moses’ staff, Francis Schaeffer writes, “Consider the mighty ways in which God used a dead stick of wood. ‘God so used a stick of wood’ can be a banner cry for each of us. Though we are limited and weak in talent, physical energy, and psychological strength, we are not less than a stick of wood. But as the rod of Moses had to become the rod of God, so that which is me must become the me of God. Then I can become useful in God’s hands. The Scripture emphasizes that much can come from little if the little is truly consecrated to God. There are no little people and no big people in the true spiritual sense, but only consecrated and unconsecrated people. The problem for each of us is applying this truth to ourselves: is Francis Schaeffer the Francis Schaeffer of God?”[46]
(4:9) “But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”
The power over the Nile River would demonstrate that God had power over the gods of Egypt. Stuart writes, “For God’s servant Moses to demonstrate through this simple act God’s power over the Nile would be to demonstrate God’s power generally over Egypt and the Egyptians a fortiori.”[47]
As it turns out, God’s prediction was correct: Pharaoh didn’t believe Moses until he brought the terms of judgment.
Excuse #4: “I don’t talk good!” (4:10)
(4:10) “Moses said to the LORD, ‘Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’”
Did Moses have some sort of speech impediment? Moses said that he was “slow of speech and tongue” which literally means that he has a “heavy mouth and a heavy tongue.”[48] Later, Moses states that he is “unskilled in speech” (Ex. 6:12). Stephen states that Moses was “a man of power in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). Moreover, Stuart notes, “Moses did a huge amount of speaking in the remainder of the Pentateuchal narrative and law, yet nowhere did he reveal the slightest speech hesitancy or inability to make himself understood.”[49] If Moses did have a speech impediment, it seems likely that he was exaggerating it. In our estimation, Moses was trying to evade God’s calling. He’s either inventing problems or exaggerating them way out of proportion.
It seems like Moses is doubting himself, but he’s really doubting God. Besides, God didn’t need an eloquent speaker. He needed a messenger. Moses was just the delivery boy. So are we. When we speak for God, the focus is not about the messenger, but about the message (1 Cor. 2:1-4).
(4:11) The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD?”
God adds further problems that would prevent Moses from accomplishing his mission: Being deaf, mute, or blind. God is more powerful than any and every single one of these.
God replies with an important point: “Moses, I’m the one who is in the business of making mouths. If you don’t like your mouth, then what does that say about Me?” When we look at our deficiencies and weaknesses, we need to reach a point where we even view these as gifts from God. Paul said he got to the point where he could boast in his weaknesses, because it showed God’s power even more (2 Cor. 12:7-10).
God gets more glory when he works through broken people. In 1997, Michael Jordan scored 38 points in an NBA Finals game against the Utah Jazz. This was impressive. But it was far more impressive to discover that he did this while suffering from severe food poisoning! Of course, it brings more glory to Michael Jordan to see that he worked through severe sickness. God, however, gets the glory when he works through severely inadequate people like us. When God uses weak people to accomplish his purposes, it reveals his glory in more powerful and more profound ways.
(4:12) “Now go; I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.”
God also promises to “help” and to “teach” Moses. God will not abandon him, but he promises to guide and empower him along the way.
The root issue: “I don’t want to go…” (4:13)
(4:13) But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
The excuses are over. Here we discover the real issue: Moses just doesn’t want to go. Even God himself can’t convince Moses.
(4:14-16) Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.”
“Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses.” God was fine answering Moses’ questions, but when Moses simply said, No, this made God angry. After all, people were languishing in slavery, and a cruel tyrant was on the throne. Meanwhile, Moses is crying about his personal insecurities and fears! God patiently walked him through all of this, and now it was time for Moses to respond—not double down in unbelief.
God sends Moses a coleader. In fact, God had already set this up, because Aaron was already on his way during this conversation (see Ex. 4:27).
(4:17) “But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”
God reminds him not to forget the dead stick. God has big plans for that stick, and for Moses.
What do we learn from God’s interaction with Moses?
(1) God never tries to convince Moses that he’s a great, gifted, and competent man. Our adequacy doesn’t come from ourselves. Paul asks the rhetorical question, “Who is adequate for these things?” (2 Cor. 2:16) Later, he writes, “It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God” (2 Cor. 3:5 NLT).
(2) God was moving on a different timeline than Moses. The 40 years in the desert must’ve seemed like a colossal waste of time. However, not to God. During that time, God was using this time to teach Moses how to trust him, how to take criticism (Ex. 2:14; 5:19-21; 17:3; Num. 14:2; Deut. 1:27), how to learn humility (Num. 12:3), how lead a nation, how to navigate the desert, etc.
(3) God was patient with doubts, but not with unbelief.
What do we learn from Moses’ interaction with God?
(1) Moses allowed one single comment to control his life for 40 years. When he failed as a young man, one of the Hebrews said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” (Ex. 2:14). Moses allowed that comment to keep him held captive to unbelief in God.
(2) Moses’ excuses were somewhat plausible. Truly, he was an immoral and incompetent man. However, here was Moses’ problem: He was so focused on his problems that even God himself couldn’t convince him. He needed to get the focus onto God—not self.
(3) Moses’ story wasn’t over, and neither is yours! It took Moses 80 years to begin his ministry. Do you think it’s too late for God to use you? Tell that to Moses!
Moses returns to Egypt
(4:18-19) Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.” Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.” 19 Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.”
Imagine the conversation at the dinner table that night between Moses and his wife: “Hey honey, how was work today?” Moses put in his “two week notice” with Jethro.
“Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” Stuart writes, “It was common practice in the ancient world, as it is in the modern, for a new government to cancel criminal penalties imposed by a previous government, thus granting general amnesty to prisoners and those sought by the law.”[50]
(4:20) So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
“Wife and sons.” Eleazer was likely already born (Ex. 18:4). After all, Moses and Zipporah were quite old.
Moses didn’t forget his dead walking stick.
(4:21) The LORD said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.”
(Ex. 4:21) How could God harden Pharaoh’s heart? Before God could harden Pharaoh’s heart, the text says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Ex. 7:13; 8:15, 19; 8:32; 9:7, 34-35). God’s first action is in Exodus 9:12. The term “hardened” (chazaq) literally means “to strengthen.” Therefore, God strengthened what Pharaoh wanted to do in the first place.
(4:22-23) Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”
“Israel is my firstborn son.” The fact that Israel was called God’s son probably shocked Pharaoh because the Pharaoh was considered the son of the gods. Cole comments, “If pharaoh will not give God’s first-born up to God, to whom all first-born belong in any case, then pharaoh’s own first-born must die instead. Since ‘Israel’ is collective here, it is reasonable to suppose that ‘pharaoh’ is also a collective term; thus ‘your first-born’ includes all the first-born in the land.”[51]
“Let my son go, so he may worship me.” Stuart comments, “The Israelites had been serving Pharaoh; now God told Pharaoh that the Israelites were going to serve him. Their liberation came not in being freed from having to work but in being freed from working for the wrong master.”[52]
Integrity check
(4:24-26) At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)
(Ex. 4:24-26) Why did God want to kill Moses? The penalty for refusing circumcision was to be “cut off” from the people (Gen. 17:14). Cole writes, “Circumcision is a symbol of putting away all that is unpleasing to God, and of dedication to God for the task ahead.”[53] This was a central sign that a person was choosing to be a part of God’s people. Refusing to circumcise was a sign of outright rebellion.
God was likely concerned that Moses was being hypocritical. Moses would later teach others God’s commandments, but he wasn’t following one of the essential commandments himself. Before Moses could get others to follow God, he needed to get himself and his family to follow God. A leader needs to get their household in order before they are ready to serve God (1 Tim. 3:4). Moreover, leaders have higher standards than those not in leadership. Before he was leading, God didn’t bring up this issue with Moses. However, after he stepped forward to lead, this issue became important to God.
Stuart[54] holds a complex interpretation whereby Zipporah’s role is faithful—not hostile. He holds that Zipporah performed the circumcision because she was the daughter of a Midianite priest and knew how to perform this operation. When she places the foreskin on Moses’ “feet,” Stuart argues that this refers to circumcising Gershom (whereby the “feet” are a euphemism for his genitals).
Finally, the statement “bridegroom of blood” means “relative of blood.” According to Stuart, Zipporah is speaking to Gershom—not to Moses. She is affirming that Gershom is now a part of the covenant family, and this is why God relents. In summary, Stuart writes, “Exodus 4:24-26 is a story showing how Zipporah, by performing as officially as she could a circumcision on her son—whom his father had failed so far to conform to the covenant requirements of Gen 17:10-14—saved him from the punishment required by the Abrahamic covenant of circumcision.”[55] We’re unsure what to make of Stuart’s interpretation. It certainly helps explain a quite bizarre passage, but in the end, not much hinges on these three verses.
(4:27-31) The LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Then Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform. 29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
God told Moses to convince the leaders of God’s rescue plan before confronting Pharaoh (Ex. 3:18-20). These leaders, in turn, would convince the people and prepare them to flee. The leaders needed to make sure the people were actually ready to leave. Later, in the desert, the people repeatedly rebel against Moses and even long to return to Egypt (Ex. 16:2-3; 17:3; Num. 14:2-4). The way the Hebrews talk about Egypt, it sounds like they had “Stockholm Syndrome” toward their slave owners! This is tongue-and-cheek, but truly, the Hebrews had a lot to fear by leaving Egypt. So, Moses needed to make sure that these people were ready to run when the time was right.
Exodus 5
Moses and Aaron had already done the “dress rehearsal” with the elders of Israel. Now, they’re ready for the real thing! God gave Moses and Aaron everything that they needed to speak to Pharaoh. How do you think this exchange is going to go?
(5:1) Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’”
“Let my people go.” Moses is speaking on behalf of God, and these are God’s people—not Moses’ people.
(5:2-3) Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”
Moses’ worst fear is being realized. Moses was worried that nobody would know who Yahweh was (Ex. 3:13) or that Moses had really met him before (Ex. 4:1). Pharaoh completely brushes him off a distraction, and he ignores his claims. Yet, we must remember that God had predicted all of this: “I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go… When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go” (Ex. 3:19-20; 4:21).
“Who is the Lord?” Pharaoh is asking, “Who is Yahweh? Yahoo?!” This is a direct challenge to God, and God accepts the challenge. From here until the end of the plagues, God will show Pharaoh exactly who he is (Ex. 5-14).
(Ex. 5:3) Why does God tell Moses that it would only be a three-day trip, if he planned on rescuing them permanently from the Egyptians? One view holds that God may have given an easier request at first to demonstrate how unreasonable the Pharaoh was in relieving the Hebrew slaves. God, in his foreknowledge, knew that Pharaoh wouldn’t release the Jews no matter what (see v.19). This may have revealed to the people just how cruel Pharaoh was.[56] Stuart holds a more plausible, however. He argues that a “three-day journey” was an idiom for a major trip. Thus, this was a way of asking to leave Egypt. He explains that a modern equivalent might be, “Would you give me the remote control?” or “Can I have the keys to the car tonight?”[57]
(Ex. 5:3) Why would God kill his own people with pestilence or a sword? God never claimed this! The context is word-for-word what we read in Exodus 3:18, but Moses added this extra part about God killing all of the people. Yet, adding to God’s word is a sin (Deut. 4:2; Prov. 30:6). Indeed, it made God seem like a tyrant who would kill his own people for doing nothing wrong.
Why did Moses add this claim when speaking to Pharaoh? We are speculating, however, Moses must’ve thought this would help to persuade Pharaoh to release the Hebrew slaves. After all, this message was far more palatable than the true message: “Hey Pharaoh! God is going to kill your people unless you release the Hebrew slaves!” By saying that God would kill the Hebrew people, this watered-down God’s word. This explains why God doesn’t support what Moses did, and why he failed so miserably in Exodus 5-6. We see a definite contrast in Exodus 7-10, when Moses simply declares God’s word and God moves powerfully.
(5:4-5) But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”
This harkens back to the “xenophobic paranoia”[58] of the older Egyptian Pharaohs (Ex. 1:10).
(5:6-9) That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
The same day that Yahweh put demands on Pharaoh, Pharaoh turned around and placed demands on Yahweh’s people. Backbreaking labor worked to quell any signs of rebellion in the past. So, why mess with success? Pharaoh orders them to increase their workload. Now, they need to not only make the bricks, but also their own materials. Additionally, the Pharaoh likely took this approach in order to lower morale among the Hebrews, and make them so exhausted that they wouldn’t have time to think about Moses’ claims.
“Let us go and sacrifice to our God.” Pharaoh can’t bring himself to say God’s name—though he knew it (v.2).
Evidence for Hebrew slaves making bricks
Hebrew slaves in Egypt (17th century BC). A papyrus containing the names of Egyptian servants was discovered in Thebes. Out of the 95 servants, 30 have Semitic names, and 9 have Hebrew names.[59] In fact, one of the names is “Shiphrah” (Ex. 1:15).
Hebrew slaves making bricks (1450 BC). On a tomb, we have a drawing of Semitic slaves making bricks “using mud and straw formed in a mold.”[60] All of this fits with the biblical descriptions of the Hebrew slave labor (Ex. 1:11; 2:11; 5:4-19).
Tomb of Rekhmire (15th c. BC). There is a picture of foreigners making bricks under Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479-1425).[61] Thutmose III is only one of two Pharaohs who could be the suspected anonymous Pharaoh of Exodus 1.[62] Kennedy writes, “Papyri such as Leningrad Papyrus 1116A from the 18th Dynasty, probably the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III prior to around 1450 BC, specifies that immigrant people were subjected to compulsory labor such as public building projects after the expulsion of the Hyksos under Pharaoh Ahmose I and subsequent rulers. This would be exactly the time of the enslavement of the Hebrews.”[63]
(5:10-12) Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’” 12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw.
The people couldn’t even find “straw,” only “stubble” (v.12).
(5:13-14) The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” 14 And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”
The Hebrew foremen were taking the beatings because the slaves couldn’t keep up with the work.
The Hebrew foremen seek help from… Pharaoh!
(5:15) Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way?”
The word “appealed” (ṣāʿaq) is the same word used earlier for how the people “cried” out to God (Ex. 2:23). Here, they cry out to Pharaoh, rather than to God. Bad idea!
(5:16) “Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
The Hebrew foremen blame Pharaoh’s slave drivers for this. However, “the treatment [was] intended to be unfair,” so “such a protest [was] bound to fail from the start.”[64]
(5:17-19) Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.” 19 The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.”
The Pharaoh is beating the Hebrews into submission, exhaustion, and demoralization. The Hebrew foremen realize that there’s no arguing with Pharaoh. So, they go to the man who brought all of these problems upon them in the first place: Moses.
The Hebrew foremen confront Moses and Aaron
To paraphrase, the people were saying, “Ever since you tried to lead, things have only gotten worse. Before you entered the scene, we had a normal workload. Now, we have double the workload. Clearly, you’re an awful leader!” When they began to suffer, they concluded that this must not be in God’s will. But, sometimes, the situation needs to get worse before it can get better. Indeed, God will take us through seasons of pain, suffering, and even failure. It might not feel like it, but this is directly in God’s will.
It hurts to have your own people turn on you. Scholar and pastor Ajith Fernando writes, “Sri Lanka has faced a lot of pain in the past twenty-five years. We’ve had a war in the north and east, a revolution in the south, a devastating tsunami, several floods and epidemics, and persecution of Christians doing evangelism. Sometimes my friends abroad mention how fortunate they are that they do not have to live with so much pain. Indeed they are fortunate, but if I am able, I tell them that my greatest pain over the past twenty-five years has not been from any of these tragedies that struck Sri Lanka. Indeed there has been fear, frustration, sorrow, and anxiety. But the greatest pain has been from relationships. It is the pain that comes from being committed to people. And Christians will face that wherever they live.”[65]
(5:20-21) When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
The Hebrew leaders turn on Moses for the terrible circumstances. Moses’ greatest fears are being realized. Earlier, he asked God, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” (Ex. 4:1). Is Moses having flashbacks to when the Hebrews rejected his leadership 40 years earlier? (Ex. 2:14) Cole writes, “All Moses’ forebodings about his own lack of success seem to be confirmed by events.”[66]
(5:22-23) Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”
Moses’ unbelief hasn’t changed. He added onto God’s message (Ex. 5:3). Then, once he experienced the first pushback, he turns on God. Yet, if you’re faithful to God, sometimes people won’t like you. But God hasn’t changed, God’s promises haven’t changed, and God’s predictions haven’t changed.
“You have not rescued your people at all.” It certainly felt that way! But was this true? It’s true that all of Moses’ ingenuity failed. It’s true that Moses’ insecurities and unbelief are getting in the way. But God’s promises and plans weren’t conditional on Moses!
Exodus 6
(6:1) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”
God doesn’t answer Moses’ complaints directly. Instead, he reminds Moses of what he already told him earlier: “I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion” (Ex. 3:19). Moses needed to be reminded of God’s words, and so do we (Phil. 3:1; 2 Tim. 1:6; 2 Pet. 1:12).
“Because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.” Once God is done with this wicked ruler, he will be begging to get rid of the people!
(6:2-4) God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners.
“I am the Lord.” This word of encouragement begins and ends with God’s statement, “I am the Lord.”
God made a promise with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He will certainly come through on his promise.
(Ex. 6:3) How can this be the first time God revealed his name “Yahweh,” when this name is used often before this time? First, some argue that the name Yahweh was in use, but the meaning was unknown.[67] God might be saying, “While you’ve heard my name (Yahweh), now you’re going to see why they call me Yahweh.” Second, some argue that the name was in use before Exodus 6, but the Jews learned of Yahweh in a relational sense. Third, some argue that Moses retrospectively wrote the name ‘Yahweh’ onto the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Fourth, some argue that this should be translated as a question—not a statement.[68]
(6:5) Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.
God will surely act, because he is the sort of being who hears the cries of his people (Ex. 2:24). The concept of “remembering” is an anthropomorphism: “Thus ‘to remember the covenant’ is to act in a way which can be seen by man to be a fulfilment of the promises of that covenant.”[69]
God gives Moses the words to reassure the Hebrews
(6:6-8) Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’
God tells Moses to tell all of these things to the people.
“I swore with uplifted hand.” This is a way to communicate a “formal promise.”[70]
(6:9) Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.
The people don’t have faith in any of this. They are still angry with Moses over the increased slave labor. These promises seemed too good to be true. There was so much pain that it hurt too much to hope for rescue.
(6:10-13) Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.” 12 But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” 13 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.
Moses kept wrestling with his own inabilities as a speaker and leader. After all, if Moses failed in speaking to the Israelites, how could he ever convince Pharaoh? But God didn’t abandon Moses, but instead, he kept working with him.
