The book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Bible and part of the Pentateuch, traditionally attributed to Moses.

• It chronicles the journey of the Israelites from Mount Sinai to the edge of the Promised Land, covering a period of about 40 years.

1. Census and Preparation (Chapters 1-10): The book begins with a census of the Israelite men able to go to war, hence the name "Numbers."

 
THE CENSUS OF ISRAEL
NUMBERS 1:1-4
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai, on the first day of the second month of the second year after Israel’s departure from the land of Egypt: 2 “Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of every male one by one. 3 You and Aaron are to register those who are twenty years old or more by their military divisions—everyone who can serve in Israel’s army., 4 A man from each tribe is to be with you, each one the head of his ancestral family[1]

• God instructs Moses on how to organize the camp and the duties of the Levites.

NUMBERS 3:5-10
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 9 Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him from the Israelites. 10 You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”[2]
 
NUMBERS 6

• Nazarite Vow – Samson

 
NUMBERS 8:5-12 (Ordination/Consecration)
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and ceremonially cleanse them. 7 Do this to them for their purification: Sprinkle them with the purification water. Have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
8 “They are to take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. 9 Bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the entire Israelite community. 10 Then present the Levites before the Lord, and have the Israelites lay their hands on them. 11 Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a presentation offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the Lord’s work. 12 Next the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls. Sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.[3]
 
GUIDANCE BY THE CLOUD
NUMBERS 9:15-23
15 On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and it appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning. 16 It remained that way continuously: the cloud would cover it, appearing like fire at night. 17 Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped. 18 At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at the Lord’s command they camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped.
19 Even when the cloud stayed over the tabernacle many days, the Israelites carried out the Lord’s requirement and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for only a few days. They would camp at the Lord’s command and set out at the Lord’s command. 21 Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning; when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out. Or if it remained a day and a night, they moved out when the cloud lifted. 22 Whether it was two days, a month, or longer, the Israelites camped and did not set out as long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle. But when it was lifted, they set out. 23 They camped at the Lord’s command, and they set out at the Lord’s command. They carried out the Lord’s requirement according to his command through Moses. [4]
 

• The Israelites prepare to leave Mount Sinai, where they had received the Law.

NUMBERS 10:33-36
33 They set out from the mountain of the Lord on a three-day journey with the ark of the Lord’s covenant traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them. 34 Meanwhile, the cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
35 Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say:
Arise, Lord!
Let your enemies be scattered,
and those who hate you flee from your presence.
36 When it came to rest, he would say:
Return, Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.[5]

1. Journey and Rebellion (Chapters 11-14): As the Israelites journey toward the Promised Land, they face various challenges and rebellions.

• They complain about their hardships, leading to God's provision of quail and the appointment of seventy elders to help Moses.

NUMBERS 11:16-17
16 The Lord answered Moses, “Bring me seventy men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.[6]
 
NUMBERS 13:1-3
1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.” 3 Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the Lord’s command.[7]
 
NUMBERS 13:17-33
17 When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications? 20 Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. 23 When they came to Eshcol Valley, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from scouting out the land.
 
REPORT ABOUT CANAAN
26 The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. 28 However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!” 32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. 33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”[8]
 
ISRAEL’S REFUSAL TO ENTER CANAAN
NUMBERS 14:1-10
1 Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. 2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”
10 While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.[9]
 
NUMBERS 14:26-38
26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about me? I have heard the Israelites’ complaints that they make against me. 28 Tell them: As I live—this is the Lord’s declaration—I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. 29 Your corpses will fall in this wilderness—all of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you twenty years old or more—because you have complained about me. 30 I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it. 32 But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years and bear the penalty for your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie scattered in the wilderness. 34 You will bear the consequences of your iniquities forty years based on the number of the forty days that you scouted the land, a year for each day., You will know my displeasure. 35 I, the Lord, have spoken. I swear that I will do this to the entire evil community that has conspired against me. They will come to an end in the wilderness, and there they will die.”
36 So the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and who returned and incited the entire community to complain about him by spreading a negative report about the land--37 those men who spread the negative report about the land were struck down by the Lord. 38 Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh (yeh foo nay) remained alive of those men who went to scout out the land. [10]
 

1. Wilderness Wanderings (Chapters 15-25): During the years of wandering, the Israelites experience various events, including further rebellions, the budding of Aaron's staff as a sign of his chosen priesthood, and the story of Balaam, a prophet hired to curse Israel but who ends up blessing them instead.
2. Preparation for the Promised Land (Chapters 26-36): A second census is taken to prepare for entering the land. God gives instructions regarding offerings, vows, and the division of the land among the tribes.

JOSHUA COMMISSIONED TO SUCCEED MOSES NUMBERS 27:12-23 (Ordination)
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range and see the land that I have given the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you will also be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was. 14 When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against my command to demonstrate my holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the Waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.
15 So Moses appealed to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all,, appoint a man over the community 17 who will go out before them and come back in before them, and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18 The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. 19 Have him stand before the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and commission him in their sight. 20 Confer some of your authority on him so that the entire Israelite community will obey him. 21 He will stand before the priest Eleazar who will consult the Lord for him with the decision of the Urim. He and all the Israelites with him, even the entire community, will go out and come back in at his command.”
22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before the priest Eleazar and the entire community, 23 laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, as the Lord had spoken through Moses. [11]

• The book concludes with the Israelites camped on the plains of Moab, ready to enter the Promised Land.

Throughout Numbers, themes of God's faithfulness, human rebellion, and the importance of obedience are prominent.

• Despite the Israelites' repeated failures, God remains committed to His covenant promises, guiding and providing for them as they journey toward the land He promised to their ancestors.

 
1 John 2:12-14
12 I am writing to you, little children,
since your sins have been forgiven
on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have conquered the evil one.
14 I have written to you, children,
because you have come to know the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong,
God’s word remains in you,
and you have conquered the evil one. [12]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 1:1–4.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 3:5–10.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 8:5–12.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 9:15–23.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 10:33–36.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 11:16–17.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 13:1–3.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 13:17–33.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 14:1–10.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 14:26–38.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 27:12–23.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Jn 2:12–14.

Leviticus is the third book of the Bible and is part of the Torah, also known as the Pentateuch.

• It primarily focuses on the laws and regulations given by God to the Israelites through Moses.
• These laws were intended to guide the Israelites in their worship and daily living, setting them apart as God's holy people.

Sacrificial System:

• Leviticus begins with detailed instructions on various offerings and sacrifices, including burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings (Leviticus 1-7).
• These sacrifices were a way for the Israelites to maintain their relationship with God and atone for their sins.

LEVITICUS 1:1-9
1 Then the Lord summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the Lord from the livestock, you may bring your offering from the herd or the flock.
3 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to bring an unblemished male. He will bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting so that he may be accepted by the Lord. 4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

• Substitute Sacrifice
• God accepts a substitute sacrifice on behalf of the one He loves.
• The precedent has been set.

5 He is to slaughter the bull before the Lord; Aaron’s sons the priests are to present the blood and splatter it on all sides of the altar that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 6 Then he is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest will prepare a fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Aaron’s sons the priests are to arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat on top of the burning wood on the altar. 9 The offerer is to wash its entrails and legs with water. Then the priest will burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.[1]
 
Priestly Duties:

• The book outlines the roles and responsibilities of the priests, particularly those from the tribe of Levi.
• It includes the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests and the regulations they must follow in their service (Leviticus 8-10).

 
Purity Laws:

• Leviticus contains laws concerning ritual purity, including dietary restrictions, laws about clean and unclean animals, and regulations for dealing with skin diseases and bodily discharges (Leviticus 11-15).
• These laws were meant to teach the Israelites about holiness and separation from impurity.

