In Genesis 6-9, we see that God’s judgement on a sinful and wicked world is also an act of de-creation. Where the creation of Genesis 1-2 had seen forming and structure so that light was divided from darkness and sea from land and sky, we see a descent into chaos as the form and structure… Continue reading De-creation and the Egyptian plagues
Tag: Moses
The firstborn
God announces to Moses that there is just one more plague to come and then Pharoah will let the people go (Exodus 11:1). Before he announces the plague, Moses instructs the Isralites to go and request silver and gold from the Egyptians. YHWH ensures that the people find favour with the Egyptians and additionally, Moses… Continue reading The firstborn
The judging of Egypt and Pharoah
God sends Moses and Aaron back to Pharoah with Aaron to act as Moses’ spokesman just as prophets speak for God to the people. Again, he explains his plans and purpose to Moses. They are to call on Pharoah to let the people go from Egypt but he will not, his heart will be hardened. … Continue reading The judging of Egypt and Pharoah
Let my people go
Moses and Aaron now go to address Pharoah, as instructed, they tell him that YHWH-God commands him to let the Israelites go a three-day journey into the wilderness to celebrate a feast. The king’s response is that he has not heard of this YHWH and he has no intention of letting his slaves off their… Continue reading Let my people go
Application from the burning bush
There are lots of nuggets along the way in these two chapters. Particularly, I’m struck by the following. First of all, there is the example of Moses. It isn’t a good example here. He responds to God’s command and even to God’s promises with doubt and resistance. There is a particular warning for leaders in… Continue reading Application from the burning bush
The waters of death (part 1)
The story of Exodus focuses in on one family. A man from the tribe of Levi marries and his wife gives birth to a son.[1] We know from later that he is not the only child, he has a sister, Miriam, and brother, Aaron. Whether Miriam is from a previous/first wife or whether the narrator… Continue reading The waters of death (part 1)
What isn’t consumed
When Moses is in the wilderness, he spots a bush on fire, the famous burning bush. However, it’s not the fact that a bush is on fire that gets his attention. This may well have been a normal sight for him. What really is the miracle there? It’s the fact that the bush itself is… Continue reading What isn’t consumed
New Exodus
After his baptism, Jesus goes into the wilderness or desert region around the Jordan river. He spends forty days there, fasting and experiencing temptation from Satan. Mark sums this up in a few lines: 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[g] by Satan. He was with… Continue reading New Exodus
The Redemption of Moses
AS Moses stood facing the Red Sea and God told him to stretch out his staff over the water, how did he know that he could trust God at that point? I want to suggest that it was in part because he’d sort of been there already before. He was about to take the people… Continue reading The Redemption of Moses
Zeal and righteousness
In Galatians 1:14, Paul describes his extreme zeal with regards to the Law (both written and oral traditions). Commentators associate this idea of zeal with a fascinating incident from the Old Testament.[1] The incident is referred to in Psalm 106:30-31 and described in Numbers 25:1-9. In Numbers 24, a prophet called Balaam had attempted to… Continue reading Zeal and righteousness
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