“Faltering lips” (ănı̂ ʿăral śĕpātāyim) literally means “My lips are uncircumcised.” Stuart writes, “Moses was not saying that he had a speech impediment (‘faltering lips’); he was rather saying (disingenuously) that he was ‘not ready for public speaking,’ using the metaphorical language of circumcision. Did Moses think that since God was willing to kill him for failing to circumcise his children and perhaps himself (see comments on 4:24-26) he would now be willing to dismiss him as a prophet for being unwilling to speak to speak to Pharaoh again—claiming lack of skill even if not lack of physical ability? This seems indeed likely. In other words, Moses was still desperate and desperately discouraged and pessimistic. He wanted out. God, however, knew better.”[71]
Genealogies of the clans
(6:14-25) These were the heads of their families: The sons of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben. 15 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon. 16 These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived 137 years. 17 The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei. 18 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. 19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of Levi according to their records. 20 Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. 21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri. 22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri. 23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans. 25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.”
Why does Moses interrupt this narrative with a genealogy? The purpose is to show that Moses gained his lineage from Israel (Jacob), and to focus on the founding fathers of each clan.[72]
(6:20) Moses’ father (Amram) married his cousin (Jochebed). So, Moses’ mother was also his aunt! This was forbidden by Jewish law (Lev. 18:12-13). Perhaps, Amram and Jochebed were not blood related, but were stepsiblings. Regardless, this is unlawful.
(6:25) Phineas is the grandson of Aaron, and he becomes zealous to follow God’s laws (Num. 25). He is so zealous, in fact, that he personal commits capital punishment for those that break God’s laws at Baal-Peor.
(6:26-29) It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.” 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron. 28 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
“Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions [or ‘hosts’].” God considered this slave population an army.
(Ex. 6:26-27) Why are these verses written in the third person, if Moses wrote them?
(6:30) But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
This is a repetition of what was already stated in verse 12. Stuart comments, “All that was required of Moses was that he should function as God’s spokesman. He was not required to be inventive or a clever organizer or a gifted persuader. He was simply required to pass on to Pharaoh king of Egypt what God told him to say—to fulfill the role of a prophet.”[73]
What did God teach Moses through failure?
Moses learned that God knew about these failures in advance. None of this surprised God. In fact, right from the beginning, God forewarned Moses of failure with Pharaoh (Ex. 4:21), and Moses learned to trust God—even when he couldn’t see the outcome (Ex. 5:22-23).
Moses learned how to follow God before he taught others how to follow God. God gave Moses an “integrity check” to prepare him for leadership. God taught Moses to follow him before Moses would teach others to follow God (Ex. 4:24-26).
Moses learned to follow God even when others turned against him. Through this experience, Moses learns not to be so dependent on the praise or approval of people. Moses didn’t quit when he faced rejection from Pharaoh (Ex. 5:2) and even his own people (Ex. 5:21; 6:9). Moses faced his worst fear: “What if no one believes me?” (Ex. 3:13; 4:1; 5:20-21).
Moses learned not to improve God’s words. He learned to say “everything” God told him (Ex. 6:29; 7:2, 6), rather than putting words in God’s mouth: “He will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword” (Ex. 5:3).
Moses learned to follow God—problems and all! Moses thought the problem was with his eloquence, persuasion, or righteousness (Ex. 6:12, 30). But honestly, how plausible was it for Moses to persuade Pharaoh with persuasive words? The point wasn’t Moses’ abilities, but God’s power. Moses had shortcomings and sins (Ex. 6:12, 30). God never denied this. Moses chose to follow God’s commission anyhow (Ex. 7:2, 6).
How does Moses’ example compare to the people of Israel?
The people cry out to Pharaoh, rather than to God (Ex. 5:15).
The people didn’t trust God because of their “discouragement” (Ex. 6:9).
Exodus 7
Earlier, Pharaoh snubbed God by asking, “Who is Yahweh?” (Ex. 5:2) God took this challenge on himself. He is going to show Pharaoh and everyone else exactly who he is. Of course, God could’ve just pulled the Israelites out of Egypt, but he goes through the Ten Plagues instead. Why?
God uses the plagues to demonstrate his reality and his power. The concept of “plagues” can also be understood as “signs”[74] or “blows”[75] against Egypt. At first, Pharaoh’s magicians can duplicate the plagues (Ex. 7:11, 22; 8:7). But at a certain point, even the magicians show their inability to do anything near what God could do (Ex. 8:18), admitting that this was none other than “the finger of God” (Ex. 8:19).
God uses the plagues to dispense justice on the Egyptians. Pharaoh ordered infanticide for the Hebrew boys by drowning them in the Nile River (Ex. 1:22), and the Egyptians had grown rich by enslaving, torturing, and killing the Israelites for 400 years (Gen. 15:13). God promised to curse those who cursed Israel (Gen. 12:3). If God did not act, he would have been unfaithful to his promise to Abraham.
God uses the plagues to reveals that the Egyptian gods were false. Each of the plagues was an affront to the Egyptian deities (e.g. Hapi, Geb, Hathor, Isis, Amon-Ra, etc.). On the night of the Passover, we read, “I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD!” (Ex. 12:12 NLT) Elsewhere we read, “The LORD had defeated the gods of Egypt that night with great acts of judgment!” (Num. 33:4 NLT) According to Scripture, false-gods and idols are actually demons (Deut. 32:16-17; 1 Cor. 10:20). So, by exposing the Egyptian gods as false, God was defeating the entire worldview in Egypt, supplanting it with a biblical worldview. For a robust explanation of this view, see our article, “Were the judgments of the 10 plagues arbitrary?”
God used the plagues to bring people to faith in him. The Israelites came to faith through this series of events (Ex. 10:2; 14:31; 2 Sam. 7:23). A large number of Egyptians came to follow God from what they saw. Some began by following God’s word (Ex. 9:19-21), and eventually, many joined the Israelites as they fled Egypt (Ex. 12:38, 48). Moreover, Jethro came to faith this way (Ex. 18:11), and Rahab stated that news of this event spread throughout the nations of the ancient Near East (Josh. 2:9-11).
God uses the plagues to show that we cannot negotiate with him. There is a God, and you are not him! Pharaoh thought of himself as a deity, but he slowly crumbles as he faces off with Yahweh. As he negotiates with Moses, he learns the hard way that he has nothing to bargain with. Meanwhile, God asks Pharaoh, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” (Ex. 10:3)
(Ex. 7:14) Why weren’t these 10 plagues recorded by the Egyptians? For one, this event occurred 3,500 years ago. Most events from that time period are not attested. Second, the Egyptians didn’t record their defeats in their history books. The Ten Plagues were a cataclysmic failure and public humiliation. There is no reason why the Egyptians would’ve recorded this. Third, some evidence exists for a record of the plagues (Ipuwer Papyrus, Papyrus Leiden 344 recto). However, this is hotly debated. Regardless, we don’t find this to be a good argument from silence.
(7:1-7) Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.” 6 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
(Ex. 4:21) How could God harden Pharaoh’s heart?
“Moses was eighty years old.” This fits with a 40-year trip in the wilderness and Moses dying at the age of 120 (Deut. 34:7). This also confirms Aaron’s age when he died at 123 (Num. 33:39).
Moses shows the signs to Pharaoh
(7:8-9) The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”
(7:10-13) So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
The use of a serpent was a way to show God’s power over Pharaoh. Livingston writes, “The cobra or ‘urae’ was a symbol of ruling power. The cobra motif is frequently found in Egyptian ‘art.’ On the forehead of pharaoh’s crown there was a cobra ready to strike. On the throne of King Tut is a coiled cobra ready to strike. So, to overcome the cobra symbol is to overcome the power of pharaoh.”[76]
(Ex. 7:11; 22; 8:7) How could the sorcerers perform supernatural signs, if they were not from God? Some commentators are reluctant to think that occult practitioners are capable of performing miracles of this caliber. However, Satan has the ability to affect the physical world. Consider Satan’s power in the book of Job. He had a supernatural power to bring a “fire… from heaven” to kill Job’s servants and sheep (Job 1:16); he could bring a “great wind” to kill Job’s children (Job 1:19); he could strike Job with “boils” (Job 2:7). Satan is also capable of empowering occult practitioners (Rev. 16:14; 2 Thess. 2:9; Mt. 24:24). Of course, God’s power is greater than the power of Satanic sorcery (Ex. 8:19; 1 Jn. 4:4).
Supernatural events do not imply that the source is good. We might see a spiritual event, but this doesn’t mean that this is good.
Plague #1. Nile turned to blood
The judgment of the Nile was a judgment against the god Hapi. Livingston writes, “This plague was against the god Hapi, spirit of the Nile in flood and ‘giver of life to all men.’ The annual inundation was called ‘the arrival of Hapi.’”[77] Livingston notes that the Egyptians would make sacrifices to the Nile when it would flood each year and provide irrigation.
(7:14-18) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”
(Ex. 7:14) Is there a feasible naturalistic explanation for the 10 plagues? Some commentators hold to a naturalistic explanation for the plagues. We reject this view on exegetical, rational, and scientific grounds.
“Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river.” This might be the time where Pharaoh was going to bathe in the Nile (cf. Ex. 2:5ff).
“Confront him on the bank of the Nile.” The Nile River was “Egypt’s greatest landmark and special source of life.”[78]
This was the river that had previously drowned the Hebrew infant boys (Ex. 1:16, 22). It’s no wonder that God chooses to turn it into blood.
(7:19) The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.”
Was this literal blood? The term “blood” (dām) can also be translated as the color “red.” Stuart rejects the naturalistic explanations for the Ten Plagues. Yet, regarding the water turning to blood, he writes, “‘Blood’ is a color in Hebrew as well as a substance, just as in English, and no firm data exist for the interpreter to differentiate in this story between the possibility that the Nile and other surface water turned to actual blood from the possibility that the waters turned—for whatever reason—’blood’ in color.”[79] The point is that God supernaturally polluted this water, turned it red, and killed the fish.
The word “vessels” isn’t in the text. It’s literally “wood and stone.” Therefore, this could refer to the idols of Egypt being soaked in blood. If so, this would be a vivid picture of God’s judgment over the gods of Egypt.
(7:20-21) Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
(7:22-23) But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.
“The Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts.” Why did the Egyptian magicians mimic Moses’ miracle? This would’ve only resulted in bringing more blood! Cole writes, “One would have thought to reverse the effect would have been more helpful.”[80]
“[Pharaoh] turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart” The “power” of the magicians comforted Pharaoh. He felt like he could still remain in control if his men could do the same supernatural acts as Moses. Consequently, he chose to ignore all of this and go back to his palace (v.23).
(7:24-25) And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river. 25 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.
“The Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water.” Cole comments, “Incidentally this shows that the water had not become literal blood (which could never be filtered), but some thick reddish fluid of a disgusting nature.”[81] Yet, the text doesn’t say that this was a water filter. It could be that these tiny reservoirs caught rainwater. After all, how would dirt serve as a filter to remove “red clay” or “red plankton,” as Cole himself believes?
“Seven days passed.” This shows that the plagues took place over a long period of time—perhaps several weeks or even a couple months.
Exodus 8
Plague #2. Frogs
The judgment of frogs was a judgment against the frog-headed god Hapi and the goddess Heqt.[82] She led an ancient fertility cult: “But she could not control the fertility of these frogs!”[83]
(8:1-4) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country. 3 The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. 4 The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”
Imagine the annoyance and also the horror of finding frogs throughout your house: Your bedroom, your kitchen, your bowls, and even your bed! These amphibians would’ve been slimy and noisy as well. Just imagine the cacophony of croaking as these frogs bellowed late into the night. These frogs “devastated” the people (Ps. 78:45).
The term “teem” (šrṣ) appears earlier to refer to the “teeming” of the Israelites in Egypt (Ex. 1:7). This might show how God is judging Egypt for punishing his people for being fruitful and multiplying.
(8:5-7) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land. 7 But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
Why would the Egyptian magicians create more frogs? They can only mimic Moses’ miracle, but they can do nothing to solve the problem. Again, Cole comments, “One wonders if this is not told with a touch of conscious humour, for it only increases the problem.”[84]
(8:8) Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
(8:9) Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”
God could remove the plague whenever he desired. Surely this shows supernatural means—not a series of naturalistic causes.
(8:10-11) “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.
Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”
(8:12-15) After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. 14 They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
Perhaps this was a public prayer, and this testified that Moses was God’s man.
“When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron.” Pharaoh’s repentance was insincere. He only hated the consequences, rather than having a change of heart to trust God.
Plague #3. Mosquitoes
The judgment of mosquitoes was a judgment against the god Geb, who was a god of the earth. This god wasn’t a part of the pantheon in Egypt, but it was a deity. Since he was the god of the land, it was a form of judgment to see Moses bringing mosquitoes out of the land itself.
(8:16-17) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.” 17 They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats.
The term “gnats” (kinnı̂m) refers to “virtually any two-winged biting insects, including mosquitoes.”[85] Cole[86] states that “mosquitoes” is the best translation of the word “gnats.”
The failure of the magicians
(8:18-19) But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, 19 the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.
This demonstrates that God is more powerful than the elite Egyptian magicians. Moreover, it shows that the magicians could see that Yahweh is real. Even Pharaoh’s magicians couldn’t convince him that Yahweh is real.
“The finger of God” appears later in Exodus to refer to God writing the Ten Commandments (Ex. 31:18).
Plague #4. Flies
The judgment of flies was a judgment against the scarab-headed god Khephera. He was “regarded as a manifestation of Atum or Ra. It was supposed to be god of the resurrection, perhaps because the dung ball it rolled around, and in which it laid its egg, produced a ‘new creation.’ Priests wore scarabs as charms.”[87]
(8:20-21) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 21 If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.
The first plague began on the bank of the Nile River in the early morning (Ex. 7:15). When Pharaoh saw Moses and Aaron approaching him, this might have caused him to have a flashback to the initial plague.
The flies would’ve had plenty to feed on in this setting, and they would be so numerous that people couldn’t even walk with stepping on them (“even the ground will be covered with them”).
(8:22) “‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. 23 I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’”
This is the first mention of a distinction among the plagues. Later, God makes a distinction with the killing of the livestock (Ex. 9:4-6), the massive hailstorm (Ex. 9:25-26), the darkness (Ex. 10:23), and the death of the firstborn (Ex. 11-12).
(8:24) And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.
The royalty didn’t own screens or windows. If they put cloths over their open windows, this would’ve made their homes swelteringly hot. Moses doesn’t record how long this plague lasts, but it is long enough to see Pharaoh break down a little bit.
(8:25-27) Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.” 26 But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us.”
“Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.” Pharaoh is bargaining at this point. He wants to keep the slave population under control and “in the land.”
(Ex. 8:27) Why does God tell Moses that it would only be a three day trip, if he planned on rescuing them permanently from the Egyptians? One view holds that God may have given an easier request at first to demonstrate how unreasonable the Pharaoh was in relieving the Hebrew slaves. God, in his foreknowledge, knew that Pharaoh wouldn’t release the Jews no matter what (see v.19). This may have revealed to the people just how cruel Pharaoh was.[88] Stuart holds a more plausible, however. He argues that a “three-day journey” was an idiom for a major trip. Thus, this was a way of asking to leave Egypt. He explains that a modern equivalent might be, “Would you give me the remote control?” or “Can I have the keys to the car tonight?”[89]
(8:28-29) Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.” 29 Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
“You must not go very far.” Pharaoh is still trying to remain in control. It would be quite difficult for a dictator to relinquish control to a group of slaves.
“Now pray for me.” This implies that the flies had personally harmed Pharaoh, and he wanted relief.
“Let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully again.” Moses is skeptical.
(8:30-32) Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, 31 and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. 32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.
Exodus 9
Plague #5. Livestock
The judgment of livestock was a judgment against the love-goddess Hathor. Her name meant “House of Horus,” and she was worshipped by Pharaoh.[90]
(9:1-3) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” 2 If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, 3 the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats.”
(9:4) “But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.”
God continues to make a distinction between the Egyptians and his own people. When the Egyptians lost their livestock, this resulted in a “nationwide humiliation.”[91]
(9:5-6) The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.”
“All the livestock of the Egyptians died.” This is hyperbolic language because later we discover that livestock still existed (Ex. 9:19-21; 12:29).
(9:7) Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.
Pharaoh was so bothered by this that he ran an investigation to see if the land of Goshen was untouched. Yet even though he discovered more evidence that God was with the Hebrews, this didn’t change his mind. One wonders why he led an investigation at all.
Plague #6. Boils
The judgment of the boils was a judgment against Isis, the goddess of medicine and peace. She was one of the oldest goddesses in Egypt, and the people would’ve prayed to Isis for healing. Yet, no healing came from Isis.
(9:8-9) Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. 9 It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on people and animals throughout the land.”
The brick kiln was a symbol of Hebrew slavery and subjugation. They used these furnaces to make bricks for the Egyptians. Now these same furnaces brought judgment on the Egyptian people.
(9:10-11) So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. 11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians.
“The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them.” Not only were the magicians unable to reproduce this plague, but they were suffering just as much as anyone else. It’s entirely possible that these magicians didn’t want to stand in front of Moses out of shame and embarrassment. Stuart comments, “If the physicians could not heal themselves (i.e., the magicians could not make themselves well from the boils) then the power of God over the powers resorted to by Pharaoh was obvious.”[92]
This is the first time God actively strengthens Pharaoh’s heart
(9:12) But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.
Plague #7. Hailstorm
The judgment of the hail was a judgment against the goddess Nut. This sky-goddess was “the mother of the sun-god Ra, whom she swallowed in the evening and gave birth to again in the morning.” Moreover, “she was especially culpable in this plague in that she was supposed to protect the land from destructions which came down from heaven.”[93]
(9:13-16) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, 14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
“I have allowed you to remain” (NASB) shows “God’s patience and forbearance.”[94]
(9:17-19) “You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. 19 Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’”
(9:20) Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21 But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.
This shows great mercy for anyone who would follow God’s instructions. This also explains why so many Egyptians followed God out of Egypt (Ex. 12:38). They were able to follow God’s words, and they saw him come through for them.
(9:22-26) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” 23 When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; 24 hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. 25 Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. 26 The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.
Hailstorms can be incredibly dangerous. Stuart writes, “A storm in China’s Henan province killed twenty-two people and injured two hundred on July 22, 2002. In modern times hailstones as large as one kilogram have been measured. Hail falls at more than fifty meters per second, and hailstorms can devastate entire crop fields in just minutes.”[95] Yet, God spared Israel (v.26).
(9:27-28) Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”
Pharaoh was willing to admit fault because of how he was being affected (“we have had enough thunder and hail”). And he had already asked for prayer (Ex. 8:28). Moses doesn’t believe that this is real repentance (v.30).
(9:29-30) Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30 But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.”
Moses knew that this was a pseudo-repentance.
(9:31-32) (The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. 32 The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)
Moses knew the time of the flax and barley harvest, as well as the time of the wheat harvest. Stuart writes, “In Egypt flax and barley were harvested in February-March, a fact that provides a clear time-of-year date for this part of the story at least. Wheat and spelt, however, were harvested in March-April, a full month later, that is, at the time of the tenth plague and exodus itself; they were too small at this time to be permanently damaged by the hailstorm. Though the wheat and spelt shoots were up and growing, and surely were smashed down by the hail, they were able to recover and continue to grow fairly normally.”[96]
(9:33-35) Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.
