Exodus Events

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EXODUS EVENTS

Exodus- Greek word exodos which means “going out” or “departure”

This chapter commemorates the unrelenting love and protection of YHWH . kept his promise
reflects on the life and vocation of Moses as divine emissary and on the significance of YHWH's
declaration of Israel as his segullah (treassured possession)

The Exodus is the founding myth of Israel, telling how the Israelites were delivered from slavery
by their god Yahweh and therefore belong to him through the Mosaic covenant. Spread over
the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, it tells of the events that befell the
Israelites following the death of Joseph, their departure from Egypt, and their wanderings in the
wilderness, including the revelations at Sinai, up to their arrival at the borders of Canaan.

God's Name Revealed


YHWH previously revealed Himself to Moses as "the God of your father, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (3.6) but Moses appeared to be more insistent. He
anticipated the posibility that people may inquire about God's name (3:13). In reply to such
inquiry, Go daid to Moses "I AM WHO I AM" He said further, " Thus you shall say to the
Israelites, "I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:14)
"I AM WHO I AM" was the name that God disclosed. Definately, the name revealed can never
be and will never be a proper name in the way modern people comprehend, use and/or
appropriate a name to a specific person .To ancient Semitic people, the name of a
person/object, and the ability to name them are very significant. to be able to name an object
or a person(act of naming) is to be superior over that object or person.God cannot be named
because He is the one who created us.

Characters

Moses
Moses (/ˈmoʊzɪz, -zɪs/) is a prophet in the Abrahamic religions. According to the Hebrew Bible,
he was adopted by an Egyptian princess, and later in life became the leader of the Israelites and
lawgiver, to whom the authorship of the Torah, or acquisition of the Torah from Heaven is
traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbenu in Hebrew

Rameses
Ramesses II /ˈræməsiːz, ˈræmsiːz, ˈræmziːz/ (variously spelled also Rameses or Ramses;born c.
1303 BCE; died July or August 1213 BCE; reigned 1279–1213 BCE), also known as Ramesses the
Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He often is regarded as the
greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire. His successors
and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor". He is known as Ozymandias in the Greek
source.

Israelites
→People of god →Slaves during exodus
→Descendants of Jacob → Origin: Canaan

EXODUS EVENTS STORY


Beginning
The story begins with the Israelites' in slavery in Egypt.

Why did they leave canaan?


According to the Book of Exodus, there was a famine in the land of Canaan (later known as
Israel). Because of this famine, the Hebrew patriarch Jacob traveled with his extended family of
70 to Egypt to both live in better conditions and be with his son Joseph. Joseph’s wisdom had
impressed the Pharaoh of Egypt to the point that he was appointed Viceroy of Egypt, which was
second in power only to the Pharaoh.

The next 430 years in Egypt saw the Israelites prosper and rapidly multiply to about 3 million
people. These numbers were so great, the Pharaoh became nervous that the Israelites were
becoming too many in number to control and thought they might side with Egypt’s enemies in
case of war. The Pharaoh decreed that the Israelites should be enslaved to build cities (Pithom
and Ramesses) and roads for him so that they would be too tired and also would not have time
to have children.

The Israelites were then confined to the land area of Goshen (Hebrew meaning of Goshen:
“approaching” or “drawing near,” meaning the Israelites were possibly drawn closer to God
during this period of time in Goshen, hence the essence of the Passover story occurred here),
which was the fertile land that was east of the Nile delta and west of the border of Canaan.

Pharaoh did all this and he still wasn't happy. The Israelites were still growing in number so he
decided to make a law. If any boys were born to the Israelites he would have them killed. At
this time there was an Israelite couple who were expecting to have a baby. When they had a
baby boy (whose name would later be Moses) they decided to hide him because they wouldn't
let anyone kill this beautiful, precious baby of theirs.

Evaluation
In the narrative, two specific assaults were made by Pharaoh against the Israelites namely:
Oppressive labor and killing of male children.
Oppressive labor
The oppression was motivated by insecurity and threath on the part of the Egyptians but at the
same time,revealed God's fulfillment of countless dscendants. As a result, supply citie, Phitom
and Ramesses were built.

