Jethro visits Moses (vs. 1-6)—Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and two sons (Gershom and Eliezer) back to Midian to visit with her father, Jethro. (v. 2), who is called Reuel in Exodus 2:18. That’s probably his proper name, which Jethro was his official title. He was a priest of Midian, which would indicate his worship of their gods. The fact that Moses lived 40 years with him doesn’t seem to have affected the Hebrew’s faith in Jehovah. In this chapter, Jethro comes for a visit, bringing Moses’ wife and two sons with him (v. 6).
Jethro and Moses converse (vs. 7-12)—Moses goes out to meet his family (v. 7), and there is a joyful reunion, thought, interestingly, Zipporah and the children aren’t mentioned. Again, that can be accounted for by the strict patriarchal society of the day; women and children weren’t mentioned unless there was some overriding importance in doing so. Moses tells Jethro all that the Lord had done in Egypt (v. 8), and Jethro rejoiced to hear it (v. 9). Verse 11 records an interesting statement of the priest: “’Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.’" Notice: “greater than all the gods.” Jethro apparently wasn’t prepared to admit that Jehovah was the only god, which is not too surprising, since he had been a priest of foreign gods all his life. But it was a significant admission that the Hebrew god was the greatest. Whether Moses’ father-in-law was ever converted to monotheism is unknown. He was willing to offer sacrifices to Jehovah, however (v. 12).
Jethro’s judicial advice (vs. 13-27)—Moses was handling all judicial matters by himself. Anybody that had a complaint came directly to him. Well, with the huge multitude of Israelites in the wilderness, this was a near impossible situation, and Jethro recognized it and gave Moses some advice: “Select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you” (vs. 21-22). This multi-tiered judicial system, with Moses acting as the “Supreme Court,” was wise for a large body of people, and Moses recognized it. It took a tremendous load off of him. Moses allowed the lower “rulers” to judge “the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves” (v. 26). Jethro soon after left and went back home (v. 27).
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Exodus 17
The people complain—again (vs. 1-7)—For the fourth straight chapter, the children of Israel find something to gripe about. They had moved on from the Wilderness of Sin, “according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim.” But there was no water there. As if the Lord didn’t know that. But the people demand Moses give them water, to which he responds, “Why do you tempt the Lord?” (v. 2). They had seen Him provide water and food for them before, but it’s as if He had never done anything for them. Moses takes the complaint to the Lord, and He, patient with Israel again, provides the water they need. Verse 7 says “they tempted the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’” What did He have to do to prove that He was with them? Was there anything He could finally do to convince them? The answer to that will actually be “no,” these people who left Egypt will never have true faith in Jehovah.
The battle with Amalek (vs. 8-16)—A group of people called the Amalekites attacked Israel at Rephidim. Amalek was a grandson of Esau, so actually kin to the Israelites. But there was never any harmony between the two peoples. The battle here had a strange twist. Moses stood on top of a hill with Aaron and Hur, who may have been Moses’ brother-in-law, the information is not clear. During the battle, every time Moses held up his arms, Israel started winning. When his arms got fatigued and dropped, Amalek gained the advantage (v. 11). So Moses sat on a stone and Aaron and Hur supported his arms, and Israel finally won the battle. The significance of Moses’ hands being in the air is obscure—a supplication to God? It’s not clear, but whatever the rationale, it worked.
The Lord was pretty disgusted with the Amalekites; their close kinship to Israel should have produced filial support, not war, so in verse 14, “the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’” Interestingly, some 400 years later, the Lord said to King Saul, “'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey’” (I Sam. 15:2-3). Notice it was 400 years before God decided to destroy the Amalekites for their attack on Israel in Exodus 17. The Lord works in His own time. Saul botched the job (read I Samuel 15), but David finished off Amalek about a generation later (I Sam. 30:1-17).
The battle with Amalek (vs. 8-16)—A group of people called the Amalekites attacked Israel at Rephidim. Amalek was a grandson of Esau, so actually kin to the Israelites. But there was never any harmony between the two peoples. The battle here had a strange twist. Moses stood on top of a hill with Aaron and Hur, who may have been Moses’ brother-in-law, the information is not clear. During the battle, every time Moses held up his arms, Israel started winning. When his arms got fatigued and dropped, Amalek gained the advantage (v. 11). So Moses sat on a stone and Aaron and Hur supported his arms, and Israel finally won the battle. The significance of Moses’ hands being in the air is obscure—a supplication to God? It’s not clear, but whatever the rationale, it worked.
The Lord was pretty disgusted with the Amalekites; their close kinship to Israel should have produced filial support, not war, so in verse 14, “the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’” Interestingly, some 400 years later, the Lord said to King Saul, “'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey’” (I Sam. 15:2-3). Notice it was 400 years before God decided to destroy the Amalekites for their attack on Israel in Exodus 17. The Lord works in His own time. Saul botched the job (read I Samuel 15), but David finished off Amalek about a generation later (I Sam. 30:1-17).
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Exodus 16
The third complaint (vs. 1-3)—The children of Israel moved on from Elim and came to a location called the Wilderness of Sin (v. 1). Their food supply must have run short because they complain “against Moses and Aaron” (v. 2), the third time in six weeks that they have murmured. Their complaint was really against the Lord, of course (v. 8). After all He had done for them, after all He had shown them, they still demonstrate virtually no faith in Him. Yet He remains patient with them—for awhile.