Exodus 10
Plague #8. Locusts
The judgment of the locusts was a judgment against the locust-headed god Senehem or the god of storms named Seth.[97]
(10:1-2) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them 2 that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”
(10:3-6) So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 4 If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. 5 They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields. 6 They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
(10:7) Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”
Pharaoh’s own people try to persuade him to turn to God. They thought that Egypt was already “ruined” because this was so publicly humiliating to their entire culture, belief-system, and way of life.
(10:8) Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”
“Go… But tell me who will be going.” Again, Pharaoh tries to remain in control.
(10:9) Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord.”
(10:10-11) Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. 11 No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.
By holding the women and children hostage, Pharaoh could ensure that the Israelite men would return.
(10:12) And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”
(10:13-15) So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; 14 they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. 15 They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
(10:16-17) Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”
The focus is on the removal of the “deadly plague.” Again, Pharaoh is reacting to the consequences of his sin—not truly turning to God.
(10:18-20) Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 19 And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
Plague #9. Darkness
The judgment of the darkness was a judgment against the sun-god Amon-Ra. Livingston writes, “The sun-god Amon-Ra was the principle deity of the pantheon. He made all growth possible. Pharaoh called himself ‘son of the sun.’”[98]
(10:21-23) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
“All the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.” We continue to see a distinction between the judgment over the Egyptians and the Israelites. Imagine what it would feel like to be an Egyptian looking out over the desert. Everything is pitch black, but in the distance, you see that the land of Goshen has plenty of light. This would be a visual demonstration that God was with the Israelites.
(10:24) Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”
“Leave your flocks and herds behind.” Pharaoh continues to try and control the people! He cannot release control.
(10:25-26) But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.”
(10:27-28) But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.”
(10:29) “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.”
Pharaoh seems to give a command to Moses later (Ex. 11:10; 12:30-31). However, this could’ve been sent via a messenger.
What do we learn about spiritual reality?
There is only one God. Man-made gods are not only useless, but harmful. No one should entrust their life, let alone their eternity to a make-believe god.
What do we learn from Pharaoh?
As we read the narrative, Pharaoh continues to try to control Moses and God. It takes nine plagues before he stops negotiating and simply lets them leave. God broke down Pharaoh to the point where he is begging Moses to leave. Notice the progression below:
(Ex. 7:23) [Pharaoh] turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.
(Ex. 8:8) Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.
(Ex. 8:15) When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron.
(Ex. 8:19) The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.
(Ex. 8:25) Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.”
(Ex. 8:28) Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”
(Ex. 8:32) Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.
(Ex. 9:7) Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.
(Ex. 9:27-28) Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”
(Ex. 9:34) When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.
(Ex. 10:8) Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”
(Ex. 10:11) No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.
(10:16-17) Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”
(10:24) Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”
What was Pharaoh’s problem? Humility! This is why God asked, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” (Ex. 10:3)
What do we learn about God?
God is just, and he will eventually bring justice. If God simply forgave the Egyptians (in the modern sense of the word “forgave”), what would that say about God’s character? It would directly imply that he was fine with slavery, with infanticide, and with racism. If you don’t believe in Jesus, what did it cost God to forgive you? Nothing. If you do believe in Jesus, what did it cost God to forgive you? Everything! The death of his own Son!
Exodus 11 (Prologue to the Passover)
(11:1) Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.”
“The Lord had said to Moses.” This can be taken as a pluperfect, which would mean that God had already communicated all of this to Moses.[99] This implies that this material is not being presented in chronological order.
The nine plagues didn’t work, so God is ready to send one more: The death of the firstborn in Egypt. This plague is so powerful in its effect that Pharaoh actually begs the people to leave!
(11:2-3) “Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” 3 (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)
“Ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” The Hebrews weren’t stealing. They were “asking” for payment. Indeed, as former slaves, they surely deserved a lot more money than this, and these were back wages.
“The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.” That would explain why Pharaoh didn’t kill Moses or the Hebrews—namely, God was causing the Egyptians to be “favorably disposed” to the Israelites (cf. Ex. 8:19; 9:20; 10:7). Moreover, this was a theological contest (Ex. 12:12). Pharaoh and Moses were seeing whose “gods” were more powerful. If Pharaoh killed Moses, this would show that he was insecure about the power of the Egyptian pantheon. In a sense, it would be admitting defeat.
(11:4-5) So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5 Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.”
All of the firstborn would die. This included everyone: The firstborn of Pharaoh, of slaves, and even the animals. This judgment harkens back to the treatment of the Israelites. God had said, “Israel is my firstborn son” (Ex. 4:22).
“Midnight.” People in the ancient world went to sleep at dusk and woke up at dawn. At “midnight,” they were fast asleep. By taking their lives in their sleep, this was “an act of grace.”[100]
(11:6) There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.
“Loud wailing” (ṣĕʿāqāh) was due to the death of the firstborn (Ex. 12:30). This mirrors the “cry” (ṣĕʿāqāh) of anguish from the Israelites under their slavery, which went unanswered by Pharaoh (Ex. 5:15) but was decisively answered by Yahweh (Ex. 2:23).
(11:7) But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
This plague will clearly distinguish that God is for the Hebrews but against the Egyptians.
(11:8-10) All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh. 9 The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.
“Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt.” God had predicted all of this. He set up this plan in order to bring a greater result (“wonders may be multiplied”).
Exodus 12 (The Passover lamb)
(Ex. 12:1-22) Does the Passover foreshadow the work of Christ?
(Ex. 12:29) Why would God slay the firstborn of the Egyptians?
(Ex. 12:37) Were there really two million Jews in the Exodus?
(12:1-2) The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.
This is the month of Abib (‘ābîb), but later renamed Nisan from the Babylonians (Neh. 2:1).[101] The Passover would change the calendar for the Israelites. Stuart comments, “God was teaching them to link even their measuring of time to his calling on their lives… God decreed to his Old Covenant people that they would henceforth have a calendar designed to remind them of how they first became a people.”[102]
(12:3) Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.
“Tenth day.” The Egyptian week was ten days long. Perhaps this is why Moses mentions ten days. Later, God institutes a seven-day week (Ex. 12:15).
(12:4) If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.
Since nothing could be leftover (Ex. 12:10), the families would share the food, rather than gorge themselves.
(12:5) The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
After making bricks for so long, the people had probably neglected their shepherding duties. This would’ve been difficult to bring a lamb to sacrifice like this. But God was very specific: The people couldn’t bring their defective one-eyed and three-legged lamb to sacrifice. It needed to be their very best.
(12:6-7) Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.
The average person was supposed to perform this blood sacrifice. This points to the antiquity of this account because a later author would surely have invented a more elaborate ritual than this. Cole comments, “It is clear that this festival arose before the establishment of ‘professional’ priesthood in Israel.”[103]
They smeared the blood on the doorposts before they ate the meal. This could be a case of “first things first.”[104]
(12:8) That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.
The fact that they needed to “eat” the lamb meant that it needed to be internalized—not merely assenting to a proposition.
(12:9) Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs.
The innocent lamb needed to be roasted with fire. This could prefigure how Jesus took the wrath of God (Heb. 12:29). Moreover, the lamb needed to be ingested which shows that each person needed to receive the offering.
Did they eat the intestines? This raises difficulties to think that the Israelites ate the lamb with the fecal matter still inside its intestines. Stuart writes, “The inclusion of ‘inner parts’ in the roasting does not mean the goat kid or lamb was roasted whole—but merely that it was gutted very simply and then roasted rapidly, as opposed to the usual full butchering and separation of the various organ meats for consumption in various ways and at various times.”[105]
(12:10) Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.
Cole is probably right that this was “to discourage magical practices.”[106]
(12:11) This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.
This was a “dine and dash.” They were supposed to eat this and prepare to run for their lives.
(12:12) “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.”
As we’ve already argued, the plagues served to reveal the façade of Egyptian worship. Cole comments, “This may refer to the way in which the plagues affected the Nile and the various animal symbols of the gods of the Egyptians, or it may refer to the defeat of the spiritual powers that stand behind these symbols. No doubt the Egyptians used to pray to their gods for the safety of their first-born.”[107]
(12:13) “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”
“When I see the blood.” The only thing keeping the people from God’s judgment was the “blood.”
(12:14-15) “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.”
The “leaven” could symbolize sin (Mt. 16:6; 1 Cor. 5:6-8).
(12:16-17) On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do. 17 Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
“Your divisions.” God refers to the Israelites as warriors—not as weaklings (Ex. 6:26; 7:4; 12:17).
(12:18-19) In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel.”
The inclusion of the “foreigner” implies that the Egyptians could’ve practiced this to avoid God’s judgment as well.
(12:20) “Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”
The people were spared from God’s judgment before he addressed their “leaven” (or “sin”) issue.
(12:21-23) Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.”
The “destroyer” is an angel sent from God to bring about judgment (2 Sam. 24:16; Isa 37:36).
(12:24-26) “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’”
Some critical theologians hold that this passage shows that this is all an etiology (i.e. a story to explain why Jews celebrate the Passover). However, we agree with Cole who writes, “It does not need a very deep knowledge of child psychology to recognize that, given any such symbolic ritual, children’s questions are inevitable.”[108] Moreover, regarding other aspects of commemoration, Stuart comments, “The full seven-day festival was not celebrated by the Israelites on the occasion of the first exodus as they actually fled from Egypt. They had experienced the exodus personally. It was clearly for generations to come, who had not been there to know God’s salvation directly.”[109]
(12:27-28) “Then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.
The reason the Israelites needed to remember this was (1) to remind their offspring that God is a rescuer and (2) to prepare the people for what Jesus would do as the sinless Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29).
“Then the people bowed down and worshiped.” This is the proper response to what God did for them at Passover.
(12:29-30) At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
“Loud wailing” (ṣĕʿāqāh) harkens back to the “cry” (ṣĕʿāqāh) of anguish from the Israelites under their slavery (Ex. 2:23).
All it would take is one parent to see their firstborn dead in order to wake all of the families in Egypt.
Pharaoh refused to listen to Moses. God was speaking to Pharaoh over and over, but Pharaoh wouldn’t respond. He waited too late.
(12:31-32) During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.”
“Summon.” This doesn’t necessarily contradict Exodus 10:29. The term can mean to “proclaim, send word to or inform by messenger.”[110]
“As you have requested.” Pharaoh has finally dropped all of his dictatorial control and conditions. He surrenders to God’s requests.
“And also bless me.” This is very far from the sarcastic question, “Who is Yahweh?” (Ex. 5:2) This harkens back to the account of Joseph blessing the unnamed Pharaoh of his day. Stuart writes, “In Moses’ carefully crafted narrative, the last time an Israelite blessed a pharaoh was when Jacob blessed the pharaoh whom Joseph served as prime minister (Gen 47:7, 10)… Now this pharaoh showed by his request that he had made the spiritual-psychological shift (however temporary it may in fact have been) to the same sort of position of respect and appreciation for the Israelites as that embodied in their leader.”[111]
(12:33-36) The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!” 34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. 35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.
This fulfills God’s prediction that the Israelites would “plunder” the Egyptians (Ex. 3:22). God had predicted this all along. Once again, God uses military language to describe his people “plundering” the Egyptians.
(12:37) The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.
“Sukkoth” was east of Rameses, but we aren’t sure exactly where it was located.
(12:38-39) Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.
“Many other people.” Stuart writes, “These people had observed the miraculous work of Yahweh, Israel’s God, and had become convinced that conversion to him and life among his people would represent their best hope for the future.”[112]
(12:40-41) Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt.
God gave Abraham a round number of 400 years (Gen. 15:13). Moses might’ve added this to demonstrate just how assimilated the Jewish people had become in Egypt. They were embarking on a new adventure by leaving everything that they knew so far.
“To the very day” refers to the Passover—not to the 430 years.[113]
(12:42-45) Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come. 43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal: “No foreigner may eat it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him, 45 but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it.”
“No foreigner may eat it.” This doesn’t refer to racial discrimination, but to religious discrimination. They needed to perform circumcision first (Ex. 12:48), and join the community of faith. Similar to Moses (Ex. 4:24ff). Stuart writes, “This does not constitute racial or ethnic discrimination. It represents proper religious discrimination. The improper kind hates and hurts simply because someone is of another religion. The proper kind recognizes that those who refuse to join by faith and practice the united community of believers set apart from all others precisely by faith and practice have no more right to claim membership in that community than a person without a driver’s license has the right to operate an automobile on public roads.”[114] This doesn’t refer to social class, either (v.44).
(12:46-51) “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it. 48 A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it. 49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you. 50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.”
As a consequence of the Passover and the final plague, Pharaoh told the Jews to get out (Ex. 12:31). The people took the wealth of Egypt on their way out. God uses this gold to build the Tabernacle, and the people also used it to build their Golden Calf (Ex. 32).
What do we learn?
It was an act of faith to eat the Passover. How could the blood of a little lamb protect our family from God’s judgment?
Exodus 13 (The parting of the Red Sea)
At this point, the Israelites are finally free. We should expect smooth sailing from this point, right?
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
(13:1-2) The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”
“Consecrate” (qādaš) can be rendered “dedicate”[115] or “belonging to God.”[116]
“The first offspring… belongs to me.” Because God spared them from the angel of judgment, God owns them. God’s “desire was that the Israelites recognize his right to ownership of the first and best, in whatever came to them.”[117]
(13:3-10) Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. 4 Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving. 5 When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ceremony in this month: 6 For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord. 7 Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. 8 On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. 10 You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.
“When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.” God had promised to give the land of these nations to the Israelites (Gen. 12:7; 15:16, 18; 17:21; 28:13).
“Nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders.” This sounds like hyperbole—only extending to the living quarters of the people. Earlier we read, “Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread” (Ex. 12:20 NIV).
(13:11-13) “After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, 12 you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.”
God claims the rights to the firstborn in Israel (human and animal) because he rescued their firstborn from the plague (v.12). If they didn’t present the firstborn to God, they needed to buy it back (v.13). All believers in Jesus were “bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23). Thus, Stuart holds that the “ultimate purpose of this instruction was to prepare the Israelites for the death of Christ on their behalf.”[118]
(13:14-16) In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.
Children are always asking questions. God anticipates this, and he gives answers to the parents to give to the children.
(13:17-18) When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
“Through the Philistine country.” This could also be rendered “by the Philistia road” or “by the road that leads to Philistia.”[119] This was on the northeast border of Egypt (Gen. 26:1-2). This, of course, doesn’t refer to a full-blown nation of Philistines. Rather, this is the nascent Philistine clan that later burgeoned into a nation.
Why did God lead them “in a roundabout way” (NLT) through the wilderness? He could have led them straight to Canaan, but he led them through the Red Sea. God could have destroyed the Philistines. But, at this point, the Philistines hadn’t done anything to the Israelites. So, God took them in a circuitous route instead. The reasons for this will become clear as we read the text.
“If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” The Israelites would’ve returned to Egypt (Num. 14:3, 14). Change is scary. The people had only known Egypt for 430 years. So, God chose a solution to keep the people from returning to Egypt.
(Ex. 13:18) Did the Jews cross the “Red Sea” or the “Reed Sea”?
(13:19) Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”
Joseph was “embalmed” in Egypt (Gen. 50:26). So, his bones were well-preserved over the last several hundred years. Moreover, Genesis records, “Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, ‘God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here’” (Gen. 50:25). The author of Hebrews writes, “By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones” (Heb. 11:22).
(13:20-22) After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
We are unsure about the precise location of Sukkoth or Etham. However, the text states that Etham was “on the edge of the desert.”
“The Lord went ahead of them… in a pillar of fire.” God often appeared as a theophany of fire (Gen. 15:17; Ex. 3:2; 19:18; Deut. 4:24; 5:24; 9:3). This was a GPS that directed them.
God led them straight into a trap! Now, their backs are to the sea. None of them can swim because they all grew up as slaves in the desert. God was clearly and actively leading them. But where…?
Exodus 14
(14:1-2) Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.”
This erratic movement was a “radical reversal of direction” and would look like an “indication of confusion.”[120] This was a “a divine ruse to trap Pharaoh one last time.”[121]
God led them straight into a trap! Now, their backs are to the sea. None of them can swim because they all grew up as slaves in the desert. What is God thinking?
God had a plan the entire time (Prov. 14:12). He wanted Pharaoh to think that the Hebrews were trapped. This was too much for Pharaoh to resist: the Hebrews were boxed in and trapped.
(14:3-4) Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.
The Egyptian deities were capricious and finite. They would lead people one way, and then another, at a whim. It’s no wonder that Pharaoh would think that Yahweh would lead his people like this.[122]
(14:5-8) When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.
Pharaoh mysteriously changed his mind about letting the Hebrews go. He hears that they are trapped by the Red Sea. So, he formed a massive army to hunt them down and recapture his lost “property.”
(14:9-12) The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. 10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
“They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.” Pharaoh’s army catches up with them, and the people panic. It’s one thing to have God’s promises; quite another to see the armies bearing down on you.
“Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?” The Hebrews argue that there were enough graves in Egypt to bury them. Incidentally, three quarters of the land of Egypt was devoted to graves, because the Egyptians were obsessed with the dead. This was “a bitter irony, in view of the abnormal preoccupation of the Egyptians with tombs.”[123] Kaiser writes, “Egypt specialized in graves and had about three-fourths of its land area available for grave sites.”[124]
(14:13-14) Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
We see a different character in Moses here. Instead of the hasty and anxious man, we see a man of faith.
(14:15) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”
Stuart[125] understands this to mean that Moses was speaking on behalf of the people to God. Thus, the first question is a rebuke to the Israelites.
(14:16) “Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.”
God hadn’t revealed his plan to Moses until this time.
(14:17-18) I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
What about this event glorified God?
(14:19-20) Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
This would’ve been a pretty good time for the Egyptian soldiers to flee. When a supernatural cloud of fire separates you from your enemy, you should really have second thoughts about pursuing them any further.
(Ex. 14:21-29) How could two million people cross the Red Sea in such a short time?
(14:21) Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land.
The sea didn’t open up in 30 seconds or a minute, as it does in the cinematic presentations of this event (Charlton Heston’s, The Ten Commandments). Moses raised his staff and a wind blew all night long to bring the sea back.
(14:22) The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
At the same time, walls of water supernaturally stood on both sides of them. We are disappointed to see that Cole[126] holds that this is a “metaphor” in the same sense as Ezra 9:9.
(14:23) The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.
The Egyptians could’ve turned back at this point, but they had already come this far. They followed orders and charged into the dry sea.
(14:24-25) During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
It takes the Egyptians this long to realize that Yahweh was fighting for the Israelites.
