Shemot Slides (pdf)
Shemot Notes (pdf)
Overview of Shemot (Exodus 1:1 – 6:1)
Last week’s Portion ended the Book of Genesis; it started with Yehovah creating the earth, and it ended with Joseph buried in the earth. Genesis ended with Israel holding favored status in Egypt and Exodus starts with Israel in slavery, about 144 years after Joseph’s death at the end of Genesis.
A note about this timeline: the Church generally teaches that Israel was captive in Egypt for 430 years (Galatians 3:17 – Masoretic Text), but the Septuagint Scripture is clear that Israel was sojourning in a land not their own (Egypt and Canaan) for 430 years. Simple math determines that Israel’s time in Egypt was only 215 years. To see all these detains, I recommend this 12 minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF0F8YjT1og It uses Scripture to make the case for the 215 year Egyptian bondage. This 215 year discrepancy (the Church’s 430 years vs the Rabbis’ 215 years) makes up a large part of the difference between this year’s Hebrew date of 5782 years from Creation vs the Western Gregorian date of 6025.
Chapter 1 Israel in Egypt
Of all the events that take place in the Book of Exodus (the Plagues, the parting of the Reed Sea, Yehovah appearing on Mt. Sinai, etc.), you would think the book would start with a hint of these things. But, instead, it starts with a list of names – shemot in Hebrew. The focus of the book is not on God’s miraculous deliverance, but rather the family of Abraham. Genesis is the story of Israel as a family, and Exodus is the story of that family becoming a nation.
“And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation.” The Book of Jasher (chapters 59-63) gives us much more detail about the deaths of Jacob’s sons: Joseph was the first to die (in the 71st year after entering Egypt), and Levi was the last to die (in the 93rd year). Moses is the third generation from Joseph and Levi, his great-grandfather. We know that Jacob lived to the age of 137, and Joseph lived to age 110; in order to support a 430 year time span in Egypt, Moses’ ancestors would have been having children long past the ages that their peers lived. “But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.” This is in direct contrast to the Egyptians who had sold everything they had (including themselves, as slaves) to Pharaoh. We saw Israel’s position of prosperity at the end of the 7-year famine in Gen 47:27; this sets the stage for Pharaoh’s actions against them here in Exodus. “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Stephen, when he addressed the Sanhedrin in Acts 7, gave us additional information about this new king: he referred to Pharaoh using the Greek word heteros, meaning another of a different kind; perhaps alluding to this Pharaoh being the Assyrian mentioned in Isaiah 52:4.
Pharaoh was concerned that Israel had grown so great in number that they might turn against him; so he made Israel serve “with rigor”; the Hebrew word used here suggests crushing taxation – since they were the only ones with any possessions left; this was then followed with hard physical labor. In order to control the population, he told the Hebrew midwives to kill all male babies; they disobeyed Pharaoh (and obeyed God) and God rewarded their obedience to Him. So he ordered the destruction of all (Israelite and Egyptian) male children by drowning in the Nile River. This sets the stage for the birth of Moses.
We should, by now, recognize that these are some of the very same strategies that today’s Globalists are using to subdue us: they have been “drowning our children in the Nile River” with “legalized abortion; they have been implementing ever-increasing taxation – through higher tax rates and through inflation that steals more and more of our money every year. How far away are we from forced labor, just as the Israelites endured? But the interesting thing is…the more the Egyptians persecuted the Israelites, the stronger (and more fruitful) they became. This was Yehovah’s way of “toughening them” for the rigors of the Wilderness Journey; so …. as we see this same type of persecution happening to us, just remember that it is Yehovah’s way of toughening us for the next phase of His plan for us!
Chapter 2 The Birth of Moses
Moses’ brother Aaron was obviously born before the edict to kill the male children, but now his parents Amran & Yachobed had a dilemma. The rabbis say they separated; not willing to take the chance that she would conceive a son just to be drowned in the Nile. But Miriam convinced them that their future son would be a great man to deliver them from their bondage. Not Biblical, but a nice story. So Yachobed did conceive a son, and the plan for his salvation is nothing short of miraculous. No person in the natural would ever execute a plan where the means of killing the newborns (the Nile River) would be the means of Moses’ salvation…but that’s exactly what happened! Miriam witnessed all the events of Pharaoh’s daughter finding the baby in the river and even orchestrated his mother, Yachobed, caring for him and educating him in his Hebrew heritage. That’s God at work! So Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s palace receiving the finest education in the ways of the Egyptians.
When he was grown, he still had a connection to his Hebrew roots. When he saw an Egyptian taskmaster abusing a Hebrew slave, he rose up and killed the Egyptian. When he tried to intervene in an argument between two Hebrews the next day, one of them said to him, “who made you a prince and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” He knew that the murder of the Egyptian was known. Incidentally, the rabbis say these two men were Dathan & Abiram from Korah’s Rebellion (Numbers 16) because they displayed the very same attitude. He fled for his life (rightfully so) eastward across the Reed Sea to the Land of Midian. There he met his future wife Zipporah and her father Reuel (his title as Priest of Midian) whose name is Yitro.
While Moses was starting a new life in Midian, Pharaoh had died and the new Pharaoh increased Israel’s persecution. And Yehovah remembered His covenant with Israel and He set in place His plan to redeem them.
