Exodous: The Exciting Second Chapter of the Bible
Exodous is the second book of the bible, written by Moses. It starts about four hundred years after the book of Genesis ends.
The Israelites, the people desended from Israel [Jacob], are in Egypt, but their position has gone from esteemed partners to lowly slaves.
The Pharoh of Egypt sees that the Israelites have grown in number, to the point where they could become a military threat.
Deciding to ‘nip’ the problem ‘in the bud’, the Pharoh decrees that every male child born to the women Israelites should be immediately killed.
As we know, the parents of the infant Moses hid him for three monthes, until he got to big to hide. Then, fostering great pains, Moses’ mother builds a small, water tight cradle, and floats the baby across the Nile river.
The Pharoh’s daughter, cooincidentally bathing in the Nile, happens upon the infant, and feels sorry for him, even though he’s an Israelite child. She decides to take him as her own, and Moses is raised in the company of the Pharoh.
Some time passes, and Moses grows up.
One day, while wandering about, Moses sees an Egyptian taskmaster beating one of the Israelites. After having an arguement with the taskmaster, Moses strikes him, and kills him.
Thinking that no one has seen, Moses buries the body of the Egyptian in the sand, and goes about on his way.
Some days later, he again finds a fight going on. This time, however, two of the Israelite slaves are fighting. Moses tries to stop the fight, but one of the other slaves confronts him with the knowledge of killing the Egyptian.
Indeed, Moses had been marked as a murderer.
Moses then flees, becoming a shepherder. For some forty years, Moses shepherds the flock of a man called Jethro, a Midianite.
While in Midian, Moses marries one of Jethro’s daughters, Zipporah, and has a family.
According to the Bible account, Moses comes across a burning bush while shepherding the flocks one day. The bush, although burning, is not being consumed, or it’s not burning down.
Moses is at first fearful, but then he hears a voice from the bush. This is a sign from God, he is told. Then, he is instructed to return to the land of Egypt, with the commission of freeing his Israelite brothers.
Moses protests, saying that he is not qualified. God then preforms three more signs and assures him that upon returning, his elder brother Aaron will speak for him.
Taking courage, Moses returns to Egypt, and delivers the message of God to Pharoh.
The haughty Pharoh, however, does not deign the God of Israel any heed. Instead, he lays even more burdens before the slaves, and the people suffer.
What exactly happened next is the subject of much talk, even today. The ten plagues. [Water turning to blood, Frogs, Gnats, Gadflies, Pestilence on the animals, Boils, Freak Hailstorms, Locust swarms, Three days of Darkness, and finally the killing of their first born] have been disputed in many circles.
However, it is for you to decide, whether or not to believe in those things.
Nevertheless, Pharoh did indeed let the Israelites go.
The Israelite’s did go, but Pharoh, however, changed his mind, and started to persue them.
The Israelite camp was at a stalemate between a raging Egyptian army, and the Red Sea.
The acount then says that God ‘parted the waters of the Red Sea’, and the entire nation of Isreal crossed on dry ground.
When the Egyptian’s stepped into this corridor, however, the sea swallowed them up, and thus, the Israelites were counted victorious.
For about two days, the Israelites travel on foot. About the third day out, the camp is running out of water, and God changes bitter water into sweet water.
The problems, however, are just beginning.
As the Israelite passed through the wilderness, they prove to be stubborn, and stiff necked, many times provoking the displeasure of their God.
At Mt. Sini, the most widely known law was put into place.
The ten commandments, unchanged even to this day read;
You may not have any other gods.
You must not make for yourselves carved images and worship it, for I am exacting exclusive devotion.
You must not take up the name of your God [the Hebrew tetragram is used here, YHWH, usually pronounced Jehovah] in a worthless way.
You must hold sacred the Sabbath day.
You must honor your father and mother.
You must not murder.
You must not commit adultry.
You must not Steal.
You must not make a false witness against your fellow man.
You must not be jealous of your brother’s belongings, his house, nor his wife, nor his slave, nor his cattle.
Many still uphold these laws as the only true laws in the Bible, although the Israelites were later given the entire law covenant, which numbered over four hundred laws.
After the covenant was established a Sini, the people once again acted foolishly, making a golden calf to worship.
After getting that all straightened out, Moses and the Israelite’s head onward, constructing the tabnacle. The ark of the covenant, one of the most sought after finds in history, has never been found.
The book of Exodus concludes with the Israelites still in the wilderness, but with their hopes set on a bright, glowing future.
Does it have any baring on our lives today? Or is it simply another story, just good listening. The only real way to know is to have a look in you own Bible, and decide for yourself.