LEVITICUS 11:1-8
1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Tell the Israelites: You may eat all these kinds of land animals. 3 You may eat any animal with divided hooves and that chews the cud. 4 But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves you are not to eat these:
camels, though they chew the cud,
do not have divided hooves—they are unclean for you;
5 hyraxes, though they chew the cud,
do not have hooves—they are unclean for you;
6 hares, though they chew the cud,
do not have hooves—they are unclean for you;
7 pigs, though they have divided hooves,
do not chew the cud—they are unclean for you.
8 Do not eat any of their meat or touch their carcasses—they are unclean for you.[2]
Day of Atonement:

• One of the central events in Leviticus is the Day of Atonement, a yearly observance where the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place to make atonement for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16).
• This foreshadows the ultimate atonement made by Jesus Christ.

LEVITICUS 16:17-19
17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel. 18 Then he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar. 19 He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apart from the Israelites’ impurities. [3]
 
Moral and Ethical Laws:

• The book includes various moral and ethical laws, such as those concerning sexual conduct, social justice, and interpersonal relationships (Leviticus 17-20).
• These laws emphasize the importance of living a life that reflects God's holiness.

LEVITICUS 17:10-12
10 “Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens who reside among them who eats any blood, I will turn against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no alien who resides among you may eat blood.[4]
 
Festivals and Sabbaths:

• Leviticus outlines the religious festivals and Sabbaths that the Israelites were to observe, including Passover, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23-25).

LEVITICUS 23:1-3
23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: These are my appointed times, the times of the Lord that you will proclaim as sacred assemblies.
3 “Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there is to be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you live. [5]
 
Blessings and Curses:
The book concludes with a section on the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience, highlighting the covenant relationship between God and His people (Leviticus 26).
LEVITICUS 27:34
34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai. [6]
Leviticus, while often seen as a book of laws, ultimately points to the holiness of God and the need for atonement and reconciliation.

• Themes that are fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus Christ.

 
There is often confusion about the role of the Old Testament Law and how it relates to Christians today.

• I believe the Levitical laws were just for the Jewish people.
• Others say they apply to everyone who would worship God.

 
First, let’s clarify some terms.

• The Levites were the descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s twelve sons.
• Moses was of the tribe of Levi, and when God delivered the Law to him on Mount Sinai, He marked the Levites as the tribe responsible for the primary religious duties in the nation.
• They were made priests, singers, and caretakers in the worship of God.
• In calling it the Levitical Law, we acknowledge that God revealed the Law through Moses, a Levite, and that God appointed the Levites as the religious leaders of Israel.
• The same Law is sometimes called “Mosaic” because it was given through Moses, and it is also referred to as the “Old Covenant,” because it is part of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants.

To discover God’s purpose in the Law, we must first look at its inception, and the things God said to Moses about it.

• When Moses and the people arrived at Mount Sinai, God said,

EXODUS 19:5-6
5 Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, 6 and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.” [7]

• The first mention of the Law to the nation was as a covenant—a legal agreement between God and the people He chose.
• The Israelites were required to obey it fully if they were to receive its benefits.

 
God began His introduction to the Law with the Ten Commandments, but the entire Law encompasses 613 commandments, as detailed in the rest of the books of Moses.

• Jesus summarized the Law as having two emphases: love for God and love for neighbors (Matthew 22:37–39).
• These emphases can be easily seen in the Ten Commandments: the first four commands focus on our relation to God, and the remainder focus on interpersonal relations.
• If we think that is the whole purpose of the Law, though, we miss an important element. Many of the individual commands give detailed instruction on how God was to be worshiped and how the people were to live their lives.
• It is in those fine details that love was either shown or withheld.

 
For hundreds of years, the Israelites lived under the Levitical Law, sometimes obeying it but more often failing to follow God’s commands.

• Much of Old Testament history deals with the punishments Israel received for their disobedience.
• When Jesus Christ came, He said that He did not “come to abolish the Law or the Prophets . . . but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).
• In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus took the Law to a higher level, applying it to the thoughts and intents of the heart.
• This perspective significantly diminishes our ability to keep the Law.

 
The apostle Paul gives us insight into God’s purpose for the Law in his letter to the Galatians.

• In Galatians 3:10 he says, “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’”
• The fine details show up again—if we don’t keep every command perfectly, we are condemned (see James 2:10).

GALATIANS 3:19-26
19 Why, then, was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not just for one person alone, but God is one. 21 Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power,, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. 24 The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. 25 But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.[8]

• The Law pointed out our sinfulness, proved our inability to keep our end of the covenant, made us prisoners in our guilt, and showed our need of a Savior.
• The purpose of the Law is also revealed:

ROMANS 3:20
20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.[9]

The Levitical Law did its job well, pointing out the sinfulness of mankind and condemning us for it.
HEBREWS 7:18-19
18 So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable 19 (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.[10]

• (for the law made nothing perfect).”
• The Law had no way of changing our sinful nature.
• We needed something better to accomplish that.

HEBREWS 10:1-4
1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. 2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. [11]
 
God’s desire has always been to have fellowship with mankind, but our sin prevented that.

• He gave the Law to set a standard of holiness—and, at the same time, to show that we could never meet that standard on our own.
• That’s why Jesus Christ had to come—to fulfill all the righteous requirements of the Law on our behalf, and then to take the punishment of our violating that same Law.

HEBREWS10:11-14
11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. 12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God., 13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.[12]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 1:1–9.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 11:1–8.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 16:17–19.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 17:10–12.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 23:1–3.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 27:34.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 19:4–6.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ga 3:19–26.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ro 3:20.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 7:18–19.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 10:1–4.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 10:11–14.

Review:

• Moses received The Ten Commandments

 
Exodus 21 – Laws about injuries
Exodus 22 – Social Matters
Exodus 23 – 3 Annual Festivals
Exodus 24 – Covenant Confirmed
7 He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey all that the Lord has commanded.”
8 Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”[1]
 
16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from the cloud. 17 The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop. 18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.[2]
 
Exodus 25-31 – Tabernacle Revealed
EXODUS 25
25 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites to take an offering for me. You are to take my offering from everyone who is willing to give. 3 This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood; 6 oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 and onyx along with other gemstones for mounting on the ephod and breastpiece.,
8 “They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them. 9 You must make it according to all that I show you—the pattern of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings.[3]
 

• Ark, table & lampstand

 
THE ARK
10 “They are to make an ark of acacia wood, forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. 11 Overlay it with pure gold; overlay it both inside and out. Also make a gold molding all around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and place them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 13 Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it. 16 Put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 17 Make a mercy seat of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. 18 Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. At its two ends, make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 The cherubim are to have wings spread out above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and are to face one another. The faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat. 21 Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 22 I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites. [4]
 

• Exodus 26 - Curtains & walls
• Exodus 27 – Altar, court & oil
• Exodus 28 - Priestly Clothing
• Exodus 29 – Consecration/Ordination of the Priests
• Exodus 30 - Anointing Oil, Altar & Incense
• Exodus 31 - The Sabbath

18 When he finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. [5]
 
Exodus 32 – Golden Calf

• The scene now changes, and we see what was happening down in the Israelite camp, while Moses was still up in the heights of Sinai receiving the instructions for the Israelites' worship.
• The people were already apostatizing (renouncing their beliefs) and were devising their own form of worship.