Chapter 3 Yehovah Appears to Moses
The chapter starts with Moses tending the sheep of his father-in-law Yitro. We have already seen that the Patriarchs all tended sheep; David tended sheep for his father. Israel is often described scripturally as sheep; and the pattern continues as Messiah Yeshua is described as a shepherd over the flock of Israel
At this point in Scripture Yehovah walked and talked with Adam in the Garden; He physically appeared (as a man) to Abraham (Gen 18); He appeared to Isaac in Gen 26; He appeared again in bodily form to Jacob in Gen 32; and He appeared to Moses here. Here He appeared as the Messenger of Yehovah (verse 2) in the Burning Bush, then as Yehovah (in verse 4) and also as Elohim (also in verse 4), and finally refers to Himself in the third person in verse 12. All of this is very confusing, but I believe was done deliberately by the Holy Spirit in an attempt to try to convey to us Yehovah’s multi-faceted nature. He is all of these “people” and much more; well beyond our capacity to comprehend.
Yehovah called Moses to be His man to redeem Israel from bondage. But before Moses accepted this call, he wanted to know which god he was talking with. Moses was well versed in all the Egyptian gods and he wanted to know which one this was; so he asked Him what His name was. The answer is best shown in the notes and Power Point slides by the Hebrew used in the text.
Moses did not immediately accept Yehovah’s call…he did not say hineni, “here am I.” In fact, he gave Yehovah every reason possible why he should not do it! How many of us have done that also???? But Yehovah said that He would put His words in Moses’ mouth; and he told him what will happen: Moses will confront Pharaoh to release Israel; Pharaoh will refuse; Yehovah will strike Egypt with “wonders” (the Hebrew word peleh, which is a Messianic term – Isaiah 9:6); and Yehovah will deliver Israel, carrying out all the wealth of Egypt.
Chapter 4 Yehovah Equips Moses for His Assignment
Moses still resisted Yehovah, even after Yehovah empowered him to perform supernatural signs: turning his rod into a serpent; causing his skin to become leprous and then restored back to health; and turning water into blood. Moses’ final argument was that he was not eloquent enough to speak to Pharaoh; but Yehovah said that his brother Aaron would do the speaking for him…but notice, as Moses encounters Pharaoh, he does all the talking!!
So finally Moses took his family from Midian and returned to Egypt. On the way, Yehovah reminded him of the signs and wonders he was to perform, and that he was to tell Pharaoh, “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.” This, of course, was a reference to upcoming plagues culminating in the death of the firstborn at Passover.
Moses had one more test from Yehovah: he had not circumcised his son(s), and Yehovah was not going to allow him to proceed on his mission until that happened. It was his wife Zipporah who recognized the necessity and did the circumcision herself. This is a strange set of verses and most commentators skip over them but, at the very least, it is a foreshadowing of the upcoming Passover (which requires circumcision of the flesh – or of the heart – as a requirement to participate).
So Moses returned to Egypt and the Hebrews and to his brother Aaron. Here Aaron does do all the speaking to the Hebrews – because they know him, and they are not sure of Moses’ intentions. When Aaron tells them that Yehovah “had visited them and looked upon their afflictions” (from Joseph’s dying words in Gen 50:25), then they believed that Moses was the promised deliverer and they worshipped Yehovah.
Chapter 5 Moses & Aaron Meet Pharaoh
Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh and asked him to let the Hebrews go three days journey into the wilderness to worship Yehovah. Why three days? It was a three day journey to Egypt’s border; and then they would be able to make an offering – the sacrifice of a lamb (which was one of the many animals that the Egyptians considered to be a god). Pharaoh’s response was, “Who is Yehoavah, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I do not know Yehovah, nor will I let Israel go.” Well…he is about to find out exactly who Yehovah is!!! So, instead of doing what Moses asked, Pharaoh increased the workload of the Hebrews: if they had time to take three days to go off, then they had time to produce more bricks for Pharaoh. This of course was not well received by the Hebrews and they blamed Moses for the increased labor that Pharaoh placed upon them. The Portion ends with Moses telling Yehovah that he had not succeeded with the task that He had given him; but Yehovah said, “You have done what I have asked you to do; now watch what I will do!” (my paraphrase).
The Haftarah – Isaiah 27:6–28:13 & 29:22–23
Here the Prophet Isaiah speaks Yehovah’s warning to the whole House of Israel (both Southern & Northern Kingdoms). Israel was threatened by neighboring Assyria, and Isaiah delivered a series of prophecies against the nations that surround her. In this week’s Haftarah reading, Yehovah (through Isaiah) warns all of Israel: if she didn’t repent and turn from her sinful ways, she would be carried off into captivity. Despite these warnings, Yehovah promised He would preserve in Israel a faithful remnant. In today’s reading He promised, at the End of the Age, that He will return that remnant to Jerusalem. We read from Isaiah 27:12-13 which tells of this future gathering of Israel from all nations.
“In that day the Lord will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one. And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.”
The Brit Chadashah – I Thessalonians 2:3-10
This week’s New Testament reading comes from Paul’s second letter to the congregation at Thessalonica. Both of his letters to this congregation address their concerns about the End of the Age and, specifically, their concern that they may miss the return of Yeshua. He assured them they had not, and went on to describe some of the conditions in the Last Days: specifically, the appearance of the False Prophet and the Man of Sin (some call him anti-Messiah). We see they will use the very same tactics that Pharaoh used in this week’s Torah Portion: first to restrain and then to kill. We read from II Thessalonians 2:3-10:
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for the Day of the LORD will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God… And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”