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Introduction |
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The life of the
author of the first five books of the
Bible started indeed eventfully.
Moses is a son of Amram, a member of the
tribe of Levi who is one of the twelve
sons of Jacob, and his wife Jochebed.
Jochebed is also the sister of Amram's
father Kohath. Kohath immigrated to Egypt
(Genesis 46:11) with 70 of Jacob's
household, making Moses part of the second
generation of Israelites born during their
time in Egypt. Moses has an older brother
Aaron, and Miriam is the older sister of
Aaron and Moses. |
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At the time when Moses
was born, the Pharaoh decreed the drowning of
every new male offspring among the Israelites
enslaved in Egypt. To save the “goodly child”
Moses, his mother, Jochabed, puts him in a
basket and sent him afloat in the Nile, while
being watch from a distance by Miriam. Later
when Miriam sees the Pharaoh’s daughter rescue
Moses from the river, she convinces the
princess to entrust Moses to a Hebrew nurse.
The princess then summons Jochabed to raise
Moses. When Moses grows up he is brought to
Pharaoh's daughter and becomes her son.
Little is known about his youth, but tradition
tells us that that while sitting on Pharaoh's
knee as a child, Moses takes the crown off of
Pharaoh's head and puts it on, an act that the
court magicians takes as a bad sign. They
demand that Moses be tested by making him
choose between a brazier full of gold and a
brazier full of hot coals that they place
before him. If Moses takes the gold, he would
have to be killed. Guided by an angel Moses
chooses the hot coal, and he puts it into his
mouth, leaving him with a life-long speech
impediment (Ex. 4:10).
The Flight to Midian
Three incidents foretells the kind of man
Moses was going to be - with almost obsessive
commitment to fighting injustice.
Although Moses grows up in all the wisdom of
the Egyptians, his compassion for his people
does not diminish. When he is about 40 years
old Moses sees an Egyptian beating an Israeli
slave. This angers Moses that he kills the
Egyptian (Ex. 2:11-12). The next day, he tries
to make peace between two Israelis who are
fighting but the aggressor accuses Moses: "Do
you mean to kill me as you killed the
Egyptian?" Moses understands then that he is
in danger.
When he learns the Moses killed the Egyptian
soldier the Pharaoh condemns Moses to death.
This forces Moses to flee from Egypt (Ex.
2:14-15) to Midian. At Midian he sees the
daughters of the priest Jethro being abused by
Midianite male shepherds (Exodus 2:11-22) and
Moses rises to defend them. Eventually Moses
marries Sephora, one of the seven daughters of
Jethro. For the next forty years Moses becomes
the shepherd for his father-in-law's flock,
during which time his son Gersam is born.
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The Burning Bush
While tending to a herd at Mount Horeb, east of
Midian, Moses saw a burning bush but is not
consumed by its fire. Wanting to investigate
Moses goes closer but a miraculous voice forbids
his approach and declares the ground so holy
that to approach he must first remove his shoes.
The voice who identifies himself as the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, reveals himself as
Yahweh. Over the strenuous objections of Moses,
God commands Moses to deliver the Jews from
bondage to Egypt and to bring his people to the
"land of milk and honey." Next, God also
appoints Aaron as Moses' "prophet," and Moses,
so to speak, as Aaron's God (Exodus 4:16). |
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The
Ten Plagues
With the "rod of God" in his hands Moses went to
Egypt with Aaron to demand that his people be set
free. When the Pharaoh refused, God unleashed
through Moses the ten plagues upon Egypt. In the
first plague the Nile turns to blood. In the second
frogs comes out from the Nile. Pestilence comes in
the third with lice, gnats, and flies. Wild beasts
attack in the fourth. In the fifth diseases come
upon the Egyptians' cattle, oxen, goats, sheep,
camels, and horses. In the sixth boils is inflicted
on Egyptians. Fiery hail and thunder strike Egypt in
the seventh and locusts covers Egypt in the eighth
plague. Egypt is thrown into total darkness in the
ninth plague. The Pharaoh only consents after God
passes through the land and kills every first-born
of man and beast of Egypt. The final plague is
commemorated as Passover, referring to how the
plague "passed over" the houses of the Israelites.
The
Flight from Egypt
When the Pharaoh consents for the Israelites to
leave Egypt, Moses, heading up 600,000 men, besides
women and children, starts the great exodus Eastward
to Canaan. He follows a way through the desert
indicated by an advancing pillar of alternating
cloud and fire. The progress is slow and they made
camp a few times, and the last one at the northern
tip of the Red Sea. Meanwhile, Pharaoh changes his
mind and sends a large army behind Moses and the
Israelites to kill them.
Caught in between the Pharaoh’s army and the Red
Sea, the Israelites despaired. Through Moses God
divides the waters so that they pass safely across
on dry ground. When the Egyptian army attempted to
follow, God made the waters return and drown them.