7 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’ ” 9 The Lord also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”[6]
 
19 As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. [7]
 
Exodus 33-34 – Covenant Renewed

• God’s Glory (Moses’ veil)

EXODUS 33
12 Moses said to the Lord, “Look, you have told me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor with me.’ 13 Now if I have indeed found favor with you, please teach me your ways, and I will know you, so that I may find favor with you. Now consider that this nation is your people.”
14 And he replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 “If your presence does not go,” Moses responded to him, “don’t make us go up from here. 16 How will it be known that I and your people have found favor with you unless you go with us? I and your people will be distinguished by this from all the other people on the face of the earth.”
17 The Lord answered Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor with me, and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Please, let me see your glory.”
19 He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.” 21 The Lord said, “Here is a place near me. You are to stand on the rock, 22 and when my glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back, but my face will not be seen.” [8]
 

• New Tablets

EXODUS 34
29 As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain—he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord., 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone! They were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 and the Israelites would see that Moses’s face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went to speak with the Lord. [9]
 
Exodus 35-40 – Tabernacle Construction

• Materials
• Skilled Artisans
• The Ark
• The Courtyard
• Moses Inspects
• God’s Glory

EXODUS 39
43 Moses inspected all the work they had accomplished. They had done just as the Lord commanded. Then Moses blessed them.[10]
 
Exodus 40:34-38 -  34 The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
36 The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey. 37 If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the day it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey. [11]
 
 
LIVING BY FAITH
HEBREWS 11
1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For by this our ancestors were approved.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
7 By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the one who had promised was faithful. 12 Therefore, from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and as innumerable as the grains of sand along the seashore.
13 These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. 14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. 16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son, 18 the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring will be traced through Isaac. 19 He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff., 22 By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, after he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter 25 and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. 26 For he considered reproach for the sake of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking ahead to the reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees him who is invisible. 28 By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites. 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned…
 
39 All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.[12]
 

• The greatest love story of all time…
• “Jesus, I Believe” – Big Daddy Weave

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 24:7–8.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 24:16–18.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 25:1–9.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 25:10–22.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 31:18.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 32:7–10.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 32:19.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 33:12–23.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 34:29–35.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 39:43.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 40:34–38.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 11:1–40.

Review:

• Timeline & Maps

 
EXODUS 13
1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Consecrate every firstborn male to me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is mine.”[1]
 
6 For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord.[2]
 
18 So he led the people around toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation.
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, “God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.”
20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.[3]
 
EXODUS 14
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea. 3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in. 4 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.
 
THE EGYPTIAN PURSUIT
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.” 6 So he got his chariot ready and took his troops with him; 7 he took six hundred of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out defiantly., 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army—chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians coming after them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
13 But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”
 
ESCAPE THROUGH THE RED SEA
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to break camp. 16 As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 As for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 Then the angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them. 20 It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. There was cloud and darkness, it lit up the night, and neither group came near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.
23 The Egyptians set out in pursuit—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen—and went into the sea after them. 24 During the morning watch, the Lord looked down at the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian forces into confusion. 25 He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and made them drive with difficulty. “Let’s get away from Israel,” the Egyptians said, “because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth. While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the Lord threw them into the sea. 28 The water came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, plus the entire army of Pharaoh that had gone after them into the sea. Not even one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses. [4]
 
EXODUS 15

• Isreal’s Song

25 The Lord made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah, and he tested them there. 26 He said, “If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands, and keep all his statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.[5]
 
EXODUS 16

• 2.5 months upon leaving 430 years of slavery in Egypt the Israelites began talking about how much better they had it in Egypt.
• Imagine if they had FB… all the grumbling (entire Israelites)

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the Lord’s glory because he has heard your complaints about him. For who are we that you complain about us?” 8 Moses continued, “The Lord will give you meat to eat this evening and all the bread you want in the morning, for he has heard the complaints that you are raising against him.[6]
 
13 So at evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew evaporated, there were fine flakes on the desert surface, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” because they didn’t know what it was.
Moses told them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat. You may take two quarts per individual, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’ ”[7]
 
31 The house of Israel named the substance manna. It resembled coriander seed, was white, and tasted like wafers made with honey.[8]
 
35 The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate manna until they reached the border of the land of Canaan.[9]

• The provision of mannah for 40 years.
• 2 quarts a day… maggots and rotten
• 8 cups = 64 oz = 2 quarts = 1/2 gallon
• Day 7… not available
• Preserve 2 quarts for remembering

 
EXODUS 17

• Repeat of 16 except they wanted water this time.
• Moses told them again… you are complaining against God.
• Moses put staff in a rock at Horeb and water was provided.
• Then Joshua was told to battle Amalek
• Moses used the name Amalek to represent the Amalekites, as he often used the name Israel for the Israelites.
• The Amalekites were a tribe of Semites.
• They were descendants of Esau (Gen. 36:12), and had moved into the part of Sinai that the Israelites now occupied.
• They would win as long as Moses held up his hands.
• Aaron & Hur helped him hold up his arms.

 
EXODUS 18

• Jethro (Moses’ Father-in-Law) came to check on Moses (also brought his wife, Zipporah and kids)
• Jethro assessed how God provided for Israelites
• He also assessed what Moses was doing as he dealt with all the problems of the people.

21 But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating dishonest profit. Place them over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 22 They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every major case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear it with you. 23 If you do this, and God so directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied.[10]
 
EXODUS 19

• God heard the Israelites and told Moses the plan to meet with him on Mt. Sinai.

3 Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain: “This is what you must say to the house of Jacob and explain to the Israelites: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, 6 and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.” [11]

• Moses consecrated the people and told them to stay away from the holy mountain.

16 On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast from a trumpet, so that all the people in the camp shuddered. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.[12]
 
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
EXODUS 20
1 Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 3 Do not have other gods besides me. 4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.
7 Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name.
8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: 9 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the resident alien who is within your city gates. 11 For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.
12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 Do not murder.
14 Do not commit adultery.
15 Do not steal.
16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
 
THE PEOPLE’S REACTION
18 All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 “You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”
20 Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not sin.” 21 And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the total darkness where God was. [13]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 13.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 13:6.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 13:18–22.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 14:3–31.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 15:25–26.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 16:6–8.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 16:13–16.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 16:31.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 16:35.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 18:21–23.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 19:3–6.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 19:16–19.
[13] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 20:1–21.

Review:

• Exodus 4:10-11 – But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant—because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.”
• The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.” [1]
• This passage emphasizes God's sovereignty over creation, including the physical capabilities of humans.
• This passage highlights God's sovereignty over creation, including human abilities and disabilities.
• It emphasizes that God is the Creator and has authority over all aspects of life.
• While this verse acknowledges God's role in creating people with various abilities, it is important to understand it within the broader context of Scripture.
• The Bible consistently reveals God's character as loving, compassionate, and just.
• Disabilities and challenges in life are part of the fallen world we live in, and they can serve various purposes in God's plan.
• In the New Testament, Jesus' ministry often involved healing the sick and restoring sight to the blind, demonstrating God's compassion and power (Matthew 11:5; John 9:1-7).
• These miracles were signs pointing to the coming of God's kingdom and the ultimate restoration that believers will experience.
• Moreover, challenges such as disabilities can serve to draw people closer to God, deepen their faith, and display His strength in their weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
• They can also provide opportunities for the body of Christ to demonstrate love, support, and unity by caring for one another.
• Ultimately, while we may not fully understand why certain challenges exist, we can trust in God's goodness and His ability to work all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

GOD PROMISES FREEDOM
EXODUS 6
2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’ 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens. 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians.[2]
 
8 I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” 9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.
10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land.”
12 But Moses said in the Lord’s presence, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?” 13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. [3]
 
Verses 14-25 - Genealogy of Moses and Aaron.
Verses 6:26 – 7:5

• God reminded Moses of who He was and the promise He made to His ancestors.
• God told Moses to remind the Hebrews.
• God told Moses & Aaron to return to Pharaoh

 
EXODUS 7
6 So Moses and Aaron did this; they did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh. It will become a serpent.’ ” 10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. 11 But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers—the magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices. 12 Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. 13 However, Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.[4]
 

• Plague #1
  God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Staff in the Nile… river to blood… fish died, smelled bad
• Then all water sources in Egypt were turned to blood.
• Egyptian magicians did similar
• 7 days passed

 
8

• Plague #2
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Plague of Frogs (magicians matched)
• Pharaoh bartered with Moses
• Take frogs away and I will respond
• Frogs died except in the Nile
• Pharaoh reversed his decision
• Plague #3
• Plague of gnats… rose up from the dust
• Magicians could not match (finger of God)