“He jammed the wheels of their chariots.” Stuart writes, “The binding of chariot wheels would seem most naturally to refer to bogging down—most likely because the sea floor was soft and sandy/silty so that even though it was dry, it was not a suitable surface for narrow, metal-bound chariot wheels bearing the weight of a chariot and two or three armed men.”[127]
(14:26-30) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. 29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.
God told Moses to use his staff to motion over the water. The waters came like a massive flood, killing the Egyptians. Presumably, this occurred at “daybreak” so the people could see God’s judgment.
“Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.” Ancient people weren’t trained in how to swim.[128]
(14:31) And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
God brought judgment on the Egyptians, and he used this event to build the faith of his people.
What was God doing through his plan that the people couldn’t see?
God was using this plan to guard the Israelites. They had the sea at their backs, mountains on both sides, and the giant fire of God between them and the Egyptians. Yet, at their very safest moment, the people were panicking the most.
God was using this plan to judge the Egyptians. The people were partially right: God did lead them into a trap. However, the trap wasn’t for the Israelites; it was for the Egyptians. If the people hadn’t followed God, Pharaoh would’ve chased the Israelites for centuries. But since they went through with God’s plan, God protected them.
God was using this plan to prevent the people from ever returning to Egypt. The Israelites would’ve returned to Egypt if they had the choice (Num. 14:3). Living by faith in the desert was scary, and the people were tempted to return “home” to Egypt. By working this plan, God prevented this from happening.
God was using this plan to bring the people to faith (Ex. 14:31). God knew that the people wouldn’t be able to defeat the Egyptian army based on their own power, intellect, or effort. He had a plan to deal with the Egyptians. Of course, the Egyptians thought they had the upper hand because of their great chariots, but this turned out to be their greatest weakness because these were stuck in the sand. Moreover, the Egyptians thought they could catch the Israelites, but because they couldn’t swim, this turned out to be a perfect instrument of judgment. God foresaw all of this.
What do we learn about biblical faith?
We are trusting someone who is trustworthy. God had already performed many miracles, and he was hovering over their heads in a cloud and pillar of fire. Clearly, God earned their trust.
God doesn’t reveal all of the details of his plan to us. God deliberately led the Israelites into trap. They had their backs against the Red Sea. They had no ships, and they didn’t know how to swim. After all, they had been living for 400 years in the desert! From their finite vantage point, the people couldn’t see God’s plan. And God didn’t feel the need to reveal his plan—not even to Moses. God never told the people his plan until it was already in motion. Indeed, not even Moses knew what was going to happen. Would God provide boats? Would he airlift the people? Moses didn’t have a clue.
The same is true for us today. We are too fallen and finite to know God’s plan. With Paul, we can say that we are “perplexed, but not despairing” (2 Cor. 4:8). However, we need to trust that God has reserves of power and a plan that we can’t comprehend. We can trust that God will use our lives for the good in the end, even if we don’t know how he’s going to do this (Rom. 8:28).
Fear is the great faith-killer. During times of panic, we need to stand our ground, and not become a runner. Wait long enough to see God’s plan come to fruition.
Miracles can lead to faith, but they are quickly forgotten. God brought the people to faith through this event (Ex. 14:31). We might think that if we saw these miracles that we’d never have doubts ever again. Not true! These people quickly forgot about the Ten Plagues, and they will later forget about these miracles as well. Before we become too self-righteous, we should remember that the believer in Jesus can often minimize the Cross of Christ as well.
Exodus 15 (Song of Moses)
Since this section is a lyrical song, read “Understanding Hebrew Poetry” for more insight into reading this type of literature.
(15:1) Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.
The Hebrew here is literally “gloriously glorious.”[129]
(15:2-3) The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.
God is a mighty warrior who went to battle for the Hebrews.
(15:4-6) Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone. 6 Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy.
God revealed his character through his justice on Egypt.
(15:7-8) In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble. 8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood up like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
After all of the turmoil, wouldn’t it be tempting for Moses to take credit for this rescue? Yet, Moses gives all the glory to God, and he doesn’t take the credit for this rescue mission. Moses doesn’t believe that it was the “magical power” of his dead staff or his military genius that got them through the Red Sea.
The waves became hard like concrete.
(15:9-10) The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’ 10 But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
God judged the Egyptians for their pride and evil intention.
(15:11-13) Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? 12 “You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies. 13 In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
God is utterly unique—especially in his love for his people.
(15:14-16) The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. 15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; 16 terror and dread will fall on them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone—until your people pass by, Lord, until the people you bought pass by.
We discover that Moses’ words were true. Rahab told the spies that the people of Canaan had heard all about this (Josh. 2:10-11).
(15:17-18) You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance—the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established. 18 The Lord reigns for ever and ever.
God will eventually place them in his land.
(15:19-21) When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. 20 Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. 21 Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.”
Miriam began to sing at this point.
(15:22-24) Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
Moses led them for three days in the desert. Immediately, even after these incredible miracles, the people began to grumble and complain.
(15:25) Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.
God instructed Moses to cure the water with a tree branch. Kaiser comments, “Ferdinand de Lessups, builder of the Suez Canal, was told by Arab chiefs that they put a thorn bush into some types of water to make it palatable. Others have suggested that certain aromatic plants were used to disguise the bad taste of the water, but the text is clear that God gave Moses special instructions in response to the despair of the people.”[130] In other words, this is a miracle—just like when Moses used his staff to hit the rock. One piece of wood would not make potable water for a countless number of people.
Grumbled (Exodus 15:24; 16:2, 7-12; 17:3)
(15:26) He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”
The people were to focus on trusting God and following his plan. God promised to take care of everything else.
(15:27) Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.
This speaks of eyewitness detail.
Exodus 16 (Manna)
(16:1-2) The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
This is only one month after leaving Egypt (Ex. 12:6, 31), and they already started to complain. It doesn’t take long for people to forget the blessings and love of God.
(16:3) The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
They looked back on Egypt with longing. They started talking about the “pots of meat and all you could eat!” Later, they say, “We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic” (Num. 11:5). They had been under the slavery of Egypt for 400 years, but only 30 days in the desert brought about this ungrateful response. This isn’t the final time they will say that they wanted to die in Egypt (Num. 11:18; 14:2; 20:3; Josh. 7:7).
(16:4-5) Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
God was gracious with their grumbling. Yet he gave out free food with a test. They needed to gather the food for six days, but leave the food on the seventh day. To agricultural and agrarian people, this would be very difficult because they would be used to storing up food for out of season times.[131]
(16:6-8) So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”
The people were truly complaining against God himself. When we grumble and complain, do we see that this is really directed at God?
(16:9-15) Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” 10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. 11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’” 13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.”
“Quail.” The quail are only mentioned here. This was a one-time provision from God, but the manna was an ongoing provision.
“Manna.” The people asked, “What is it?” (mān hûʾ) and Moses responded, “Manna [What is it?]” (mān) This reminds us of the old “Who’s on First?” sketch.
(16:16-19) “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’” 17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed. 19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
“Omer.” This was roughly two quarts (or half a gallon).[132]
The test involved how much they felt they needed to hoard. Whether they gathered a lot or a little, they couldn’t keep it overnight. Paul cites from this passage as a principle for gathering money: in a short time, our money will spoil. We shouldn’t gather more than we need. Paul appeals to this principle for financial giving (2 Cor. 8:14-15).
(16:20-21) However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. 21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
The people didn’t listen, and maggots filled their stash of manna. It decomposed overnight. Moses’ anger issues seem to be showing here.
“Each morning” shows that the people needed to be disciplined to feed themselves, getting up early to gather the food.
(16:22) On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.
(Ex. 16:22) Why does the Sabbath come up at this point in the Exodus? The Egyptians used a ten-day week. The Jews probably were not familiar with a seven-day week. Therefore, once God pulled them out of Egypt, he was trying to reprogram them to his view of the world. In other words, God was saying, “Let me put you into the world that I created.”
(16:23-26) He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’” 24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.
On the sixth day, the people gathered four quarts, instead of two. The point was that the people shouldn’t work to gather the manna on the “Sabbath.” The manna supernaturally preserved overnight on the sixth day and into the seventh. This is the first example of the Sabbath rest in the Bible (if you don’t count God’s day of rest in creation).[133]
(16:27) Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.
Despite Moses’ command, the people still tried to go out and gather the manna on the Sabbath—though none existed.
(16:28-30) Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
The people would rather work and toil than enjoy God’s gift of rest. In fact, the people viewed the Sabbath as a restriction. They had unbelief in the fact that God would provide for them, and also sustain their manna on Saturday. God, however, viewed the Sabbath as a gift.
(16:31) The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
“Coriander seed.” Kaiser writes, “Coriander seed is a small lobular grain that is white or yellowish gray and is used for seasoning (cf. our use today of caraway and sesame seeds). Numbers 11:7 adds that it ‘looked like resin’ and, according to the older versions, that it had the color of ‘bdellium’ (KJV; = pearl?). Its taste was like wafers made of honey or ‘something made with olive oil’ (Num 11:8); and it could be ground in a mill, crushed in a mortar, cooked in a pot, or made into cakes (Num 11:8).”[134]
“Honey.” This was the sweetest food at the time. It would be “the most delicious food imaginable.”[135]
(16:32-33) Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’” 33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”
Moses placed some manna in the Ark as evidence against the people in regards to their disobeying God’s provision (Heb. 9:4).
(16:34-35) As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan. 36 (An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)
(Ex. 16:34) How could Moses mention the Ark of the Testimony before it was even created? It’s likely that Moses wrote this passage at the end of his life. Verse 32 is better translated: “This is what the LORD had commanded…” Verse 35 explains what happened at the end of the 40-year Wandering. Moses probably wrote this at the end of his life. At this point in history, Moses was on the run, and he didn’t have time to write this. Of course, God is all-knowing, and he knew that he would create the Ark of the Testimony. Therefore, God could have commanded this decades before the Ark was created.
Exodus 17 (Water for the people)
TEST #1. The Bitter Water of Marah (Ex. 15). God had just rescued the people through the Red Sea, judging Pharaoh and his armies. But after just three days in the desert (Ex. 15:22), they came to Marah, and the water was too bitter to drink. The people “grumbled at Moses” and asked him what they were supposed to drink (Ex. 15:24). God cured the bitterness of the water by having Moses throw a tree into the waters. Then we read, “There [God] tested them” (Ex. 15:25).
TEST #2. The Manna (Ex. 16). Again, the people had not been out of Egypt for very long. Indeed, according to the opening verse (Ex. 16:1; cf. 12:6, 31), this was “exactly one month after Israel had left Egypt.”[136]
Again the people “grumbled against Moses and Aaron,” and they said, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death” (Ex. 16:2-3 NIV). Once again, God brought manna from the sky to “test them” (Ex. 16:4).
The psalmist reflects on this, when he writes, “Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the LORD’s miraculous deeds… 13 How quickly they forgot what he had done! They wouldn’t wait for his counsel! 14 In the wilderness their desires ran wild, testing God’s patience in that dry wasteland” (Ps. 106:7, 13-14 NLT).
And yet, instead of focusing on passing God’s test, the people started testing God!
TEST #3. Water in the desert of Rephidim. God had already tested them with water and food, and they failed. Now, he circles back around and gives them the same test.[137] Rephidim was the last stop before Sinai (Ex. 19:1-2; Num. 33:15). In fact, “Horeb” refers to the entire region around Mount Sinai.[138] The Israelites were probably thinking that they were going to get some water here, but when they arrived, their expectations were broken: There wasn’t a drop in sight!
(Ex. 17:1) Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.
(Ex. 17:2) Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”
“Quarreled with Moses.” The word “quarreled” (rîḇ) is the verbal form of the Hebrew noun used to describe “litigation” or a “case taken to court.”[139] The OT often uses this term to refer to “a courtroom-based civil lawsuit or the pre-court disagreement and conflict.”[140] Indeed, the Hebrew prophets repeatedly used this word “to describe God’s litigation and case against his people.”[141] Here, the shoe is on the other foot: God is not testing his people, but the people are testing their God![142]
“Why do you test the LORD?” Moses realized that they weren’t just accusing him. They were accusing someone way above even Moses’ paygrade! The people thought that Moses was the problem. But from whom was Moses getting his orders? This was a direct attack upon God himself! The people were putting God on trial.
(Ex. 17:3) But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
The “livestock” obviously weren’t like family pets during this time. Rather, the livestock were akin to financial security. If these people were really facing death, why would this make the list?
Were the Israelites REALLY that bad?
Think about it. The Israelites weren’t demanding a luxury amenity or plush pampering. They just wanted water—a mere necessity. Furthermore, they were in the heat of the desert, and with innumerable people. The sun was burning their skin, their children were crying, and they were pulling their animals along… But there wasn’t a drop of water in sight!
Can you really blame these people?
Of course, we might sympathize with their suffering, and even empathize with their attitude. But we dare not agree with their accusations against God! The Israelites had created an entire narrative that justified their disloyalty to God—a lens through which they could justify their embittered rejection of God’s loving leadership.
They refused to REMEMBER God’s work in the past. In a six month period, the Israelites “witnessed ten plagues, the pillar of cloud and fire, the opening and shutting of the Red Sea, the miraculous sweetening of the water, and the sending of food and meat from heaven.”[143] Yet they still weren’t quite sure if God was trustworthy (v.7). It’s like the Israelites had short-term memory loss.
They refused to REQUEST what they needed. Repeatedly, the people “grumble” and complain. But notice, the people don’t cry out to God. They spent plenty of time exaggerating, accusing, and complaining to their leadership… But they never prayed! When they groaned to God, he answered them, but not when they grumbled. Earlier, we read, “The Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Ex. 2:23-24 NLT).
This is so true of us today. Our mouths have been grumbling and our minds have been racing. But, come to think of it, I haven’t prayed about this in any serious or sustained way!
The refused to REASON clearly about God’s character in the present. Would God move heaven and earth to free the people from slavery, only to let them die of thirst in the desert? Could bring the greatest empire on Earth to its knees, but not have the power to supply water to his people in the desert? Isn’t it worth giving God the benefit of the doubt?
This is true of us today. After all, how did I get saved by grace and following Christ? It is a complete and utter miracle! Would God have brought me this far—only to abandon me now?
They refused to RELY on God for their future. Instead of trusting God, they tried to take things into their own hands. First, it started off with some “grumbling” (Ex. 15:24; 16:2, 7-9, 12). Second, it turned into a legal accusation. Third, it mutated into a bizarre conspiracy theory that Moses wanted to kill them (v.3). And finally, it turned into a murderous rage against Moses (v.4; cf. Num. 14:10), and utter blasphemy against God!
Nobody says, “I’m going to deny God today!” But we do feel the right to say, “I feel I have the right to put God on trial in my heart” or “I have the right to nurse concealed bitterness against God.”
Quite frankly, their twisted interpretation led them to put conditions on God, and putting God on trial. In the words of verse 7, they were asking, “Is the LORD among us, or not?” If God didn’t meet their needs in the way that they wanted, then they would go out and find a god that would.
How does Moses respond?
(Ex. 17:4) So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.”
These people should have been kissing Moses’ feet after all that he did for them. Yet, now, they want him dead! Moses felt the real fear of a mob-mentality that could take his life. This made him turn to God in desperation, as he often did (Ex. 15:25; 32:30; 33:8; Num. 11:2, 11; 12:13; 14:13-19). As Walter Kaiser aptly notes, “One of Moses’ most characteristic and praiseworthy traits was that he took his difficulties to the Lord.”[144]
(Ex. 17:5) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.”
“Pass before the people… [and] elders.” This was a public event.
“Take in your hand your staff…” The last time Moses used this staff, God was empowering him to dispense judgment on Egypt. Moses used his staff to turn the Nile into blood (Ex. 7:20), to bring the frogs (Ex. 8:5), to bring the gnats (Ex. 8:16), to bring fire and hail from the sky (Ex. 9:23), to bring locusts (Ex. 10:13), and to drown Pharaoh and his army (Ex. 14:16, 27). By telling Moses to bring his staff, it implied that someone was about to get it!
(Ex. 17:6) “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
“I will stand before you there on the rock.” In the entirety of the OT, God is never said to “stand before” someone. People “stand before” Almighty God—not the other way around. This is the language of a servant before a master—not God before his rebellious people![145]
“At Horeb.” This is another name for Mount Sinai.[146]
“You shall strike the rock.” When God first appeared to Moses, he told Moses to remove his sandals because the area had suddenly become “holy ground” (Ex. 3:5). Here, however, God was standing “on the rock” in front of Moses, and this is precisely where Moses was supposed to aim the strike of his staff.
In a great and terrible act of sedition, the Israelites accused God of being unloving. They put God on trial, publicly accusing his character, rejecting his redemption, and questioning his loving leadership. But in a great act of humility, God “stands before” the people, while Moses strikes him with the staff of judgment. Instead of wiping them off the face of the Earth (!!), God accepts their accusations and gives them an abundance of water. Bruckner writes, “Though God had cause to be angry after all of the acts of provision and deliverance, the text does not suggest any anger and we should not assume it is there.”[147] It’s no wonder that Paul would write about this event in the NT, and state that “the rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4).
(Ex. 17:7) He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”
This really is the question that poisoned the hearts of the people: “Is the LORD among us, or not?” Stuart writes, “For the people actually to doubt God’s presence among them was outrageously unfaithful.”[148]
What about you? Do you believe that God is with you? Have you put God on trial in your heart? Are you withholding from him in your heart? Do you have conditions on him that you’re bitter he’s not fulfilling?
Application and instruction
Be careful not to judge this group. Paul states that history repeats itself! In referencing this account in Exodus 17, he writes, “These things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved” (1 Cor. 10:6). Later, Paul writes that this is an “example,” and it was “written for our instruction” (1 Cor. 10:11). What then are we to learn from this account?
Remember, request, reflect, and rely on God. Specifically, we need to remember. Like the Israelites, we suffer from short-term memory loss. This is why we so frequently read about the need for reminders in the Bible. We need to remember:
- Our life before coming to Christ. Paul writes, “Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12 NIV). Maybe you’re like those guys talking about how good the food was in Egypt!
- Jesus’ resurrection power. Paul writes, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained” (2 Tim. 2:8). No wonder you’re burned out—trying to do supernatural work on natural effort.
- Past zeal for following Christ—even amidst suffering. The author of Hebrews writes, “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions” (Heb. 10:32-34). Look back at those times when you took big steps… Do it again!
- The example of spiritual leaders in our life. The author of Hebrews writes, “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Heb. 13:7). This brings inspiration and creativity and appreciation.
- To actively utilize our spiritual gifts. Paul writes, “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6). This brings happiness when we’re using our spiritual gifts.
- Key truths about spiritual growth. Peter writes, “I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live” (2 Pet. 1:12-13). This makes us neither “useless nor unfruitful” (v.8).
We don’t actually have some form of amnesia. It’s that human nature minimizes and devalues these great truths, and we need reminders.
Drop the demands that you’ve placed on God. You might have God on trial in your own heart. I don’t know what bitterness you’re nursing in your heart. But you do. And God is saying to you, “You need to drop the demands right now.”
