In Part 2, I shared with you about Moses’ character and the plagues. In addition to noting the possible significance of these ten plagues I also shared what movie, “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” I think best depicted them.
Let’s now look at how/where the liberator, leader and lawgivers is cited in the Book of Exodus.
Moses in Exodus
In Exodus 2:11, the Pharaoh’s daughter named the baby boy she found “Moses,” because she “drew him out of water.” In Exodus 2:11, Moses showed premeditation and sneakiness when he “looked this way and that” before killing the Egyptian who had beaten the Israelite.
In Exodus 2:16-17, Moses showed heroism when he saved Reuel’s (Jethro) seven daughters from the shepherds and watered their flock. In Exodus 3:3, Moses showed curiosity when he saw the bush did not burn. In Exodus 3:6, Moses was afraid to look at God. In Exodus 3:11, Moses asks who is he, questions who sent him in Exodus 3:13 and states the Israelites would not believe him or listen to him in Exodus 4:1. In Exodus 4:3, Moses showed fear again when he ran from the staff-turned-to-serpent. In Exodus 4:4 Moses showed obedience and courage when he listened to the LORD, put out his hand and caught the serpents’ tail. In Exodus 4:10, Moses declared he was not eloquent in speech and had a speech impediment. In Exodus 6:20, Moses parents are Amram and Jochebed. In Exodus 6:30, Moses asks the LORD how will Pharaoh listen to him, a man of uncircumcised lips. In Exodus 7:1, the LORD. tells Moses that he has made him like a god to Pharaoh. In Exodus 7:2-55, Moses shall speak what God commanded him, Pharaoh will not listen to him, but God would use Moses as an instrument to wield His judgment. In Exodus 7:8, Moses’ 80-year-old age is revealed and he is three years younger than his brother, Aaron.
In Exodus 12:1 Moses communicates the first religious ritual to the Israelites while they were still in captivity. On the tenth day of the first month every man shall take a one-year-old male lamb without blemish and after the fourteenth day, the man shall kill the lamb at twilight, spread the blood on the two doorposts, roast the meat, and eat it with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. This Passover meal must be eaten with belt fastened, sandals on feet and staff in hand. In Exodus 12:37, Moses leads about 600,000 men, excluding women and children; after 430 years of Egyptian bondage (Exodus 12:41).
In Exodus 14:7, Pharaoh pursued Moses and the Israelites with 600 chariots. In Exodus 14:13 Moses told the Israelites to fear not, stand firm and see the salvation of the LORD. Moses assured them the LORD will work for them today. In Exodus 14:15-16, the LORD asked Moses why was he crying to Him. The LORD told Moses to tell the people to move forward, lift up his staff, stretch out his hand over the sea and divide it.
In Exodus 15:22-25, the LORD showed Moses a log, which he threw it into the contaminated water. The water became sweet. In Exodus 16:1-21, the LORD responds to the people grumbling a third time and tells Moses plus Aaron that He will rain bread and quail for them to eat. He tells them they aren’t grumbling against him but against the LORD. In Exodus 16:22-36, Moses establishes the Sabbath. In Exodus 17:1-6, the people quarrel with Moses because there was no water. The LORD tells Moses to strike the rock at Horeb and water shall come out. In Exodus 17:8-14, Moses leads the Israelites against Amalek and defeats them by obeying the LORD by raising his hands on a hill overlooking the battle. Aaron and Hur help keep Moses’ hands raised. In Exodus 18:13-27, Jethro advises Moses to decentralize his judicial authority and delegate to other men. In Exodus 19, the LORD uses theatrics to sanction Moses’ leadership over the people.
In Exodus 20:1-20, the LORD gives Moses The Ten Commandments. In Exodus 24:18, Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights. In Exodus 31:18, the LORD gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. In Exodus 32:11-14, Moses implored the LORD on behalf of the people for God not to bring disaster on the people. In Exodus 32:19-20, Moses’ anger burned hot, burned the golden calf, grounded it to powder, scattered it in water and made the people drink it.
Let’s take a time out and analyze the Ten Commandments.
When God liberated the Israelites from Egypt after 430 years of bondage, He gave Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) to establish societal order.
Note the Mosaic Commandments against killing (capital crime), stealing (robbery) and lying (perjury). These are three cornerstones of societal law.
These first set of The Ten Commandments (1 through 4) are commands not to commit against God:
- THOU shalt have no other gods before me;
- THOU shalt not make unto thee any graven images;
- THOU shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.
- REMEMBER the Sabbath day…
These second set of The Ten Commandments (5 through 10) are commands not to commit against each other:
- HONOR thy Father and thy Mother;
- THOU shalt not kill;
- THOU shalt not commit adultery;
- THOU shalt not steal;
- THOU shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor;
- THOU shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house.
In Exodus 32:28, the sons of Levi killed 3,000 Israelite men who did not want to follow the LORD, according to the word of Moses. In Exodus 32:30, Moses said the people sinned greatly and sought to atone for their great sin. In Exodus, 33:9-11, the LORD spoke to Moses face-to-face. In Exodus 34:29-35, Moses’ face shined for talking with the LORD face-to-face. In Exodus 35:20-29, everyone “whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him” (verse 21) responded to the LORD and to Moses by giving money, jewels and possessions as a freewill offering (verse 21) to the LORD. In Exodus 36:5-7, people brought so much stuff, Moses told them to stop contributing. In Exodus 38:21-23, the tabernacle was fashioned at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites, and at the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron, the priest. Bezalel made all that the LORD commanded and Oholiab was an engraver, designer and embroiderer.
Conclusion
Having shared about Moses in the Book of Exodus, Part 4 of this blog series will be about Moses’ in the Books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This four-part series concludes with about Moses’ legacy.
During the interim I invite you to look on page four of The Testament Spectator’sfour-page Moses edition, which is available above this/my website. In this Moses edition you will see an article reporting how a strong east wind parts the Red Sea. You are more than welcome to download this PDF, at no cost, of this Moses edition, as well as download any other or all of the six other Bible newspaper editions which I’ve titled The Testament Spectator.
My five books are available for purchase in paperback and ebook. Among those five books “Story of Rich Man and Lazarus,” “Judas, Betrayer of Jesus,” and “Noah, Preparer of the Ark” have been released in audiobook, narrated by yours truly. Thank you.