Plymothian

Some people can take on the burdens of everyone around them.  As Jethro says to Moses, “What you are doing is not good.”  Of course, we should be available for the people that God has specifically put into our lives for us to invest in but we should not become the savior of our school, our church, or our more needy friends.  God has provided an extended family of believers;  He has provided a written code by which to live.  God is not deficient like he needs you.  God is compassionate and he loves you.

A second point is that the God of the Old Testament is not simply the God of Israel.  This passage shows that Jethro of Midian observes all that God has done and acknowledges that Moses’ God is mighty.  Israel was to follow God and the nations were to follow the example of Israel.  Although Midian becomes an arch enemy (cf. Gideon in Judges), here we see a Midianite who honors God.

Exodus 18:1-27

 ¹Now ^(A)Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

 ²Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife ^(B)Zipporah, after he had sent her away,

 ³and her ^(C)two sons, of whom one was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been ^(D)a sojourner in a foreign land.”

 ⁴The other was named ^(E)Eliezer, for he said, “^(F)The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

 ⁵Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at ^(G)the mount of God.

 ⁶He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”

 ⁷Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and ^(H)he bowed down and ^(I)kissed him; and they ^(J)asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.

 ⁸Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians ^(K)for Israel’s sake, all the ^(L)hardship that had befallen them on the journey, and how ^(M)the LORD had delivered them.

 ⁹Jethro rejoiced over all ^(N)the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians.

 ¹⁰So Jethro said, “^(O)Blessed be the LORD who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

 ¹¹“Now I know that ^(P)the LORD is greater than all the gods; indeed, ^(Q)it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people.”

 ^12(R)Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

 ¹³It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening.

 ¹⁴Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?”

 ¹⁵Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me ^(S)to inquire of God.

 ¹⁶“When they have a ^(T)dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

Jethro Counsels Moses

 ¹⁷Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good.

 ¹⁸“^(U)You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; ^(V)you cannot do it alone.

 ¹⁹“Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you ^(W)bring the disputes to God,

 ^20(X)then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them ^(Y)the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do.

 ²¹“Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people ^(Z)able men ^(AA)who fear God, men of truth, those who ^(AB)hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.

 ²²“Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be ^(AC)that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge So it will be easier for you, and ^(AD)they will bear the burden with you.

 ²³“If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace.”

 ²⁴So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said.

 ²⁵Moses chose ^(AE)able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.

 ²⁶They judged the people at all times; ^(AF)the difficult dispute they would bring to Moses, but every minor dispute they themselves would judge.

 ²⁷Then Moses ^(AG)bade his father-in-law farewell, and he went his way into his own land.

Questions

1. Who came to see Moses (4 people)?
2. What had they heard?
3. What was their reaction to the LORD?
4. How are they a model for nations hearing about God’s work?
5. How have you responded to stories of God’s work in the Bible and from other believers?

Going Deeper

Observation

• What was Jethro’s occupation?
• Who was sent to Jethro?
• Than whom does Jethro think that the LORD is greater?
• How long do people stand around Moses?
• What does Moses do with his father-in-law’s advice?

Interpretation

• What did a priest of Midian do?
• How did Jethro’s view of the gods as a whole shift?
• How is Jethro a model for others?
• What is the significance of the sacrifice offered? 
• Why did people in the ancient world tend to gravitate to a single leader?

Application

• How should people react to seeing God at work?
• Do you hear about God at work all over the Earth?  What about South Korea, China, and Africa?
• How do modern people tend to become over-reliant on individuals in the church, the family, and at work?
• How can more people in church be actively involved in ministry?
• How would people at church feel more ownership and be committed to a church like they are to their job?

At Moody Missions’ Conference a missionary asked us what mankind’s most basic need is.  We answered the usual food and water, one of may have even answered “God” (it was a mission conference).  However, the missionary who works in refugee camps in Africa told us that it is security.  The first thing that a person needs is to be secure.  He told us the story of 60,000 people who cam to a refugee camp.  Things there were so intense that the foreign workers would leave at the weekend to recoup.  When they came back they found that the 60,000 people had moved on.  It was easy to track them because of the trail of dead and dying that they left in their wake.  When asked why they moved on the answered simply that they did not feel safe from their enemies.  God has provided food and water for the Israelites, but they need a more fundamental need met.  They need to feel secure and safe.

