1:12 It
must be truly aggravating for your plans to have the reverse affect that you
wanted, and for your enemies to grow.
1:15 The
Israelites had only two midwives? They must’ve been busy. Perhaps they were the
leaders, the generals, as it were of the midwives.
1:19-21
These midwives are pretty creative in their lying, and then God rewards them.
However, He doesn’t reward them for the lies. They are rewarded because they
feared God above men (even the Pharaoh). It’s not an argument for lying, but it
is an argument for fearing God.
2:5-7 I
think there is often a misconception that Pharaoh’s daughter heard Moses
crying, and that is how she found him. However, the Bible says that she saw the
basket, and it wasn’t until she opened the basket that Moses started crying.
Perhaps the baby was used to floating in the river and being fetched out by his
family. Perhaps he cried at the shock of being fished out by complete strangers
(strange faces, clothing, smells, makeup, sounds, etc.) He also may have been
hungry. It’s possible that he had come to associate the basket being removed
and opened with being fed, so when it didn’t happen, he may have protested. So,
it makes sense that Miriam’s first offer is to bring someone who can nurse the
baby. This isn’t referring to a nanny/babysitter/governess, either. Ishshah
nashiym (woman), yanaq (to give milk). It’s referring to a nursing mother,
someone who could satisfy the baby’s needs.
Also,
I’m not so sure that Pharaoh’s daughter finding Moses was an accident. The
mother, Jochebed, was determined enough to hide him for three months, and I’m
sure an Israelite woman would know where the Princess lived. She probably also
knew where the Princess bathed, since it was customary for her to bathe in the
river. I’m also inclined to believe that the water was safe, since the Princess
was bathing in it.
2:20
Pharaoh’s daughter gave Moses a Hebrew name. She must’ve known the Hebrew language
at least well enough to know “mosheh” drawing out of the water, rescued.
2:14
“Who made you a prince and judge over us?” Uh, I think that was God. He sounds
like he’s sulking. (Who died and made you king?)
2:15 I
wonder if Pharaoh (who was so desperately trying to limit the Israelites’
power) was galled to have an Israelite for an adopted grandchild. He might have
even been glad to have an excuse to try to kill him. Moses was well-educated,
and could easily become the catalyst leading to the revolt that Pharaoh was so
desperately trying to prevent.
Moses
flees and sits down by a well. This would be a great place to be sure of
meeting people and possibly getting information and/or help.
2:16-19
Jethro (Reuel) was surprised that his daughters had come home so early, so I
guess the other shepherds picking on his daughters was a regular occurrence. I
wonder if he ever did anything to stop it. All it took was one man (Moses) to
keep the shepherds at bay. Although, the daughters identified Moses as an Egyptian
to their father (Did I somehow never catch that before?), which might have been
enough to startle the other shepherds off at least this time.
2:24 God
remembered His covenant? Does that mean that God forgot? Of course not. I can
remember things I’ve never forgotten. John 3:16, anyone? It’s not like God
forgot them (Oh, oops, sorry guys. I kinda forgot you were still there in
horrible slavery. My bad.) No, he knew this would happen. Genesis 15:13-14
3:1 A
lot in this one little verse. Moses is a shepherd now. We tend to accept this
fact a little too quickly. We have to remember where he came from. This sort of
work was way beneath his standard of living. In fact, you might recall from
Gen. 46:34 that, “every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians.” (this
helped the Israelites from intermingling, for sure). So, being a shepherd may
have been a lot more difficulty than just a lack of skill for Moses. He may
have also been facing some cultural difficulties in the idea.
Also, we
accept very readily that Jethro was a priest of Midian, but who exactly were
these people? Was Jethro a priest of God, or of an idol? The Midianites were
descendents of Midian, son of Abraham and Keturah.
Also,
he’s in the desert near Horeb, the mountain of God. I wonder if it was called
the mountain of God then, or not until later. Also, did Jethro and family call
it Horeb (a Hebrew name meaning desolate), or did they use its other name:
Sinai. Did I never notice before that the burning bush mountain is the same
mountain where the 10 commandments are carved? Perhaps God spoke to Moses out
of the same bush later as well.
3:3 I
think Moses’ response seems a bit tame. I think he would have been curious,
excited, and maybe even a little scared to see a burning bush. He was brave
enough to investigate something so out of the ordinary.
3:6 I
tend to laugh at Moses for hiding when he realizes who it talking, but I can
imagine that I would be hiding, too if I encountered God like that. I might
even be more fearful, because I have more knowledge of God available to me.
3:7-11
I’ve seen the oppression. I’ve heard the cry, and I know their sorrows. (Yeah,
God, it’s really bad.) I have come down to deliver them (About time, too!!) To
a good, large land (That’s what I’m talking about!) Come, and I will send you
to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.
(Whoa, hang on there. What happened to You coming down? I-I-I can’t do this!!
I’m nobody!)
