Monday, April 19, 2010

Let My People Go - Exodus III - XX

"And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3: 11) Moses doesn't understand why he was the chosen one by the Lord to go freed the Hebrews out of Egypt. He must have been thinking what was it that he had that others didn't, just as I do daily. Kidding. No, seriously I am kidding. So, getting back to Moses, God is the only one who knows why he chose him to go help the children of Israel but when Moses questions Him, he doesn't give him a specific answer. Or at least, not the answer that Moses was expecting to hear. God refers to Moses in a similar way than how he once did to Noah by telling him that what he was receiving, was a token from the Lord, that he would be accompanied by him always and influenced by the Almighty. "And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain." (Exodus 3: 12) Considering that God took Noah as his savor previously, will Moses be the new savor?

"And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." (Exodus 3: 13 - 15)
So when God tells Moses to go unto Pharaoh and ask for his people, Moses says that no one will believe him unless he shows proof. God tells him to say that he was sent by the the Lord God of their father's; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He states that that is his hame for ever and his memorial unto all generations. Moses must have felt some kind of relief by knowing what to say, even though he later on had to prove by showing them something for them to believe. But there's still something I don't understand. Moses says, "and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?" Why is it that the children of Israel don't know the name of the God of their fathers? Did they believe in many Gods during that time already?

"And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped." (Exodus 4: 29 - 31) What did these use to show proof? When Moses put his rod on the floor, it turned into a serpent, and when he grabbed the serpent from its tail and picked it up, it went back into being a rod. With this, the children of Israel believed and by saying this I mean that they believed in the Lord God of their fathers.

Aaron and Moses continue towards the salvation of the Hebrews, to freed them from Egypt. They follow the Lord's commands and they do such as they are told, to liberate every slave. God proves to them that he is there and shows his power when they all drop their rods but Aaron's snake devours the others, showing the Pharaoh and his followers that the others are much stronger and clever. The Pharaoh refused to let them go, and so the Lord spoke to Moses and told him that he would cover the borders with frogs and send plagues to the Egyptians. These plagues, are what I nowadays refer to as the ten commandments.

Finally, after many tries, Pharaoh let the children of Israel go. Shabbat was then introduced, when they finally leave. And since this point on, the Hebrews have celebrated it every friday. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that iswithin thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (Exodus 20: 8 - 11)

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