Exodus 17: 8 – 16

 ⁸Then ^(A)Amalek came and fought against Israel at ^(B)Rephidim.

 ⁹So Moses said to ^(C)Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with ^(D)the staff of God in my hand.”

 ¹⁰Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and ^(E)Hur went up to the top of the hill.

 ¹¹So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.

 ¹²But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur ^(F)supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.

 ¹³So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

 ¹⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “^(G)Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that ^(H)I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

 ¹⁵Moses built an ^(I)altar and named it ^(J)The LORD is My Banner;

 ¹⁶and he said, “^(K)The LORD has sworn; the LORD will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

Questions

1. Who attacked the Israelites?
2. Who did Moses send?
3. What was the outcome?
4. How does God show his ability to protect?
5. How is your security in God?

Going Deeper

Observation

• Where did the Amalekites attack Israel?
• Where will Moses stand?
• What does Moses have in his hand?
• What do Aaron and Hur do?
• What does Moses build?

Interpretation

•  How do the Amalekites keep cropping up as arch enemies of Israel (cf. Agag)?
• How does the appointing of Joshua foreshadow his future role?
• How does the hill foreshadow the coming chapters?
• People disagree why Moses had to keep his hands raised.  Why do you think he did?
• Moses altar wasn’t for sacrifice.  What was it for?

Application

• Why would some people take from this passage, “Trust in the LORD and he will win your battles for you!”?
• How does such thinking fall apart in light of Hebrews 10, 11, and 12?
• How does your desire to ‘win’ work against God’s desire to work through his redemptive plans?
• If God defeats his enemies, why do people work in opposition to him?
• What memories do you have of God fighting his battles through you?

God is gracious with us when we complain.  I sometimes think that he pushes us into situations where we must complain.  However, the complaint can only effectively be directed at the one who can change things.  Ultimately any complaint must come before God.  Many psalms in the Bible follow a familiar pathway of complaint, but they are resolved by a dependence on God.  In this passage Israel has no water and no food.  Bodily necessities cause the people to make wild accusations at Moses and Aaron.  However, God will provide food graciously to a complaining and faithless people.  Water will flow to grumbling humbugs.  The God of the Old testament is gracious.

Exodus 16:1 – 17:7

 ¹ 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. 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.”

 ⁴ 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.”

 ⁶ 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.”

 ⁹ 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. ¹⁶ This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer ^[a] 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, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.

 ¹⁹ Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”

 ²⁰ 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 he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. ²² On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers ^[b] for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. ²³ He said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of 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.”

 ²⁷ Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. ²⁸ Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you ^[c] 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 he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

 ³¹ The people of Israel called the bread manna. ^[d] It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. ³² 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 desert 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.”

 ³⁴ As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna in front of the Testimony, that it might be kept. 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.)

¹ The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”
      Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?”

 ³ But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

 ⁴ Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

 ⁵ The LORD answered Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶ I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷ And he called the place Massah ^[a] and Meribah ^[b] because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

Questions

1. Which desert did the people come to?
2. What does God rain down?
3. What will the people know?
4. What basic needs does God take care of?
5. How has God met your basic needs?  How does this cause you to know that the LORD is God?

Going Deeper

Observation

• How much food must the people gather each day?
• What bird flew into camp in the evening?
• What happened to the ‘bread’ when people kept it for more than a day?
• How did God provide for the sabbath?
• When the people quarreled with Aaron and Moses, who did Moses tell them they were arguing with?

Interpretation

• Why does God provide just enough for the Israelites?
• Why does God treat the people with grace and not judgement?
• What was manna exactly?
• Who rested on the Sabbath?
• How does God allow free will but control the daily habits of his people?

Application

• Take time to write an inventory of all the food you have in your house.
• Do you have enough to eat?
• Take time to make a list of drinks you have?
• Do you have enough to drink?
• How could not having enough make you less complacent?

