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This week we are studying Exodus 12:16 – 12:28.  We are still discussing Pesach “Passover” (though more likely “Protection”).  Below are the verses discussed:

Exodus Ch. 12:

16On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

17“Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”

21Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

24“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ ” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.

If you have any questions or comments, please share your mind below in the comment area…  Thank you!

G’mar Chatima Tova! (Tishrei  9, 5774)

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So let’s continue in our Exodus story.  We are learning about Pesach “Passover” (but as I point out it really means “Protection”.)

Exodus 12 (NIV)

10Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

12“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

14“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. 15For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

As always if you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comment area.

Thank you and Shana Tova!

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This week we pick up in chapter 11 of Exodus and its all about the fascinating final plague ~ death of the first born.  In the beginning of the class I give a brief welcome back to the class as we had just had a break due to holidays.  Below you will find the relevant verses.

As always, if you have in questions or comments regarding what we talked about (and we talk about a lot) then please post them below in the “comment” area and I’ll get back with you directly.  Thank you!

Exodus

Chapter 11 (NIV)

1Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. 2Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” 3(The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)

4So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. 7But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lordmakes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.

9The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt.”10Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.

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We pick up in the book of Exodus in Chapter 10 starting with verse 5… and… if you happen to know the answers to the trivia presented in the beginning please post your answer in the comment area!

Chapter 10 (NIV)

5They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.6They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’ ” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

7Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”

8Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship theLord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”

9Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord.”

10Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil.^a 11No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.

12And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”

13So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; 14they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. 15They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

16Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”

18Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 19And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea.^b Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. 20But the Lordhardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

21Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

24Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”

25But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. 26Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.”

27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.”

29“Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.”

Chapter 11

1Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. 2Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” 3(The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)

Let me know if you have any questions below in the comment area!

and if you happen to know the answers to the trivia presented in the beginning please post your answer in the comment area!

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This episode of TMT brings us back to the Exodus story. We are in Chapter 10 and the locusts are about to ensue.  Thanks for listening and let me know if you have any questions in the comment area below.

Exodus

Chapter 10

Locusts:

1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them 2that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”

3So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.4If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. 5They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields. 6They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’ ” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

7Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”

8Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”

9Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord.”

10Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil.^a 11No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.

12And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”

13So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; 14they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. 15They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

16Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”

18Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 19And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea.^b Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt.20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

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Is God important and Why?

Why is God such a big deal?

(By the way this not in any order of importance – nor are these the handouts from class…)

• As shown through the “plagues” in the Exodus story, God teaches us that He manipulates nature and, in fact, is not nature.  He is the creator of all that is created.  All the other things that many may “worship” (i.e. Mother Earth, the Nile, animals, weather, etc.) are simply things He created and controls.  To demonstrate this, God desanctifies nature through the 10 plagues.

These other “things” that people worship, or pray to, or look to for insight are amoral… Nature has no morality.  There is no good or evil in Nature.  Natural law is:  Survival of the fittest.

God, however, is moral.  He creates morality.  He teaches us morality.   Please remember, the Bible over and over again spells out the ethics we take for granted today.  IE, human and child sacrifice was common before God demanded we not.

• The God of Israel set forth the movement for linear history.  By this I mean that our current understanding of progressive time and the ability to improve from one generation to the next is directly linked to the God of the Bible.  Prior to the biblical age, cultures basically existed in cyclical history.  There was minimal, if any, “progress” of societies up until the age of Israel and God’s revelation at Mount Sinai.

Most ancient people simply existed in their cycle of life (you’re born, you work doing what your father did, you die and so on for the next generations.)  Therefore. they did not progress ethically or technologically in a linear fashion like what we take for granted in today’s society.

• The God of Israel is a universal God with universal laws (morality).  He judges ALL people.  Prior to us knowing this God, people simply made up their ethics for their time and society.  Their “gods” may or may not judge them or others.  But with the God of the Bible, there became a standard of morality for all mankind and the Judge who judges all of mankind.

Without this, then there is no way to define good or evil people.  Also, there is no difference in their fate beyond this existence.  If there is no God and no afterlife, then when a murderous monster dies, his fate is no different than those he murdered.  With a good God who is the Judge of all, then the murderer will have a very different (and hopefully torturous) fate than that of the murdered.

• The God of the Torah is an abstract concept and has no material representation. This allows for a truly mind-expanding consciousness.  Prior to this, man always limited the idea of God to the material or known world.  However, this God requires we think beyond this material world.

This concept opens us up to a world of possibilities like science, math, and theory which are not based on known facts… but rather abstract  possibilities.

• The idea that there is one God who created all of humanity and this one God says we are created in his divine image universalizes the sanctity of human life.  Regardless of ancestry or status or appearance, we are all of infinite value.

Our behavior determines our fate and that by which we should be judged.  Otherwise, we are all of equal value… though obviously not the same.

• He creates a world of order, not chaos.  Unlike others gods who are depicted as capricious, God as depicted in the Torah is the antithesis of these other ideas of gods.  He acts methodically and not capriciously.  Again, having a very predictable world allows science and math to exist.

•  Without God, the world is meaningless.  

So, why is God so important?

If nothing else, without Him… nothing is important in the final analysis.

(By the way, I found the class notes and handouts, but… They are on my old computer and ‘Pages’ won’t allow them to open ???  Any suggestions would be appreciated.)

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In this class we pick up in Chapter 9 at verse 13.

Exodus  (NIV)

Chapter 9

13Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, 14or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16But I have raised you up^a for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 17You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. 19Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’ ”

20Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.

22Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” 23When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; 24hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. 25Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. 26The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.

27Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”

29Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.”

31(The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. 32The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)

33Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. 34When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. 35So Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.

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This week we pick up where we left off from last class.  Depending on which version of the Bible you are referencing you will either be in Exodus Chapter 8 verse 16 or verse 20.

Below I used the more common version though it is not what I used in the class.

If you have any questions or comments please do so below in the comment area.  Thank you!

Exodus
Chapter 8:

20Now the LORD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.21“For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which theydwell.22“But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the LORD, am in the midst of the land.23“I will put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.”’”24Then the LORD did so. And there came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants and the land was laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.

25Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”26But Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we will sacrifice to the LORD our God what is an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not then stone us?27“We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He commands us.”28Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Make supplication for me.”29Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you, and I shall make supplication to the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh deal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”

30So Moses went out from Pharaoh and made supplication to the LORD.31The LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people; not one remained.32But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.

Chapter 9:
1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.2“For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them,3behold, the hand of the LORD will come with a very severe pestilence on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks.4“But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.”’”5The LORD set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.”6So the LORD did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the sons of Israel, not one died.7Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not even one of the livestock of Israel dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

8Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses throw it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh.9“It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and will become boils breaking out with sores on man and beast through all the land of Egypt.”10So they took soot from a kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses threw it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on man and beast.11The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians.12And the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses.

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In this class we discuss the plague involving kinim (כנם ) translated/interpreted as vermin, lice, gnats, or mosquitos.

Depending on which Bible version you are reading from these verses are either 8:12-15 (typical Jewish numbering) or 8:16-19 (typical Christian numbering).  There is a reason why this happens at times and if you are interested, leave a comment and I will respond.  Considering the vast majority of Bibles available to people is numbered in the Christian way… I’m using those numbers below.

The Plague of Insects

16Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become lice through all the land of Egypt.’”17They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were lice on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt.18The magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth lice, but they could not; so there were lice on man and beast.19Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.