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Bible Discussion — Exodus 1-4

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next four chapters of the Bible, Exodus 1-4.

The book of Genesis:
1-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-18-2 | 19-22 | 23-26 | 27-29
30-32 | 33-36 | 37-39 | 40-43 | 44-46 | 47-50

 
INTRODUCTION:
David:
Exodus means “to draw out,” and it appears to have a dual meaning here, referring both to God drawing his people out of Egypt and Moses being “drawn out” of the water by Pharaoh’s daughter.

 
SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Tom:
The miracles Moses as given to perform to prove he came from G-d were really kind of gross.

Djere:
The title in Hebrew, and the first line of the book, is “Now these are the names” which seems a particularly silly title or first line of any book. A silly title, that is, until you listen to Patrick Stewart read it in your head.

Chloe:
Moses wasn’t named until after he was weaned.

Josh:
When God turned Moses’ staff into a snake, Moses actually ran from it. Talk about an unlikely hero.

David:
That Moses asked his father-in-law for permission to leave and go back to Egypt.

Steve:
Moses was born to two Levites — before the tribe was given the mantle of priesthood, but still an interesting part of his calling and ancestry.

 
BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
David: Bloody Husband
Josh: NoKnowJoe, Burning Bush
Tom: Flint Knife
Djere: Taskmasters
Steve: Asphalt Daub, Staff or Serpent?
Chloe: Tar and Pitch

 
STORY IT REMINDS YOU OF:
Steve:
I’ve been around a lot of crying babies, and they typically fill me with a desire to make them stop — which isn’t quite compassion. Maybe the daughter of Pharaoh hadn’t had such vast experience, or maybe there was something touching about the scene as a whole; either way, I’m glad she was led to care for baby Moses, rather than prompted to shove some reeds in his mouth.

I wonder if Moses’s crying was why his mother couldn’t hide him anymore to begin with.

Josh:
When my brother was very young he had fairly severe speech problems, to the point that even my parents often couldn’t understand him, and I had to serve as interpreter. He’s long since been able to speak for himself, but this situation helped form our strong bonds in childhood. I often wonder about the relationship between Moses and Aaron and how their communication dynamic worked.

Also, looking back to the stories of Abraham’s servant, Jacob, and now Moses, apparently flock watering time was prime spouse-finding time.

Tom:
A sketch series performed by Djere’s cabin at summer camp, featuring a bearded Zipporah billed as “Zippy the Sheep Babe,” a ninja Moses beating shepherds with a stick, and the hit song “Husband of Blood.”

David:
Jacob and Rachel meeting at the well, and Jesus meeting the woman of Samaria at the well.

 
DEEP THEOLOGICAL MEANING:
David:
That things are always changing, so we have to trust God is working all things for good to those who love Him and are the called, according to His purpose.

Steve:
Reuel/Jethro’s request for Moses to ‘eat bread’ with him and his seven daughters was more than just a dinner invitation; he was looking for an Egyptian son-in-law.

And it is similar with divine offers to dine; whether it be the disciples at the Last Supper, the outcasts in the parable, or the lukewarm in the church, every time God asks a human to sup with him, He’s looking to deepen the relationship. Sharing a meal means something important.

Chloe:
Moses was only making excuses when he told God no one would believe him, and that he wasn’t a good speaker. God knew that, but He also recognized Moses’ pleadings as genuine issues His servant would face. Though it seems like asking God about a lack of skill, money, or other resources when being called shows a lack of faith, it won’t go unheeded by God. We must voice our fears to Him, just as Moses did. We won’t be struck down or passed by. He will prepare us as we need to be for whatever He sends us to do — and hopefully he won’t give us leprosy.

 
RANDOM THOUGHT:
Josh:
Interesting that Moses asked his father-in-law for permission to leave, using the excuse of seeing if any of his relatives were still alive. I guess saying he was off to lead his people out of bondage using the old snake/staff trick might have sounded a bit presumptuous.

Chloe:
The Egyptians don’t sound too strict with their slaves if Aaron can just leave and the elders are allowed to assemble.

Also, for all his whining, Moses has guts when he picks up that snake!