God tests by laying down a conditional clause:  If you … then I …  We have the luxury of looking back through history.  We know that these deals that God offers his people are rarely kept by them.  God so often tests in the Old testament and shows us the frail, fickle nature of human kind.  While they are panting for water, God promises to keep them from disease if they follow him.  I presume that they thought that was a deal.  However, we know they were unfaithful.  It is after God has their complete attention through thirst that he brings them to refreshing waters.

Exodus 15: 22-27

 ²² 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. ^[a] ) ²⁴ So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”

 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 sweet.
      There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. ²⁶ He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of 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.”

 ²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

Questions

1. Where did Moses lead the people after the Red Sea?
2. What is wrong with the water of Marah?
3. What is good about the waters of Elim?
4. How does physical thirst focus the spirit?
5. How have you been made thirsty for God?  What did God teach you in those times?

Going Deeper

Observation

• How long did the people go without water in the desert of Shur?
• When the people grumbled what did they say?
• What did the LORD show Moses?
• What verbs describe what the people must do for God?
• How is Elim’s bounty described?

Interpretation

• Where is Shur?
• Where is Marah?
• Where is Elim?
• Is it wrong to complain after becoming thirsty?
• What are the diseases that God brought on the Egyptians?

Application

• When have you been in a real desert?  How did you feel?
• When have you been in a figurative desert?  What came to mind?
• Why are people taken through wilderness experiences?
• What conditional clauses does God give us?
• What refreshes your soul?

The drivel we sing sometimes is embarrassing.  The music may be uplifting, but the words Christians sing are void of content; the mind has gone; the excitement is no deeper than a pop concert.  Frequently the focus is on the singer.  That is, the worshipper is lost in their narcissism as they cry out thanks for “A little piece of God in my world” (Saved).  The songs of scripture talk of the self sparingly as they focus on the object of worship.  The songs retell what God has done.  The songs unfold deep theology.  The songs have substance.  Moses’ song after crossing the Red Sea is such a song.  What examples of good worship songs do you know and sing?

Exodus 15: 1 – 21

¹ Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD :
       “I will sing to the LORD,
       for he is highly exalted.
       The horse and its rider
       he has hurled into the sea.

 ² The LORD is my strength and my song;
       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.

 ⁴ Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
       he has hurled into the sea.
       The best of Pharaoh’s officers
       are drowned in the Red Sea. ^[a]

 ⁵ The deep waters have covered them;
       they sank to the depths like a stone.

 ⁶ “Your right hand, O LORD,
       was majestic in power.
       Your right hand, O LORD,
       shattered the enemy.

 ⁷ 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 firm like a wall;
       the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

 ⁹ “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.

 ¹¹ “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?
       Who is like you—
       majestic in holiness,
       awesome in glory,
       working wonders?

 ¹² You stretched out your right hand
       and the earth swallowed them.

 ¹³ “In your unfailing love you will lead
       the people you have redeemed.
       In your strength you will guide them
       to your holy dwelling.

 ¹⁴ 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 ^[b] of Canaan will melt away;

 ¹⁶ terror and dread will fall upon them.
       By the power of your arm
       they will be as still as a stone—
       until your people pass by, O LORD,
       until the people you bought ^[c] pass by.

 ¹⁷ You will bring them in and plant them
       on the mountain of your inheritance—
       the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling,
       the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.

 ¹⁸ The LORD will reign
       for ever and ever.”

 ¹⁹ When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen ^[d] 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 prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. ²¹ Miriam sang to them:
       “Sing to the LORD,
       for he is highly exalted.
       The horse and its rider
       he has hurled into the sea.”

 Questions

1. Which two people sing to the LORD in this passage?
2. What has the LORD become to Moses?
3. How is God’s right hand described?
4. What part of the song does Miriam repeat?
5. What song do you sing that recounts anything that God has done?

Going Deeper

Observation

• What consumed God’s enemies like stubble?
• What did God do in response to the Egyptians’ boasting?
• Who is God compared to with a rhetorical question?
• What did Miriam take in her hand?
• What did the women following Miriam do?

