Small Group December

Due to time constraints of the Christmas holidays I think it best we cancel small group for December. Do not despair, we will pick up again on January 5th as we begin our study of Leviticus.

Now everyone will have two things to anticipate - Christmas and Leviticus.

Titus Victory Arch

Here are some pictures from Titus' victory arch commemorating the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. when the Temple was destroyed.  One of the panel's features Roman Soldier's carrying objects from the Temple.  You can clearly see the menorah.

No Small Group

There will be no small group on Sunday, December 1st so we can all sleep off those turkey comas.

Week 25 Prayer Requests

1.  Aaron's knee

2.  Beth's Sister-in-law Trish.  Will have to have chemotherapy before having surgery as planned.

3.  Samantha from KNO.  She will have to have occupational therapy and that may be in Raleigh.

4.  Brant's friend's Darin's mother is recovering from a stroke.  

Week 25 Tabernacle

Names of the Tabernacle

Exodus 25:9          mishkan - dwelling

Leviticus 17:4        mishkan YHWH - dwelling of the Lord

Exodus 38:21 mishkan haedot tabernacle of the testimony - tablets of covenant, emphasizes covenant relationship

Exodus 28:43 ohel moed, dwelling of meeting or assembly.  who is meeting?  God is meeting with his people.  

Exodus 29:42-43 God will meet with his people

Q. What do they have in common?

-  All focus on the presence of God among His people.   

Exodus 25:8 mishdot, sanctuary, holy place

Exodus 38:24   quodesh, holy place

Exodus 34:26 house of YHWH

Q.  What do these have in common?

-  All focus on holiness of God, man cannot come into the presence of a holy God.  

-  The separateness of God is highlighted.

-  There is a tension between these names.  There is nearness and distance.  On one hand their is condescension and on the other there is a separateness highlighted by the walls, fences, and curtains.  Only the priests can enter the sanctuary and only the high priest can enter the holy of holies and then only on the Day of Atonement.  

Q.  Why does this contradiction exist?

-  God’s holiness and man’s sin.

-  Yet God still condescends and creates a system that through sacrifices and a mediator, the people can come into the presence of God.

Q. According to Exodus 19:6, Israel was supposed to be a kingdom of priests.  Why were the Levites set aside as priests?

-  During the golden calf episode, all of the Israelites rebelled except the Levites. 

-  The point is to communicate that the relationship between God and man is broken and requires a mediator.  

Point of tabernacle is God’s presence 

Q.  Why do you think God chose a tent to dwell in during the wilderness wanderings?

-  God identifies with his people in their situation.

-  Anticipation of incarnation

Hebrews 8:5-6

 -  These verses tell us the tabernacle is a copy of heavenly reality.  Work of tabernacle ultimately fulfilled in Christ.  

Hebrews 10:19-20

New and living way verse in Hebrews

This is why we can now approach boldly unlike the way for the Israelites.  The Israelites could approach God but it was guarded and indirect.  Christ breaks the tension that existed in the tabernacle between God’s desire to dwell with His people and God’s holiness.  

Q.  How is Christ prefigured in tabernacle?  Christ says that He is the temple in what way is that true?

- Priest - Christ intercedes for us and allows us to approach God

- Atonement - Points to the cross and the sacrifice of Christ that atones once and for all

for sin

- Presence of God - Christ is the incarnation of God.  

-  This is how Christ can claim that He is the temple.  

4.  Symbolism

-  Altar and laver  - go together, signify sacrifice and cleansing.  represent atonement 

and washing from sin.  cleansing is based upon atonement.  baptism is based 

upon sacrifice of Christ.  in order to enter into the place of God’s presence 

because sin creates a barrier and there must be atonement.

-  Bread of the presence - literally the bread of the face of God.  bread represents a

meal and fellowship.  eating a meal together was a sign of close fellowship

and a relationship with each other.  

you can see the relationship with the Lord’s supper because after one 

has been atoned and cleansed through baptism, they enter into fellowship

with Christ.  

there were 12 loaves of bread symbolizes the 12 tribes of Israel.  all of God’s 

people were included.  there is probably some significance to the fact that

after Jesus fed the 5000 there were 12 baskets left over.  Jesus is providing

His people fellowship with God.  

-  Menorah - made of solid goal with flames burning.  maybe it had some connection

with the pillar of fire and glory cloud that accompanied Israel.  Represented 

God’s presence.  Revelation talks about the 7 candlesticks for the 7 churches

and calls them the spirit of God, so this is a representation of the Holy Spirit. 

-  Incense  - placed right before the veil separating the holy place from the holy of

holies.  receives the worship of his people, but because of the atonement

and fellowship, God receives the worship of His people.  Our worship becomes

a pleasant smelling aroma.  Noah’s sacrifice.  

-  Mercy Seat -  A better translation would be the “atonement cover” it was on top of the 

Ark and had two golden cherubim on top of it.  Romans 3:25, propitiation is the 

Greek word for atonement.  So in the Greek translation this would read 

propitiation cover.  In Genesis 3 the cherubim guarded the way to the tree of life.  

The tabernacle seems to make 3 points:

Presence 

Separation

Atonement

If we think the point of the tabernacle was for God to communicate something bigger to the Israelites using the symbolism of the tabernacle, then what was God trying to communicate?

Use N.T. Wright’s world view scheme.  We can construct a worldview of a culture by examining that culture’s  praxis and symbol  and determine how that culture would answer the basic questions of human existence:

    1. Who are we?  We are God’s people

    2. Where are we?  We are in God presence

3.  What is wrong? We are sinful and God is holy

4.  What is the solution? Atonement

We said the 3 big themes of the tabernacle were presence, separation, and atonement.  We can really say that presence is the main them with separation and the need for atonement a consequence of God’s presence.  

- The passage we read is about the glory of God entering into the tabernacle.  Its God’s presence that gives the tabernacle its significance.  

-  Later we see the same scene repeated at the dedication of Solomon’s temple.  

There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where YHWH made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.  And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of YHWH, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of YHWH filled the house of YHWH.

1 Kings 8:9-11

Q.  Does anyone have an answer to the wheels in Ezekiel 1

-  Ezekiel 9-11 pictures the glory of YHWH leaving the temple in various stages and finally departing at the Mount of Olives.  

-  However, even though the presence of YHWH leaves the temple and Jerusalem is about be utterly destroyed by the Babylonians, Ezekiel says something really interesting.