Steve:
After the new king came to Egypt, things weren’t so great for the Israelites. “Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens . . . [b]ut the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew.”

The more the children of God were afflicted, the more their numbers grew; just as true today as it was in the book of Exodus, and later in the book of Acts. As Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

David:
Moses, the giver of the law, had not circumcised his son. He had settled down to work and raise a family, and he was no longer cognizant of his calling or religion. That’s discouragement because we’re told that in his first encounter with the Hebrews, “…he supposed that they would understand that God would deliver them by his hand…”

Djere:
Both Moses and Jesus were saved from homicidal kings in Egypt.

Tom:
If Joseph was as a father to a Pharaoh, and knowing the Egyptians kept track of their history fairly well, how is it the new king hadn’t heard of him? Maybe he took the throne, as he’s a king, not a Pharaoh.

 
WHERE IS JESUS IN THIS PASSAGE:
David:
It is a picture of how Jesus would also be sheltered in Egypt until God called him out, fulfilling the prophecy, “Out of Egypt have I called my Son.”

Tom:
Moses is to the Israelites in Egypt as Jesus is to us in the world.

Josh:
A baby boy was threatened by a royal edict to kill all baby boys, his family was forced to take evasive action to preserve his life and his chance to save his people.

Djere:
In the Name of God, I AM THAT WHICH I AM. He even responded to questioning later by saying before Moses was, I AM.

 
VERSE TO REMEMBER:
Josh, Chloe, Tom:
4:11 — “So the LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?'”

Steve:
3:14 — “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'”

David:
2:24 — “So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.”

Tom:
4:12 — “Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

 
PORTION YOU WOULD MOST LIKE EXPLAINED IN HEAVEN:
David:
The spot where God meets Moses in the inn and threatens to kill him until Zipporah circumcises their son — then God lets him go. How exactly did that all play out? How did the people in the inn react? Do you call 911 and say, “God has taken a man hostage, and it looks like a domestic dispute — the wife is attacking the son with a knife! Please hurry!” I bet they were never allowed in that inn again.

Josh:
What exactly was going on during the stop for lodging on the trip to Egypt? Why kill Moses right after calling him? It seems as though Moses had failed to abide by the covenant of circumcision, but why deal with it at this time in this way?

Tom:
Why did G-d almost kill Moses only 7 verses after a pretty long conversation between the two? Exodus 4:17.5 — “Oh yeah, Mo, one more thing, get that son of yours circumcised. You rascal! G-dog OUT!”

Chloe:
Is it Moses or his son? Why is the distinction ambiguous in such an important section?

Djere:
Jethro means ’eminent,’ Reuel means ‘friend of God.’ Which was his real name, and which was his title?

Steve:
What was Moses’ childhood like in Pharaoh’s court, and how did it affect the rest of his life? The Prince of Egypt presented some conjecture, but in the Biblical account, there is a gaping hole between baby Moses in the reeds and adult Moses killing the Egyptian — even more interesting, considering that Moses is traditionally believed to be the author of Exodus. He admitted the murder, but what happened in those years before?

 
LESSON TO TAKE AWAY:
Steve:
The Lord will equip you for the ministry to which He has called you. Moses had a list of reasons why he wasn’t the right guy — he thought the Israelites would doubt him, he was slow of speech and tongue, he thought another was more qualified. But God refused to let him off the hook, getting angry, then meticulously laying out the steps for Moses to take, right down to the look on Aaron’s face when they’d meet in the wilderness.

Tom:
The career women of the time were rewarded for their faithfulness with families of their own. You career gals don’t get me wrong; women CAN work outside the home, and certainly can have families while they do so. It’s just important to remember which is toil and which reward.

Josh:
At first, Moses’ protestations of unworthiness are a bit refreshing, especially when compared to the patriarchs who never seemed to stop to consider why God Almighty would make such promises to men so flawed. Ultimately we see, however, that it was not humility so much as a lack of faith that gave Moses pause. We must be willing to answer the call while realizing we do so, not in our own strength, but in the unfailing strength of the Lord.

David:
God’s deliverance may not look like the deliverance we are looking for and things may get worse before they get better.

Chloe:
Isn’t it always the same? God is faithful.

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