 

• Plague #4
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Plague of flys (only to Egyptians… not Goshen)
• Pharaoh bartered with Moses (stay in Egypt)
• Take flies away and you can go worship

 
9

• Plague #5
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Plague of livestock
• Pharaoh got report it was only the Egyptians animals that died
• Pharaoh’s heart was still hardened
• Plague #6

8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of furnace soot, and Moses is to throw it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt. It will become festering boils on people and animals throughout the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took furnace soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became festering boils on people and animals. 11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had told Moses. [5]

• Plague #7
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• All plagues & worst hail storm
• Man and livestock were crushed by hail
• Some crops destroyed
• Pharaoh bartered with Moses
• Hardened his heart again

 
10

• Plague #8
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Plague of locusts
• Ate everything green
• Pharaoh bartered with Moses (all families must go too)
• Hardened his heart again

 
21 

• Plague #9
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Plague of darkness except in Goshen for 3 days
• Pharaoh bartered with Moses (animals must go too)
• Hardened his heart again

 
11

• Plague #10
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• One more plague
  
  

4 So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: About midnight I will go throughout Egypt, 5 and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock. 6 Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before or ever will be again. 7 But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8 All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Get out, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will get out.” And he went out from Pharaoh’s presence fiercely angry.
9 The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.[6]
 
12

• God gave instruction to Moses
• Take unblemished animal (you can share)
• Sacrifice it at Twilight
• Spread the blood over the door
• Roast the meat and eat it all
• Be prepared to leave

 
24 “Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, you are to observe this ceremony. 26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians, and he spared our homes.’ ” So the people knelt low and worshiped. 28 Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
 
THE EXODUS
29 Now at midnight the Lord struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock. 30 During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead. 31 He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, “Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the Lord as you have said. 32 Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me.” [7]
Hebrews left quickly taking their unrisen dough

• Egyptians paid the Hebrews to leave
  
  

40 The time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all the Lord’s military divisions went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of vigil in honor of the Lord, because he would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the Lord, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.[8]

• They partook in the Passover meal

 
"What we refer to as the ten 'plagues' were actually judgments designed to authenticate Moses as God's messenger and his message as God's message.
Their ultimate purpose was to reveal the greatness of the power and authority of God to the Egyptians (7:10—12:36) in order to bring Pharaoh and the Egyptians into subjection to God."

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 4:10–12.
[2]  Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 6:2-7.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 6:8-13.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 7:6-13.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 9:8–12.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 11:4–10.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 12:24–32.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 12:40–42.

Review:

• Exodus 3:16 “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised you that I will bring you up from the misery of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey. 18 They will listen to what you say. Then you, along with the elders of Israel, must go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
• 19 “However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, even under force from a strong hand. 20 But when I stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my miracles that I will perform in it, after that, he will let you go. 21 And I will give these people such favor with the Egyptians that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. 22 Each woman will ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry, and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.

 
MIRACULOUS SIGNS FOR MOSES
EXODUS 4
1 Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

• His mind was filled with imaginary scenarios.
• This is a form of doubting God.

2 The Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
3 “Throw it on the ground,” he said. So Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran from it.

• The snake represents the evil power of Satan
• The Pharaohs wore a religiously symbolic metal cobra around their heads.
• It was a common symbol of Egyptian royal authority.

4 The Lord told Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail.” So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand. 5 “This will take place,” he continued, “so that they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

• Who actually has the power?

6 In addition the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was diseased, resembling snow. 7 “Put your hand back inside your cloak,” he said. So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, it had again become like the rest of his skin.

• God would bring him and the Israelites out of their defiling environment—and heal them.

8 “If they will not believe you and will not respond to the evidence of the first sign, they may believe the evidence of the second sign.

• Moses' leprous hand miracle would also have suggested to Pharaoh that Yahweh could afflict or deliver through His representative at will.

9 And if they don’t believe even these two signs or listen to what you say, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”

• God would humiliate the Egyptians by spoiling what they regarded as a divine source of life.

10 But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant—because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.”

• Rather than inspiring confidence in Moses, God's commission frightened him.
• Stephen said Moses was "proficient in speaking" (Acts 7:22).

11 The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.”

• God reminded Moses that He was the Creator 

13 Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”

• "I don't have all the answers" (3:13),
• "I may not have their [the Israelites'] respect" (4:1),
• "I'm slow in my expressions" (4:10),
• "I'm not as qualified as others" (4:13).

14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses, and he said, “Isn’t Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, he is on his way now to meet you. He will rejoice when he sees you. 15 You will speak with him and tell him what to say. I will help both you and him to speak and will teach you both what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you. He will serve as a mouth for you, and you will serve as God to him. 17 And take this staff in your hand that you will perform the signs with.”

• Sometimes, you just need a buddy.
• To challenge you, to encourage you, and to shoulder you.
• Jesus sent the disciples out in twos.
• He regarded himself as a failure, the objects of his ministry as hopeless, and God as unfaithful, uncaring, and unable to deliver His people.
• He had learned his own inability to deliver Israel, but he did not yet believe in God's ability to do so.
• Even the miraculous revelation of God at the burning bush, and the miracles that God enabled Moses to perform, did not convince him of God's purpose and power.
• As time passed, Moses grew more confident and communicative and increasingly took his proper place as Israel's leader.

 
MOSES’S RETURN TO EGYPT
18 Then Moses went back to his father-in-law, Jethro, and said to him, “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt and see if they are still living.”
Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”
19 Now in Midian the Lord told Moses, “Return to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”

• Midian Map & Modern Google Map

20 So Moses took his wife and sons,

• We learn here for the first time that Moses had sons (plural).

put them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took God’s staff in his hand.
21 The Lord instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he won’t let the people go.

• He was not saying that Pharaoh would be unable to choose whether he would release the Israelites.
• God made Pharaoh's heart progressively harder as the king repeatedly chose to disobey God's will.
• Leviticus 26:23-24 - “If in spite of these things you do not accept my discipline, but act with hostility toward me, 24 then I will act with hostility toward you; I also will strike you seven times for your sins.[1]
•  It is not till after the sixth plague that it is stated that Jehovah made the heart of Pharaoh firm (9:12).
• Even though God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart was only the complement of Pharaoh's hardening his own heart, God revealed only the former action in verse 21.
• God's purpose in this revelation was to prepare Moses for the opposition he would face.
• He also intended to strengthen Moses's faith, by preventing any questions that might arise in his mind—concerning God's omniscience—as his conflict with Pharaoh intensified.

22 And you will say to Pharaoh: This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. 23 I told you: Let my son go so that he may worship me, but you refused to let him go. Look, I am about to kill your firstborn son!”

• This is the first mention in Exodus that Moses was to perform signs before Pharaoh.
• Since Israel is God's firstborn son, the appropriate punishment against Egypt for harming Israel is for God to harm Egypt's firstborn son.

24 On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the Lord confronted him and intended to put him to death. 25 So Zipporah took a flint, cut off her son’s foreskin, threw it at Moses’s feet, and said, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” referring to the circumcision.

• Moses had neglected to circumcise his second son, Eliezer, and God struck Moses down with an illness that could have taken his life.
• We get the impression that when Moses had circumcised Gershom, his firstborn, Zipporah had been appalled by the ceremony and therefore had resisted having Eliezer circumcised.
• Moses let her have her way and this displeased the Lord.
• After all, Moses couldn’t lead the people of Israel if he was disobedient to one of the fundamental commandments of the Lord (Gen. 17:10–14).
• Even if the Jews didn’t know it, God knew about his disobedience, and He was greatly displeased.