Killing of Male children


There were two ways by which Pharaoh devised the elimination of male children: first, by
instructing the midwives to kill every Israelite newborn boy, and second, by a command to his
people to throw every Hebrew boy to the Nile River.

YHWH's action
Despite Pharaoh's effort, the Israelites continued to grow and increase in number as YHWH's
fulfillment of a promise.

CONTRAST BETWEEN YHWH AND PHARAOH


YWHWH's Promise of offspring vs. Pharaoh's Plan of Annhilation
YHWH who blesses vs. Pharaoh who punishes

They hid Moses for three months, but as he got older he didn't sleep as much and he cried
louder than before. So his parents did the only thing they could do, they made a strong basket
(sort of like a mini baby boat) and put blankets around the baby and placed the basket in some
tall grass in the Nile river.

Baby Moses had a sister named Miriam, and she watched from a distance to see what would
happen to her baby brother. While she was watching she saw somebody coming, she realized it
was Pharaoh's daughter and her servants. They were dressed like they were famous, and she
had seen her before and remembered what she looked like.

Pharaoh's daughter had come for a swim. While she was swimming she noticed a basket
floating a little ways away in the tall grass. So she asked one of her servants to go see what it
was. The girl brought the basket over to her, and when Pharaoh's daughter opened it, the light
startled Moses so he woke up and started to cry. "What a sweet, beautiful little baby. It must be
one of the Israelite's," Pharaoh's daughter said to her servants.

Later he became the son to Pharaoh's daughter, and that's when she named him Moses, which
means she got him out of the water.

Moses grew up as an Egyptian prince, but he never forgot he was a Hebrew. One day Moses
lost his temper and killed an Egyptian who had beaten a Hebrew slave to death. He had to run
away to another land. God spoke to him from a burning bush in the mountain of Horeb (Sinai)
and told him he must go back and free the Hebrews from slavery.
MOSES’ REJECTION

Moses said to the call of God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites
out of Egypt?"
He even used his personal incapacity as an excuse by saying: O my Lord, I have never been
eloquent, nether in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant: but I am slow
of speech and slow of tongue (Exodus 4:10)

Moses: The reluctant hero

Moses' persistent rejection may have been motivated by fear, insecurity, and sense of
unworthiness to stand before the powerful Pharaoh and to fulfill YHWH's seemingly impossible
mission, But Moses, at the end of the day, relented to YHWH's calling and embraced the
vocation entrusted to him after repeated persuasive divine assurance. It was a new life for
Moses, a life of a hero, though a reluctant one.

Moses went to Pharaoh to ask him to set the Hebrews free. Pharaoh did not want to lose his
slaves. He would not let them go, because they worked on his grand buildings. Awful things
began to happen in Egypt. There were ten plagues. Before each one, Moses had warned
Pharaoh what would happen. Moses told him the disasters had been sent by God.

THE 10 PLAGUES

First plague Water into blood (‫)דָ ם‬: Ex. 7:14–24


Second plague Frogs ( ַ‫)ְּצפַ ְרֵּד ע‬: Ex. 7:25–8:15
Third plague Lice (‫)ִּכִּנים‬: Ex. 8:16–19
Fourth plague Mixture of Wild Animals or Flies (‫)עָ רֹוב‬:
Ex.8:20–32
Fifth plague Diseased livestock (‫)ֶּד בֶר‬: Ex. 9:1–7
Sixth plague Boils (‫)ְׁש חִ ין‬: Ex. 9:8–12
Seventh plague Thunderstorm of hail (‫)ָּברד‬: ָ Ex. 9:13–35
Eighth plague Locusts (‫)ַארֶּבה‬: ְ Ex. 10:1–20
Ninth plague Darkness for three days (‫)חֹושֶ ך‬: Ex. 10:21–29
Tenth plague Death of firstborn (‫)מַ ַּכת ְּבכֹורֹות‬: Ex. 11:1–
12:36

PLAGUE
The last plague was the worst. The eldest son in every Egyptian family, including Pharaoh's,
died. God had warned Moses to mark the doorposts of all Hebrew houses so that Hebrew boys
would be safe. Pharaoh was so upset by losing his son that he said the Hebrews could leave
Egypt.
PASSOVER
The event that took is called the PASSOVER, "from the hebrew word, pasha" commemorates
God's passing over the Israelite first born that spared them from death after God's people
smeared a lamb's blood on their doorposts.