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The Ten
Commandments
After the deiverance at the Red Sea, Moses leads
his people to Marah, but the water is bitter,
causing the people to complain loudly against
Moses. Moses casts a tree into the water, and
the water becomes sweet. Food runs low later in
the journey and again the people complain
loudly against Moses and Aaron. For this God
provides manna from the sky in the morning and
quail in the evening. Later when the people made
camp there is no water, so once again the people
complained. God tells Moses to "order the rock
to yield its water. " Out of frustration from
the constant complaining, in an act of
disobedience to the Lord, instead of talking to
it Moses strikes the rock with his staff, and
water gushes out.
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Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt |
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For months
Moses and the Israelites continue their journey. In
the Sinai Desert Moses climbs Mount Sinai, and stays
there for several days, where he receives the Ten
Commandments from God. Moses returns from the
mountain only to find the Israelites regress to
worshiping a golden calf that the Israelites had
Aaron make for them and revert to amoral and
immoral. Moses convinces God not to destroy his
people, but upon seeing what his people has done
Moses destroys the calf and rebukes Aaron for the
sin he had brought upon the people.
Seeing that
the people becoming uncontrollable, Moses goes to
the entrance of the camp and said, "Who is on the
Lord's side? Let him come unto me." All the sons of
Levi rallied around Moses, who ordered them to go
from gate to gate slaying the idolators, and Moses
demands zeal for the purity of Divine Worship. Later
he returns to the mountain and when he returns to
the camp the second time he inspires the deepest awe
because his face appears with horns of light.
Forty Years in the Desert
After this Moses builds the
tabernacle, ordains priests and arranges and
encampment for the Levites and the non-priestly
tribes, consecrates the Tabernacle and orders a
census. Later Moses sends twelve spies into Canaan,
including Joshua and Caleb. After forty days the
spies return bringing back samples of the fruits of
the region. However, the
spies, except Joshua and Caleb, refuse to enter
Canaan to conquer it because they see difficult
battles with giants, among other things. This throws
the people into discontent and rebellion. Joshua and
Caleb plead with the people to enter Canaan and
conquer it but the people reject them. Moses prays
for guidance and God intervenes but only to condemn
the present generation to die in the wilderness. On
the next morning, the Israelites change their mind
and decide to invade Canaan. Although Moses tells
them not to attempt it the Israelites chose to
disobey Moses and invade Canaan. The Amalekites and
Canaanites drive them back.
Here starts
the wandering the desert for forty years. Most
scholars believe that the Pentateuch given by God to
Moses was written at this time. When that generation
who refuse to enter Canaan and conquer it die Moses
starts the march around Edom and Moab to the Arnon.
After the death of Aaron and the victory over Arad,
"fiery serpents" comes to the camp as punishment for
renewed complaining. Moses sets up the brazen
serpent, "which when they that were bitten looked
upon, they were healed." From then on, the
Israelites fight and win great battles and soon
conquered Canaan.
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Moses and the Transfiguration
Moses, however, dies before the Israelites enter
Canaan, at the age of 120 years. He is buried
somewhere in the valley of Moab over against Phogor.
The life of this holy man of God is a
model that shines through exceptionally that he and
Elijah appeared to witness the Transfiguration of
Jesus twelve
hundred years after his death. |
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Moses Great Lives Series: Volume 4 ,
by Charles R. Swindoll. This book presents the Bible's real Moses-the
Moses who tried to decline his assignment from God; the Moses who dazzled Pharoh;
the Moses who received the Ten Commandments; the Moses who was disobedient and
weak; the Moses who was the greatest leader of God's people in all of history.
Through his faith and selfless dedication, Moses continually chose to follow
God's will through difficult and seemingly impossible situations. |
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Jacob and Esau
by Harriette Augusta Curtiss and F. Homer
Curtiss (Paperback - Dec 30, 2005) |
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The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary
by J. A. Motyer
Recipient of a Christianity Today 1994 Critics
Choice Award! Among Old Testament prophetic books no other equals Isaiah's
brilliance of style and metaphor, its arresting vision of the Holy One of Israel
and its kaleidoscopic vision of God's future restoration of Israel and the
world. Now, after over three decades of studying and teaching Isaiah, Alec
Motyer presents a wealth of commentary and perspective on this book. |
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Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons, and Feasts
(Paperback)
by Leonard Foley (Editor), Pat McCloskey (Editor) |
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Lives of the Saints You
Should Know by Margaret R. Bunson, Matthew E.
Bunson |
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New Illustrated Book of
Saints
Author: Catholic Book Publishing Company |
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One Hundred Saints: Their
Lives and Likenesses Drawn from Butler's
This is a
coffee-table collection of 100 popular saints
illustrated with art works taken from
international galleries. The saints are listed
alphabetically in a valuable table of contents,
with a larger list of patron saints following
the text. Inclusion is based on popularity
within the Christian world and the
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availability of
atypical art works. Entries are
generally based on the 1926-38 edition
of Butler's Lives of the Saints, with
the length of each entry varying from
one-half page to several pages. Short
entries giving written insight into the
lives of pious individuals are combined
with depictions rendered by artists such
as Raphael and El Greco. An inexpensive
tribute to art and faith more
appropriate for gift-giving than for
libraries. |
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