Summary #5

Weekly Summary

Exodus 1-18

Last week we left Joseph overseeing the famine in Egypt, and his father and brothers in Goshen, tending sheep. As Jacob nears death, he calls Joseph to him, and takes his two sons, Ephraim and Mannassah as his own sons, giving the blessing of the firstborn to Joseph's second son, reminiscent of the situation he orchestrated with his own father, failing eyesight and all. Before he dies, Jacob asks to be buried in Canaan, and Joseph complies. Later, Joseph also dies, and is embalmed, and from there things go down hill for Jacob's descendents.

Over the years, the Israelites multiply and become a great people, and the Egyptians start to fear their strength, and turn them into slaves. Eventually, the Pharaoh demands that all male Israelite babies be killed by the midwives, but they avoid this by saying that the women give birth before they can even arrive. One such saved infant is born to two Levites, and they name him Moses. His mother puts him in a basket and floats him among the reeds, where Pharoah's daughter finds him and adopts him. He grows up as a prince, eventually overseeing the work done by the slaves. When one is mistreated by an Egyptian, Moses kills the Egyptian, and flees the land. When he is in Midian, he helps some shepherd girls water their flocks, and it turns out that these girls are daughters of a Priest, who chooses Moses as a son-in-law based on how he helped out at the well, reminiscent of his anscestor Jacob's encounter with Rachel.

Moses joins this family and herds with them until he comes across a bush that is on fire but doesn't burn up. As he approaches it, God speaks to him from the bush and tells him to go to Egypt and ask the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go into the desert for three days. Moses is, well, let's say skeptical of how this will work and of his ability to do what God has asked him to do. God gives him signs to perform for Pharaoh, and provides Moses' brother Aaron to help him as well. (We're not sure how Aaron got out of Egypt to join Moses. Another mystery...)

Moses does as God has commanded, and goes first to the people of Israel, who believe that God has sent Moses to save them. However, when he goes and tells Pharaoh to release the people to worship in the desert for three days, Pharaoh decides that if they want a vacation, they should work harder, and forces them to produce the same number of bricks as usual, but without him providing the straw. This doesn't go over well with the Israelites, who complain that Moses has now made their lots worse. Moses and Aaron return to Pharaoh with their demands, and even demonstrate their power with the sign that God has given them, but Pharaoh's sorcerers are able to replicate the sign, and Pharaoh refuses. Over and over again, Moses and Aaron return to Pharaoh to demand their release, and each time Pharaoh refuses, God sends another plague: the Nile turns to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock dying, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. Each time Pharaoh pleads and promises to get the plague lifted, and each time he refuses to let them go. Finally, God readies for the final plague by commanding the Israelites to first ask their neighbors for gold and silver, which they get, then to kill a perfect lamb, spread the blood on their door, and prepare and eat the lamb along with unleavened bread.

At midnight, the tenth plague descends on the land, and every firstborn dies. This is the breaking point for Pharaoh, who sends the Israelites on their way, and they leave Egypt. They carry with them Joseph's bones to bury in the land of Canaan, and God leads them with a pillar of clouds by day and fire by night toward the Red Sea. God establishes the Passover as a sacred feast, and also requires that the firstborn of everything be consecrated to him. His people agree.

It doesn't take long, however, for Pharaoh to change his mind, and he pursues the Israelite into the wilderness, just as God had said they would. When the Israelites saw this, they complained to Moses (in the first of what would become a LONG litany of complaints) that he had apparently led them into the wilderness to die. God, however, led them through the Red Sea on dry land and when the army of Pharaoh followed them into the sea, God released the water from the walls he had formed, and they all drowned. At this point, the people saw the power of God, and feared him and trusted Moses.

Didn't last long, though. Soon they were out of water (they were in the desert, after all), and they grumbled at Moses. Moses cried to God, and he gave them water. He also told them that if they followed his commands, he would not afflict them like he had the Egyptians. All was well.. until a bit later when the Israelites now grumbled at Moses about the food, and how poorly it compared with what they had in Egypt. Moses has had it with the grumbling Israelites, and tells them that it is not just Moses they are complaining about - it is God himself. Indeed, God reveals his glory to the Israelites, and then sends them quail to eat, and manna, along with very specific instructions on how to gather and prepare the manna. Which they ignore. Resulting in rotting, wormy, stinky manna. Moses reminds them that this was NOT what they were supposed to do, and they comply. Until Friday, when they were supposed to gather a double supply because none would appear on the Sabbath. Except for some reason, they don't obey (again). Really, these people.

They go on their way, gathering manna every morning, and then start in on Moses again because there is no water. They accuse him again of bringing them out of Egypt just to let them die in the desert. God has Moses hit a rock with a rod, and brings out sweet water.

Then we have the first battle: Israel, led by Joshua, fights against Amelek. Moses stands on a bluff above them, holding the rod of God. Whenever his hand is raised, Israel prevails; whenever his hand drops, Amelek does. Eventually, Aaron and Hur hold up Moses' arms to assist him, and Israel wins.

After this, Moses' father-in-law brings Moses' wife and sons out to the desert to meet them. Moses tells him the story of the exodus, and Jethro rejoices. He also notices that Moses is spending WAY too much time trying to sort out every little skirmish and quarrel among the people, and he encourages Moses to set up a tiered system of governing the people which will free him up to do the major leading he must do.

Well, we leave the Israelites for another week - not in Egypt any more, but not really any other place, either. They have walked, quarreled, battled, and witnessed miracle after miracle. Where next for them? Tune in next week....