Therefore says, “Thus says YHWH God: Though I will remove them far off among the nations, and though I will scatter them among the countries, yet I will be a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.”

-  God’s presence has left the temple but not His people.  After this verse, Ezekiel writes about a new spirit and a new heart God will give His people.  

-  A new temple is built 66 years later, but here is the reaction to it:

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shout aloud for joy.

Ezra 3:12

Q.  Why did the people weep?

-  The glory of the Lord did not return.  We have no scene like we do in Exodus 40 or 1 Kings 8.  

-  Haggai, who was the prophet who instigates rebuilding of the temple, says this

Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory?  How do you see it now?  Is it not as nothing in your eyes?  …

According to the covenant the I made with you when you came out of Egypt.  My Spirit remains in your midst.  Fear not.  For thus says YHWH of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.  And I will shake all the nations, so that the treasures of all nations will come in, and I will fill this house with glory says YHWH of hosts.”

Haggai 2:3-7

Zechariah and Malachi will also talk about the glory of YHWH returning to the temple.  

John 1:14 tell us that the glory of YHWH does return when the word became flesh and tabernacled among us and we have seen the glory, glory as of the only son of the Father.  

Luke has Jesus coming to the Mount Olives during the triumphal entry.  Jesus then goes to the temple and announces judgment  on it.  He prays in the garden at the base of the Mount of Olives and finally enters Jerusalem only to be arrested, tried and crucified.  Later it will be from the Mount of Olives where General Titus and the Roman Xth legion will set up camp and eventually destroy Jerusalem.  To this day Titus’ Arch commemorates this battle and you can clearly see a Roman soldier carrying the Menorah.

Jesus has replaced the Temple because He is the glory of YHWH and fulfills everything the tabernacle and temple were meant to represent - God’s presence.  Jesus through the atonement solves the problem of God’s desire to be with His people but the separateness as a result of their sin.   

Acts 2:2-4

Week 24 Homework

Remember we will not be meeting on November 17th.  Next week we will look at the tabernacle.

Read Exodus 40:34-38 in preparation.

Week 24 Prayer Requests

1.  Cade (Lundberg's nephew) is at Duke to try to determine if seizures can be controlled by brain surgery.  Pray especially for the family who is going to have a difficult time being back at Duke.

2.  Brant's friend Darren's mom who had a stroke.

3.  Samantha from KNO who is still at Duke with complications from her stent.

4.  Joan is traveling all next week and may have to encounter some bad weather in the mountains.

5.  Allison Blake is trying to decide if she should take some work in Richmond that could be potentially lucrative but it also 2.5 hours away from her family.  She desires wisdom to make the right decision.

6.  The Benfield's friend Jim Cropp is having open heart surgery today.

Week 24 The Mosaic Covenant

Exodus 24:1-8

Review of Covenants

-  Covenants are oaths divinely administered.  God or gods ultimately responsible for enforcement of covenant

-  Different types:

  1.  Suzerain-Vassal covenants - The vassal performs certain duties for the suzerain.  In   

   return the suzerain provides protection for the vassal.

  2.  Royal Grant covenant - The suzerain grants the vassal something as a gift.

Parts of a Covenant

   1.  Preamble - Identifies the suzerain

   2.  Historical Prologue - Gives a history of the relationship between the suzerain and vassal.  Establishes motivation for obedience.  

   3.  Stipulation - The requirements of the vassal

   4.  Sanctions  - The rewards and penalties of following or not following the stipulations.

   5.  Documentary Clause -  Directions for where covenant was placed.  

   6.  Ratification Oath - The vassal binds himself to keep all the stipulations.  Often

involved ritual sacrifice.

-  Law is not just a list of rules like a legal code, it is a covenant:

1.  Laws are given to a particular group of people

2.  Sanctions based on performance of stipulations

Q.  What does this mean for how me apply the covenant today?

-  Lets see how this fits in with other covenants we have studied.

Q.  The first covenant we studied was the covenant with Adam.  What were the terms of the Adamic covenant?

-  Adam would tend and keep the garden, be fruitful and multiply, and not eat of the forbidden fruit.  He and his descendants as God’s images, would develop the kingdom given to them by God, the earth.  Just as God had worked to create the universe, man would develop the earth and enter into Sabbath rest along with God enjoying His presence and access to the tree of life.  This covenant is a works covenant similar to the suzerain-vassal treaties.

-  This covenant man broke and so God could have thrown up his hands and given up but instead he establishes a remedial covenant.  It is promised first in Genesis 3:15 and sketched out more fully in the covenant made with Abraham.  So this is a covenant of redemption.  This is a promissory covenant and similar to the royal grant covenants.  

-  This covenant of redemption is established between the seed and His people.  It continues through the covenant with Abraham and through the New Covenant and Christ until the present age.

-  The covenant of redemption is based on the principle of grace.  All that is required is to put your faith in Christ if you are a New testament believer or in the seed or messiah to come if you are an Old Testament saint. 
-  Looking at salvation from a covenantal standpoint, we are submitting ourselves to Christ and trusting in Him to be the obedient vassal who will, as the second Adam, complete the task given to Adam and thus obtain the offered Sabbath rest and access to the tree of life.  

-  God’s kingdom does is in effect earned, it is earned through works, but it is Christ who completes the work.  We gain the benefit of Christ’s work by submitting ourselves to Him and putting our faith in Him as God’s vassal rather than standing before God ourselves as God’s vassals.  

-  This is the first step in understanding why God gives us the law and something like the Mosaic covenant.  We must understand that salvation can only be obtained by grace, however it is also earned through Christ’s work. 

Q. Is the Mosaic Covenant a Suzerain-Vassal Covenant of a Royal Grant Covenant?

-  It has always been controversial to assign a category to the Mosaic covenant.  It seems works based but there are aspects that point to Jesus like the sacrificial system.  Also because of the fall man’s sinfulness prevents him from having the ability to earn salvation.

Q.    Adam at least had the ability not to sin, why would God assign a covenant where the terms were impossible to keep?  

-  In response, some theologians assign it as another administration of the covenant of grace and make it a promissory covenant.  

Q.  What happens if you decided that the Mosaic Covenant is a Royal-Grant Covenant?

However, there are a lot of mental gymnastics to make the Mosaic covenant fit into this category and they do not seem to be very satisfying.  You also have to ignore a lot of what Paul says about the contrast between law and grace.