Know that God is for us. The Israelites asked, “Is the LORD among us, or not?” If the answer to that question is, “Yes,” then this is all we need to know. And we NEVER need to ask that question!
It’s ironic and unbelievably sad that we who are guilty would call God guilty, while God who is innocent would call us innocent.
Exodus 17:8-16 (The Attack of the Amalekites)
(17:8) The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.
The Amalekites were distant “cousins” of the Israelites from Esau (Gen. 36:12), and they generally lived in the southern region (Num. 13:29). They targeted the weak stragglers, rather than fighting the men. Later, we read, “Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, 18 how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God” (Deut. 25:17-18). The Amalekites “hung about Israel’s rear and flanks, and cut off the stragglers.”[149] A year later, they attacked the Israelites at Hormah (Num 14:43-45), and this explains why God would judge the Amalekites in Saul’s day (1 Sam. 15:2).
(17:9-10) Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.
Moses raised up Joshua as his general. As Joshua fought, Moses raised up his staff. Here we get a picture of Moses’ dependence on God. While Joshua fought with the sword, shield, and spear, Moses fought with the power of God.
Moses’ friends (Aaron and Hur) stood with him in this spiritual warfare. In other words, Moses didn’t do this alone. This is the introduction of “Hur.” He seems to be a judge of some kind, and a close colleague of Moses (Ex. 24:14).
(17:11-13) As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
The “staff” was God’s instrument that he used with the plagues. Now, God was going to use it to show that this was how God would win the battle with the Amalekites. This could refer to putting “Amalek under the sacred ‘ban’ or ‘curse’, that meant utter destruction.”[150] More likely, it refers to prayer: “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands” (Ps. 63:4). At the very least, it shows that the power wasn’t coming from the people, but from God.
“Overcame” can also be rendered “disabled.”[151]
(17:14-16) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
“Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered.” Moses wrote these accounts himself (cf. Ex. 24:4; 34:27). Then, Moses gives a verbal recitation to Joshua. Yet, Cole notes that the verbal is “seen to be in dependence upon the written document.”[152] This is directly contrary to how critical scholars see the canonization of biblical history, seeing it all based on oral tradition.
The Amalekites desired to wipe out the Israelites (Ps. 83:4, 7), but God wiped them out instead. This wasn’t fulfilled right away. Saul and David continued to war with Amalek, and Haman (during Esther’s day) also was an Amalekite. Today, the Amalekites are completely gone, while the Jewish people are still here.
“Make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” Joshua’s mission was to battle the Canaanites. So, this is foreshadowing for the book of Joshua.
What do we learn about leadership from this section?
God made the people depend on him to win. Life and death were dependent on Moses lifting up his arms. After the Amalekites fled, the people knew who won this battle.
God used a worthless instrument. Even though this was an inert piece of wood, God still used it. Earlier, God used this staff to rescue and provide for the people (Ex. 4:17; 7:9-20; 8:5, 16-17; 9:23; 10:13; 14:16; 17:5). If God can use this to rescue the people, can he use us?
God uses weak people together. Moses was 80 years old (Ex. 7:7), and he was too weak to even hold up his arms (Ex. 17:12). This is why Aaron (age 83) and Hur needed to hold up Moses’ arms and give him a chair.
What do we learn about Moses’ relationship with Joshua?
We’re seeing the beginning of a wonderful friendship. Moses taught Joshua:
- By spending years serving together (Num. 11:27).
- To protect the people (Ex. 17:9-14).
- To learn to draw close to God (Ex. 24:13; 33:11). Later, we read, “Joshua… a man in whom is the Spirit” (Num. 27:18).
- To help lead rebellious people (Ex. 32:16).
- To build his boldness and faith (Num. 14:6, 38; Deut. 3:21; 31:7).
Ultimately, Moses replaced himself with Joshua, and this led to a bright future for the nation of Israel (Num. 27:22-23; Deut. 3:28; 31:3, 23). Who did Joshua train as his replacement…? No one! This led to the era of the Judges…
Exodus 18 (Jethro: Delegation and Humility)
(18:1) Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
Earlier, Jethro’s name was Reuel (Ex. 2:18). God’s rescue of the Israelites and judgment of Egypt had an evangelistic effect across the area. It reached as far as the Canaanites (Josh. 2:7), and here we see that it reached Jethro who lived in the wilderness of Midian.
(18:2-4) After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4 and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
The names of ancient people had meaning.
“Gershom” (gēr šām) comes from the words “alien” (gēr) and “there” (šōm). It can be rendered as “a resident alien there.”[153]
“Eliezer” was “fully Canaanite” in origin, and it meant “God of help.”[154] This shows a “rekindling of faith in Moses’ heart, compared with the despair shown in the name ‘Gershom.’”[155]
Were Moses and Zipporah divorced, as some commentators speculate? This wasn’t a divorce—any more than Moses disowned his two sons. Moses left them behind in safety while he faced off with the Pharaoh. Moses was a polygamist, however, later marrying a Cushite woman (Num. 12:1). It’s also possible that Moses was a widower, and he remarried. After all, this is the final mention of Zipporah and Moses’ two sons. The only references occur in genealogical lists.
(18:5-6) Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”
It seems very likely that there was trade and communication lines going between Egypt and the greater region including Midian. Jethro’s daughters recognized Moses as an Egyptian (Ex. 2:19), and Jethro was hearing about events in Egypt (v.1). Furthermore, Jethro was sending a messenger to Moses, which implies that communication was open.
(18:7) So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent.
Moses is showing a lot of deference and humility to Jethro. As he later writes, “Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD” (Lev. 19:32).
(18:8) Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.
Moses recounted all of Exodus 4-17 to Jethro. Stuart comments, “It is not at all improbable that such a full oral review may have been part of the process by which God prepared Moses to become the writer of the book of Exodus.”[156]
(18:9-11) Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”
Jethro was a Midianite priest. He didn’t come to faith when Moses told him about the burning bush or about his call to go to Egypt (Ex. 3-4). However, now that Moses came back in one piece, this got Jethro’s attention! Moses’ account validated his personal testimony of his encounter with God.
(18:12) Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
By offering a sacrifice and having table fellowship with the elders of Israel, Jethro was showing an authentic conversion to the God of Israel.
Jethro gives Moses wisdom about delegation
This section bears the marks of authentic history. It’s hard to believe that a later author would write this narrative. Why would a later interpolator suggest that Moses took advice on how to govern the people from a Midianite?[157]
Why does Moses begin to have court cases now? Earlier, the people were on the run. In dire situations, the court cases could wait. Now, however, the people needed someone to adjudicate their civil problems. Furthermore, the Israelites were used to having virtually no rights under the Egyptians. So, at this point, they probably had a “pent-up list of issues and complaints to settle properly as well as an eagerness to take advantage of their sudden freedom.”[158]
(18:13) The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.
“From morning till evening.” This sort of work takes discernment and grit. It would be exhausting to judge cases all day long. This would be a good recipe for burnout—especially since this would draw him away from other leadership responsibilities.
Decades earlier, one of the Israelites asked Moses, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us?” (Ex. 2:14) Now, it is clear that God has done just this.
(18:14) When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
Because Jethro was a leader himself, perhaps he had experience with these sorts of situations. This prompts Jethro to start asking Moses some penetrating questions.
(18:15-16) Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”
How could Moses tell people of God’s decrees when these haven’t been given yet? These case laws weren’t codified until later. However, God could’ve been giving Moses direct revelation during this period. God used to speak to Moses “face to face, just as a man speaks to a friend” (Ex. 33:11). That makes it sound like they were talking a lot. These revelations likely turned into the body of case laws that were written down later. After all, we know that rituals like circumcision and the Passover were already verbally revealed by God. Why not case laws as well? Of course, Moses was doing other writing at this time (Ex. 17:14). So, it’s not unlikely that Moses took some notes on these court cases during this three-month period before going to Sinai.
If God was revealing his will for case laws during this time, then this could explain why Moses was reluctant to share the load of ruling these cases: He didn’t want others to invent their own novel judgments.
(18:17-23) Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
“If you do this and God so commands.” Jethro made his suggestion contingent on God’s command. He didn’t want to usurp either Moses’ authority or God’s authority. He was arguing his plan based on Moses’ personal health (“you will be able to stand the strain”) and the good effect it would have on the people (“all these people will go home satisfied.”).
(18:24) Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
Moses had lived with Jethro for four decades, so he had a long friendship with this man. Moreover, Moses “listened” to him, which shows that he was indeed a very humble man (Num. 12:3).
(18:25-27) He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.
Jethro must’ve returned to Midian to practice his faith.
What do we learn about leadership from this section?
Moses learned to delegate. When we’re busy, the “tyranny of the urgent” can take over. In the short term, it’s hard to delegate to others. But eventually, this is the right decision. Godly leaders learn to delegate their load, rather than working themselves to death. It is “not good” to work yourself from “morning till evening” (Ex. 18:14, 17). Moses had 40 more years of effective ministry (Ex. 7:7; Deut. 34:7). This was why!
Jethro sought out a solution from the problem. Moses struggled with anger, and he may have very well become enraged by being overworked by so many people. Yet, Jethro had a different view. From his viewpoint, the people weren’t the problem; the people were the solution to the problem. If Moses could only allow some of these people to help serve, this could fix the problem of being overwhelmed.
Moses didn’t over delegate. Moses still held onto the role of (1) praying for the people and (2) teaching the people (vv.19-20). In this covenant, few people understood God’s ways, and few even understood how to prayer. Many were illiterate. Moses kept focused on prayer and teaching as a number one priority. Moreover, Moses carefully chose quality leaders (v.21). Moses kept the hardest cases for himself (v.22).
Leadership requires humility. Moses admitted he “could not handle it alone” (v.18). Moses needed to ask many people for help. Moses listened to Jethro—a brand-new believer in God. How easy it would’ve been to brush off Jethro’s advice? Yet even a great leader like Moses could learn from a young believer like Jethro. Godly leaders listen to advice (v.24). The merits of the advice is more important than the source.
Indeed, this lesson stuck with Moses. Later, a young man told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!” Joshua wanted to make these men stop. However, Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit upon them all!’” (Num. 11:27-29 NLT).
Exodus 19 (God speaks from the mountain)
This chapters demonstrates a separation between God and humans. Initially, God told Moses, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Ex. 3:5). God had later predicted that they would all reconvene here: “When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain” (Ex. 3:12).
(19:1) On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai.
They were out in the wilderness for three months[159] before God gave them the Law.
(19:2) After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
They were finally at Mount Sinai—just as God had predicted from the very beginning. God had said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain” (Ex. 3:12).
(19:3-6) Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
God’s order is to save the people (v.4), and then call them to follow him (v.5). God begins with what he has done before calling them to do anything. To invert this order is to teach law—not grace. Moreover, even by giving the people conditions, God’s goal was to bless the people making them his “treasured possession,” his “kingdom of priests,” and his “holy nation.” (vv.5-6).
This is a summary of the entire covenant that God would give the people. It is a sort of thesis statement of everything that would be involved.
God rescued the people first, and then he gave them the Law second. He didn’t wait until the Hebrews obeyed his moral will in order to save them from Egypt; instead, he saved them and then taught him his moral will.
“Eagles wings.” Regarding the eagles’ wings, see Deuteronomy 32:11.
“Although the whole earth is mine.” This shows that Yahweh was not a provincial deity—being just one among many. He is the Cosmic Creator and Owner of the entire world. This is “virtually full monotheism in its claim.”[160] Stuart writes, “This is one of the clearest early statements of monotheism in the Bible and certainly must have represented a sudden education for many of those present to hear Moses first relay these words to the people, since so many of them had grown up polytheists.”[161]
“You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” God wanted to use the nation of Israel as a way for the nations to come to him. This is fulfilling God’s promise and prediction to Abraham—whereby the nations would be blessed through Israel (Gen. 12:2-3). They did this by being an example to the nations, by allowing people to convert to Judaism, by interceding for the nations through prayer, and by recording and preserving the Scriptures.[162]
(19:7-8) So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.”
“We will do everything the Lord has said.” It’s admirable that the people said, Yes. However, they hadn’t even heard the contract yet. Two months later, these same people will be having orgies under a Golden Calf.
“Moses went back and summoned the elders… Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.” Moses seems to be travelling back and forth between God and the people. This means that he was ascending and descending the mountain each time.
God is scary and attractive at the same time
According to scholars of comparative religions, people across the world have a “frightening and irrational experience” when they come into contact with the divine.[163] Scholars of comparative religions call this the “mysterium tremendum et fascinans.” The word mysterium means “wholly other,” and the term tremendum refers to “awfulness, terror, awe.” Paradoxically, the word fascinans describes “attractiveness in spite of fear.” To most people, God isn’t comfortable and cozy, but terrifying and attractive all at once. The worshipper “finds the feeling of terror before the sacred, before the awe-inspiring mystery (mysterium tremendum)… that emanates an overwhelming superiority of power. The numinous [i.e. God] presents itself as something ‘wholly other,’ something basically and totally different. It is like nothing human or cosmic. Confronted with it, man senses his profound nothingness, feels that he is only a creature.”[164] This is why the people needed a mediator: Moses. However, even this mediator wasn’t good enough. The author of Hebrews cites this passage, and explains that Jesus offers a new way through his death on the Cross. Perhaps C.S. Lewis got it right, when one of his characters in the land of Narnia asked if Aslan (Jesus) was safe—to which one of the Narnians replied, “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.”
(19:9) The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
God wanted to further verify to the people that he was working through Moses.
(19:10-15) And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. 13 They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.” 14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”
“Consecrate” (qādaš) means to “make holy,” “prepare,” “dedicate,” or “set apart.”[165]
The people are supposed to get ready for God’s appearing. The strict rules here (e.g. washing of the clothes, marking off of the boundaries, capital punishment for rule breaking, abstinence from sex, etc.) is used to teach the people that they can’t just waltz into God’s presence. This also showed that Yahweh was different from idolatry or man-worship. Stuart writes, “One way to teach this to the Israelites so they would not foolishly think he was a human-conceived god like an idol—who could be handled or kissed or otherwise manipulated physically or approached casually—was to restrict access even to the mountain that God would touch in his theophany and to the ‘contagion’ of touching anyone who had in fact touched the mountain. If a king required approaching with the greatest of care, should not the King of Kings be honored even more carefully and respectfully?”[166]
“Abstain from sexual relations.” Some take this to refer to being ceremonially unclean (cf. Lev. 15:16-18; Deut. 23:10-11). However, since the focus is on consecrating oneself (v.10), this is most likely an imperative for the people to keep their focus on God. Contrary to contemporary belief, there are more important things in life than sex. Since the people were about to encounter God, they were to temporarily keep their entire focus on him. This is similar to how a soldier would refrain from sex before or during battle (1 Sam. 21:4-5; 2 Sam. 11:11). In the NT, married couples can refrain from sex for the purpose of prayer (1 Cor. 7:5).
(19:16-19) On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. 19 As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
A powerful entrance! Smoke, lightning, thunder, and a dense cloud. Even the mountain itself shook. God often appears to people in the form of a storm (1 Kin. 19:11ff.; Job 38:1; 40:6; Ps. 83:15; Isa. 29:6; 66:15; Jer. 23:19; Ezek. 1:4ff.; Nah 1:3).
“Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.” This is an example where “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (Ex. 33:11).
We need a mediator
(19:20-25) The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.” 23 Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’” 24 The Lord replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
“Even the priests.” Even the priests couldn’t cavalierly come into God’s presence. God did allow Aaron to come up and meet him.
God warns them a second time not to climb the mountain because some “may have been irresistibly attracted by the chance to see God.”[167] This could’ve been a case of “sheer idle curiosity.”[168]
Conclusions
This narrative shows that it is actually terrifying to come into God’s presence as we are. This is why the people “trembled” in God’s presence (v.16). At the same time, despite our fear, we are also drawn to God (v.21, 24).
This narrative dramatically demonstrates that we are separate from God (Isa. 59:2). The people couldn’t even touch the mountain (vv.12). Indeed, not even the priests (the holy men!) could come into God’s presence (v.22).
None of us can come to God on our own merits. This narrative shows us that we need a mediator. In this case, Moses walked up and down the mountain. In our case, Jesus has entered God’s presence permanently.
This really makes us grateful to be in the new covenant! We can come directly into this God’s presence (Heb. 12:18-29). This God who spoke with thunder and lightning, shaking the mountain in the process, now invites us to come boldly into his presence (Heb. 4:14-16).
| Mount Sinai | Mount Zion |
| Moses was the mediator | Jesus is the mediator |
| Law | Grace |
| Fear and terror | Gratitude, reverence, and awe (Heb. 12:28) |
| Communicated separation: Only Moses could come.
NO TRESPASSING! |
Communicates inclusion: Everyone can come (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9; 11:28-30).
COME ON IN! |
Exodus 20 (Ten Commandments)
Here we come to one of the most famous sections in the entire Bible: The Ten Commandments. We live in a culture that bristles against moral commands. We often hear, “What’s true for you may not be true for me,” or “One person’s art is another person’s pornography.” In our culture, there are no objective morals—just differing opinions. The Ten Commandments stand in direct contrast to the pervasive moral relativism in our culture (see “Is It Objectively Wrong to Object to Moral Wrongs?”).
From where does morality originate and find its source? Is it objective, or is it all just a matter of personal preference and sentiment? The Bible states that morality is found in an objective and transcendent source: God himself. God exists as the foundation of moral values and duties, and thus, God issues commands from his own moral nature and goodness.
Why is this also called the Decalogue? The term decalogue means “ten words.” This is actually a very good title because the Hebrew refers to the “words” (dĕbārı̂m) of God (Ex. 20:1).
The two tablets of the Law. Theologians divide the Ten Commandments into two “tablets.” The “first tablet” of the Law refers to loving God (commands 1-4) and the “second tablet” refers to loving others (commands 5-10).
How big were the stone tablets? Many artistic representations of the Ten Commandments depict large stone tablets. However, Cole writes, “The commandments were brief, pungent sentences, easily written on small stone tablets, fitting within the palm of a hand.”[169] In other words, the Ten Commandments probably fit on a stone that was the size of an iPhone.
The creation narrative is foundational for the Ten Commandments. Think about it: Why should we have no other gods before God? Because Genesis teaches that he is the only God that exists and created everything (Gen. 1:1). Why shouldn’t we commit adultery? Because God made the first marriage (Gen. 2:24). Why is murder wrong? Because humans are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27; 9:6). The creation account is absolutely essential and foundational for the rest of our ethics.
(20:1) And God spoke all these words.
This seems like God was speaking directly to the people without Moses as an intercessor. Later, they complain to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!” (Ex. 20:19 NLT). This must’ve been an overwhelming experience for the people to hear these words “thundered” from God himself (Ex. 20:18).
(20:2) “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
“I am the Lord your God.” Why start here? This is the foundation for all objective moral values, moral duties, and moral accountability. Moreover, God begins with what he has done before he tells us what to do.