 
REUNION OF MOSES AND AARON
27 Now the Lord had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and about all the signs he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. 30 Aaron repeated everything the Lord had said to Moses and performed the signs before the people. 31 The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had paid attention to them and that he had seen their misery, they knelt low and worshiped.[2]
 
MOSES CONFRONTS PHARAOH
EXODUS 5
1 Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness.”

• By Egyptian law, the Israelites could have worshipped only the gods of Egypt while in the land, but they had to leave Egypt to worship a non-Egyptian God.

2 But Pharaoh responded, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by letting Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”
3 They answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, or else he may strike us with plague or sword.”

• Moses is only asking for PTO.

4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor!” 5 Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from their labor.”

• Consequently when Moses and Aaron asked Pharaoh to obey the command of Yahweh, Pharaoh saw this request as a threat to his sovereignty.

 
FURTHER OPPRESSION OF ISRAEL
6 That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers of the people as well as their foremen, 7 “Don’t continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it.
Verses 9-21 – Israelites were oppressed because of the situation they placed in by Pharaoh through Moses.
 
22 So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me? 23 Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has caused trouble for this people, and you haven’t rescued your people at all.” [3]
 
EXODUS 6
1 But the Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: because of a strong hand he will let them go, and because of a strong hand he will drive them from his land.”
 
GOD PROMISES FREEDOM
2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’

• God proceeded to remind Moses of His promises to the patriarchs, and to reveal more of Himself by expounding another one of His names.
• "During the patriarchal period the characteristic name of God was 'God Almighty' (Gen. 17:1), the usual translation of the Hebrew El Shaddai, which probably literally means 'God, the Mountain One.'
• That phrase could refer to the mountains as God's symbolic home (see Ps. 121:1), but it more likely stresses His invincible power and might. …
• But during the Mosaic period the characteristic name of God was to be 'the LORD,' the meaning of which was first revealed to Moses himself (Exod. 3:13-15).
• Exodus 6:3 is not saying that the patriarchs were totally ignorant of the name Yahweh."

4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens. 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land that I swore, to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.”
 
Names of God in the Bible:

1. Yahweh (LORD): This is the personal name of God revealed to Moses, often translated as "LORD" in English Bibles (Exodus 3:14-15).
2. Elohim: A general term for God, used in the context of His power and might as Creator (Genesis 1:1).
3. El Shaddai: Often translated as "God Almighty," emphasizing God's ultimate power and sovereignty (Genesis 17:1).
4. Adonai: Meaning "Lord" or "Master," highlighting God's authority and lordship (Psalm 8:1).
5. Jehovah Jireh: Meaning "The LORD Will Provide," used by Abraham when God provided a ram as a substitute sacrifice for Isaac (Genesis 22:14).
6. Jehovah Rapha: Meaning "The LORD Who Heals," reflecting God's power to heal and restore (Exodus 15:26).
7. Jehovah Nissi: Meaning "The LORD Is My Banner," signifying God's protection and leadership in battle (Exodus 17:15).
8. Jehovah Shalom: Meaning "The LORD Is Peace," used by Gideon to describe God's presence and peace (Judges 6:24).
9. Jehovah Tsidkenu: Meaning "The LORD Our Righteousness," pointing to God as the source of righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6).
10. Jehovah Sabaoth: Meaning "The LORD of Hosts," emphasizing God's command over the armies of heaven (1 Samuel 1:3).
11. El Elyon: Meaning "God Most High," highlighting God's supremacy over all (Genesis 14:18-20).
12. Abba: An Aramaic term for "Father," used by Jesus to express intimacy with God (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15).
13. Yahweh (LORD): This is the personal name of God revealed to Moses, often translated as "LORD" in English Bibles (Exodus 3:14-15).
14. Elohim: A general term for God, used in the context of His power and might as Creator (Genesis 1:1).
15. El Shaddai: Often translated as "God Almighty," emphasizing God's ultimate power and sovereignty (Genesis 17:1).
16. Adonai: Meaning "Lord" or "Master," highlighting God's authority and lordship (Psalm 8:1).
17. Jehovah Jireh: Meaning "The LORD Will Provide," used by Abraham when God provided a ram as a substitute sacrifice for Isaac (Genesis 22:14).
18. Jehovah Rapha: Meaning "The LORD Who Heals," reflecting God's power to heal and restore (Exodus 15:26).
19. Jehovah Nissi: Meaning "The LORD Is My Banner," signifying God's protection and leadership in battle (Exodus 17:15).
20. Jehovah Shalom: Meaning "The LORD Is Peace," used by Gideon to describe God's presence and peace (Judges 6:24).
21. Jehovah Tsidkenu: Meaning "The LORD Our Righteousness," pointing to God as the source of righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6).
22. Jehovah Sabaoth: Meaning "The LORD of Hosts," emphasizing God's command over the armies of heaven (1 Samuel 1:3).
23. El Elyon: Meaning "God Most High," highlighting God's supremacy over all (Genesis 14:18-20).
24. Abba: An Aramaic term for "Father," used by Jesus to express intimacy with God (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15).
25. The Lord of Hosts: Emphasizing God's command over the heavenly armies and His power in battle (Isaiah 1:24).
26. The Holy One of Israel: Highlighting God's holiness and His special relationship with Israel (Isaiah 1:4).
27. The Redeemer: Signifying God's role in delivering and saving His people (Isaiah 47:4).
28. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords: Titles that emphasize God's supreme authority over all rulers (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16).
29. The Light of the World: A title for Jesus, illustrating His role in bringing spiritual illumination and truth (John 8:12).
30. The Bread of Life: Another title for Jesus, emphasizing His role in providing spiritual sustenance (John 6:35).
31. The Good Shepherd: Describing Jesus' care and guidance for His followers (John 10:11).
32. The Way, the Truth, and the Life: Titles for Jesus that highlight His role as the path to God, the embodiment of truth, and the source of eternal life (John 14:6).
33. The True Vine: Illustrating the vital connection between Jesus and His followers (John 15:1).
34. The Word: Referring to Jesus as the divine Logos, the ultimate revelation of God (John 1:1).
35. The Almighty: Emphasizing God's omnipotence and supreme power (Revelation 1:8).
36. The Lord Our Banner: Signifying God's protection and victory (Exodus 17:15).
37. The Lord Our Peace: Highlighting God's role in bringing peace to His people (Judges 6:24).
38. The Lord Our Righteousness: Emphasizing God's provision of righteousness for His people (Jeremiah 23:6).
39. The Lord Who Heals: Reflecting God's power to heal and restore (Exodus 15:26).
40. The Lord Who Provides: Illustrating God's provision for His people's needs (Genesis 22:14).
41. The Lord Who Sanctifies: Highlighting God's role in setting His people apart for His purposes (Leviticus 20:8).
42. The Lord Who Sees: Emphasizing God's awareness and care for His people (Genesis 16:13).
43. The Lord Who Is There: Reflecting God's presence with His people (Ezekiel 48:35).
44. The Lord of Peace: Highlighting God's ability to bring peace into the lives of His people (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 26:23–24.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 4:1–31.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 5:1–23.

Review:

• Jacob (Israel) and his family of 70 people transferred to Egypt with Joseph.
• Jacob moved from Canaan to Egypt about 1876 B.C., during the reign of Pharaoh Senusert III (Sesostris, ca. 1878-1871).
• His predecessor, Senusert II (1894-1878), would have been the man whose dream Joseph interpreted and who made Joseph his 1st in command.
• Moses, who lived from about 1525 to 1405 B.C., wrote Exodus (17:14; 24:4; 34:4, 27-29).
• Exodus embraces about 431 years of history, from the arrival of Jacob and his family in Egypt (ca. 1876 B.C.) to the erection of the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai (ca. 1445 B.C.).
• However, 1:1-7 is a review of Jacob's family.
• If we eliminate this section, the narrative resumes the story of the Israelites where Genesis ends, after Joseph's death.
• About 364 years elapsed between Joseph's death and the Tabernacle's building.
• The bulk of the book (chs. 3—40) deals with only two of those years, the year before and the year after the Exodus from Egypt.
• The Exodus event is the focus of this book.
• The Israelites lived in Egypt 430 years (12:40).
• Genesis 15:13 has the rounded number "400 years" as the total time of Israel's oppression in Egypt.
• It may be helpful to remember that about 400 years elapsed between the end of Malachi and the beginning of Matthew and that about 400 years elapsed between the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus.
• The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt by Yahweh in the Old Testament is parallel in importance to the resurrection of Christ in the New Testament.
• The historicity of these events is a critical foundation for adequately understanding the rest of the Bible.