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 members 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
boiled in water,but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 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 of both people 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.

UNLEAVENED BREAD FESTIVAL


“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 Festival 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 anyone,
whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the
community of Israel. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat
unleavened bread.”
The feast of the Unleaveaned bread follows seven days after the Passover. The unleavend
bread signifies the great haste and the lack of preparation that the Israelites had when they
departed from Egypt.

Journey
The Hebrews knew they must leave Egypt quickly. They needed food to take with them. There
was no time to let the bread rise before it was cooked. They had to take the dough as it was.
Pharaoh changed his mind again and sent his army after them to bring them back.

The army chased the Hebrews to the banks of the Red Sea. They would have been trapped but
a miracle happened. God told Moses to lift up his rod and as he did so the waters parted to
make a dry path. They were able to make their escape.

When all the Hebrews were safely at the other shore, Moses lifted up his rod again and the
waters of the sea closed on Pharaoh's army who had been chasing them. God had saved the
Hebrews.

Even though the Hebrews were free, they were still in the desert. They wanted to find a land
called Canaan which God had promised them. The journey was long and they soon ran out of
food. They were very hungry and blamed Moses for taking them out of Egypt. Moses told them
that God would give them food.

God told Moses, "I will give the people food." The next day the ground was covered with a
white food which tasted like honey. Moses called this food manna. God also sent flocks of birds
called quails that they cooked and ate. When their water ran out, God told Moses to strike a
rock with his rod. As he did so water rushed out and they all had enough to drink.

After three months of travelling the Hebrews came to the foot of Mount Sinai. God called
Moses to meet him on the mountain. As he climbed there was thunder and lightning. When he
was up the mountain God gave Moses ten laws which told the people how to live.
These Ten Commandments were written on two tablets of stone. Moses stayed so long on the
mountain that the people waiting at the foot of the mountain grew angry. They decided to
make another God for themselves. It was a golden calf"Ba'al".

When Moses returned he was shocked to see the people dancing and worshipping the golden
calf. He broke the tablets God had given him and destroyed the golden calf. God forgave his
people for worshipping the statue and told Moses to cut two more tablets of stone.

Moses took the stone tablets up the mountain and God gave him the Ten Commandments
again. When he came down all the people listened to Moses as he told them what God had
said. Moses promised God that the Hebrews would keep all of the Commandments.

10 commandments
1. I am the Lord thy God! Thou shalt have no other Gods but me!
2. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain!
3. Thou shalt keep the Sabbath Day holy!
4. Thou shalt honor father and mother!
5. Thou shalt not kill!
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery!
7. Thou shalt not steal!
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor!
9.Do not let thyself lust after thy neighbor’s wife!
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, nor his farm, nor his cattle, nor anything that is
his!

CONCLUSION

Even if Israel was consecrated to YHWH and given guidance and warning through various laws,
decrees, and judgements, the people still persisted in their sins. In Exodus 32, Israel violated the
covenant by making a bull as an idol-truly a false representation of YHWH, much to YHWH's
anger and resoution to destroy an ungrateful people but Moses interceded and spared them
from punishment.

Such habit of sin and violation on the part of Israel would become the reason that would set
them on their way wandering in the desert before they reach the promised land. Some say that
heir disobedience necessitated a time for Israel to be purified and to repent in their ways as
YHWH's covenated people.

On the Part of Moses, he met a fulfilled but "unrewarded" life. Before he died, he saw the
promised land but he was not able to step on it after forty years of wandering in the desert.
Moses, the liberator, promised by YHWH to be the leader of a freed people was truly a servant-
leader par excellence. He risked his life, time and treasure in obedience to YHWH and service to
the people but he himself did not fully enjoy the fruits of his labor.
In one way or the other, all are called to be like Moses and to embody his own worrthy
example: an obedient person and follower of God, a servant-leader who seeks God's voice and
will and disregards his own plans and interests.

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