-  There is also the problem of the point of a promissory covenant.  The point of a promissory covenant is that the blessing is guaranteed.  However, what was the blessing of the Mosaic covenant?  The blessing of the Mosaic covenant was continued existence in the promised land.  What ultimately happened to the people under the Mosaic covenant?  Israel was exiled specifically because they did not follow the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant.  

Q.  If the Mosaic covenant is a promissory covenant, what does Israel’s exile mean?  

-  It means that those under the terms of the New Covenant can lose their promised blessing.  However, we know there is no condemnation for those under Christ.  

-  The O.T. also uses the image of divorce.  The prophets condemn the Israelites for their infidelity comparing Israel to a prostitute until God issues a bill of divorce.  The bill of divorce results in the exile.

-  However, the church as Christ’s bride, can never be divorced from Christ.  There is something fundamentally different between these two covenants.  To try to make them the same creates more problems than it solves.  

-  Leviticus 18:5, the principle of “do this and live” 

-  The blessings and the curses shouted at Mt. Gerazim and Mt. Ebal

-  It makes more sense to think of the Mosaic covenant as a suzerain-vassal covenant operating under a works principle. 

-  The key is who takes the oath.  Under the Mosaic covenant it is the people who take the oath.  Yet they are unable to keep the stipulations and so they cannot benefit from the blessings and instead are subject to the curses.  That is why Paul saws the law is a curse.

Republication

-  There are striking similarities between the Mosaic covenant and the covenant with Adam.  

-  Both Adam and the Israelites are given a land and a mission and rules.  The land of milk and honey looks back to the abundance of the garden in Eden.

-  Both Adam and the Israelites were promised blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience.  The penalty for disobedience was exile which represented separation from the presence of God and death.  

-  There is a difference though.  Adam’s disobedience led to actual death.  The penalties of the Mosaic covenant deal with continued existence in the land of Israel and not questions of eternal salvation and damnation.  

Leviticus 26:3-13

-  The Mosaic covenant is only a picture, it is a type and shadow of reality.  

-  For example Daniel suffers the penalty of exile.  He spends his whole life after he is taken away as a child in Babylon.  However, few would doubt that his eternal salvation is secured because of his faith in God.  

-  Daniel suffers the picture of death and exile but not the reality.   

-  At the same time, certain aspects of the Mosaic covenant still present grace in type and shadow that point toward Christ.

Q.  What are some examples of this?

1.  Priesthood

2.  Sacrificial System

-  These two things allow us to draw near to God.  Ultimately that is God’s purpose in the covenant - we would be His people and He would be our God.  

-  On one hand the Mosaic covenant looks back to the covenant with Adam, but also looks ahead to the New Covenant.

-  The Mosaic Covenant does not annul the covenant of grace that begins with the promise in Genesis 3:15 and comes to fullness in Abraham.  The Mosaic covenant is rather built on top like an overlay.  

1.  Jeremiah 31:31-33 - Shows contrast between Old Covenant and New Covenant.  Note that this passage specifically describes the old covenant as the one made when Israel was led out of Egypt.  Later when Jesus introduces the Lord’s Supper, He says that the wine is the blood of the New Covenant referring to this passage.

Q.  What is the basic difference between these two covenants? 

-  The new covenant cannot be broken

2.  Romans 10:4-10 - Moses taught both works and truth. Levitcus 18:5 and Deuteronomy 30.  Grace principle was not suspended during the time of the Mosaic covenant.  Paul is actually quoting from a section in Deuteronomy that introduces the New Covenant for the first time.

-  We see this in the ministry of the prophets.  The prophets spent a lot of time condemning Israel for their failure to live out the Mosaic Covenant.  However, these same prophets also proclaimed a new covenant, return from exile, restoration and renewal.

So if the Mosaic Covenant is doomed to failure and Christ and the New Covenant are ultimately superior, what is the point of the Mosaic Covenant?

1.  Communicates the righteousness and holiness that is needed to earn entrance into the kingdom of Heaven.  Heaven must be earned.  It comes at a cost.  The unrighteous do not have a right to the kingdom.  

2.  Law is a pedagog.  A pedagog is not a teacher or a didaskalos.  A pedagog was a slave who beat the child to get him to go to school and do his work.  It drives us to Christ by showing our inability to keep the law.  

3.  Gives us context so we can understand Christ’s work.  Galatians 4:4-5

Dates for Small Group

We will be meeting at our regularly scheduled time on November 10th.  However, I will be returning from a conference in Asheville on November 17th so we will not meet that date.  I plan on having small group November 24th but taking a break for the Sunday after Thanksgiving, December 1st.  So this is my plan as of today:

November 10th - Small Group
November 17th - No Small Group
November 24th - Small Group
December 1st    - No Small Group

Week 22 Homework

Read Exodus 24:1-8

We will examine the Mosaic covenant and try to figure out what we do with today.

Week 22 Prayer Requests

1.  Beth's nephew Cade.  Cade is returning to Duke where the doctors will discontinue his seizure medication and monitor him to see where the seizures are coming from.  It will be very difficult for his parents to return to the place they spent 99 days with him during his original bout with encephalitis.  

2.  The Blake's nephew Colin who is recovering from an ankle injury.  

3.  Samantha from KNO who had to have her shunt removed and may have MRSA.

4.  Grace Hill Church

5.  Resurrection Church

Week 22 The Feast of Passover?

Week 22 The Feast of Cover Over

Exodus 12:12-27

-  The common view of the passover is that God sends the angel of death to Egypt and when when the angel sees blood on the doorposts he passes over that house but if he does not see blood on the doorposts he will kill the firstborn male of that house.  

-  This view is incorrect because of a bad translation.  We are going to examine this passage more throughly and play literary detective to try to develop a better view of the passover.  

Two Figures

-  The first step to figuring out what is going on is to read the text closely to see who is actually carrying out the passover.

-  In 12:12 we are told that YHWH is going to pass over the land of Egypt.  So God is ultimately the person who brings about this judgment.

-  However, we read in verse 12:23 that it is this person called the destroyer who actually enters the home and kills the first born.

-  The destroyer is an angelic agent of YHWH who carries out the execution sentence.  Since he is under the command of YHWH he is also identified with YHWH.  

-  It is very common for angels to be both distinguished from God and identified with God.  

