# My notes and first read exercise answers ## General notes - His father in law is now [[Jethro]], not [[Reuel]]?? - [[Mount Horeb]] in this first mention, not [[Mount Sinai]] - [[Mount Horeb]] is NOT in [[Midian]]! ("far side of the wilderness") - The mountain is already the "mountain of [[God]]" at this point - First instance of [[Heart hardening]]; foreshadowing of [[Killing of Firstborn]] [[Plague]] - Then the [[Circumcision]] incident where [[Moses]] almost got killed by [[God]] ## Make a note of what God reveals about himself, and try to summarise what you think the main thing(s) are. - Establishes that the area around the [[Burning Bush]] is holy ground, and that sandals should be taken off - Introduces himself as the [[God]] of [[Abraham]], [[Isaac]], and [[Jacob]] - He has seen the misery of his people in [[Egypt]], and so he has come down to rescue them and bring them to the home of the [[Canaan]]ites - But only then does "the cry of the [[Israel]]ites reach" him ## Follow through the conversation between Moses and YHWH (3:4–4:17). Note down Moses’ objections and how YHWH answers them. - [[Moses]] hides his face - "Who am I that I should go to [[Pharaoh]] and bring the [[Israel]]ites out of [[Egypt]]?" - "I will be with you"; "you will worship [[God]] on this mountain" - "Suppose I go to the [[Israel]]ites and say to them 'The [[God]] of your fathers has sent me to you', and they ask me, 'What is his name'? Then what shall I tell them?" - [[Yahweh]] introduced as "I am who I am"; "I am has sent me to you" - Talking to [[Israel]]ites with "your fathers", not our fathers - What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say 'The [[Lord]] did not appear to you?' - Gives [[Snake Staff]] to him - Then gives [[Leprosy-toggling Pocket]] - Then grants [[Nile Sanguinification]] - Why these weird gifts??? - "I have never been eloquent...I am slow of speech and tongue" - "I will help you speak and will teach you what to say" - "Please send someone else" - Angrily, [[God]] gets [[Aaron]] to speak for him ## Write down a summary sentence about the purpose of this conversation (why do we need to hear this before the showdown with Pharaoh?) - This conversation establishes who [[Yahweh]] is - that the rescue will happen by his presence and power, not [[Moses]]' ability - frames the later showdown with [[Pharaoh]] as [[God]] proving and revealing himself - [[Moses]] repeatedly brings up his own failures and weakness, instead of fully trusting in the [[Lord]] - And also, even says to "send someone else" -- he doesn't want to heed the call # [[Zondervan NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible]] - "[[Angel]] of the [[Lord]]". [[Angel]] here meaning messenger -- the fire is not literally [[Yahweh]], but is the means through which he communicates to [[Moses]] - First use of phrase [[Milk and Honey]] - [[Moses]] is able to peacefully depart from [[Jethro]], in stark contrast with [[Jacob]] and [[Laban]] - When [[Moses]] angers [[God]] with his refusals -- teaching us about how [[God]] feels about disobedience from his own chosen people # [[Exodus FG leaders notes.pdf]] - Core theme: revealing who [[God]] is. Not just to [[Moses]], but to us the reader as well! - [[Exodus 3]]:1-10 shows us how committed he is to [[God's promises]] by repeatedly shifting focus away from [[Moses]] and onto himself - It's not [[Moses]]' leadership, but [[Yahweh]]'s convenant commitment - [[Exodus]] 3:11-22 is the focus of the study, with [[Moses]] beginning a series of objections - While it shows how unwilling [[Moses]] is, it really shows just how committed [[God]] is - [[God]]'s name response "I will be who I will be" in v. 14 echoes the previous answer in v. 12 where he said "*I will be* with you" - The statement focuses on [[God]]'s enduring convenant commitment -- what he is about to "be" is to be with [[Moses]] - [[God]] isn't just revealing more of himself, he is revealing himself as the [[God]] of convenant, who acts on his promises -- that is essentially what [[Yahweh]] means - [[Exodus 4]]:1-17 is about how [[Israel]]'s elders won't believe him. It is perhaps an even greater difficulty to convince [[Israel]] to believe in their own [[God]] than it is to convince [[Pharaoh]], something we see reoccuring throughout - The signs [[Yahweh]] grants [[Moses]] emphasizes his power over life and death - In [[Exodus 4]]:18-31, we see [[Yahweh]]'s plan set into motion - The [[Heart hardening]] mention is another sign that [[Yahweh]] is confident he can control [[Pharaoh]], who is ostensibly the most powerful man they're aware of - The [[Killing of Firstborn]] emphasizes the lengths [[Yahweh]] is willing to go in order to have [[Israel]] as his people - v. 21-23 points out to us that his wife [[Zipporah]] is a [[Midian]]ite, and so his family has probably not really devoted his family to [[Yahweh]]. This episode can then be seen as another enforcement of ownership and loyalty, with both [[Zipporah]] and [[Gershom]] both being brought into the convenant. *Being [[Yahweh]]'s firstborn son means belonging to him* - In the end, the elders believe [[Moses]], just as [[Yahweh]] said! ## Application - Many of us have experienced inadequacies of human leaders first-hand - Yet looking back on [[Exodus]], the focus is not on [[Moses]] as a leader whatsoever -- it's all about [[God]] - Despite the gap of time (400 years), [[God]] did not need reminding, coaxing -- he was the one who initiated calling [[Moses]] and putting things into motion. Similarly, we should view [[God]]'s outstanding promise of the [[New Creation]] in a similar way - Since there is a lot of content, it's important to **be decisive about what to focus on and what to leave out**. The notes strongly recommend focusing more on [[Exodus 3]], and to let the group know in advance to set expectations - The focus is [[God]]'s commitment to [[God's promises]] - By focusing on how that is the centre of [[Moses]]' conversation, we also give the verses about the name [[Yahweh]] more solid ground to stand on, keeping the group from speculating too much - [[Exodus 3]]:11 onwards is still showing the same thing, but this time with immediate impact w.r.t. [[Israel]]'s elders. Useful but less important than the main initial point - If you find that your group has had some kind of discussion about God’s covenant commitment, about him taking the initiative, then that means that you’ve had a really good study in this passage. We want to leave this passage thinking that YHWH (not Moses) is the main character of the rest of the book.