Commandment #1: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (verse 3).
(20:3) You shall have no other gods before me.
This first commandment coheres quite well with the creation narrative. Why shouldn’t we have any other gods? This is because there is only one God who created everything (Gen. 1:1; Isa. 45:5).
Is there any significance in the fact that this command comes at the top of the list? Many theologians have argued that we cannot break the rest of the Ten Commandments without breaking the first. After all, all sin is ultimately an affront against God and a distrust of God (Ps. 51:4).
The expression “before Me” (ʿal-pānı̂m) is literally “to my face.” Later Jewish translations (e.g. LXX, Syriac, Targums) understood this as “in addition to me.” Stuart states that this refers to “exclusivity rather than hierarchy.”[170] Cole writes, “This slightly unusual phrase seems also to be used of taking a second wife while the first is still alive.”[171] The term “gods” (ʾelōhı̂m) could refer to angelic beings (Ps. 82). Thus, the first commandment forbid the worship of angels and demons, as well as “ancestor worship.”[172]
Commandment #2: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image… you shall not bow down to them nor serve them” (verses 4-5).
(20:4-6) You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Why shouldn’t we create images of God? This ultimately domesticates God, lowering him to something material (rather than transcendent). God made humans in his likeness and image (Gen. 1:26-27), but we should never create God in our image (Rom. 1:23-25). Any image will misunderstand or miscommunicate his infinitude and ineffability. Furthermore, images have the ability to take our worship.
Does this forbid images of angels (cherubim) in the Tabernacle? No. After all, God prohibits making images of anything in heaven, on the earth, or in the sea. This would mean that virtually all art is immoral—not just depictions of angels. Cole[173] and Stuart[174] argue that the context makes clear that the banning of images refers to worshipping such images.
We become what we worship. The Psalmist criticizes idolatry by saying that we ultimately become what we worship: “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man’s hands… Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them. 9 O Israel, trust in the Lord” (Ps. 115:4, 8-9). By contrast, when we reflect on our identity in Christ, we become more like Him. Paul writes, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).
This passage shows that breaking the law will break us. Yet God’s love far outweighs his justice (compare “third or fourth” generation with his “thousands”).
(Ex. 20:5) Is it wrong for God to be jealous? For one, the term “jealous” (qannāʾ) can also be rendered “zealous.”[175] Second, there is a difference between sinful jealousy and godly jealousy (2 Cor. 11:2). Third, God is jealous for us because worshipping idols ends in our despair.
(Ex. 20:5) Is it fair for God to punish someone for their father’s sins? The Bible clearly teaches that each person is responsible for his or her own sins (Ezek. 18:19-20; Deut. 24:16; 2 Kin. 14:6). Therefore, this could refer to God’s passive wrath, where he allows people to suffer the consequences of their own choices. Or the “sin of the parents” could refer to multiple generations repeating this same sin.
God gives passive wrath to the “third and fourth generation” but loyal love to “a thousand generations.” This is “the greatest numerical contrast in the Bible.”[176]
Commandment #3: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (verse 7).
(20:7) You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
What does it mean to misuse God’s name? In ancient Israel, a person’s name “connoted the very value, character, and influence of a person or thing.”[177] For example, the psalmist sings, “Praise his glorious name forever” (Ps. 72:19 NLT).
OPTION #1. Swearing an oath? Therefore, some theologians understand this to refer to giving false oaths based on God’s name (Lev. 19:12). However, believers are encouraged to swear by God’s name if it is true (Deut. 6:13; Ps. 63:11; Isa. 45:23; Jer. 4:2; 12:16; Rom. 1:9; 9:1; 1 Cor. 15:31; Phil. 1:8; Rev. 10:5-6).
OPTION #2. Swearing an incantation? Other theologians believe that this refers to using God’s name in a divine cursing or magic incantation. In the ancient Near East, people would use the name of their gods to call down curses on others.
Commandment #4: “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy” (verse 8).
(20:8-11) Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
God designed the Sabbath to be a time of spiritual refreshment and renewal—not an occasional event. Elsewhere, God connects the Sabbath rest to refer to the rescue from Egypt (Deut. 5:15).
We are no longer required to take a Sabbath on Saturday (or Sunday) because of the New Covenant (Mk. 2:27-28; Col. 2:16; Gal. 4:10; Rom. 14:5). However, the principle of getting a time of rest and refreshment with God is still God’s will for each of us. The author of Hebrews explains that believers in Christ can rest from their works, because of Jesus’ finished work: “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his” (Heb. 4:9-10 NIV; cf. Mt. 11:28).
Commandment #5: “Honor your father and your mother” (verse 12).
(20:12) Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
The first four commandments deal with our relationship with God. The final six commandments address our relationships with others. This is the fifth commandment, and it opens that second category. After our relationship with God (commandments 1-4), our relationship with our parents comes first.
“That you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” This is not a “promise here of individually long life spans.” Rather, this is referring to the status of the people in the land, and “God’s protection of his covenant people if and as long as they keep his covenant.”[178] Since this is repeated in the NT (Eph. 6:1-4), it demonstrates that there is something about God’s design that makes honoring our parents good for us. Moreover, when we refuse to honor our parents, we are living outside of the rules of reality. We ignore this at our own peril. It might surprise you to discover how much this is affecting you today.
For more on this subject, listen to our earlier teaching, Ephesians 6:1-4 “Honor Your Parents.”
We are called to honor—not always to obey. Kaiser writes, “Parents are to be shown honor (v.2), but nowhere is their word to rival or be a substitute for God’s Word.”[179] This does not mean that we should:
- obey our parents, rather than God (Mt. 10:37).
- necessarily become best friends or even spending lots of time together. While that’s ideal, that’s at least not what the term “honor” means here.
- necessarily trust our parents if they have proven untrustworthy, abusive, etc.
- ignore or deny the past, pretending that they are something that they aren’t.
Instead, to “honor” (kabed) means that we should choose to place great value on our relationship with our parents. This would include initiating with them, recognizing their sacrifice for us, and choosing to give thanks for the good things they’ve done. It means forgiving them for what they’ve done wrong, and having an understanding and compassionate posture toward them.
Commandment #6: “You shall not murder” (verse 13).
(20:13) You shall not murder.
(Ex. 20:13) Is killing right or wrong? To put this simply, all murder is killing, but not all killing is necessarily murder. In the original Hebrew, there were seven different words for killing. Of these seven terms, the word “murder” (rāṣaḥ) was the best word to use to describe the unjustified taking of human life.[180] If Moses meant to refer to killing in general, he would have used the Hebrew word harag. Therefore, the Bible is against murder—not necessarily killing. For instance, this command does not apply to execution (Ex. 21:12), self-defense (Ex. 22:2), or an accidental death (Deut. 19:5).
Jesus connects hate with killing (Mt. 5:21-22), as does the apostle John (1 Jn. 3:15).
Commandment #7: “You shall not commit adultery” (verse 14).
(20:14) You shall not commit adultery.
Our culture places a rather low view on adultery. In our culture, if a man goes into your house and steals your television, he could go to jail. But if the same man goes into your house and has sex with your wife, there is no penalty whatsoever. Yet, think of how much havoc this causes for marriages, families, and kids! Are we sure that we are right in our contemporary and cultural moral values, or is God right in his evaluation?
Again, Jesus connected lust in the heart with adultery (Mt. 5:28). For further reading on this topic, see “The Bible’s Sexual Position.”
Commandment #8: “You shall not steal” (verse 15).
(20:15) You shall not steal.
When we steal from someone, we are putting a value on our relationship. If you stole $20 from my wallet, you would be communicating that trust in our relationship is only worth $20.
Instead of being a taker, God wants us to be a giver. Paul repeats this moral imperative: “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need” (Eph. 4:28).
The refusal to work and mooch off others is a serious form of stealing. Paul writes, “For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread” (2 Thess. 3:10-12).
Commandment #9: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (verse 16).
(20:16) You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
This commandment (like the others) is based on the nature of God—namely, he cannot lie (Heb. 6:18; Titus 1:2). This is why God hates lying. Solomon writes, “There are six things the LORD hates—no, seven things he detests: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, 18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, 19 a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family” (Prov. 6:16-19 NLT). Most of the vices on this list have to do with lying.
Lying breaks trust which breaks down relationships and community. The Bible emphasizes our need to speak the truth, rather than man-pleasing (Eph. 4:15). Forms of lying are flattery, exaggeration, or omission (i.e. failing to speak the truth). For further reading, consider Watchman Nee’s chapter in Normal Christian Worker titled “Loyal to the Truth.”
Commandment #10: “You shall not covet” (verse 17).
(20:17) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
The NT emphasizes the sin of greed (see “The Bible and Materialism”). The self-righteous apostle Paul could excuse himself from all the other commandments except this one (Rom. 7:7-8).
Exodus 20:18-26 (The people fear God, but he wants them to reverence Him instead)
(20:18-21) When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” 21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
It’s interesting that the coming of the Law didn’t produce closeness with God. Instead, it caused them to want to retreat from God.
(20:19) The people preferred to speak to Moses rather than to God himself. Religious people are the same way today. When confronted with a personal relationship with God, they very often decline. These Israelites must have realized that the Law added to their inadequacy, and they longed for Moses to intercede for them.
(20:20) This passage shows that there are two types of fear. One is “reverence” and the other is “terror.” God wants the former—not the latter.
(20:22-23) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.’
Why does he reiterate idolatry again? Would the people really be so eager to build an idol—especially since they were just so recently rescued from Egypt? Yes! In fact, in a few weeks, they will build the Golden Calf (Ex. 32).
(20:24-25) ‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.’
“An altar of earth.” Stones were not abundant in this region (unlike Canaan).[181]
God wanted a simple Temple. He didn’t want works. Nothing flashy—just a basic altar.
(20:26) “And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.”
This is quite funny. However, Cole points out that “ritual nakedness was a feature of early cults.”[182] This is why the Israelite priests needed to preserve their modesty (Ex. 28:40-42).
Conclusion
God needs to exist for objective morality to exist. You don’t need to know your biological father to exist. But if you didn’t have a biological father, you wouldn’t exist.
God’s moral design for us is good. Later, Moses writes, “What does the LORD your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. 13 And you must always obey the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good” (Deut. 10:12-13 NLT).
We don’t break God’s laws. They break us! We can run from God’s existence, but we still live in his world (vv.5-6).
To summarize: What does God want from me? In the beginning of the Ten Commandments, God wants you to begin by (1) focusing on him, (2) focusing on what he has done, and (3) regularly resting to repeat 1 and 2.
Exodus 21 (Case law)
(21:1-3) These are the laws you are to set before them: 2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. 3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him.”
Hebrew slaves only served for six years—not for life. They also got to keep their family intact.
(21:4-6) If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. 5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
If he chooses to marry and have kids, then in effect, he’s choosing to stay with the master.
(21:7-11) If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. 9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
Both men and women were released on the seventh year (Deut. 15:12). Women couldn’t be sold into brutal slavery with the nations, which would be a horrific fate. He needed to treat her like a daughter if she married his son. If he doesn’t keep his end of the deal, then he needs to let her go.
(21:12-14) Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. 13 However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate. 14 But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.
Premeditated murder was a capital crime. But for crimes of passion (?), they could go to a city of refuge. This would stop blood feuds, whereby the families would go back and forth with “honor killings,” a practice still popular today.
(21:15-17) Anyone who attacks their father or mother is to be put to death. 16 Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession. 17 Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.”
The family was a high priority in Israel.
(21:16) Kidnapping someone for the purpose of slavery was a capital crime. If this principle was applied to the ante-bellum South, slavery would have been virtually abolished.
(21:18-19) If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist and the victim does not die but is confined to bed, 19 the one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff; however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed.
Non-mortal fights resulted in paying someone’s medical bill and loss of time at work.
(21:20-21) Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, 21 but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.
The same principle (vv.18-19) is applied to masters and servants. He doesn’t pay the servant, because the servant is in his economic debt.
(Ex. 21:21) Are slaves persons or property?
(Ex. 21:22-23) Are fetuses human beings or not?
(21:22-25) If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
(21:26-27) An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye. 27 And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.
Servants were protected under the law.
(21:28-30) If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. 29 If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death. 30 However, if payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded.
Accidents (like wild oxen deaths) were not punished, but neglect was punished. This passage shows that you could use lex talionis to barter.
(Ex. 21:29-30) Can we pay a ransom for murder or not?
(21:31-32) This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter. 32 If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.
Servants were indentured and worth a lot of money, so the owner needed to be compensated as well.
(21:33-36) If anyone uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange. 35 If anyone’s bull injures someone else’s bull and it dies, the two parties are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally. 36 However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and take the dead animal in exchange.
Again, neglect was punished.
Exodus 22
(22:1) Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.
It was a fivefold payback for stealing an ox, and a fourfold payback for a sheep. In the ancient Near East, stealing was punished by cutting off the hand or even death. God reserved capital punishment for non-materialistic crimes.
(22:2-3) If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; 3 but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed. “Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft.
The principle here seems to be that you couldn’t see the man at night. So self-defense is the guiding principle here, when you couldn’t see who was attacking you.
(22:4) If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double.
The thief either needed to pay back what he stole or sell himself as a servant.
(22:5-6) If anyone grazes their livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in someone else’s field, the offender must make restitution from the best of their own field or vineyard. 6 “If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.
Accidental crimes faced repayment of what was damaged.
(22:7-12) If anyone gives a neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double. 8 But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges, and they must determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property. 9 In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to the other. 10 “If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to their neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking, 11 the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the Lord that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required. 12 But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, restitution must be made to the owner.
God could determine if someone was guilty of claiming that money was stolen, but really stole the money themselves. The accused would give an oath before God, and God would supernaturally determine if the person was guilty or innocent.
(22:13) If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the neighbor shall bring in the remains as evidence and shall not be required to pay for the torn animal.
You had to show proof of an accident.
(22:14-15) If anyone borrows an animal from their neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, they must make restitution. 15 But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.
People were punished if the owner wasn’t present when the animal died. This must mean that the owner couldn’t know what had happened when he was away. But if he was there, then he could see what happened for himself.
(22:16-17) If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. 17 If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.
If a man fornicated with a virgin girl, the man needed to pay the dowry and marry her. The father could refuse the marriage and just collect the dowry for his daughter’s future husband.
(22:18-20) Do not allow a sorceress to live. 19 Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal is to be put to death. 20 Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.”
Why were all three of these offenses met with the death penalty? These all attack the faith or family of Israel. Deviate sexual practices or aberrant spiritual practices were considered especially serious.
(Ex. 22:18) Why were false teachers put to death?
(22:21-24) Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. 22 Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
Exploitation (of foreigners or widows or orphans) was a sin based on the fact that the Jews themselves had been foreigners and slaves. God claims that he will execute anyone who does so.
(22:25-27) If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
The poor couldn’t be exploited with interest on loans.
(22:28) Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
Leadership should be respected.
(22:29) Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. You must give me the firstborn of your sons.”
The people gave their sons to God. Either they would pay for them, or they would send them into service.
(Ex. 22:29) Does this passage condone human sacrifice?
(22:30-31) Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day. 31 You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.
Was this for health reasons? The fact that the blood was in the animal? I’m not sure. It surely makes sense not to eat roadkill though!
Exodus 23
(23:1-8) Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. 2 Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit. 4 If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it. 6 Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. 8 Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
These commands deal with the importance of truth. Don’t be corrupted by evil people (v.1), the crowd (v.2), or someone’s poverty (v.3). We shouldn’t rule against a rich person—simply because they’re rich. On the other hand, don’t neglect the poor—just because they’re poor (v.6). Bribes pollute our minds (v.8).
(23:4-5) Help even those who hate you.
(23:9) Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
(23:10-11) For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, 11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
The let land rest on the seventh year. Whatever grows on its own can be harvested by the poor.
(23:12) Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.
Servants and even animals had the right to rest on the Sabbath.
(23:13) Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.
Do not even speak the names of false gods.
(23:14-17) Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me. 15 Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty-handed. 16 Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field. 17 Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.
The Festival of Unleavened Bread was mandatory.
Foreshadowing in the Festival System
(23:18-19) Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast. The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning. 19 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
The people were supposed to bring their very best to God—not their leftovers.
(Ex. 23:19) Why couldn’t the Jews boil a young goat in the milk of its mother?
(23:20-22) See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. 22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.
God led the people through the agency of a representative angel.
(23:23) My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.
God promised to wipe out the peoples in Canaan completely.
(23:24) Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.
The false religion was a key part of why God was judging them. This is because their worldview led to their immorality.
(23:25-26) Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, 26 and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.
God promises blessing if they continue to follow him.
(23:27-28) I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. 28 I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
God promises to panic the people in Canaan in order to drive them out. It was only the hardcore remnant that chose to stay and fight.
(23:29-31) But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. 31 I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you.
This supplanting of Canaan would be a slow process.
(23:32-33) Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. 33 Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.
Since the worldview was so insidious, the people were told to not dabble at all with these people. No compromise. See “What about the Canaanite Genocide?”
Exodus 24
(24:1-2) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.
Moses took these 72 people with him up the mountain, but he had special access.
(24:3-8) When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” 4 Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” 8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.
This describes the agreement of the covenant. God gave a bilateral agreement, but the people needed to agree on their end (v.3, 7). Moses sealed the covenant with blood over the altar (v.6) and the people (v.8).
(24:9-11) Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
Because of the blood of the covenant, the 72 could come into God’s presence, see his form, and eat a meal with him.
(Ex. 24:10) Can we see God or not? (c.f. Ex. 19:12-13) In Exodus 24, God invited these men to see him. In Exodus 19, he forbid this. This is no more contradictory than inviting a dinner guest over at 7 o’clock at night, but forbidding them to come over at 7 o’clock in the morning. While one case is acceptable, the other isn’t.
(24:12-13) The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction. 13 Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God.”
God gave the written contract to Moses and Joshua. Imagine what an honor this would be to hike with Moses.
(24:14-18) He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.” 15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Moses put Aaron in charge while he was gone (v.14). God covered this mountain with a massive cloud, and Moses entered the cloud. He was gone for 40 days (v.18). While he was gone, the leadership allowed the people to fall into idolatry.
Application
God is really showing just how separate he is from the people.
God wanted a written contract to remind the people.
Exodus 25 (The Ark)
(Ex. 25:10-22) Did the Tabernacle worship and the ark of testimony foreshadow the work of Christ?
(Ex. 25:1-9) The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. 3 These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; 4 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; 6 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 8 Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.”
“Receive the offering… from everyone whose heart prompts them to give” (v.2). The decision to give to the Tabernacle and Ark was voluntary—not mandatory (2 Cor. 9:7).
“Gold, silver and bronze” (v.3). This must have come from the people looting the Egyptians (Ex. 12:35).