 
ISRAEL OPPRESSED IN EGYPT
EXODUS 1
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his family:

• NASB ’95 – “Now” – We couldn’t have Exodus without Genesis.

2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.
5 The total number of Jacob’s descendants was seventy;, Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation eventually died. 7 But the Israelites were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous so that the land was filled with them.

• His purpose was to contrast the small number of Israelites that entered Egypt, with the large number that existed when Moses was born, which was about two million individuals (cf. 12:37; 38:26; Num. 1:45-47). 603,550 men

8 A new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt.

• The "new king" may have been Ahmose (Gr. Amosis), who founded the eighteenth dynasty and the New Kingdom Period and ruled from 1570 to 1546 B.C.
• However, the identity of this new king, Israel's oppressor, was not important enough for the writer to identify by name.
• His emphasis was instead on the oppression of the Israelites, the awful condition out of which God would redeem His people.

9 He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are. 10 Come, let’s deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and when war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.” 11 So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13 They worked the Israelites ruthlessly 14 and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.[1]

• The first plan (plan A) was to make the Hebrews toil hard in manual labor.
• Normally a population grows more slowly under oppression than in prosperous times.
• However, the opposite took place in the case of the Israelites ("the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied," v. 12).
• Physical oppression also tends to crush the spirit, and in this objective the Egyptians were somewhat successful (2:23-24).
• Tell vv. 15-22 - second plan (plan B)
• Pharaoh instructed the midwives to kill all the male babies born to a Hebrew woman.
• The midwives feared God and did not do this.
• When confronted by Pharaoh, they responded, “The Hebrew women are stronger than the Egyptian women and birth their children on their own before we can get there.”
• They lied to Pharaoh.
• God blessed the midwives, and they multiplied.
• Third plan (plan C) - Pharaoh then instructs the Hebrews to have all the male babies thrown into the Nile after birth.

 
MOSES’S BIRTH AND ADOPTION
EXODUS 2
1 Now a man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman.

• At this point Scripture's aim is to inform us that from an ordinary man, … and from an ordinary woman, … whose names there was no need to mention [at this point – 6:20], God raised up a redeemer unto his people.

2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son; when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with asphalt and pitch. She placed the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4 Then his sister stood at a distance in order to see what would happen to him.

• Miriam is Moses’ only sister in the Bible that is mentioned by name.

5 Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe at the Nile while her servant girls walked along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds, sent her slave girl, took it, 6 opened it, and saw him, the child—and there he was, a little boy, crying. She felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.”
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and call a Hebrew woman who is nursing to nurse the boy for you?”
8 “Go,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. So the girl went and called the boy’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” [2]
 

• Tell vv. 11-25
• Stephen’s Message in Acts 7:17-36
• 17 “As the time was approaching to fulfill the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people flourished and multiplied in Egypt 18 until a different king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt. 19 He dealt deceitfully with our race and oppressed our ancestors by making them abandon their infants outside so that they wouldn’t survive. 20 At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God’s sight. He was cared for in his father’s home for three months. 21 When he was put outside, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted and raised him as her own son. 22 So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his speech and actions.
• 23 “When he was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 When he saw one of them being mistreated, he came to his rescue and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He assumed his people would understand that God would give them deliverance through him, but they did not understand. 26 The next day he showed up while they were fighting and tried to reconcile them peacefully, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’
• 27 “But the one who was mistreating his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying: Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me, the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday?,
• 29 “When he heard this, Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30 After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he was approaching to look at it, the voice of the Lord came: 32 I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob., Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look.
• 33 “The Lord said to him: Take off the sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. And now, come, I will send you to Egypt.,
• 35 “This Moses, whom they rejected when they said, Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?—this one God sent as a ruler and a deliverer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.[3]

 
MOSES AND THE BURNING BUSH
EXODUS 3
1 Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. 3 So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
“Here I am,” he answered.

• This was the first time that God had revealed Himself to Moses, or anyone else as far as Scripture records, for over 430 years.

5 “Do not come closer,” he said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he continued, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

• Clarifying that He was the God who had been and who always would be—the same God that their forefathers worshipped

7 Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 9 So because the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them, 10 therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.”
13 Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”
14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.

• "I am that I am" means "God will reveal Himself in His actions through history."

This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.
16 “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised you that I will bring you up from the misery of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey. 18 They will listen to what you say. Then you, along with the elders of Israel, must go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.
19 “However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, even under force from a strong hand. 20 But when I stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my miracles that I will perform in it, after that, he will let you go. 21 And I will give these people such favor with the Egyptians that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. 22 Each woman will ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry, and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”[4]
 

• The outstanding contribution of this book is the revelation that Yahweh is the sovereign God who provides deliverance for man from the slavery in which he finds himself.
• Jesus has delivered His Church from the slavery of sin.
• Jesus’ death & resurrection rescued us from the penalty of sin and even from the power of sin.
• Jesus has rescued us from doing our own works, and the Spirit constantly encourages us to rest in Him.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 1:1–14.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 2:1–10.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ac 7:17–36.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 3:1–22.

Review:

• Joseph sent his brothers back to Canaan to get Jacob and his “stuff” so they could live in Egypt with Joseph.
  
  

JACOB LEAVES FOR EGYPT
GENESIS 46:1-34
1 Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

• There was hesitancy for Israel because this land was promised to him and his ancestors.
• He did not know his people would be captive in Egypt for over 400 years… or did he…
• Genesis 15:13 - Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens for four hundred years in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed.[1]

2 That night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” he said.
And Jacob replied, “Here I am.”
3 God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back. Joseph will close your eyes when you die.”,
5 Jacob left Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their dependents and their wives. 6 They also took their cattle and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt. 7 His sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, indeed all his offspring, he brought with him to Egypt.
 
JACOB’S FAMILY
8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt—Jacob and his sons:
Jacob’s firstborn: Reuben.
9 Reuben’s sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10 Simeon’s sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.
11 Levi’s sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 Judah’s sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.
The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
13 Issachar’s sons: Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.
14 Zebulun’s sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These were Leah’s sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram, as well as his daughter Dinah. The total number of persons: thirty-three.
16 Gad’s sons: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17 Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah.
Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malchiel.
18 These were the sons of Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—that she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.
19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. They were born to him by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, a priest at On.
21 Benjamin’s sons: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
22 These were Rachel’s sons who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons.
23 Dan’s son: Hushim.
24 Naphtali’s sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore to Jacob: seven persons.
26 The total number of persons belonging to Jacob—his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons—who came to Egypt: sixty-six.
27 And Joseph’s sons who were born to him in Egypt: two persons.
All those of Jacob’s household who came to Egypt: seventy persons.
 
JACOB ARRIVES IN EGYPT
28 Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare for his arrival at Goshen.

• Judah was made leader of the brothers here.
• Similar to meeting his brother, Esau.

When they came to the land of Goshen, 29 Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for a long time.
30 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I’m ready to die now because I have seen your face and you are still alive!”
31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s family, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, telling him, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds; they also raise livestock. They have brought their flocks and herds and all that they have.’ 33 When Pharaoh addresses you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you are to say, ‘Your servants, both we and our ancestors, have raised livestock from our youth until now. Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to Egyptians.”[2]
 
PHARAOH WELCOMES JACOB
GENESIS 47
1 So Joseph went and informed Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.”
2 He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 And Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”
They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants, both we and our ancestors, are shepherds.” 4 And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to stay in the land for a while because there is no grazing land for your servants’ sheep, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.”
5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you, 6 the land of Egypt is open before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They can live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?”
9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard, and they have not reached the years of my ancestors during their pilgrimages.” 10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from Pharaoh’s presence.
11 Then Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food for their dependents.

