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.