Interpretation

• Is Moses singing this by himself or with the people?
• Is this a hymn for the people to sing regularly in worship?
• Why are territories the Israelites have not faced the subject of this song?
• How is man deemphasized and God exalted in the way the song is written?
• How does the poem use parallelism?

Application

• When did you last sing to God with passion?
• How can you move your emotion through intelligent praise and worship?
• Should I focus my attentions away from myself in praise and worship?
• How could the congregation participate with percussion and dancing?
• Why do so many people ‘endure’ praise and worship?  What needs to change for them?

What kind of God leads his people into a cul-de-sac?  Why must God slaughter people to show who he is?  These and other questions arise when we read Exodus.  The answer to the first is that he is setting a trap for the Egyptians.  the answer to the second is that this narrative shows God’s retribution against the Egyptians for drowning Israelite children in the Nile.  The Bible intentionally raises questions that are difficult to understand.  To pursue meaning means to pursue understanding of the deeper nature of God.  Application of what we find isn’t always easy, either.  This passage teaches more about who God is than it does about how we should quit our own ‘Egypts’.  Are you willing to seek a better understanding of who God is for his sake, or when immediate application to your life for your benefit doesn’t come through, will you give up the pursuit?

Exodus 13:17 – 14:31

¹⁷ 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. ^[a] The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.

 ¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel 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.” ^[b]

 ²⁰ After leaving Succoth 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.

 ¹ 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. ³ 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.

 ⁵ 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. ⁹ The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen ^[c] 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!”

 ¹³ 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.”

 ¹⁵ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 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. ¹⁷ 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.”

 ¹⁹ 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.

 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 waters were divided, ²² and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

 ²³ The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. ²⁴ 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 made the wheels of their chariots come off ^[d] 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.”

 ²⁶ 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 ^[e] 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. ³¹ And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Questions

1. What did God provide to guide the Israelites?
2. What will Pharaoh think when he sees the Israelites at Pi Hahiroth?
3. Who will gain glory by God’s final act of deliverance from the Egyptians?
4. How does the deliverence of Israel shape your view of God?
5. How can you depend on the God of Israel for your future?

Going Deeper

Observation

• Where did the people not go?
• What bones did Moses take with him?
• What do you think about God’s use of a ruse to lure Pharaoh?
• How does a theme of grumbling arise in the passage?
• How does the passage make it clear that Moses is acting in God’s strength?

Interpretation

• If God is all powerful why couldn’t he have encouraged the people by defeating the Philistines?
• Why does Moses takes Joseph’s bones with him?
• Are certain forms of deception allowed because they are not ‘lies’?
• How does God handle grumbling?
• How does God conquer the chaos of water in the Bible?

Application

• Do you trust God to plan out the strategy of your life?
• When have you had a better plan than God for your life?  How did you need to let that go?
• How have you respected your ancestors?
• Do you think that a Christian must always tell the whole truth?
• How has God’s theme of deliverance played out in your life recently?

A pivotal event takes place in Israelite history.  as you read the passage, there is even a break which tells us how Hebrews are to remember its events.  we see the establishment of a defining tradition of Judaism.  The moment here is as significant as Jesus taking this tradition and making it his own:  Communion;  Eucharist;  The Lord’s Supper.  The Israelites had a yearly tradition that they followed to remember God.  Do you have traditions to help you remember God?  Christmas is a good time to set them up.

Exodus 11: 1 – 13:16

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. ² 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.)

 ⁴ 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 slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. ⁶ There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. ⁷ But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.’ Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. ⁸ 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.

Exodus 12

The Passover

 ¹ 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. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb ^[a] for his family, one for each household. 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. ⁵ The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people 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. ⁸ That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. ⁹ Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire—head, legs and inner parts. ¹⁰ Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 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.

 ¹² “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 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.

 ¹⁴ “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. ¹⁶ 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 Feast 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. ¹⁸ 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 whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born. ²⁰ Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”

 ²¹ 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. Not one of you shall go out the door of his 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.

 ²⁴ “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?’ ²⁷ 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.

 ²⁹ 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.

The Exodus

 ³¹ 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.”

 ³³ 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.

 ³⁷ The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. ³⁸ Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. ³⁹ With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes 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.