“Dwell… tabernacle” (vv.8-9). These terms come from the same root word: “dwell” (šākan) and “tabernacle” (miškān). Stuart writes, “It was not that God required a building with a courtyard in order to dwell somewhere; it was that he desired that the people make a home for him and then locate their houses/tents around his house/tent and join him regularly at his courtyard for covenant meals, confirming their ongoing relationship and receiving the blessings inherent therein.”[183] This is the major theme of Exodus and it is “culminated by the coming of Christ to earth.”[184]
The Ark
(Ex. 25:10) Have them make an ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.
“Ark” (ārôn) is better translated “chest.”[185]
(Ex. 25:11-17) Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 13 Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. 16 Then put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law, which I will give you. 17 Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
“Put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law.” Why was the Law placed in the Ark? This was evidence that the people broke God’s law.
“Atonement cover” (NIV, kappōret) or “mercy seat” (NASB, ESV) was covered with pure gold. The term literally refers to a “covering,”[186] similar to the usages regarding the “day of atonement” (Lev. 23:27). Blood is what made the “atonement” for the people (Lev. 17:11).
Cherubim
(Ex. 25:18-20) And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 19 Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.
The “cherubim” are winged angels (Gen. 3:24; Ezek. 1; Rev. 4). These were colorfully decorated inside the tent walls (Ex. 36:35). Inside the Temple, Solomon’s artists built two cherubim that were 30 feet wide and 15 feet tall (2 Chron. 3:10-11).
(Ex. 25:21-22) Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you. 22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.
Why would God meet with the people here? All of this points forward to Christ.
The Table
(Ex. 25:23-30) Make a table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. 24 Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. 25 Also make around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. 26 Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are. 27 The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. 28 Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them. 29 And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings. 30 Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times.
The “bread of the Presence” can be paraphrased as the “bread laid before God.”[187] The priests would stack these pieces of bread in two “two stacks, six in each stack” (Lev. 24:6). Only the priests would eat this bread (though see 1 Sam. 21:6).
What is the symbolism? Cole writes, “The symbolism is not explained: perhaps it was grateful acknowledgment that the ‘daily bread’ of the twelve tribes came from God.”[188]
Golden Lampstand
(Ex. 25:31) Make a lampstand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them.
“Lampstand” (měnôrâ) was the light in the darkness of the Tabernacle (v.37).
(Ex. 25:32-33) Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. 33 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand.
This could refer to Aaron’s budding rod (Num. 17:8).
(Ex. 25:34-40) And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. 35 One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. 36 The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold. 37 Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. 38 Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. 39 A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories. 40 See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
What is the symbolism? This could be a picture of Jesus being a light to a dark world (Jn. 8:12).
Exodus 26 (The Tabernacle)
(Ex. 26:1-6) Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker. 2 All the curtains are to be the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. 3 Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five. 4 Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set. 5 Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. 6 Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit.
(Ex. 26:7-14) Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. 8 All eleven curtains are to be the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. 9 Join five of the curtains together into one set and the other six into another set. Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent. 10 Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. 11 Then make fifty bronze clasps and put them in the loops to fasten the tent together as a unit. 12 As for the additional length of the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over is to hang down at the rear of the tabernacle. 13 The tent curtains will be a cubit longer on both sides; what is left will hang over the sides of the tabernacle so as to cover it. 14 Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.
(Ex. 26:15-25) Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 16 Each frame is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide, 17 with two projections set parallel to each other. Make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 18 Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle 19 and make forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. 20 For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames 21 and forty silver bases—two under each frame. 22 Make six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, 23 and make two frames for the corners at the far end. 24 At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that. 25 So there will be eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.
(Ex. 26:26-29) Also make crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 27 five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 28 The center crossbar is to extend from end to end at the middle of the frames. 29 Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold.
(Ex. 26:30-36) Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain. 31 Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. 32 Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. 33 Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. 34 Put the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law in the Most Holy Place. 35 Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side. 36 For the entrance to the tent make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. 37 Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five bronze bases for them.
Exodus 27
(Ex. 27:1-8) Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. 2 Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. 3 Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. 4 Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. 5 Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. 6 Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.
The Courtyard
(Ex. 27:9-11) Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen, 10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 11 The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
(Ex. 27:12-15) The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. 13 On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide. 14 Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15 and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.
(Ex. 27:16-19) For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer—with four posts and four bases. 17 All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases. 18 The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases. 19 All the other articles used in the service of the tabernacle, whatever their function, including all the tent pegs for it and those for the courtyard, are to be of bronze.
(Ex. 27:20-21) Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.
Exodus 28 (The priests)
(28:1-2) Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. 2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor.
The priests should stand out as unique and special.
(28:3) Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest.
God sent the Holy Spirit to guide the people to make unique garments for the priests.
(28:4-8) These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. 5 Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen. 6 Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of skilled hands. 7 It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened. 8 Its skillfully woven waistband is to be like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.
(28:9-12) Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel 10 in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. 11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings 12 and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord.
The priests would wear the names of the sons of Israel, as they performed their work (v.9). This was to show that the priests represented the people before God (v.12, 29).
(28:13-16) Make gold filigree settings 14 and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings. 15 Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions—the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 16 It is to be square—a span long and a span wide—and folded double.
(28:17-20) Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 18 the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 19 the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; 20 the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings.
These stones are the same jewels and stones of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21-22.
(28:21-30) There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. 22 For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 23 Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece. 24 Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 25 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 26 Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 27 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. 28 The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod. 29 Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord. 30 Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.
The priests were to represent God’s will for the people.
(28:31-43) Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, 32 with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear. 33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. 34 The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. 35 Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die. 36 Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: holy to the Lord. 37 Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. 38 It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord. 39 Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer. 40 Make tunics, sashes and caps for Aaron’s sons to give them dignity and honor. 41 After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 42 Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh. 43 Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.
If they didn’t wear these clothes (these “reminders” of their duties), they would be judged.
Exodus 29 (Consecration for priests)
(29:1-3) This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect. 2 And from the finest wheat flour make round loaves without yeast, thick loaves without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, and thin loaves without yeast and brushed with olive oil. 3 Put them in a basket and present them along with the bull and the two rams.
They prepared bull, ram, and bread offerings.
(29:4-9) Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 5 Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband. 6 Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred emblem to the turban. 7 Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head. 8 Bring his sons and dress them in tunics 9 and fasten caps on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons. The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance. Then you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
Aaron and his sons were washed, dressed, and anointed with oil.
(29:10-14) Bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 11 Slaughter it in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. 13 Then take all the fat on the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But burn the bull’s flesh and its hide and its intestines outside the camp. It is a sin offering.
They were to slaughter the bull, spread the blood, and burn the organs and dung outside the camp.
(29:15-21) Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 16 Slaughter it and take the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar. 17 Cut the ram into pieces and wash the internal organs and the legs, putting them with the head and the other pieces. 18 Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord. 19 Take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 20 Slaughter it, take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then splash blood against the sides of the altar. 21 And take some blood from the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated.
The priests would lay hands on the rams, slaughter them, spread their blood, and burn the entire animal on the altar. For the second ram, slaughter it and apply the blood to the right earlobes, right thumbs, and right big toes. Finally, they were to sprinkle blood and anointing oil on Aaron and his sons.
(29:22-24) Take from this ram the fat, the fat tail, the fat on the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. (This is the ram for the ordination.) 23 From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the Lord, take one round loaf, one thick loaf with olive oil mixed in, and one thin loaf. 24 Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and have them wave them before the Lord as a wave offering.
They burned the rest as a special offering to God.
(29:25) Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord, a food offering presented to the Lord.
They burned up some of the baked bread to God.
(29:26-28) After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron’s ordination, wave it before the Lord as a wave offering, and it will be your share. 27 Consecrate those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. 28 This is always to be the perpetual share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the Lord from their fellowship offerings.
Even the parts they kept for themselves, they lifted up to God first.
(29:29) Aaron’s sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them.
Aaron passed on his clothes after his death.
(29:30-35) The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days. 31 Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place. 32 At the entrance to the tent of meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket. 33 They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred. 34 And if any of the meat of the ordination ram or any bread is left over till morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten, because it is sacred. 35 Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them.
This last seven days long.
(29:36-43) Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. 37 For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy. 38 This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old. 39 Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight. 40 With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives, and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering. 41 Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning—a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord. 42 For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the Lord. There I will meet you and speak to you; 43 there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.
God promised to meet with the priests through this process.
(29:44-46) So I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
This is a fitting conclusion: The purpose of these ceremonies was so God would live among the people.
Exodus 30 (Census & Priests)
(30:1-10) Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. 2 It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high—its horns of one piece with it. 3 Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. 4 Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. 5 Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law—before the atonement cover that is over the tablets of the covenant law—where I will meet with you. 7 Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. 8 He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come. 9 Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. 10 Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord.
Aaron was to burn incense to God and cleanse the altar.
(30:11-16) Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. 13 Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. 14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. 15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. 16 Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.
When they took a census, the people were to pay a ransom to avoid a plague. This was for people 20 years old and above (v.14). The poor and rich gave the same amount (v.15).
(30:17-38) Then the Lord said to Moses, 18 “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.” 22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus, 24 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil. 25 Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. 26 Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, 27 the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, 28 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy. 30 “Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32 Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from their people.’” 34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.
The priests needed to wash themselves before entering the Tabernacle, or they would die (v.20). They also needed to be anointed with a special blend of oil that they were to make.
Exodus 31 (Tabernacle Art and Sabbath Law)
(31:1-11) Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. 6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you: 7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent— 8 the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand— 10 and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.
God gave his Holy Spirit to the people to design and craft the Tabernacle.
(31:12-17) Then the Lord said to Moses, 13 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. 14 “‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. 15 For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. 16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”
Breaking the Sabbath resulted in capital punishment.
(31:18) When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
God concluded his covenant by giving Moses the written Law on the tablets of stone.
(Ex. 31:18) Does God have fingers? This is an anthropomorphic figure of speech. The Bible also teaches that “God is spirit” (Jn. 4:24). As faithful interpreters, we need to interpret these figures of speech in light of these clear, didactic passages of Scripture. This is a principle of grammatical-historical hermeneutics; we need to interpret the unclear portions of Scripture in light of the clear.
Exodus 32 (The Golden Calf)
(32:1) When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
“Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain.” The people began to wonder if Moses had left them. After all, they had been waiting for 40 days without a sign that he was coming to meet with them (Ex. 24:18), and Moses left Aaron in charge (Ex. 24:14). While Moses was gone for 40 days, the people didn’t know when he would return. We agree with Cole who writes, “Impatience lay at the root of this sin of Israel’s.”[189]
“Moses who brought us up out of Egypt.” They ascribed to Moses the power of taking them from Egypt—rather than God. This shows that their view was drifting toward humanism, rather than centering on God.
“Make us gods [ʾĕlōhîm] who will go before us.” The verb (“make”) is plural, and the noun (“gods”) is plural. Thus, Cole writes, “Whatever Aaron may have thought, the Israelites were not thinking of YHWH at all.”[190] However, later we read, “[Aaron] built an altar in front of the calf and announced, ‘Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD’” (Ex. 32:5). The context implies that this seems to be a graven image that represents Yahweh. We agree with Stuart who writes, “Yahweh was now being represented by an idol, the very sort of thing forbidden clearly by the second word/commandment.”[191]
(32:2-3) Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.
The people most likely gained this gold from the Egyptians whom they had just left (Ex. 12:36). How else could these nomads acquire this much gold?
(32:4-5) He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.”
“Calf” (‘ēgel) doesn’t describe a baby, but rather a “young bull in his first strength.”[192] This seems to be a visual representation of Yahweh (v.5). Is there any significance to the fact that they chose a calf? We’re unsure. But the point is that they wanted a visible representation of God—especially in a culture where everyone else had visible deity to worship.
(32:6) So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
“Revelry” (ṣāḥaq). The shorter stem of this Hebrew word simply means “to laugh,”[193] but the term has a broad semantic range. The term occurs with regard to Isaac “caressing” his wife Rebekah (Gen. 26:8), or Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of coming in “to make sport” of her (Gen. 39:17). Kaiser states that it can signify “drunken, immoral orgies and sexual play (‘conjugal caresses’).”[194] Likewise, Cole understands this to refer to “drunken orgies,”[195] and Durham states that this word has the “connotation also of sexual play” and an “orgy.”[196]
Stuart[197] is unconvinced, thinking that this merely refers to shouting (v.17), singing (v.18), and dancing (v.19). Perhaps that is all that is meant here. However, the context of Pagan worship and drinking seems to imply sexual immorality, which wasn’t uncommon to Israel. In a similar passage, worship of the Moabite gods also involved sexual immorality: “While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods… 6 An Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting” (Num. 25:1-2, 6).
Moses hears about what is happening
(32:7) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.”
God subtly refers to the Hebrews as “your people,” rather than ‘My people.’ This is similar when a wife says to a husband, “Your son smashed the television…”
(32:8-10) They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ 9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
God told Moses that he was going to judge the people for their idolatry. God didn’t need to tell Moses “leave me alone.” Instead, he was inviting Moses to intervene.
Moses suffered so much from leading these people. Now, God is telling Moses that he’s going to bring judgment. This would make it easy for Moses, and certainly the people deserved it. But how does Moses respond?
(32:11-14) But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
The text shifts from “your people” (v.7) to “his people” (v.14).
(Ex. 32:11-14) Did God change his mind? This is anthropomorphic language that describes how Moses interceded with petitionary prayer.
Moses sees what is happening
(32:15-17) Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”
A hooded sci-fi samurai once said, “That’s no moon… It’s a space station!” Similarly, Moses said, “That’s no war… It’s an orgy!”
(32:18-19) Moses replied: “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.” 19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
“Dancing” (mĕḥôlâ) means “to writhe.”[198] Cole writes, “This probably implies a religious ceremony, with devotees whirling ecstatically before the idol and altar, as David danced before the sacred chest (2 Sam. 6:14)… However, in view of the bull-cult, there is probably an orgiastic undertone.”[199]
“Breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.” Was Moses justified in his anger? Was this a divine drama that demonstrated the breaking of the Covenant? Stuart thinks so. He writes, “Moses’ breaking of the tablets was an important symbolic act done carefully, deliberately, and openly for the benefit of the Israelites because of the way violation of a covenant is routinely described in the ancient Semitic world as a ‘breaking’ of that ‘covenant.’”[200] He continues, “Was Moses capable of impulsive acts? Certainly. But nowhere in the Exodus narrative or anywhere else in the Scripture is his breaking of the tablets described as impulsive. It was a reasoned, overt act demonstrating a fact (the covenant had been broken) and warning of a consequence (divine wrath—far worse than the anger of Moses). The expression used to describe Moses’ anger is a common one (ḥārāh + ʾāp) and does not indicate that he lost control of himself or was ‘blind with rage’ or the like.”[201]
“The foot of the mountain.” This is where the people had originally met with God and heard the Ten Commandments (Ex. 19:17; Deut. 4:11).
(32:20) And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
Why did Moses make the people drink the gold powder? First, this was a way to permanently destroy this idol (cf. 2 Kin. 23:6, 15). After it was digested and defecated by the people, there was no going back to worship this Golden Calf![202] Second, this was a clear way to demonstrate that this idol was powerless, and it was certainly not their savior (v.4; cf. Ex. 23:24). Finally, this could have been a way for the people to internalize their sin and taste the bitterness of it.
(32:21) He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”
Moses is upset because he left Aaron in charge (Ex. 24:14).
(32:22-24) “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
Aaron starts off with a reasonable excuse, but it quickly turns into the worst excuse ever: “They threw the gold in the fire, and out popped this calf!” This is an “absurd excuse” and perhaps even some “grim humour.”[203] Moses doesn’t fall for it (v.25).
(32:25-28) Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him. 27 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.
The Levites were Moses’ own side.
“Each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.” This doesn’t demand that a person needed to kill their family, friends, or neighbors. Instead, the people shouldn’t be excused if they were family, friends, or neighbors.
(32:29-30) Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.” 30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
How could God have 3,000 people killed? For one, this idea didn’t originate with Moses, but with Yahweh himself. God has the right to take life. Second, if a person wanted to be with God, he needed to choose in this moment. Stuart writes, “Those found to be committed to idolatry must be killed. Those sorry for being caught up in it but now actively repenting must be spared.”[204] This couldn’t have been a complete execution, because then all the people would’ve been killed. Moreover, there were still people to exhort about their sin in the following verses (v.31ff). This implies that the repentant people were left unharmed. Third, therefore, only the hardcore faction in Israel were executed—not innocent people. Stuart writes, “A modern person accustomed to the sentimentalism of Western liberal thinking might find the idea of killing idolaters impossible to justify. Moses, on the other hand, understood that leaving idolaters in the midst of Israel to influence others away from the opportunity for eternal life was impossible to justify. God revealed to him that a fight was underway over saving truth.”[205]
(32:31-35) So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”
Moses doesn’t try to excuse their sin. He calls what they did a “great sin.”
(32:33-35) The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.” 35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
Moses tried to be an intercessor and substitute for the people, but God didn’t accept it. Later, he accepted the substitution of Jesus, because he was the only one who could rightfully substitute.
What led to this serious fall?
This whole event occurred when the people were told to wait on God. In their case, they waited for 40 days (Ex. 24:18).
Waiting raises big questions. For instance, “How long do I have to wait? Why should I have to wait? Should I take matters into my own hands?”
During these times, major changes occur inside us. The pressure leads to growth. We discern “good waiting” from “bad waiting.”
Exodus 33 (God’s “after effects”)
The people refused to wait on God, and all they got to see were their idols. Moses waited on God, and what did he get?
(33:1-3) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”
“Go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham.” This is a fulfillment of Genesis 15. God doesn’t revoke his promise. He renews it.
“I will send an angel before you.” God had promised to lead the people through an angel (Ex. 23:20-21). Here, however, God is sending an angel instead of leading them personally.
“I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.” According to Cole,[206] God chose not to be near the people because his justice would require to judge them.
(33:4-6) When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’” 6 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.
“Distressing words.” This seems like good news. They are mourning because God is removing his presence from the people.
“The Israelites stripped off their ornaments.” This was a sign of repentance for what they did at the incident with the Golden Calf (Ex. 32:3). “Yet,” Cole writes, “the very ornaments that could make a golden idol in the past could now be dedicated to God for the use of his sanctuary.”[207] Later we read, “All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD” (Ex. 35:22).
The people had tried to create a Golden Calf to be the presence of God. But they suffered because of their impatience. When they tried to create a god to worship, it only resulted in being further from God. Thus, Stuart’s comments are particularly insightful: “They now mourned because what they had so craved and had tried to manufacture—direct divine presence—was now even further removed from them than it had been. The rest of the journey would require even more faith, not less, and would be even more frightening because the people would be more on their own than they had been.”[208]
To summarize, God still gets behind his plan to send them to the Promised Land. But he offers them a stern rebuke: If he travelled with them, he would judge them. As a result, the people mourned their idolatry and wouldn’t wear their jewelry.