• Rameses I reigned about 1347-1320 B.C. However the biblical chronological references (1 Kings 6:1; Exod. 12:40; et al.) point to a date for Israel's move to Egypt near 1876 B.C.

 
THE LAND BECOMES PHARAOH’S (vv 13-26)

• Severe famine in Egypt & Canaan
• People exchanged silver for grain until Joseph had all their silver.
• Next year, people exchanged livestock for food until Joseph had all their livestock. (horses also)
• The next year, the people gave Joseph their land and offered themselves as slaves to Pharaoh.
• The only land they didn’t get was that of the priests because they were given an allowance of food from Pharoah already.
• Joseph gave the people seed to sow and made it a law that 1/5 of their produce belongs to Pharaoh.
• The average tax at this time was 1/3.

 
ISRAEL SETTLES IN GOSHEN
27 Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property in it and became fruitful and very numerous. 28 Now Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years, and his life span was 147 years. 29 When the time approached for him to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor with you, put your hand under my thigh and promise me that you will deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt. 30 When I rest with my ancestors, carry me away from Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”
Joseph answered, “I will do what you have asked.”
31 And Jacob said, “Swear to me.” So Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed in thanks at the head of his bed.[3]
 
JACOB BLESSES EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH
GENESIS 48
1 Some time after this, Joseph was told, “Your father is weaker.” So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed.
3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. 4 He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and numerous; I will make many nations come from you, and I will give this land as a permanent possession to your future descendants. 5 Your two sons born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are now mine. Ephraim and Manasseh belong to me just as Reuben and Simeon do. 6 Children born to you after them will be yours and will be recorded under the names of their brothers with regard to their inheritance. 7 When I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way, some distance from Ephrath in the land of Canaan. I buried her there along the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?”
9 And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons God has given me here.”
So Israel said, “Bring them to me and I will bless them.” 10 Now his eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly see. Joseph brought them to him, and he kissed and embraced them. 11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, but now God has even let me see your offspring.” 12 Then Joseph took them from his father’s knees and bowed with his face to the ground.
 
EPHRAIM’S GREATER BLESSING (vv 13-18)
 - Israel criss-crossed his hands and placed his right hand on Ephraim and his left hand on Manasseh.

• Joseph tried to correct his elderly dad.

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know! He too will become a tribe, and he too will be great; nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a populous nation.” 20 So he blessed them that day, putting Ephraim before Manasseh when he said, “The nation Israel will invoke blessings by you, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

•  This was the fourth consecutive generation of Abraham's descendants in which the normal pattern of the firstborn assuming prominence over the second born was reversed: Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over Reuben, and Ephraim over Manasseh.

21 Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Over and above what I am giving your brothers, I am giving you the one mountain slope that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”[4]
 
 
JACOB’S LAST WORDS
GENESIS 49
1 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.
2 Come together and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel:
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my strength and the firstfruits of my virility,
excelling in prominence, excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as water, you will not excel,
because you got into your father’s bed
and you defiled it—he got into my bed.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers;
their knives are vicious weapons.
6 May I never enter their council;
may I never join their assembly.
For in their anger they kill men,
and on a whim they hamstring oxen.
7 Their anger is cursed, for it is strong,
and their fury, for it is cruel!
I will disperse them throughout Jacob
and scatter them throughout Israel.
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 Judah is a young lion--
my son, you return from the kill.
He crouches; he lies down like a lion
or a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah
or the staff from between his feet
until he whose right it is comes,
and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.
11 He ties his donkey to a vine,
and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine.
He washes his clothes in wine
and his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun will live by the seashore
and will be a harbor for ships,
and his territory will be next to Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey
lying down between the saddlebags.
15 He saw that his resting place was good
and that the land was pleasant,
so he leaned his shoulder to bear a load
and became a forced laborer.
16 Dan will judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake by the road,
a viper beside the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that its rider falls backward.
18 I wait for your salvation, Lord.
19 Gad will be attacked by raiders,
but he will attack their heels.
20 Asher’s food will be rich,
and he will produce royal delicacies.
21 Naphtali is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns.
22 Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine beside a spring;
its branches climb over the wall.
23 The archers attacked him,
shot at him, and were hostile toward him.
24 Yet his bow remained steady,
and his strong arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 by the God of your father who helps you,
and by the Almighty who blesses you
with blessings of the heavens above,
blessings of the deep that lies below,
and blessings of the breasts and the womb.
26 The blessings of your father excel
the blessings of my ancestors
and the bounty of the ancient hills
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a wolf; he tears his prey.
In the morning he devours the prey,
and in the evening he divides the plunder.”
28 These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this is what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.

• Map of the 12 Tribes of Israel

 
JACOB’S BURIAL INSTRUCTIONS
29 Then he commanded them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hethite. 30 The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (near Hebron), in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hethite as burial property. 31 Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there, Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there, and I buried Leah there. 32 The field and the cave in it were purchased from the Hethites.” 33 When Jacob had finished giving charges to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, took his last breath, and was gathered to his people.[5]

• Jacob desired that his funeral would be a clear witness that he was not an idol-worshiping Egyptian but a believer in the true and living God.

 
JACOB’S BURIAL
GENESIS 50
1 Then Joseph, leaning over his father’s face, wept and kissed him.

• (vv 2-14)
• Joseph commanded his servants to embalm Israel, which took 40 days.
• The Egyptians mourned for Jacob for 70 days, just two days less than they usually mourned the death of a Pharaoh.
• Joseph asked Pharaoh if he could bury his father in Canaan, which was granted.
• So a massive procession was made to Mamre, and they buried him in a cave. (mourned for seven days).
• Joseph and his brothers returned to Egypt.

 
JOSEPH’S KINDNESS
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, “If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the suffering we caused him.”
16 So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before he died your father gave a command: 17 ‘Say this to Joseph: Please forgive your brothers’ transgression and their sin—the suffering they caused you.’ Therefore, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when their message came to him. 18 His brothers also came to him, bowed down before him, and said, “We are your slaves!”
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. 21 Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
 
JOSEPH’S DEATH
22 Joseph and his father’s family remained in Egypt. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation; the sons of Manasseh’s son Machir were recognized by Joseph.
24 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will certainly come to your aid and bring you up from this land to the land he swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 25 So Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath: “When God comes to your aid, you are to carry my bones up from here.”
26 Joseph died at the age of 110. They embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.[6]

• Joseph lived to see God's blessing on his children's children.
• He died 54 years after Jacob's death, when he was 110 years old.

 

• Faith… trust… through troubled times.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 15:13.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 46:1–34.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 47:1–31.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 48:1–22.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 49:1–33.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 50:1–26.

Review:

• Joseph promoted from a hole in the ground to running the country.
• Manages the famine, and his brothers come for food.
• Joseph imprisoned Simeon and told them to bring back Benjamin.
  
  

DECISION TO RETURN TO EGYPT
GENESIS 43:1-34
1 Now the famine in the land was severe. 2 When they had used up the grain they had brought back from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little food.”

• What was the length of time to use up all the grain?
• Simeon was in prison by Joseph in Egypt.

3 But Judah said to him, “The man specifically warned us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you. 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go, for the man said to us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.’ ”
6 “Why have you caused me so much trouble?” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man that you had another brother?”
7 They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”
8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me. We will be on our way so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our dependents. 9 I will be responsible for him. You can hold me personally accountable! If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, I will be guilty before you forever. 10 If we had not delayed, we could have come back twice by now.”