Two Actions, Two Verbs

-  The Destroyer is the one who passes through or over the land of Egypt.

-  The word used to describe the action of the Destroyer is abar and pass over is a perfect acceptable translation.  Its used all throughout the Bible and this is exactly what it means.

-  However, in verse 23 there is another verb that is translated as passover called pasach.

-   This verb is rarely used in the Old Testament.  While it is typically translated pass over it is almost certainly incorrect.  

-  So far we have the following picture: YHWH sends the Destroyer to pass over the land of Egypt.  However, YHWH also pasach the doors of the houses with blood on them and does not allow the Destroyer to enter.  This action of pasach results in the sparing of the blood marked Israelite homes from the curse of the tenth plague.

-  So in order to figure out what YHWH is doing we need to determine the meaning of pasach.

Meaning of Pasach

-  How can we figure out the meaning of this word?  

Context

-  We cannot determine a whole lot from the context but is there anything we can tell?

-  Pasach is clearly the action of YHWH.  So we know its something YHWH does.  However, the pasach action is performed on the door.  

-  Pasach cannot then mean simply to skip the house or go around the house.  It seems to be a deterrent a shielding action.  

Q.  What else can we do to determine the meaning of pasach?

Other Verse that use Pasach

1.  I Kings 18:21

And Elijah came near all the people and said, “How long will you go pasaching between two different limbs?  If YHWH is God, follow him; but if Ba’al, then follow him.”

Q. What do you think pasach means in the context of this verse?

-  This verse is from the story where Elijah confronts the priests of Ba’al and sets up the two altars at Mt. Carmel in a contest to see which one would burn up the sacrifice.  

-  Elijah confronts the Israelites over their indecisiveness.  

- This verse uses pasach in the sense of a bird hovering and asks Israel whether they will serve Ba’al or YHWH and pictures them as like a bird hovering trying to decide what branch it will land on.  

-  So once again we have this bird imagery associated with pasach of hovering.  

1.  Isaiah 31:5  

Like birds hovering, so YHWH of hosts 

will protect Jerusalem;

He will protect and deliver it;

He will pasach and rescue it.”

Q.  What do you think pasach means in the context of this verse?

-  The verse talks about YHWH protecting and rescuing Jerusalem.  Pasach seems to have a sheltering action.  

-  In Hebrew poetry uses parallelism where the words of two or more lines of text are related. 

Psalms 24:1-2

The earth is YHWH’s and the fullness thereof

The world and those who dwell in

For he has founded it on the seas

and established it upon the rivers

Genesis 4:23

Adah and Zillah hear my voice

You wives of Lamech listen to what i say

Q.  So how can we use parallelism to help us translate a word?  

-  This verse happens to be poetry so we can use that technique here.

-  The parallel verb is ganan which is usually translated cover or shield.  

-  So our inference from the context agrees with the parallelism that pasach means shield or cover.

-  Cover is also set parallel to another verb above where it is parallel to sup which means to hover.  

-  The metaphor is of a mother bird fluttering or hovering and protecting her nest - so just like in the 1 Kings passage we have bird imagery.  

-  The picture here is that YHWH will protect Jerusalem by shielding and covering her the way a mother bird protects her nest.  

The True Story

-  Now that we understand the meaning of pasach we can understand the picture Exodus 12 is trying to paint.

-  The Destroyer does not simply skip over the houses with blood stained door.  The Destroyer comes through the land of Egypt and YHWH pasachs the blood stained doors which means He protects and shields the houses like a mother bird protects her nest.

Q.  What is YHWH protecting them from?

-  The Destroyer. The point is unless YHWH barred the door, the Destroyer would enter in the house and kill the first born children.  The blood is not what protects the house but YHWH Himself.  YHWH protects the people from YHWH’s judgment.  

Q.  Why does YHWH do this?

-  YHWH does this because they are His people.

Q.  Why are they His people?

-  Because YHWH made a covenant with Abraham that He would bless Him and that all the nations of the world would be blessed through Abraham.

The Lamb

-  The lamb is described as the pasach lamb in verse 21 and 27.  

-  The Hebrews were ordered to kill the lamb.  The verb for kill used here is sahat and is the same word used for the destroyer, he is the sahater.

Q.  What does the use of the word for both the action performed on the lamb as well as the destroyer who carries out the execution of the first born mean? 

-   In other words the Hebrew are to destroy the lamb just as the destroyer destroys the Hebrew first born.

-   The death of the lamb is equated with the death of the Egyptian first born.  

-   So the lamb represents the death-judgment inflicted by YHWH.

-  However, it is called the paschal lamb and as we have established paschal refers to the protective shielding of YHWH.  

-  So this lamb represents both God’s judgment as well as God’s protection. What does that sound like?   Is that not the gospel of justification by grace?

-  Once we realize the lamb points to Christ then we understand how the paschal lamb can represent both.  

-  Yet this is the nature of YHWH.  When Moses asks YHWH to show His glory and what Moses see is described in Exodus 34:6-7

YHWH passed before him and proclaimed, “YHWH, YHWH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will be no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation.” 

-  YHWH to is characterized by judgment as well as grace and forgiveness.  

Week 21 Homework

Read Exodus 12:21-27

This is the account of the passover and the death of the firstborn of Egypt.  I will be arguing that pass over is a mistranslation and it prevents us from understanding the richness of this event.

As you read this story try to take note of a couple of items:

1.  Who are involved in carrying out the execution of the first born?  Is there one character or two?  What are/is their role/s in carrying out the the execution of the first born?

2.  The mistranslation I mentioned above involves a Hebrew word, pasach.  The word is translated pass over and we find it used to describe the lamb in verse 21 and 27.  However, concentrate on how pass over used in the last clause of verse 23 when it says: "YHWH will pass over  the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you." Does the action of pass over seem to make sense to you here?  Do you see a problem with the way pass over is used?

We will play literary detective and see if pass over is the best translation of pasach and if not, what is a better translation.

Small Group Week 21 Prayer Requests

1.  Beth's sister-in-law, Trish, is having liver surgery.  She will be having the surgery over Thanksgiving in Texas so not only will the surgery be tough but also the separation from her family.

