The Crow's Nest

Saturday, July 15, 2023

“Moses in the Next 40 Years”

“And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.”(Exodus 2:12)

Moses, as you can tell, had a temper. Given all of the possible ways Moses could have done things, he didn’t. And that is part of God’s plan. Moses had killed an Egyptian, he knew that he had been found out, and knew the Pharaoh would kill him. So, he did the only thing he could think of…he ran. He ran directly to where God wanted him to be.

Moses ran to the Midianites. Did Moses know of them? Probably. The Midianites are mentioned in Genesis 25:2,4. Abraham’s wife Sarah had died and he married Keturah who gave him a son named Midian. Abraham did not bless them, but he did send them off with goods. The most famous meeting of Midianites was when they took Joseph as a slave to Egypt. How well he knew them is not known. He would have known they were traders in goods and slaves.

Moses married the daughter of Reuel (means “friend of God”) . Over the next 40 years Moses is educated by God.

“Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.” (Ex 3:1) Note the difference in the names of his father in law. Jethro means “Excellency”, a high level official in the tribe of Midian.

God begins by speaking to Moses from a burning bush. (Exodus 3:2-22)

The first step is to remove your shoes. God wants closeness, shoes are of the world.
God has seen the afflictions on Israel.
God tells Moses that God will be with him.
Moses wants to know God’s Name. God says, “I AM”. God further states he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
God promises his wonders to force Pharaoh to let Israel go.

God continues to teach Moses. (Exodus 4)

He shows Moses just three of the wonders God will show.
Moses does not see himself as worthy of public speaking. God promises to be Moses’s mouth and teach him what to say.
God sends Aaron, Moses’s brother, to be the spokesman for Moses.
God teaches Moses of the signs he will do.
God reminds Moses, through his wife Zipporah, to adhere to the laws of God. In this case circumcision.

Moses and Aaron meet and then go to Egypt to meet with all the Elders in Israel.

“30And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

31And 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 4:30-31)

“The First 40 Years of Moses”

“1And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

2And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.”(Exodus 2:1-2)

Moses went from being a baby floating in the river to a 40 year old man in the house of Pharaoh. He was born in the tribe of Levi. We remember the way Jacob had told the Levites they would be scattered. (Gen 49:5-7) Jacob didn’t curse Simeon and Levi, he cursed their sin. The future Levites will become priests.

Understanding Pharaoh is an important part of Genesis and Exodus. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt. He was skilled in controlling the Egyptians. Pharaoh’s considered themselves to be gods. Yet they had to hide their bodies in the sand to keep an earthly person from stealing it. Pharaoh was not a god, he was just a man.

Moses was plucked from the water by the Pharaoh’s daughter. He was suckled by his own mother. How long did it take for Moses’s mother to have him and then he goes to live in the Pharaoh’s house? It is a good question, but not much of an answer.

In today’s modern society there are many questions that still exist in rearing a baby. Breast feeding a child, especially your own, brings anti-bodies that nourish your own child. Giving a baby a man-made formula will provide nutrients to help a child physically grow. There is another importance. A mother and her child develop a very early bond between them. Imparting the lullabies of the Hebrew, in Hebrew, begins the education of Moses.

How old was Moses when he began to live in Pharaoh’s house? There are many guess that would seem to fit, in fact, we do not know.

What we do know is that at Exodus 2:11, he knew exactly where he had come from. “11And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.”

The next 40 years are amazing.

“Exodus”

“Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” (Exodus 1:8)

Exodus is the second book of the Bible. It is part history and a detailed journey of Israel in a relationship with God. Exodus is a story of politics, murder, and moral laws. The main characters are Moses and God.

Exodus begins 430 years after Jacob enters into Egypt. Time periods in history can be a difficult thing. However, the Bible doesn’t mess around with time periods.

“40Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

41And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:40-41)

At this point we know that Israel lived in Egypt for 430 years, but were not slaves during that entire time. Joseph was the second in command of all Egypt. However, we know that as long as Joseph was in command Israel would remain free. The question becomes how long was Joseph in command?

This number is determined by knowing how long Israel would be in bondage. That is revealed in Genesis 15:13 “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;”

God tells Abram that his seed (Abram–>Isaac–>Jacob) equals 400 years in bondage for Israel. Therefore, 430 years of living in Egypt, minus 400 years of bondage, equals 30 years that Joseph ruled in Egypt.

With the death of Joseph there would have been the death of his brothers, and the death of the Pharaoh that loved Joseph. A new Pharaoh a new set of laws.

“Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” (Exodus 1:8)

“Notes Version 1.1”

So far most of these posts have been about The Bible, Words used in the Bible, The Book of Genesis, and Connections between the Old Testament and New Testament.

I thank everyone for stopping in.

The artwork that I use in these posts are my own creation. Either a photograph of places I have been, or creating 3d and 2d art. The art itself is, in my mind, inspired by God. Because of that I do not ask for, nor will I receive payment of any kind. Feel free to use it for God.

In future posts I will explain what I used to create the artwork, and the next journey is in Exodus.

Stay tuned…

“The Seed”

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.” (Genesis 1:11)

Seed or Seeds is found throughout the Bible. It is used to denote an actual seed that will grow into food or a tree. It is used to denote the size or number of something. It also describes connections.

“And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.” (Gen 13:16)

“Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and said unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.” (Exodus 32:13)

“Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.” (1 Kings 2:33)

“Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.” (Psalms 22:23)

“It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:” (Mark 4:31)

“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matthew 17:20)

“Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:” (Acts 13:23)

“Jesus in Exodus”

“And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.” (Exodus 4:1)

Moses performs a miracle by throwing his staff down and it becomes a serpent.

“2And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

3And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

4And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

5That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

6And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

7And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.” (Exodus 4:2-7)

Moses had to prove that he had met God and was given power from God. That is the connection and the difference between Moses and Jesus.

“1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

2And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

3And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

4And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.” (Matthew 8:1-4)

Jesus did not say “Go tell everyone of my miracles so they will know I am the Son of God”, on the contrary. The Leper already believed that Jesus was the Son of God. He worshiped Jesus and humbly asked for healing. Jesus gave him healing and only asked that he tell the priests. The Leper was an example of Christ’s love.

“Jesus at Moriah”

“And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”

Put yourself in Abraham’s shoes. Abraham and Sarah were old when God had given them Isaac. Now God would kill their only son. Abraham had great faith that God would shield Issac from harm. But Abraham was not a perfect person.

Abraham and Sarah had already deceived people out of fear that Abraham would be killed. He kept passing his Wife off as his sister to avoid being killed. (Gen 12:11-12, Gen 20:2)

God had even entered into a covenant with Abraham that he would multiply into a great nation.

Remember the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? (Gen 2:17)

Abraham realized the difference between what was Good and what was Evil. Its just a little white lie, right? If Abraham told the truth about his wife, he feared he would die. So a little white lie about her being my sister is OK.

Right?

As Abraham is heading up the mount to prepare an altar for the sacrifice, he continued in Faith that God would provide. When Abraham has the altar prepared with his Son bound to the altar. Just as Abraham holds up the knife to slay his Son, The Angel of God stops him.

“And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” (Gen 22:12)

The pattern of Jesus is clear. God provides Abraham. Abraham provides his only Son Isaac. Isaac provides a lineage to Jesus. Jesus pays the ultimate sacrifice for the World.