GALATIANS # 3
HISTORY
An overview (2)
6/07/10

Moses was an unlikely candidate for the leader of the Israelites…
• Born under a death sentence.
• Had to conceal (or unaware of) his Jewish ancestry and heritage.
• Not a member of the Israelite community, though a Jew, was raised and lived as a member of the pharaoh’s family; rulers of Egypt, slave master of the Israelites.
• Rejected by the Jewish community after he killed the Egyptian overseer.
• Fled from Egypt under another death sentence for killing the Egyptian overseer.
• Married a daughter of “the priest of Midian” probably a worshiper of Yahweh, but not a descendant of Isaac.
• Lived there among non-Israelites, app. 40 yrs. before God called him:

Exodus Title : The Holy Bible, King James Version
Edition : Third
Copyright : Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright © 1998, Parsons Technology, Inc.

Exodus 3:1-22 ( KJV )
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.
And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:
But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

Moses was educated in the household of Pharaoh, with little, or no exposure to the teachings of the Israelites. His knowledge of His heritage would have been somewhat garbled seen through the teaching of his Midianite father in-law, and his Egyptian education. Even so, he was God’s choice to lead the Israelites out of captivity, rather than one of the leaders of the community which was in slavery.

In spite of these, what at “a quick glance”, appear to be some pretty serious shortcomings, Moses went on to become one of the two men having the greatest impact on humanity of anyone who has ever lived (the other being Saul of Tarsus); Let’s “stop, bend down, and peer intently” for a moment, at why Moses was such a monumental figure in mankind’s history.

At the time of Moses childhood, the Egyptians were the most advanced civilization the earth had yet seen: very sophisticated math and science; construction techniques which enabled the building of the pyramids, sphinxes, elaborate building etc.; they had a written language and an elaborate theology; funerary methods that haven’t been matched to this day. Since Moses was raised by the pharaoh’s daughter he was thoroughly educated in all these things: as a potential future ruler he would have been highly trained in military, managerial, and diplomatic skills. With all this training he would have been one of the best equipped, potential leaders of his time. His Midianite father in-law was the “priest of the Midianites” and, as the descendant of one of Abraham’s younger sons, would have been familiar with the promises and teachings that Abraham had received from God, thus Moses would have had access to, and been taught by a knowledgeable tutor: taught what was probably a much more detailed and much less distorted view of God than the Israelite’s. Since they had been kept in pagan captivity all that time, syncretic influences had taken their toll to some extent.

In light of all this information, Moses was not such a bad choice after all!
After Moses had been living among the Midianites for quite some time, God revealed Himself to Moses as a burning bush and in that encounter he directed Moses to go and bring the Israelites out of captivity. At this time God answered Moses question of what His name is: I AM (Exodus 3: 14) God’s most complete revelation of Himself to mankind up until that time, God’s ongoing revelation of himself, culminating in the death and resurrection of “His only Begotten Son”. We see this most clearly and emphatically with the preservation of the Israelites from the last plague God visits upon the Egyptians. (Exodus 12: 1- 20)

God instructed them to select and befriend a perfect lamb, then slay it, take some of the blood and paint their doorposts: the blood saved them from the “judgment” God visited upon the Egyptians. The patient, incremental process God has used here, each plague an increased manifestation of His power, is revealing more and more of Himself, continuing an ongoing provision of bits and pieces of the solution to the “Mystery” (Mark 4: 11; Romans 16: 25; etc)
After God demonstrated His power to Pharaoh and through him to all mankind, and the Israelites are released, He leads and protects them in the dessert, counseling and guiding Moses in all that he does. The general direction of the migration is Eastward, towards mount Horeb where God had told Moses he would “serve God” (Ex. 3: 12), upon arriving there God again speaks to Moses,(Exodus 19 – 20) entrusting Moses with His law.

. With these actions, God set in motion the events necessary to establish mankind’s only hope of Salvation; the “schoolmaster” was in place (Gal 3: 24). With the help of this protector and guide, mankind would be able to understand God’s plan of salvation as it was revealed.
During the time that Moses was on the mountain with God, some of the people grew impatient and reverted to their pagan beliefs! Assigning the rescue and miracles they have just experienced/witnessed to their old Gods, and build a golden calf to worship and thank for all that has transpired! So often there is only a thin patina of change in new converts – the old false god’s are present just below the surface.

As we discussed last week, the Israelites beliefs had been polluted by exposure to four hundred years of syncretism between them and paganism of various forms; additionally a “multitude“of others joined them in their departure from Egypt: Exodus 12:38 ( KJV ) And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. Soon after participating in all the miraculous works of God delivering them from Egypt and providing for them in the desert it seems they would unwaveringly trust and worship God, however, when Moses didn’t come right back from his mission on mount Sinai, they built a gold calf and worshiped it! Even Aaron joined in!

God was displeased and offered to slay all the Israelites and raise a new “chosen” people from Moses. Moses, humbly turned down the offer, God relented and punished only the worst offenders (Exodus 32).

DISCUSSION

1. Why Moses?
2. What was beneficial as a future leader in Moses up-bringing?
3. What was significant about the last plague?
4. What was beneficial about the time he spent with his in-laws?
5. After gaining the peoples release where did Moses head for? Why?
6. What happened there?
7. How did the people respond while at mount Horeb?
8. What happened to them?