Day 32, February 1 Bible Reading

Day 32,  February 1

Ex. 4:18 – 5:21      Moses returns to Egypt / Making bricks without straw

Ex. 5:22 – 6:12      Moses’ complaint / God promises freedom and a new land

Ex. 6:13 – 7:7        Genealogies of Moses and Aaron / Aaron the prophet

Ex. 4:18-5:21

• 4:18 Moses asked his father in law, Jethro’s [Reuel] permission to return to Egypt.  So let me get this straight. God told him to go, but he still respected his father in law to ask permission. We can learn from this.  No matter how strongly we think God told us something, we should respect the relationships in our lives.
  
  

• 4:19-23 God reiterated to Moses to return to Egypt and give him the news that everyone who wanted him dead was in fact, dead also.  That includes the Pharaoh.  So this is a new Pharaoh he was going to deal with. God was anxious for Moses to perform the miracles he empowered him with. From the beginning God told him He would hardened Pharaoh's heart and as Israel is His son, if Israel is not let go, He will kill Pharaoh’s son.  Divine gangsta talk.
   

• 4:24-26 So God tried to kill Moses? Why? Not sure, but  Moses cannot be the deliverer if his own house is not in order.  His son was not circumcised. Like any good wife, Zipporah saved the day, and angrily told her husband what she thought of him. “You are a bloodly husband”, essentially.
  
  

• 4:27-31 God reunites Moses with his big brother Aaron. Then Aaron and Moises spoke to the elders of Israel.  Moses showed them his new found power, hand of leprosy, rod turned into a snake, to prove that God indeed is about to save his people.
  
  

• 5:1-3 Moss and Aaron stood in front of Pharaoh, finally, delivering a message from God to let Israel hold a feast for 3 days in the wilderness.  Rightfully Pharaoh said, I do not know this God. Moses said you better let us go else he will strike us with pestilence or a sword.  I am not sure how that will convince Pharaoh for that has nothing to do with him.

• 5:4-14 Well of course, like a good American Pharaoh asked, why are you asking for time off? Are you crazy? Go back to work. It was Pharaoh’s decision to make slavery more odious to the children of Israel.  This time they got no ready supply of straw and had to still fulfill their daily quota of bricks.
  
  

• 5:15-21 Of course Moses and Arron were blamed for this by the elders and officers of Israel.  How quickly they forgot his ability to perform signs. 

Ex. 5:22-6:12

• 5:22 Moses is perplexed. He asked God why are you bringing all this trouble?  I guess he expected this would be a quick transaction.  If you heard from God, did you think it would be a cake walk? Many do.
  
  

• 6:1 God was undeterred  He had Pharaoh right where he wanted him.  “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh”
  
  

• 6:2-3 Did you realize that Abraham, Issac, and Jacob only knew God as El Shaddai, the Mighty One, or Many Breasted One (the Feminine or Fruitfulness side of God). Now God is introducing His Name to Moses YHVH [Jehovah], unpronounceable, or some say it is a breath.
  
  

•  “Though the meaning of God's Name (YHVH) was initially revealed to Moses as simply eheyeh (אֶהְיֶה), "I AM," or "I WILL BE" (Exod. 3:14), it is wonderful to realize that His Name was also revealed as eheyeh imakh (אהְיֶה עִמָּךְ), "I WILL BE WITH YOU" (Josh. 1:5,9; Isa. 41:10,13; John 10:28; Matt. 28:20, etc.). Just as the LORD is called Elohei ha-ruchot lekhol basar (אֱלהֵי הָרוּחת לְכָל־בָּשָׂר), "the God of the breath of all flesh" (Num. 16:22), so He is the Source of your breath, the One who exhales to you nishmat chayim (נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים), the "breath of life" that enables you to live (Job 12:10). Indeed the Name YHVH (יהוה) first appears in the Torah in regarding imparting the breath of life to Adam (Gen. 2:7) [NOTE: This shows also that Moses wrote Genesis]. Note further that each of the letters of the Name YHVH represent vowel sounds (i.e., breath), suggesting again that God's Spirit is as close as your very next breath. Like the wind that cannot be seen, so is the spirit the essential part of your identity. Yeshua breathed on his followers and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22)”. [Hebrew for Christians].
    

• 6:4-9 God recalled his covenant, to give Abraham the land.  It is time to activate this promise. God promised to deliver and redeem them. “I will take you as My people, and I will be your God”.  The people could not hear Moses because of the cruel bondage and anguish of spirit.
  
  

• 6:10-13 God told Moses to go back to Pharaoh.  Moses does not want to be disappointed again. He said if the children of Israel will not hear me, how will the king of Egypt? God literally had to command Moses and Aaron to stop their whining and go.

Ex. 6:13-7:7

• 6:14-27 Moses and Aaron’s family tree shown.  Why? To show that these were the very same Aaron and Moses whom the Lord spoke and appeared before Pharaoh [Ex. 6:26-27].  They were both descended from Levi.  Their father, Amram, was Levi’s grandson.
  
  

• 7:1-7 Back to the current story. Why is God doing this? He will harden Pharaoh;s heart so that “he may lay His hand on Egypt and all the Egyptians will know that He is the Lord”.  Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 years old.