3:14 I
AM THAT I AM (HAYAH ASHER HAYAH) A lot of focus in fantasy and entertainment is
about the “Chosen One.” God here is THE ONE. He is. Self-existent. Eternal.
3:18
Wait a second, I thought the deal was to get the children of Israel out of
Egypt? This says that god just wanted them to take a 3-day journey to the
wilderness for sacrifices to God. This isn’t God being sneaky, negotiating for
a holiday and planning total escape.
3:22
Women plunderers? Yeah! Take that, Vikings! I mean—Egyptians!!
4:1 Who
is the “they”? The Israelites? The Egyptians? According to God, the Israelites
would believe Moses’ words. So, perhaps the signs were meant for Pharaoh and
the Egyptians. Looking at verse 5 clears it up a little.
4:2-9
Moses is given three signs to perform. All three of these are not good omens.
Perhaps God is demonstrating His power to the peoples by His control over
dangerous elements. Snakes can kill people, leprosy was a death sentence, and
water changing to blood would be especially dangerous in such a dry climate.
Water was precious. God could have chosen any signs (Look, I can make doves
appear from my hands, and flowers appear, and find coins in your ears!), but He
chose signs that would convince the people of His serious and powerful nature
and purpose.
3:11-4:13
Moses gives every excuse in the book. I’m nobody. What will I tell them? What
if they don’t believe me? I’m not eloquent. Send someone else.
However,
I often do the same thing when God gives me something to accomplish for Him. I
am too limited by my own disbelief to accomplish what I could accomplish if I
had faith. Yet, God uses the useless to demonstrate His own worth in us.
4:16
“And you shall be to him as God.” Isn’t this the dream of all younger brothers?
4:20
Moses takes his wife and sons back to Egypt with him. In 2:22 he only had one
son. It’s not until 18:4 that we find out that Eliezer was the second.
4:25
Moses was in Midian for 40 years. I wonder how old his son was when mom went at
him with a sharp stone.
5:2, 4,
7-9 I always imagine this Pharaoh as sounding like Schwarzenegger. (Who is this
God that I should obey Him? I don’t know this guy, and I won’t let Israel go!)
(Why are you keeping them from their work! Get back to work!! They are so many,
and they’re resting! Don’t give them any more straw for brick, either. Let them
go find it! Same amount of bricks as before. They are lazy and whiny, so they
need more work. Waah, waah, waah! We want a holiday! They need to be taught not
to be so demanding!) :D That’s just too much fun. I can’t take
Pharaoh seriously.
5:22-23
Moses complains to God. He seems to have forgotten that God told him that
Pharaoh’s heart would be hard (3:19).
6:14-20
400 (430) years of captivity seems like a lot of time and a lot of people. I tend
to think of it in terms of what that would look like today. However, their age
spans were still much longer. Levi lived 137 years. His son, Kohath, lived 133
years. Kohath’s son, Amram (lived 137 years) was Moses’ father. So, Levi,
Kohath, Amram, Moses. 400 years and 4 generations. Also, Levi lived in Canaan
for at least 40 years before moving to Egypt. (Kohath might even have been born
in Canaan.) Moses also lived beyond these 400 years. In 4 generations, God
increased the 70 people (75 including Joseph and family) into a full nation.
(in 12:37 they are numbered at 600,000 men, besides children)
6:20
Moses’ mother was also his great aunt. Weird.
6:10,
6:12, 6:30 Moses continually tells God that he’s not a good speaker and that he
has uncircumcised lips. He keeps trying to get out of it. This doesn’t quite
sound like the bold, Charleton Heston version that we’re so used to.
7:15-21
Moses visits Pharaoh in the morning at the river. Perhaps Pharaoh, like his
daughter, bathed in the river. Or, he may have been performing early morning rituals
(perhaps worshipping the gods). This morning visit from Moses happened a few
times (8:20, 9:13). Moses communicated God’s consequence. The Nile turning to
blood was more than just inconvenient. The Nile was the primary source of water
and food, but above that, this was an affront to the gods of Egypt. The god
Hapi (of the Nile), Khunum (guardian of the Nile), Osiris (of the underworld,
the Nile was his bloodstream), Tauret (hippopotamus), and Nu (of life in the
Nile). These gods were supposedly powerful. Even their blood, since it was
divine, was supposed to have benefit, but this bloody river was definitely not
beneficial. The river stank, and all this horror lasted for 7 days.
8:5 Now,
frogs. This was inconvenient, but also held significance in the Egyptian gods’
inabilities. The frog was associated with Heqet (of life and fertility,
appearing as a frog or with a frog’s head). The Egyptians weren’t allowed to
kill frogs, either, since they were associated with the goddess. I also find it
funny that the fertility goddess’ frogs would invade even Pharaoh’s bed.
8:8
Pharaoh knew who caused the frogs, and begged for them to be removed.
8:9-11
Moses actually let Pharaoh decide when the frogs would leave, so that God’s
power could be demonstrated.