• Jacob passed on Reuben (Gen 42:37-38) because Joseph didn’t survive under his watch.
• Joseph imprisoned Simeon
• Levi was rejected because of the slaughter of men at Shechem with Simeon.

11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balsam and a little honey, aromatic gum and resin, pistachios and almonds. 12 Take twice as much silver with you. Return the silver that was returned to you in the top of your bags. Perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also, and go back at once to the man. 14 May God Almighty (El Shadai) cause the man to be merciful to you so that he will release your other brother and Benjamin to you. As for me, if I am deprived of my sons, then I am deprived.”
 
THE RETURN TO EGYPT
15 The men took this gift, double the amount of silver, and Benjamin. They immediately went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his steward, “Take the men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they will eat with me at noon.” 17 The man did as Joseph had said and brought them to Joseph’s house.
18 But the men were afraid because they were taken to Joseph’s house. They said, “We have been brought here because of the silver that was returned in our bags the first time. They intend to overpower us, seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.”

• Total paranoia.
• Power of sin - thoughts

19 So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the doorway of the house.

• This incident illustrates how guilty sinners crave a mediator who will defend them before a just God, and how Jesus acts as an advocate for them before the Father (cf. 1 John 2:1).

20 They said, “My lord, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food. 21 When we came to the place where we lodged for the night and opened our bags of grain, each one’s silver was at the top of his bag! It was the full amount of our silver, and we have brought it back with us. 22 We have brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in the bags.”
23 Then the steward said, “May you be well. Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your bags. I received your silver.”

• Utter surprised by his response.
• Evidently Joseph had covered the loss by paying for his brothers' food himself.

Then he brought Simeon out to them.

• A joyful reunion

24 The steward brought the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and got feed for their donkeys. 25 Since the men had heard that they were going to eat a meal there, they prepared their gift for Joseph’s arrival at noon. 26 When Joseph came home, they brought him the gift they had carried into the house, and they bowed to the ground before him.

• Joseph’s dream fulfilled for a 2nd time.

27 He asked if they were well, and he said, “How is your elderly father that you told me about? Is he still alive?”
28 They answered, “Your servant our father is well. He is still alive.” And they knelt low and paid homage to him.

• 3rd time.

29 When he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother that you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”

• Benjamin was about 16 years younger than Joseph, so he would have been about 23 at this time

30 Joseph hurried out because he was overcome with emotion for his brother, and he was about to weep. He went into an inner room and wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. Regaining his composure, he said, “Serve the meal.”
32 They served him by himself, his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, since that is detestable to them.

• The system in Egypt required that Joseph, as a upper class member, eat at a table separate from his Egyptian companions.
• The Hebrews sat at a third table, since they were foreigners.
• The Hebrews and other foreigners ate animals that the Egyptians regarded as sacred.
• The Egyptians also followed strict rules for the ceremonial cleansing of their food before they ate it.
• This made the Hebrews "an abomination" to the Egyptians.
• The Egyptians also shaved off all their body hair (cf. 41:14 - Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the dungeon., He shaved, changed his clothes, and went to Pharaoh.[1]), so the hairiness of the Hebrews may have been another reason for the Egyptians' distaste.

33 They were seated before him in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest. The men looked at each other in astonishment.

• Joseph now hosted a meal for his brothers, who, years before, had callously sat down to eat while he languished in a pit.

34 Portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, and Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of theirs.

• Joseph gave the highest honor to Benjamin as his distinguished guest.
• Special honorees frequently received double portions, but a fivefold portion was the sign of highest privilege.
• With this favor, Joseph sought not only to honor Benjamin but also to test his other brothers' feelings toward Benjamin.
• He wanted to see if they would hate Benjamin as they had hated him, his father's former favorite.
• Evidently they passed this test.
• Those who would participate in God's program must be willing to take responsibility for their actions, make restitution when they are culpable, and accept their lot gratefully and without jealousy.

They drank and became drunk with Joseph.[2]
 
JOSEPH’S FINAL TEST
GENESIS 44:1-34
1 Joseph commanded his steward, “Fill the men’s bags with as much food as they can carry, and put each one’s silver at the top of his bag. 2 Put my cup, the silver one, at the top of the youngest one’s bag, along with the silver for his grain.” So he did as Joseph told him.
3 At morning light, the men were sent off with their donkeys. 4 They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Get up. Pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5 Isn’t this the cup that my master drinks from and uses for divination?

• A black art of the dark demonic world, that was later outlawed by God in Deuteronomy 18:10

What you have done is wrong!’ ”
6 When he overtook them, he said these words to them. 7 They said to him, “Why does my lord say these things? Your servants could not possibly do such a thing. 8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found at the top of our bags. How could we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 9 If it is found with one of us, your servants, he must die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”
10 The steward replied, “What you have said is right, but only the one who is found to have it will be my slave, and the rest of you will be blameless.”
11 So each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 The steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they tore their clothes, and each one loaded his donkey and returned to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers reached Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell to the ground before him.

• 4th time

15 “What have you done?” Joseph said to them. “Didn’t you know that a man like me could uncover the truth by divination?”
16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed your servants’ iniquity. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”
17 Then Joseph said, “I swear that I will not do this. The man in whose possession the cup was found will be my slave. The rest of you can go in peace to your father.”[3]
 JUDAH’S PLEA FOR BENJAMIN

• Judah has one on one with Joseph
• “You are like Pharoah”
• You asked us about our Father, and we told you.
• Our father is grieving from the loss of his son.
• He doesn’t want to lose Benjamin.
• He repeats what Joseph demanded and how they responded accordingly.
• Their father said he would die if something happened to Benjamin.
• Judah is taking responsibility for the welfare of Benjamin.
• He offers himself to be Joseph’s slave.

 

• There it is… repentance!
• Joseph was waiting to see if they were jealous of Benjamin and turn him over to be a slave, just as they did him years ago.
• But they didn’t!
• Judah even showed compassion for their father rather than hatred from jealousy.
• They were remorseful and unified as a family.
• This had Joseph worked up into an emotional frenzy.

 
JOSEPH REVEALS HIS IDENTITY
GENESIS 45:1-28
1 Joseph could no longer keep his composure in front of all his attendants, so he called out, “Send everyone away from me!” No one was with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers. 2 But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and also Pharaoh’s household heard it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But they could not answer him because they were terrified in his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please, come near me,” and they came near. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt. 5 And now don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. 7 God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
9 “Return quickly to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. 10 You can settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you, your children, and your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and all you have.

• "Goshen" was the most fertile part of Egypt.
• It lay in the delta region northeast of the Egyptian capital, Memphis.

11 There I will sustain you, for there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you, your household, and everything you have will become destitute.” ’ 12 Look! Your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin can see that I’m the one speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all my glory in Egypt and about all you have seen. And bring my father here quickly.”
14 Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. 15 Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept, and afterward his brothers talked with him.
 
THE RETURN FOR JACOB
16 When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go on back to the land of Canaan. 18 Get your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can eat from the richness of the land.’ 19 You are also commanded to tell them, ‘Do this: Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your dependents and your wives and bring your father here. 20 Do not be concerned about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

• This was not an invitation… but a command.

21 The sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22 He gave each of the brothers changes of clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes. 23 He sent his father the following: ten donkeys carrying the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys carrying grain, food, and provisions for his father on the journey. 24 So Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t argue on the way.”

• Since Joseph had forgiven them, they should forgive one another

25 So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 They said, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.

• Both Abraham and Jacob figuratively receive their sons back from the dead.
• Both sons prefigure the death and resurrection of Christ, but Joseph is even more so.
• Both Joseph & Jesus are not only alive but rulers overall.

27 But when they told Jacob all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.
28 Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go to see him before I die.”[4]

• Genesis declares that children raised in dysfunctional families are not locked by fate into living dysfunctional lives.
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[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 41:14.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 43:1–34.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 44:1–17.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 45:1–28.