The promise of provisions (vs. 4-8)—The Lord told Moses that he would “rain bread from heaven” (v. 4). The people were to go out for six days and collect it, and on the sixth day, take twice as much (vs. 4-5). This was a “test” to see “whether they will walk in My law or not” (v. 4), i.e., will they trust and obey Him. The Lord would also provide them meat that night (but not every day). This would again teach the people something they seemed determined not to accept: “the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt” (v. 6). The “complaint” was again, in one sense, reasonable; the people needed food. But the lack of faith was again, unreasonable, given all they had seen Jehovah do for them.
The glory of the Lord (vs. 9-12)—The “glory of the Lord appeared” to the people in a cloud. Clouds are frequently part of God’s manifestation; Jesus will come again with the clouds (Revelation 1:5), and His judgments are also figuratively accompanied by clouds (Is. 19:1; Matt. 24:29-31). At this occasion (v. 11), Jehovah told Moses that He had heard the people’s complaint and would provide for them. Once more, Jehovah was trying to convince them that “I am the Lord your God” (v. 12).
“What is it?” (vs. 13-21)—That evening, as promised, the people had meat in the form of quail (v. 13), and the next morning, when the dew lifted, there “was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground” (v. 15). The people “said to one another, ‘What is it?’” (v. 15). It was a bread the Lord provided for them. They ended up calling it “manna,” which means “what” (v. 31). They were told how much to take—an omer per person. There is some disagreement as to exactly how much an omer was; verse 36 says it was “one-tenth of an ephah” (does that help you?). An omer was apparently between a half-gallon to three quarts. Regardless it should have been enough for the people. Moses commanded them not to leave any of it till the next day (v. 19). Of course, some of them did and “it bred worms and stank” (v. 20). But it was there for them each day they needed it.
The Sabbath day (vs. 22-31)—The Law of Moses had not yet been given, of course, but here the Lord commands observance of the seventh day, “a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord” (v. 23). The people were to cook what food they would need on the day before, and gather enough manna for two days, something He had told them already in verse 5. Naturally, “some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none” (v. 27). This angered the Lord, and He repeated that He had provided for them enough on sixth day: “See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day" (v. 29). So the Sabbath became a day of rest for the children of Israel (v. 30). Verse 31 tells us what manna looked like and what it consisted of: “it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” Whether the Lord provided them manna every day for the next 40 years is unknown. Perhaps they received the manna only when they needed it. The people did have their flocks and herds, of course, but they certainly wouldn’t want to thin those out too much.
The preservation of manna for posterity (vs. 32-36)—The Lord commanded Moses to set aside an omer of the manna, put it in a pot, and lay “it up before the Testimony” (v. 35). It would be put in the ark of the covenant once it was built. It would be there for hundreds of years as a perpetual reminder of what the Lord had done for them in Egypt and the wilderness.
The promise of provisions (vs. 4-8)—The Lord told Moses that he would “rain bread from heaven” (v. 4). The people were to go out for six days and collect it, and on the sixth day, take twice as much (vs. 4-5). This was a “test” to see “whether they will walk in My law or not” (v. 4), i.e., will they trust and obey Him. The Lord would also provide them meat that night (but not every day). This would again teach the people something they seemed determined not to accept: “the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt” (v. 6). The “complaint” was again, in one sense, reasonable; the people needed food. But the lack of faith was again, unreasonable, given all they had seen Jehovah do for them.
The glory of the Lord (vs. 9-12)—The “glory of the Lord appeared” to the people in a cloud. Clouds are frequently part of God’s manifestation; Jesus will come again with the clouds (Revelation 1:5), and His judgments are also figuratively accompanied by clouds (Is. 19:1; Matt. 24:29-31). At this occasion (v. 11), Jehovah told Moses that He had heard the people’s complaint and would provide for them. Once more, Jehovah was trying to convince them that “I am the Lord your God” (v. 12).
“What is it?” (vs. 13-21)—That evening, as promised, the people had meat in the form of quail (v. 13), and the next morning, when the dew lifted, there “was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground” (v. 15). The people “said to one another, ‘What is it?’” (v. 15). It was a bread the Lord provided for them. They ended up calling it “manna,” which means “what” (v. 31). They were told how much to take—an omer per person. There is some disagreement as to exactly how much an omer was; verse 36 says it was “one-tenth of an ephah” (does that help you?). An omer was apparently between a half-gallon to three quarts. Regardless it should have been enough for the people. Moses commanded them not to leave any of it till the next day (v. 19). Of course, some of them did and “it bred worms and stank” (v. 20). But it was there for them each day they needed it.
The Sabbath day (vs. 22-31)—The Law of Moses had not yet been given, of course, but here the Lord commands observance of the seventh day, “a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord” (v. 23). The people were to cook what food they would need on the day before, and gather enough manna for two days, something He had told them already in verse 5. Naturally, “some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none” (v. 27). This angered the Lord, and He repeated that He had provided for them enough on sixth day: “See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day" (v. 29). So the Sabbath became a day of rest for the children of Israel (v. 30). Verse 31 tells us what manna looked like and what it consisted of: “it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” Whether the Lord provided them manna every day for the next 40 years is unknown. Perhaps they received the manna only when they needed it. The people did have their flocks and herds, of course, but they certainly wouldn’t want to thin those out too much.
The preservation of manna for posterity (vs. 32-36)—The Lord commanded Moses to set aside an omer of the manna, put it in a pot, and lay “it up before the Testimony” (v. 35). It would be put in the ark of the covenant once it was built. It would be there for hundreds of years as a perpetual reminder of what the Lord had done for them in Egypt and the wilderness.
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