2.  The Blake's nephew Collin who already had a broken arm, injured his leg/ankle at a family reunion this past weekend.

Small Group Week 21 The Plagues

Exodus Week 22 Plagues of Egypt

Q.  Can we name the 10 plaques God visited on the Egyptians?

1.  The Nile river turned into blood

2.  Frogs

3.  Gnats

4.  Stinging insects

5.  Pestilence

6.  Boils

7.  Hail

8.  Locusts

9.  Darkness

10.Death of firstborn

Plagues as Polemic

-  Plagues are answer to Pharoah’s question, “Who is YHWH that I should obey His voice and let Israel go?  I do not know YHWH.”

-  However, as we will see it is not only that, but also a direct assault on the entire belief system of the Egyptians.    We know that from Exodus 10:2 which describes God’s judgment as a mockery.  

-  The plagues are actually directed against against particular deities.  Numbers 33:4 tells us as much:

“While the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom YHWH had struck down among them.  On their gods also YHWH executed judgment.”

-  Egypt was the greatest superpower of the day.  This was right at the glory days of the New Kingdom of Egypt during the 18th dynasty.   The time period is called the Armana period because of a group of letters found in the Egyptian city of Armana that contains diplomatic correspondence between all the major kingdoms of the time.  They tell us a lot about covenants and diplomacy and also show us the power of Egypt.  

-  The reason Egypt was a such a great civilization was because of the Nile river.  Every year the Nile flooded and the inundation of the waters brought rich soil down from the mountains of Ethiopia creating an incredibly fertile environment to grow crops.  This was a regular occurrence that happened like clockwork.  It created a very ordered, stable society.  

The Concept of Ma’at

-  This order and regularity was personified in the term ma’at.  Ma’at represented the harmony and order of the universe.  It was foundational to Egyptian thought.  Ma’at was the equilibrium of the universe, it held the universe together, and it was essential for the maintenance of creation.  It is the opposite of chaos. 

-  Ma’at was not just a philosophical concept, it was also practical.  Egyptians had to preserve ma’at and adhere to its order.  Their practices were designed to be in conformity to ma’at.      

-  The supreme god Ra was thought to regulate the universe and the Pharaoh as his -high priest maintained ma’at through the performance of a series of rituals. So all of society from the common people to the Pharaoh participated in the maintenance of ma’at.   

-  The ten plagues overturn ma’at and the result is chaos.  This was a direct challenge to Pharaoh ability to maintain ma’at.  

Decreation

-  Two weeks ago we noted the similarity between the fist chapter of Exodus and Genesis.  

-  Genesis presents YHWH as the creator God.  The plagues show YHWH reversing the created order and returning to the formlessness and void of the original creation.  In the creation story there is bounding but many of the plagues are creation run amok.

-  Instead of the ordering of water we have it mixed with blood.  Instead of the creation of crops we have the destruction of crops.  Instead of the creation of animal life we have the death of animal life.  Instead of light we have darkness.  In some instances we have an overabundance of creation such as the frogs, the biting insects, the swarming insects, and the locusts.

- Genesis 1:11 says “let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees.”  Exodus 9:18-10:20 uses these same categories to describe the destruction by the locusts and hail.  

The Ten Plagues

-  The Nile was personified as a god called Hapi.  The Nile and its orderly operations were the source of life for Egyptians.  This is a quote from the Hymn to the Nile, it dates around 2000 B.C.:

Men exalt him like the cycle of the gods, they dread him who creates the heat, even him who has made his son the universal master in order to give prosperity to Egypt. Come (and) prosper! Come (and) prosper! O Nile, come (and) prosper! O you who make men to live through his flocks and his flocks through his orchards! Come (and) prosper, come, O Nile, come (and) prosper!

-  God turning the Nile into blood changed their source of life into a symbol of death with the resulting death of fish and other life.  Fish were a chief staple of the Egyptian diet.  

-  Not only is the god Hapi challenged by this plague but also ma’at which was seen as under the care of the Pharaoh.  In this first plague God strikes at the heart of Egyptian society and the regularity it depended upon as well as its leader.

-  The next plague brought a multitude of frogs.  The Egyptian had a fertility goddess named Heqet that is pictured as a frog.  She controls the multiplication of the frogs by protecting the frog-eating crocodile.  Heqet was a fertility goddess but one who held fertility in check. YHWH shows His greater power by demonstrating fertility run amok.  

-  The biting and swarming insects further reinforce this point that YHWH is the true creator and bringer of fertility.  The Egyptian had a beetle God called Kheper that represented creation.  The beetle pushed a ball of dung and new beetles emerged from this dung.  Once again we see this process out of control in the insect world.  

-  The Nile brought grain in a surplus than other ancient near eastern societies could only dream about.  Excess grain provided for livestock which became a great source of wealth for Egyptians.  Now that source of wealth is obliterated in an instant.

-  Not only was livestock valuable the bull cult of Apis was very widespread and bulls were worshipped as a symbol of potency and vitality.  In addition the goddess of joy and motherhood Hathor was viewed as a cow.  There was no more joy in Egypt.

-  The Egyptians were also the most advanced civilization in terms of medicine.  Ailments were viewed as judgment from the gods.  Only the power of gods and magic could combat these boils.  Their god of healing, Imhotep, had no answer to this plague.  

-  Hail was a direct assault against their sky god Nut.  Her role is to separate the world from the chaos that existed outside.  The hail represented a failure of her work.  The passage mentions that it was not just hail but also fire.  Note that it killed the barley.  This was serious because those are the necessary ingredients for beer.  It is probably no mistake then that this plague led Pharaoh to admit that he had sinned.

-  Anything left from the hail was now eaten by locusts.  Locusts are not a different variety of grasshopper, they are actually an abnormal increase in the number of grasshoppers.  They completely devastated the Egyptian food supply.  The grain harvest was protected by the god Neper.  

-  Darkness was probably incredibly scary for the Egyptians since their chief deity was the sun god Ra.  Here is an excerpt from the Hymn to Amon-Ra which dates to the 18th dynasty which was around the time of Moses:

The goodly beloved youth to whom the gods give praise,

Who made what is below and what is above,

Who illuminated the Two Lands

And crosses the heavens in peace:

The King of Upper and Lower Egypt; Ra, the triumphant

Chief of the Two Lands,

Great of strength and lord of reverence,

The chief one, who made the entire earth.

More distinguished than nay other god.

