Lesson 14 Flashcards
- Describe the themes of oppression and redemption found in Exodus
B. The need for deliverance is highlighted by increasing bondage (Exod 1:1-2:10)
- Explain the character development of Moses as the deliverer of Israel
Humility
Moses was raised as a prince of Egypt, but he remained humble and found confidence in God. He learned humility during the 40 years he spent in the wilderness tending sheep, where he learned to trust in God’s plans.
Obedience
Moses was a prototype of the biblical hero who obeyed God rather than asserting himself.
Courage
Moses showed courage on many occasions, such as when he marched up before Pharaoh to demand that the Israelites be freed.
Human faults
Moses was passionate and impulsive, and he lost his temper on multiple occasions. His anger ultimately caused him to forfeit his entrance into the promised land.
Other characteristics of Moses include:
Prayer: Moses was a great man of prayer who instinctively turned to God.
Teachability: Moses learned the importance of being teachable and taking advice from others.
Meekness: Moses became more humble as he became greater.
Moses’ journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai propelled him into the roles of prophet, priest, ruler, and savior of Israel.
- How does God bless His people even in the midst of increasing bondage?
1. The first oppression is forced labor (Exod 1:8-14)
a. The result of oppression (Exod 1:12
b. The Egyptian response to Israel (Exod 1:12)
c. Emphasis on service: “Who will Israel serve” (Exod 1:13-14)?
2. The second oppression is the slaughter of infants through midwives (Exod 1:15-21)
a. The midwives disobeyed the order of the king because they “feared God” (Exod 1:17)
b. The midwives’ response to Pharaoh (Exod 1:19)
c. God rewards the midwives with families (Exod 1:21)
d. The midwives’ names are mentioned in honor
3. The third oppression is to throw male infants into the Nile (Exod 1:22-2:10)
a. Genocide by drowning (Exod 1:22)
b. The climax of the oppression is the birth of Moses, the deliverer (Exod 2:1-10)
c. Ironies of this climax
i. Moses is thrown into the Nile
ii. A member of Pharaoh’s own family undermines his policy
iii. Moses’ own mother gets paid for nursing her son
iv. The Egyptians educate the future deliverer of Israel
4. Significance of this section
a. All the power of human government cannot hinder God from fulfilling his purposes for his people
b. God accomplishes his purposes through the faithful obedience of ordinary people
c. God confounds the powerful of this world through the faithful actions of those who are not powerful in themselves
d. Redemption is related to creation
i. The promise to Abraham
ii. A strong creation emphasis
e. Redemption has cosmic significance
- What tension was there within Moses due to his upbringing? Why did Moses fail at first and what did God teach Moses through that failure?
a. “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” (Exod 2:11-14)
b. Moses is a person torn between two cultures
i. Jewish: nursed by his mother, Jewish heritage and beliefs, and one of his own brethren (Exod 2:11)
ii. Egyptian: raised as a son of Pharaoh’s daughter and educated in all the wisdom of Egypt (Exod 2:10; Acts 7:22)
c. Moses’ initial efforts fail, and his leadership is rejected (Exod 2:14)
d. Acts 7:25 - “He supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would have delivered them by his hand, but they did not understand.”
e. Problems of Moses’ efforts
i. He tries to deliver God’s people without divine authorization
ii. He tries to deliver God’s people in his own wisdom and strength
f. Failure prepares Moses for his future tasks, and Moses learns lessons in Midian
i . A home and family: Moses was a stranger in Gershom (Exod 2:22)
ii. How to survive in the wilderness: a shepherd (Exod 3:1)
iii. To wait upon God’s timing: forty years (Exod 2:23-25)
- What are some possible meanings of God’s name in Exodus 3:14-15? What significance does this name have for understanding Jesus?
e. What does God’s name mean?
i. The name stresses the absolute sovereignty and control of God
ii. I am the eternal one, which is an ontological statement about God’s being
iii. I am the one you can count on to be with you (Exod 3:12, 20)
f. Exodus 3:15 and “Yahweh” (LORD)
g. The significance of the divine name for understanding Jesus
אֶהְיֶה (’ehyeh) is translated by the LXX as ἐγώ εἰμι (egō eimi)
אְַנִי הוּא (‘ănî hû‘) is also translated by the LXX as ἐγώ εἰμι (egō eimi)
“I, even I am he and there is no Elohim besides me” (Deut 32:39)
“I, Yahweh, am the first and the last, I am he” (Isa 41:4)
“I am he, I am the first; I am also the last” (Isa 48:12)
John 8:24, 28, 58
The full redemptive significance of the name in Exod 6:3
- What does Exodus 6:3 mean when it says that “by this name I did not make myself known to them”?
The full redemptive significance of the name in Exod 6:3
-The patriarchs did use “Yahweh,” but the point is that the patriarchs did not fully understand what this name meant
-The significance of Yahweh is about to revealed
- How does Exodus pick up the story from Genesis? What major differences are there in Exodus?
1) “And” is the first word of Exodus, so continues on from Genesis
2) Connections with creation (Exod 1:7; Gen 1:28)
3) Connections with the patriarchs (Exod 1:1; Gen 46:8)
Major Differences:
1) From seventy to a multitude
2) From a family in Exod 1:1 (“children of Israel”) to a nation in Exod 1:7
3) From Joseph to a king who did not know Joseph
4) From prosperity to bondage
5) Changes in the literary nature of the text
a) narrative dominant to the interrelationships of narrative and law
b) pace of narrative slows down
c) Moses is the central figure