The Tent of Meeting
God chooses to withdraw from the people, but not altogether. He continues to meet with Moses nearby. In the ancient Near East, people often built temples near their cities and homes. Earlier, the Israelites had Yahweh in their midst. Now, they are no longer unique: God dwells outside of their dwellings.[209]
(33:7) Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp.
“The tent of meeting.” This is a sort of substitute for the Tabernacle or a proto-Tabernacle (Ex. 27:21; 28:43; 29:4, 10, 30, 32, 42, 44; 30:16, 18, 20, 26, 36; 31:7). Moses stationed the tent outside of the camp—away from the people (“some distance away… outside the camp”). God would talk with Moses face to face there. Later, we read, “With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD” (Num. 12:8).
(33:8-10) And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent.
The people were developing a reverence for Moses’ leadership again. They could visibly see that God was with him.
“Stood and worshiped.” Stuart comments, “The NIV translation ‘stood and worshiped’ is unfortunate because it implies to the reader that the people worshiped while standing, perhaps via the raising of hands. (Interestingly, the few depictions of hands raised in worship in the ancient world show them raised to the mouth, not above the head as is favored in modern Western worship.)”[210]
(33:11) The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Joshua would spend time in the tent when Moses was gone. Only he was allowed in there—not even Aaron or the priests were allowed. Perhaps he was guarding the tent from curious bystanders. In many ways, this was Joshua’s training camp. Moses was grooming him for leadership.
How could God speak to Moses “face to face” if no one can see God and live? This refers to direct communication in contrast to something that is enigmatic. Later God says, “With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD” (Num. 12:8).
(Ex. 33:20) Can we see God or not? In Exodus 24, God invited these men to see him. In Exodus 19, he forbid this. This is no more contradictory than inviting a dinner guest over at 7 o’clock at night, but forbidding them to come over at 7 o’clock in the morning. While one case is acceptable, the other isn’t.
(33:12-13) Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
Moses starts to feel insecure about going to the Promised Land without God’s presence going with them. His solution is that he wants to know God and his will more fully.
(33:14-16) The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
The Israelites were not holy or distinct in and of themselves. Moses knows that God’s presence is what distinguishes the Israelites from all other people on Earth.
(33:17) And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
The people wanted a shortcut to see God. So, they had Aaron make a Golden Calf. Moses could actually see God (at least to some extent) because he was persistent in prayer.
(33:18) Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
Moses already heard, Yes, from God. Now, he grows even bolder. He wants to see the “glory” (kābôd) or literally “weight” or “heaviness” or “value” of God: “This is a prayer to see God as he is.”[211]
(33:19) And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
God reveals himself through his “goodness.”
(33:20-23) “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” 21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
(Ex. 33:20) Can we see God or not? God says that Moses can’t get a direct blast of God’s presence, but he would reveal his “after-effects.”[212] This is similar to referring to the “tail of a comet.” It isn’t that comets have actual tails, but this describes what we’re seeing. Yet, this doesn’t compare to seeing God full glory. This Hebrew idiom of referring to God’s “back” is to “see virtually nothing” (2 Sam 14:24; Jer. 18:17).[213]
What do we learn?
God finally revealed his “glory” through Jesus (Jn. 1:14-17).
Exodus 34 (Moses’ face glows)
(34:1) The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.”
Originally, the Ten Commandments were “inscribed by the finger of God” (Ex. 31:18). Here, however, God tells Moses to chisel a copy of the Law.
(34:2-3) “Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”
What could God reveal to Moses that would be so important at this crossroads in his ministry? In the midst of the people falling into corporate idolatry and Moses rewriting the Ten Commandments, God reveals his character. This becomes a theme throughout the rest of the Pentateuch, the OT, and even the entire Bible. God’s most emphasized attribute is his love.
(34:4-7) So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
“He passed in front of Moses.” This is a fulfillment of Exodus 33:21-22. Yet, this is the only description that we have of this event. There is no explanation of God’s physical appearance. Instead, God focused on his words.
“The compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands.” This becomes an oft-repeated refrain throughout the OT. This describes the stable and unchanging character of God.
God could’ve started with any of his attributes (e.g. holiness, justice, etc.). However, he begins with his compassion, grace, love, and faithfulness.
“Forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.” But there is significant tension in this verse. God is loving and forgiving, mentioned three different types of sin (“wickedness, rebellion, sin”). However, he will also not let the guilty go unpunished. How will this be resolved? We find the ultimate resolution of God’s justice and his love at the Cross.
(34:8-9) Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”
In order to grant this, God requested that they renew their covenant with one another. Stuart paraphrases God’s reply: “Keep my covenant and I will go with you.”[214]
(Ex. 34:10-11) Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. 11 Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.”
God promises to be with the people as they take the land (Ex. 23:23, 28). However, he has stipulations for this covenant below.
(Ex. 34:12) Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you.
A “treaty” or “covenant” (bĕrit, NASB) with God “rules out any covenant with the Canaanites.”[215]
(Ex. 34:13) Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.
The “Asherah poles” were “the sacred trees or wooden poles (perhaps symbolic of a tree) that often stood by Baal’s altar (Judg. 6:25).”[216] Asherah was the Canaanite fertility goddess, and Baal was the Canaanite fertility god.
(Ex. 34:14-15) Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 15 “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.”
Stuart takes the prostitution (znh) to be a “a metaphorical way of describing infidelity to God’s covenant.”[217] Perhaps. This could refer to religious (or ritual) prostitution.
(Ex. 34:16-17) And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same. 17 “Do not make any idols.”
God promises to be with the people, but warns that they should not make a peace treaty with the Canaanites. If they do, the idolatry will have a seductive effect on their hearts. Stuart writes, “Intermarriage in the Bible is never discouraged on ethnic grounds, but religious intermarriage is consistently discouraged on religious grounds. In other words, there is nothing negative associated with the mixing of races, but great danger attends the mixing of religions.”[218]
The Festival of Unleavened Bread
(34:18-21) Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt. 19 The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons. No one is to appear before me empty-handed. 21 Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.
The Festival of Weeks
(Ex. 34:22-26) Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God. 25 Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning. 26 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” This could refer to sympathetic magic. By cooking a goat in its mother’s milk, the practitioner was trying a “magical technique as a means of increasing the fertility of their flocks.”[219]
(Ex. 34:27) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
“Write down these words.” Covenants were written contracts—not oral tradition. God stipulated the terms of the contract, and this was written down for an almost legal precedent. Stuart[220] states that this is why there were “two tablets” (Ex. 34:1). The second tablet was a copy of the first: One represented God’s copy; the other represented Israel’s copy.
(Ex. 34:28) Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.
This was a second occurrence of spending “forty days” with God (Deut. 10:10; cf. Ex. 24:18).
Moses’ face glows with God’s glory
(34:29) When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.
“[Moses] was not aware.” Cole comments, “Moses was unconscious of his own stature. This is true spiritual greatness. Numbers 12:3 rightly describes him as meekest (humblest) of men: here is an instance of it.”[221] When we get time with God, we might not feel any different, but others can sense it (2 Cor. 3:17-18).
“His face was radiant” (qrn) translates a word that normally means “horn.” This is why medieval art depicts Moses with horns (!). The meaning of the Hebrew must refer to “sent forth rays”[222] or “shot forth beams [of light].”[223] This was a visible demonstration that God was with Moses, and that the covenant had been successfully reestablished and renewed.
(34:30) When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.
God’s glory “looked like a consuming fire” (Ex. 24:17) to the people. This could explain why the people were “afraid to come near him.” Even a mere reflection of God’s glory is terrifying to people.
(34:31-35) But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.
Paul picks up on this theme in 2 Corinthians 3:1-18. Even the Law brought a glorious light to Moses’ face. If the Law (the ministry of death) had this effect, how much more for those who spend time with God in the new covenant (the ministry of life)? He needed to veil his face it was so strong (v.33-35).
Application
Moses had a close friendship with God. We have a closer relationship!
(Jn. 15:9, 15) As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love… I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
God resolves his love and justice in the person and work of Christ (vv.6-7).
Andrew Murray compares our personal time with God as similar to Moses: We “go up on the mountain” and we come back with our face glowing for our people. Can people see that I’ve been spending time with God regularly?
The people couldn’t wait on the Lord, so they built an idol. Moses waited, and so he got to see the real thing!
Tensions in the Text
(1) Judgment and atonement. Moses wanted to make “atonement” (Ex. 32:30) and substitute for the people (Ex. 32:32), but God won’t accept the intercession of a man (Ex. 32:33). The people deserve judgment (Ex. 32:10), but God accepts a mediator (Ex. 32:14; 33:17).
(2) The people are separate from God. God cannot be with the people on their travel (Ex. 33:3), the tent is outside the camp (Ex. 33:7), no one can see God and live (Ex. 33:20), God only shows his back to Moses (Ex. 33:22-23). Yet, God promised to go with the people with his presence (Ex. 33:14). Moses wants to see God’s “glory” (Ex. 33:18), but no one can see this and live (Ex. 33:20).
(3) Love and justice. God is deeply loving (Ex. 34:6), and deeply just (Ex. 32:27, 34-35; 34:7).
All of this is resolved in the work of Jesus Christ! (Jn. 1:14-18)
Exodus 35 (The people bring their precious commodities to build the Tabernacle)
This chapter is really juxtaposed with chapter 32, where they bring their gold to build the Golden Calf. It shows that we can use our gold for the world-system (the Golden Calf) or for the kingdom (the Tabernacle).
God commissions Bezalel to build the Tabernacle, and he filled him with his Holy Spirit to do so. This shows the importance of the Tabernacle, if God will give his Spirit to help him in this way.
Exodus 36 (Repeated instructions on the Tabernacle)
The people brought so much that Moses actually called off the giving campaign (v.6).
We already covered this in chapters 25-26.
Exodus 37-38 (Repeated instructions on the Ark)
We already covered this in chapter 25. One thing to note is how much Bezalel is focused on in these chapters, as the architect and artist behind the Tabernacle, Ark, and Altar.
Exodus 39 (Aaron’s clothing)
We already covered this in chapter 28.
There is an emphasis here on the fact that the Israelites followed everything that God commanded (vv.32-43). That might be why there is so much detail in these chapters—namely, the details are important.
Exodus 40 (Tabernacle worship)
Moses did everything as God commanded (v.33). It is in these terms (God’s terms) that God came and dwelt with the people. God’s presence was so powerful that even Moses couldn’t enter (vv.34-35). God’s presence gave the people a sense of direction and leading (vv.36-38).
[1] Eugene Merrill, Mark F. Rooker, and Michael A. Grisanti, The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011), 190.
[2] Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker (Cambridge: O’Reilly Media, 2009), 57.
[3] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 59.
[4] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 59-60.
[5] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 62.
[6] See footnote. Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 62-63.
[7] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 63.
[8] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 65.
[9] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 66.
[10] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 67.
[11] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 61.
[12] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 74.
[13] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 61.
[14] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 76.
[15] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 78.
[16] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 62.
[17] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 80.
[18] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 86.
[19] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 88.
[20] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 63.
[21] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 64.
[22] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 93.
[23] James Hoffmeier, Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition (Oxford University Press, 1997), 140-142.
[24] K.A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2003), 247. James Hoffmeier, Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition (Oxford University Press, 1997), 142.
[25] James Hoffmeier, Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition (Oxford University Press, 1997), 143.
[26] K.A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2003), 297.
[27] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 97.
[28] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 66.
[29] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 98.
[30] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 66.
[31] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 67.
[32] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 68.
[33] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 68.
[34] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 68.
[35] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 102.
[36] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 103.
[37] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 69.
[38] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 69.
[39] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 113-114.
[40] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 72.
[41] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 75.
[42] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 79.
[43] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 124-125.
[44] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 80.
[45] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 130.
[46] Francis Schaeffer, No Little People (Crossway, 2003), 25.
[47] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 131.
[48] See footnote. Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 133.
[49] Though, we disagree with Stuart’s view that Moses is simply using cultural self-effacement and humility throughout Exodus 3-4. If that is the case, then why does God’s anger burn against Moses? Stuart holds that Moses’ final objection represents a “dramatic departure” from all the other excuses (p.136). But we see this as following right along in context with the earlier excuses of Moses. Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 133.
[50] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 144.
[51] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 85.
[52] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 146.
[53] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 85.
[54] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 152-155.
[55] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 156.
[56] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 79.
[57] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 124-125.
[58] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 163.
[59] Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446. Titus Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2020), 48-50.
[60] Titus Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2020), 50.
[61] Hoffmeier explains, “In the tomb of Rekhmire, a vizier or prime minister of Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC) in western Thebes, a painted scene depicts groups of foreigners making bricks.” James Hoffmeier, The Archaeology of the Bible (Oxford: Lion, 2008), 51.
[62] Moses was 80 years old at the time of the Exodus (Ex. 7:7), and he was 120 years old, when he died (Deut. 34:7). He spent 40 years in Midian (Acts 7:30). This means that the Pharaoh who originally oppressed the Hebrews must have reigned for at least 40 years, while Moses was in Midian. Only two Pharaohs fit this description: Thutmose III (1504-1450 BC) and Rameses II (1290-1224 BC).
[63] Titus Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2020), 51.
[64] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 89.
[65] Ajith Fernando, The Call to Joy and Pain (Crossway, 2007), p.113.
[66] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 90.
[67] Charles Gianotti “The Meaning of the Divine Name” Bibliotheca Sacra (January-March) 1985. 39.
[68] See footnote. Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 169.
[69] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 92.
[70] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 172.
[71] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 174.
[72] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 93.
[73] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 180.
[74] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 185.
[75] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 96.
[76] Livingston, David P. “The Plagues And The Exodus.” The Bible and Spade, 4:1. (Winter 1991).
[77] Livingston, David P. “The Plagues And The Exodus.” The Bible and Spade, 4:1. (Winter 1991).
[78] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 198.
[79] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 199.
[80] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 97.
[81] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 97.
[82] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 98.
[83] Livingston, David P. “The Plagues And The Exodus.” The Bible and Spade, 4:1. (Winter 1991).
[84] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 98.
[85] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 211.
[86] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 99.
[87] Livingston, David P. “The Plagues And The Exodus.” The Bible and Spade, 4:1. (Winter 1991).
[88] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 79.
[89] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 124-125.
[90] Livingston, David P. “The Plagues And The Exodus.” The Bible and Spade, 4:1. (Winter 1991).
[91] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 222.
[92] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 229.
[93] Livingston, David P. “The Plagues And The Exodus.” The Bible and Spade, 4:1. (Winter 1991).
[94] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 104.
[95] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 237.
[96] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 241.
[97] Livingston, David P. “The Plagues And The Exodus.” The Bible and Spade, 4:1. (Winter 1991).
[98] Livingston, David P. “The Plagues And The Exodus.” The Bible and Spade, 4:1. (Winter 1991).
[99] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 262.
[100] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 265.
[101] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 111.
[102] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 272, 273.
[103] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 113.
[104] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 276.
[105] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 277.
[106] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 114.
[107] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 115.
[108] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 118.
[109] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 282.
[110] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 294.
[111] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 294.
[112] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 303.
[113] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 306.
[114] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 308.
[115] Thomas E. Mccomiskey, “1990 קָדַשׁ,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 786.
[116] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 121.
[117] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 312-313.
[118] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 317.
[119] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 123.
[120] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 328.
[121] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 329.
[122] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 330.
[123] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 127.
[124] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 387.
[125] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 338.
[126] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 129.
[127] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 343.
[128] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 345.
[129] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 394.
[130] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 399.
[131] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 372.
[132] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 379.
[133] Though, the concept occurs in Genesis 2:2-3. R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 139.
[134] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 403.
[135] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 384.
[136] Emphasis mine. Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 401.
[137] 40 years later, the people complain about water at this same place again! But God disciplines Moses for his anger—not the people (Num. 20:1-13).
[138] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 407.
[139] John I. Durham, Exodus, vol. 3, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1987), 230.
[140] James K. Bruckner, Exodus, ed. W. Ward Gasque, Robert L. Hubbard Jr., and Robert K. Johnston, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012), 156..
[141] See Isaiah 3:13; Jeremiah 50:34; cf. Exodus 23:1-2, 6; Deuteronomy 25:1; Proverbs 25:8-9. Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 407.
[142] Durham writes, “The people attacked Yahweh and put him on trial by attacking Moses, to put him on trial.” John I. Durham, Exodus, vol. 3, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1987), 232.
[143] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 406-407.
[144] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 406.
[145] Typically, a person would “stand before” royalty or someone greater than themselves. This language is the position of humility. For just a few examples, see Exodus 9:3; Numbers 5:16; 8:13; 27:19; Deuteronomy 7:24; 9:2; 10:8; 1 Samuel 16:22; 1 Kings 10:8; Ezra 9:15; Job 41:10.
[146] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 391.
[147] James K. Bruckner, Exodus, ed. W. Ward Gasque, Robert L. Hubbard Jr., and Robert K. Johnston, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012), 158.
[148] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 392.
[149] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 143.
[150] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 144.
[151] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 144.
[152] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 144.
[153] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 68.
[154] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 404.
[155] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 145.
[156] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 410-411.
[157] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 414.
[158] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 417.
[159] Stuart states that the Hebrew literally translates, “Three months to the day.” Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 420.
[160] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 152.
[161] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 422-423.
[162] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 423.
[163] Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (Orland, FL: Harcourt, 1957), p.9.
[164] Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (Orland, FL: Harcourt, 1957), pp.9-10.
[165] Thomas E. Mccomiskey, “1990 קָדַשׁ,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 786.
[166] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 426-427.
[167] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 431.
[168] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 156.
[169] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 162.
[170] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 448.
[171] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 161.
[172] See footnote. Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 449.
[173] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 163.
[174] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 450.
[175] Leonard J. Coppes, “2038 קָנָא,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 802.
[176] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 454.
[177] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 456.
[178] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 462.
[179] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 424.
[180] Kaiser writes, “If any one of the seven words could signify ‘murder,’ where the factors of premeditation and intentionality are present, this is the verb.” Gaebelein, Frank E. (General Editor), and Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 424-425.
[181] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 171.
[182] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 172.
[183] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 565.
[184] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 198.
[185] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 198.
[186] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 199.
[187] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 200.
[188] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 200.
[189] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 222.
[190] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 222.
[191] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 665.
[192] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 223.
[193] J. Barton Payne, “1905,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 763.
[194] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 478.
[195] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 226.
[196] John I. Durham, Exodus, vol. 3, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1987), 422.
[197] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 667.
[198] Andrew Bowling, “623,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 270.
[199] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 228.
[200] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 677.
[201] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 677.
[202] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 678.
[203] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 228.
[204] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 681.
[205] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 680.
[206] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 232.
[207] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 232.
[208] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 691.
[209] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 233.
[210] See footnote. Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 698.
[211] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 235.
[212] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., “Exodus,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990), 484.
[213] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 709.
[214] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 719.
[215] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 240.
[216] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 240.
[217] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 725.
[218] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 725.
[219] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 733.
[220] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 712.
[221] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 242–243.
[222] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 738.
[223] R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 2, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 243.