8:18-19
Even the magicians couldn’t replicate the lice, and they recognized it as God’s
power. This was an attack on Geb, god of the earth. This plague would have been
particularly disturbing to some Egyptian priests, who shaved off all of their
hair daily for purification.
8:21 The
fourth plague is commonly known as the “fly” plague. However, the word given
doesn’t specify flies, just “swarms.” This could be mosquitoes, scarabs (the
creator god, Amon-Ra had the head of a beetle), flies, gadflies, dog-flies, or
gnats. Some people think it could have been a combination, or even animal
infestations. This was also the first plague to have a distinction between the
tormented Egyptians and the protected Israelites.
8:25
Pharaoh offers an alternative: offer sacrifices in Egypt, but that wasn’t God’s
plan.
9:6
After plagues of blood, frogs, lice, and swarms, I’m not surprised that all the
livestock died. However, I’m more inclined to believe that it was the swarms
that brought on the disease, since neither the swarms nor the disease affected
the Israelites. Perhaps these swarms were somehow linked to all the frog
carcasses which were sitting around in rather stinky piles. They may have
sprung from them or fed on them.
Some of
the livestock were sacred to the Egyptians. Their gods were often portrayed
with animal parts. The god Apis was portrayed as a bull, and his followers
cared for a bull, which was believed to be an incarnation of the god. It was
revered, and after its death it would be mourned, embalmed, and buried in a
sarcophagus. This incarnation would have died along with all the other
livestock during the plague. Other gods were represented as a cow, a ram, a
cat, etc.
9:11 The
magicians could not stand. They were also brought low before God. There were a
few gods associated with medicine and healing, including Serapis, Imhotep, and
Thoth.
9:13-14
The request is still to go out and serve God, not for them to leave
indefinitely. Moses also informs him that the next plagues will be personal.
Thus, the hail, was an attack. The hail could’ve been against Nut (the sun
goddess), Shur (the wind god), or Isis and Seth (who supposedly protected the
crops).
9:19 I
thought that all the Egyptians’ cattle had died. Did they seize the
Israelites’?
9:27 I
feel sorry for this messenger. He probably had to run around, dodging fiery
hail, trying to find Moses. I wonder if Moses was dodging hail on the way back
to Pharaoh.
10:3 I
think it’s pretty understandable that the leader of one of the most powerful
and successful kingdoms of all time (in which he is considered a god), would
find it rather difficult to humble himself before the God of his slaves. This
would be a considerable loss of face before his people and the world.
10:7
Even Pharaoh’s servants and advisers couldn’t convince him. They realized that
Egypt was destroyed. What pride to ignore everyone.
10:13
Locusts. Nepri (god of grain), Thermuthis (goddess of fertility and harvest),
and other gods who protected crops (Isis, Ermutet, and Seth) were defeated by
the swarms of locust.
10:15
The locusts left nothing green in the land. Now, when I think of Egypt, I tend
to think of sand and stone, yet the Egyptian civilization grew and flourished
through its use of the Nile river. There was much richness and greenness to
lose, and they lost it all.
10:22
The darkness was mainly an attack on Amon-Ra, the sun god. This wasn’t just an
eclipse, either. There was darkness (thick darkness) for three days.
10:26
Moses insisted on taking everything, explaining that even they didn’t know what
they would need to serve God with. I wish the airlines realized this and helped
me out with my luggage. Who knows what I’ll need to serve God later. :D
12:11
They were to be ready to leave. God knew that Pharaoh would pursue them. Maybe
they needed the extra head-start.
12:29 This
last plague would have crippled Egypt emotionally, legally, and spiritually.
The loss of the cherished firstborn would have been tragic, but the firstborn
was also the heir to a greater portion of the father’s possessions. The younger
sons didn’t have the same rights. Also, this last plague was a final blow to
all the gods, many of which were represented with animals. The firstborn of men
and animals died, proving once more that the gods of Egypt had no power. And,
finally, this was an attack on the divinity of Pharaoh himself.
13:3-5
What happened to the “just going to make sacrifices” deal?
13:17
God protected His people, knowing what they could handle at each moment.
14:3,
5-6 Pharaoh decided that they were helpless and lost on their own, and his people
agreed that they didn’t want to let the Israelites go.
14:11-12
The people lose heart at the first instance. I think God planned it so they
could know that they could depend on Him even when they were “on their own.”
14:17,
20 If I’m going to be destroyed in my own country, let the rebellious slaves
go, then decide they’re weak and pursue, I’m probably not going to shame myself
with retreat when I see them marching through the middle of an ocean,
especially when a stupid cloud is blocking me.
15:14-16
Israel got a reputation! You can’t hush up something like the devastating
destruction of Egypt.
15:20
Miriam is labeled as a prophetess. I wonder if she had prophesied Moses
bringing salvation to her people. As a girl she was used of God in bringing
about this salvation.