-  I am going to read an excerpt from a work called “The Prophecy of Neferty.”  This text is set during the reign of Snofru in the 4th dynasty so around 2400 B.C. but was written during the 12 dynasty 1900-1700 which would have been the time of Joseph.  It describes the chaos that occurred at the end of Old Kingdom and before the start of the Middle Kingdom.  Its basically the Egyptian nightmare:

The land is destroyed without any care for it, any to speak up or make lament.  What will become of this land.  The sun disc is concealed, and will not shine for the people to see, and none can live, when the clouds are covered. 

Weighing of Pharaoh’s Heart

- There is something else weird about the story of the 10 plagues.  At various points the text states that God hardens Pharaoh’s heart.  This leads to all sorts of questions about free will and God’s sovereignty.  What are we to make of this?

-  I think it actually has very little to say about this subject.  Just as God is mocking the Egyptians gods, He is also showing the insignificance of the Pharaoh by making him look like no more than a puppet.  

-  In Egyptian though the heart was the spiritual center of the self and the essence of a person.  The heart thus played an important part of the after life.

-  The Egyptian Book of the Dead, which also dates from the time of Moses, describes the judgment that occurs in the after life.  

-  Anubis the jackal headed god of the dead weighs the heart on a scale.  The heart is weight against ma’at.  If the heart is light then the person is introduced to Osiris and is taken to the field of reeds.  If the heart is too heavy, the person is devoured by a crocodile named Amemit.

-  By making Pharaoh’s heart heavy YHWH was showing His power over Pharaoh.  Also by announcing the result repeatedly, YHWH is showing that He is the judge and declaring Pharaoh unworthy.  

-  The heart of Ra and Horus were thought of as sovereign over the whole universe.  Since Pharaoh was an incarnation of Ra and Horus, he was seen as sovereign over creation.  YHWH is proving that this is not true, in fact Pharaoh’s very essence is nothing but a plaything for YHWH. 

Current Gods

-  A lot of times we think of God as only acting in the past.  However, I think God is still mocking and overturning false gods.  The difference is we have different gods than the Egyptians.

Q.  What are the gods of our civilization?

Q.  How do we see God mocking and overturning them?  

Week 20 Homework

We will meet again for small group October 27 and study the ten plagues of Egypt.  The passage that covers this material is pretty long.  So there will be no reading.  However, your homework is to memorize the 10 plagues of Egypt.

No Small Group

We will not have our normally scheduled small group on October 20th.  Gary, Brant, Mike, Aaron, and I will be doing this:

Small Group Week 20 Prayer Requests

1.  Beth's Sister-In Law, Trish, had lung surgery that went well.  However, her PET scan revealed a liver lesion.

2.  Pray for the House Church

3.  Pray for Grace Hill

4.  Betty, Trey's employee, who is undergoing chemotherapy for newly diagnosed cancer

5.  Ricky, Bob Randall's high school friend, who has leukemia

6.  Aaron's friend from high school Graham who has multiple sclerosis

7.  Samantha from KNO who is having a shunt put in.  She wants to be home from the hospital for her birthday

8.  UNC Hospital, particularly morale

Mumon's Koan

Koan:

Shuzan held out his staff and said: “If you call this a staff, you oppose its reality.  If you do not call it a staff, you ignore the fact.  Now what do you wish to call this?

Mumon’s Commentary:

If you call this a staff, you oppose its reality.  If you do not call it a staff, you ignore the fact.  It cannot be expressed with words and it cannot be expressed without worse.  Now say quickly what it is.

- From the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) by Mumon, 1228 A.D.

Small Group Week 20 The Name of God

Exodus 2:23-3:15

Abraham’s Covenant:

-  Despite the Israelites suffering, God’s name is not mentioned nor does He appear to be present until the end of chapter 2.  

-  In some ways, God appears absent.  However, Exodus makes it clear that God is at work. 

Q.  Where do we see God at work?

-  Hebrews were fruitful and multiplied to the point they threatened Pharaoh

-  The Pharaoh’s command to punish the Hebrews through enslavement, more work, his command to the midwives, and ultimately through Moses.  

-  God shows that He is at work through the irony of using the Nile river, the instrument meant to kill him as the method of his deliverance.  Pharaoh’s own family raises Moses.  Moses’ mother ends up being paid to take care of Moses.  Pharaoh’s own family saves the person who will eventually free the Hebrews.  Pharaoh’s own actions to subjugate the Hebrews leads to their freedom.

Q.  Why does God act in such an ironic way?

-  God uses irony to show that He is the One who is bringing salvation to His people, not mere chance events.  Truth here is much stranger than fiction. This is a pattern that will be repeated over and over again throughout the Bible.  

Q.  What book in the Bible never mentions the word God?

-  Esther.  Some have made an argument that Esther should not be considered part of the Old Testament canon because God is not mentioned.  Yet I think there is something real about it because this is often how God works.  He is not readily apparent and works behind the scenes. 

-  When God finally is mentioned, it is revealed that He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  

-  The word remember is certainly the correct translation, however, remember used in conjunction with covenants means to apply or honor the terms of the covenant.  So it might be best to read this sentence “God heard their groaning and he decided to honor the terms of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’

Q.  Let’s review, what is the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that God is remembering?

-  Abraham’s seed would be a great nation, God would bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him.  All the nations of the earth would be blessed through Abraham’s seed.

-  Clearly the situation in Egypt was working against all of these promises.  Things would have to change for God to honor the terms of His covenant.  

-  All the events of the Exodus are based on the Abrahamic covenant.  The Abrahamic covenant is the way all the nations of the world will be blessed.  It is primary even before the covenant at Sinai.  

-  In fact, all the covenants flow out of the Abrahamic covenant.  The Davidic covenant that establishes David as the king is a specialized administration of the Abrahamic covenant since the Abrahamic covenant always envisioned a kingdom and thus a king.  The king is given special privilege in bringing about the promise of the Abrahamic covenant.  The identity of this king becomes important as it is linked the one who crushes the serpents head and ultimately brings about the promises given to Abraham.  We know this eventually leads to Jesus.  That is why it is so important for the apostles to proclaim that Jesus is a descendent of David. 

- The new covenant, which is first introduced as far back as Deuteronomy, will be further expanded upon by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.  It is also linked to the Abrahamic covenant.  The promises of the New Covenant are really the promises of the Abraham covenant.  

-  I think the best way to interpret the Old Testament is to see the Abrahamic covenant as primary and the Sinaitic covenant and New Covenant as two methods of bringing about the promises of the Abrahamic covenant.  The Siniatic Covenant failed because it depended on the ability of the Israelites to carry it out.  The New Covenant is different because it depends on God.  