 ⁴⁰ Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt ^[b] was 430 years. ⁴¹ At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions left Egypt. ⁴² 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.

Passover Restrictions

 ⁴³ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover:
      “No foreigner is to eat of it. ⁴⁴ Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have circumcised him, ⁴⁵ but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat of it.

 ⁴⁶ “It must be eaten inside one 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 “An alien living 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 of it. ⁴⁹ The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living 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.

Exodus 13

Consecration of the Firstborn

 ¹ 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 man or animal.”

 ³ 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 Abib, 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 forefathers 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 the 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.

 ¹¹ “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 forefathers, 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.

 ¹⁴ “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 every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. 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.”

Questions

1. What will happen at about midnight?
2. What will finally happen for Israel?
3. What will happen to Egypt?
4. How is God’s grace toward Israel and judgement of Egypt shown?
5. How have you managed to remember God’s grace toward you and the lost condition of the world around you?

Going Deeper

Observation

• What have Moses and Pharaoh sworn to do at the end of chapter 10?
• What does Moses do when he is angry (v. 8)?
• What is significant about this time for the Hebrew calendar?
• What are Hebrews to do with a lamb until the fourteenth day?
• What happens to the lamb on the fourteenth day?

Interpretation

• Moses delivered the announcement of the tenth plague as a ‘by the way …” as he was leaving.  Can you see that?
• What do you think the effect is of announcing the death of someone’s firstborn son as you are being banished from their presence?
• Whom does God show his power over as well as Pharaoh?
• Who does God have a right to?  How does he exercise his right?
• Why is it encouraging that the Israelites left after 430 years to the day?

Application

• How have we dedicated our children to God?
• What traditions have you set up this Christmas?  What are their purposes?
• How has God vindicated you?  How did you react?
• How is God’s wrath best communicated to those who are still under it?
• Have you read or experienced God doing something with amazing detail (For example:  We were given Daryl on my birthday and we became his ‘Godparents”)?

The signs and wonders begin.  God shows his strength, but Pharaoh’s sorcerers are able to copy what God has done.  As Pharaoh’s heart is hardened it is not without reason.  Why should the Pharaoh give up such a bountiful supply of free labour?  Why should the Pharaoh renounce his own deity?  After all the God of Moses is not all that distant in power from himself and his sorcerers.  God allows Pharaoh to be stubborn.  In fact he does not overwhelm him with a transcendant display of his power.  He lures Pharaoh into displaying more and more of the stubborn, hard, strength of his resolve.  As Pharaoh looks to himself God will eventually overwhelm him.  However, God wants to display his holiness in a way that will not easily be forgotten.

Are you stubborn?  Do you persist in decisions that are unwise?  What will it take for God to overwhelm you?

Exodus 7:8 – 25

 ⁸ 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.”

 ¹⁰ 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 Plague of Blood

 ¹⁴ 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 water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, 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 desert. 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.’ ”

 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 the wooden buckets and stone jars.”

 ²⁰ 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.

 ²² 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. ²⁴ And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.

Questions

1. What is the first sign that God performs using a staff?
2. How do the sorcerers copy the first sign?
3. What is the second wonder that God performs?
4. How does this strike a basic need?
5. How is God’s strength today revealed by some people’s stubborn attitude?

Going Deeper

Observation

• What happened to the sorcerers’ staffs in the end?
• Who had said Pharaoh’s heart would be hardened?
• What died as a result of striking the water of the Nile?
• What other water sources did Moses stretch his hand over?
• What did the Egyptians do to find drinking water?

Interpretation

• Why were God’s wonders able to be copied?
• What is a Pharaoh’s relationship to the Nile?
• How would both food and water become more scarce?
• How is a stubborn, hard heart sometimes confused as strength in kings or leaders?
• How did the ground filter the water to make it clean?

Application

• Do you believe these miracles really happened?  Does it matter?
• How is your view of God shaped by his changing a staff to a serpent and changing water to blood?
• How has God worked in ways that you would like him not to work?
• How could you choose to be stubborn or submissive to God?
• How do you find ways to get around the hardships that are a result of your own poor choices?