-  This understanding of the primacy of the Abrahamic covenant seems to be Paul’s understanding as well Galatians 3:15-18

-  All of these will be themes we will take up in the future and flesh out.  My point is to give you a broad overview so we can begin to look in to the details as the Bible study progresses.

God’s Name:

Q.  If Moses comes in the name of the God of the Hebrews’s fathers, then why does Moses want to know His name?

-  The Hebrews lived in a completely polytheistic, pantheistic, and syncretic world.  There were many gods, nature was a manifestation of the gods, and all gods had at least some validity.  There are no known exceptions.

-  The Hebrews had lived in Egypt for over 400 years and it is difficult to know how much of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob they still retained.  

-  Later on we are told in Exodus 6:2 that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew God as El Shadiah but He did not make Himself known by YHWH.  

-  Some have concluded that this is the first introduction of the name YHWH.  However, we find YHWH used throughout Genesis as far back as Genesis 2.

-  This has led some scholars to conclude that YHWH is of a later origin than Elohim and that the two traditions were combined to create the religion of Israel as we know it today.

-  This explanation goes back to the 18th century and was developed by a Frenchmen named Jean Austruc.  Eventually a German scholar developed it further adding the Priestly source and the Deuteronomist source.  This is called the Wellhausen hypothesis, documentary hypothesis, or JEDP theory.  

-  I think this is based on a false premise.  I do not contest that different sources were involved, however there is a lot of evidence for the unity of the torah.  

-  How do we explain the discrepancy? 

-  First, Moses does not ask use the typical word mi  which is is translated who.  When you want to know someone’s name is Hebrew you say  “who is your name?”  Instead Moses use the word mah which means “what is your name?”  That sounds normal to us but in Hebrew that means more like “what is the meaning of your name?’  Or given all the suffering we have been through, what does YHWH mean anyway?

-  Second, the Hebrew word know does not mean know as we understand it.  We use know to mean knowledge of a fact or proposition.  In Hebrew, know means to experience.  This is why it can be used for sexual relations. 

-  If you are familiar with the movie Pulp Fiction, you know this concept.   Ezekiel 25:17.  We know the people were familiar with the name YHWH.  This is not a new revelation of His name. Instead because God lays his vengeance down the people will experience YHWH.  

-  So Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew the name YHWH but they never experienced what it means.  The Hebrews are getting ready to understand exactly what it means.  

History of YHWH

-  Before we delve into the meaning of the name YHWH, I want to give you some background on its use throughout history.

-  Our Bibles typically do not use the word YHWH.  Instead our Bibles translate the word as Lord and write it in small caps.  So anytime you see the word lord in small caps its YHWH.  This differs from Elohim which is translated God.  

-  Translating YHWH as lord follows the Jewish practice of not saying the name YHWH so as not to violate the 3rd commandment “thou shall not take the name of YHWH your God in vain.”

-  When the text was read in Hebrew the reader would substitute the Hebrew word Adonai which means lord.  

-  Hebrew was originally written without vowels relying on the reader to supply the vowels.  Since the name YHWH was never spoken, the vowels became forgotten. 

-  When the vowel points were added to the Hebrew by a group of early Medieval Jews called the Masoretes, the vowel points for Adonai were added to YHWH.  

-  Early Christian scholars continued this practice and so often translated YHWH as Lord some out of reverence for the 3rd commandment but also because they were typically bad Hebrew scholars and so relied on the work of Jewish scholars.  So for instance the Latin version of the Bible uses dominus which means lord.  

-  In the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, scholars began to return to the original languages and translated from the Masoretic texts.  Since the Masoretes used the vowel points for adonai, these scholars did too.  They were also German and did not use the letter y and instead used J.  Therefore, YHWH was translated as Jehovah.  

-  Jehovah is certainly incorrect and later scholars began using the more correct YHWH.  We are pretty certain the first vowel should be an “a” sound which is always pronounced as a short “a” like the “a” in father. 

-  The reason we are sure is that a lot of names in the old testament have ending that derive from YHWH and we have the vowel points associated with them.  For example - Jeremiyah, Isiayah, Zechariyah, Allelujah.

-  We don’t really know what sound to use for the second vowel.  It is mostly an educated guess based on how other Hebrew words with those letters are pronounced.  

The Meaning of YHWH 

-  God explains the name YHWH by the phrase eyah asher eyah.  Typically this is translated I AM WHO I AM.  In several other passages in the O.T. God describes Himself in sentences of a similar form. 

Exodus 33:19 “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name YHWH.  And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

-  The point seems to emphasize God’s complete freedom.

-  YHWH is then the 3rd person form of this phrase or HE IS WHO HE IS.

-  However, its not as simple as all that.  This is a “be” form of a verb and those are complicated in any language.  It depends on what the meaning of the word is is.  Its even more complicated in Hebrew since the verbs are tenseless and determined by context.  Since we have very little context, its difficult to determine the tense.

-  Also the be verb in Hebrew, as most Hebrew verbs, can be used in a lot of different ways.   

1.  I am who I am

2.  I will be who I will be

3.  I cause to be what I cause to be

-  The context is limited so we do not know what is correct.  I think the ambiguity is actually the point.

-  In the ancient world knowing a deity’s name gave you control.  We have already established that whatever the translation, the form of YHWH’s explanation is intended to communicate total freedom.  Not having a clear cut translation for the verbs also emphasizes this point.  

-  Beth what do you always say about God - You cannot put God in a box.

-  By giving this name, YHWH makes himself a person and known and yet does not sacrifice His transcendence.  

-  There is a Japanese koan that makes this point.  

Q.  Who knows what a Japanese koan is?  

-  A koan is a story or statement used in zen buddhism to lead people to doubt what they know and thus achieve enlightenment.  

Shuzan held out his staff and said: “If you call this a staff, you oppose its reality.  If you do not call it a staff, you ignore the fact.  Now what do you wish to call this?

If you call this a staff, you oppose its reality.  If you do not call it a staff, you ignore the fact.  It cannot be expressed with words and it cannot be expressed without worse.  Now say quickly what it is.

Q.  What do you think this koan means?

-  Naming something limits it because a name can never describe something entirely.  However, we have to name things to identify them.  They give the illusion of capturing reality but never completely do so.  Yet to not name something is to ignore it and deny its existence

-  The cool thing about the Judeo-Christian God is that he is transcendent and immanent.  

Q.  What does transcendent mean?

-  God is not part of creation.  He is outside of creation.  

Q.  What does immanent mean?

-  God is involved with creation.  He is not separated from creation.

-  A completely transcendent god is a deistic god.  This is a god who creates the universe but does nothing else.  This is the view of god of someone like Aristotle.  

-  An completely immanent god is one who is part of creation and is identified with creation. This is a pantheistic god.

-  The Judeo-Christian God is both transcendent and immanent.  

-  By giving the name YHWH, God allows Himself to relate to us, He identifies Himself.  He makes Himself know. He is immanent  However, by emphasizing His freedom and refusing to be defined, He still remains transcendent.  

-  It’s really a brilliant use of language.

Small Group October 13th

We will be having small group Sunday October 13th at 6:00 at the Merrill's.  The passage we will examine is Exodus 2:23-3:15.   These verses contain some really cool stuff about the Abrahamic covenant as well as the name of God.

Also we will not meet October 20th because I will be in Ocracoke fishing.  We will resume small group on October 27th where we will begin to look at the 10 plagues of Egypt.

Announcement

There will be no small group this Sunday, October 6th.  Fear not though, more exciting Exodus action to come on October 13th.

Week 19 Prayer Requests

1.  Beth's sister-in-law has her scan this week.

2.  Beth had a skin lesion biopsied this week and is awaiting results.

3.  Kristen has a recertification test.

4.  Marc's brother and his family are feeling isolated.

5.  Marc may have a really cool job opportunity.

6.  The House church would love your prayers as we work to get off the ground.

Week 19 Exodus Part I

Small Group Week 19

The Exodus Narrative

- The first word or Exodus is “and” this shows that it is not meant to meant to read separately but as a continuation of the story that began in Genesis.

Q. What words, phrases, or concepts do you recognize from Genesis? 

-  The people of Israel were “fruitful and multiplied” they “filled the land”  

Q.  What is the text trying to communicate by the repetition of these phrases?

-  This is creation language and connects Exodus back to the very beginning.

-  Adam’s original commission was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the land.  

-  As God’s image they would fill the earth with His glory.

- The text also repeats Genesis 46:8 to connect us to the earlier story.  Exodus even uses the participle form of the verb “come” so it actually reads, “These are the names of the sons of Israel who were coming to Egypt.”  The choice of the participle is striking because you would expect the past tense to be used in the context of this passage and most translations actually use the past tense came.  

-  Furthermore Genesis 46:8 is followed by a list of the names of those who journeyed to Egypt.  Exodus 1:1 is followed by the same list.  

-  The take home message is that Exodus is not merely the next thing that happens, but part of the larger story begun in Genesis.  

Q.  Adam was originally given the commission to be fruitful and multiply. Did Adam’s fall end this plan?

 -  The commission to be fruitful was passed on to Noah.  It also repeated to Abraham but this time instead of a command it is repeated as a promise.  

-  The plan is to continue but this time it would be the descendants of Abraham who would carry on this commission.  God would bless them and in turn they would bless all the nations.  

-  Exodus is trying to tell us that God is in fact blessing the descendants of Abraham and causing them to be able to fulfill the creation commands by making them fruitful and multiplying them.  Exodus 1:7 even use the word “swarm” a reference to Genesis 1:21 to show how much God was blessing His people in accordance with His plan for Abraham.  

- The Pharaoh is troubled by the increasing number of Hebrews and enslaves them and orders the execution of the Hebrew sons. 

Q.  Moses' mother makes the decision to save Moses once she sees that he is a fine child.  In Hebrew, the word is tov which means good.  Doesn't every mother think their child is great?  What is going on here?

-  Good is used by God in Genesis to describe His creation.  Once again we see Exodus using creation language.  What Moses' mother realizes is that Moses is God's creation and is good.  Pharaoh wants to kill God's good creation.

Q. Pharaoh is hostile to the Hebrews, but who is Pharaoh really opposing?

-  Pharaoh is opposing God’s command for the Hebrews to become fruitful and multiply and to fulfill the earth.  He is not just committing genocide, which is dreadfully tragic, but he is standing in the way of God’s plan for creation and the redemption of the world.  Pharaoh is in far deeper and tangling with forces far deeper than he realizes.

Q.  Should we be surprised by the opposition to God’s people?

-  God had explained that He would place enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.  

Q.  Where have we seen examples of this enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent?  

1.  Cain and Abel

2.  By juxtaposing the sons of god with Noah and noting Noah was the only righteous man, the text implies that the violence of the sons of god was leading to the extermination of the seed of the woman.

- Exodus connects Pharaoh to this larger story of opposition to God’s plan by using similar language to the builders of the tower of Babel.  Compare Exodus 1:10 to Genesis 11:3-4

Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.

Exodus 1:10

Then the said come, let us build ourselves a city and tower with its top in the heavens and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the earth.

Genesis 11:3-4

- In both instances the creation commands are being opposed.  Pharaoh wants to end the multiplication of the Hebrews, the tower builders are attempting to concentrate rather than fill the earth.  

Exodus 1 is part of the larger battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent that arises in different forms throughout the Bible.  We see it in the Amalekites, the Moabites, and the Canaanites who would prevents God’s people from entering the Promised Land.  We see it in the Philistines and Goliath and the stories in Judges.  Despite this opposition God delivers His people.  Revelation 12 graphically depicts this battle.

Q.  Why does the text use creation language and connect so much of Exodus to Genesis?  

-  Wants to emphasize that Exodus is part of a larger story

-  The God who created the universe has a right to His people.  Pharaoh’s actions are indeed wrong and God’s outrage is justified.

-  As the creator of the universe God not only has the right but also the power to free his people.

-  God has a plan for the creation and a purpose and despite opposition to His plan, His plan will be accomplished.  

-  The Hebrews could have faith in God because he has a right, he has a plan, and he has the power to accomplish that plan.  God gives facts as a reason for faith - otherwise all we have is superstition. 

-  Other parts of scripture will link salvation to creation.  For example Isaiah 45:18 roots salvation for Israel from the Babylonian captivity in creation:

For thus says YHWH who created the heavens (he is God!) who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!) I am YHWH, and there is no other, no god besides him.