THE TIME OF MOSES

KEY CONCEPT
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Beginning of Oppression

Joseph and his brothers died, and the children of Israel multiplied in the land of Egypt.
They held important positions and played an important role in the political, cultural, and
economic life of the country. It is not surprising that they stirred the jealousy of the native
Egyptians who felt outshone by the "foreigners."

Old King Pharaoh died, too, and a new king ascended the throne. He had no sympathy
or love for the children of Israel, and chose to forget all that Joseph had done for Egypt.
He decided to take action against the growing influence and numbers of the children of
Israel. He called his council together, and they advised him to enslave these people and
oppress them before they grew too powerful. Pharaoh limited the personal freedom of the
Hebrews, put heavy taxes on them, and recruited their men into forced labor battalions
under the supervision of harsh taskmasters. Thus the children of Israel had to build cities,
erect monuments, construct roads, work in the quarries, and hew stones or make bricks
and tiles. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, and the harder the restrictions
imposed upon them became, the more the children of Israel increased and multiplied.
Finally, when King Pharaoh saw that forcing the Hebrews to do hard work did not succeed
in suppressing their rapidly growing numbers, he decreed that all newly born male
children of the Hebrews be thrown into the Nile River. Only daughters should be permitted
to live.

Thus Pharaoh hoped to end the numerical increase of the Jewish population, and at the
same time to eliminate a danger which, according to the predictions of his astrologers,
threatened his own life in the person of a leader to be born to the children of Israel.

The Levites

The only group of Jews that escaped enslavement was the tribe of Levi. Levi was the last
of Jacob's sons to die, and his influence over his tribe was great and lasting. They had
taken over the Torah academy Jacob had established in Goshen, and they instructed the
children of Israel in the knowledge of God and His holy teachings. Thus they were
occupied with spiritual matters and did not mix with the Egyptians, while many of their
brethren had given up their old customs and way of life. Except for their language,
clothing, and names, many of the children of Israel had become assimilated into the social
and cultural environment of their Egyptian neighbors, and they were the ones to arouse
the wrath of the Egyptians. Only the children of Levi were, therefore, spared the slavery
and oppression which the Egyptians imposed upon the rest of Israel.

The Birth of Moses

The day approached when, according to the Egyptian astrologers, the liberator of the
children of Israel was to be born. Since they did not know whether he would be of Jewish
or Egyptian descent, all male children born that day, were to be thrown into the water by
order of King Pharaoh. This same day, the seventh of Adar, Jochebed, Amram's wife,
gave birth to her third child, a boy. Right from the first moment of his birth, it became
apparent that he was an extraordinary child, for the house was filled with a radiant light.
His parents tried everything possible to prevent his falling into the hands of Pharaoh's
men, who were continuously searching for newborn Jewish children. After three months,
Jochebed saw that she would not be able to conceal her child any longer. She therefore
made a small, water-proof basket in which she put the child and set. him down among
the papyrus reeds growing on the brink of the Nile. While Jochebed tearfully returned
home, her daughter Miriam remained nearby to watch the baby.

Moses Saved

The day was hot, and King Pharaoh's daughter, Bithya, came out to the river,
accompanied by her maids, to take a bath in the cool waters of the Nile. Suddenly, she
heard the wailing of a small child. Presently she found the basket, and in it an infant boy.
Intrigued by the child's beauty, Bithya tried to figure out a way to enable her to keep him
for herself and save him from death, for she understood that this boy was one of the
children born to a Jewish family, and therefore condemned to death.

The child refused to be nursed by any of the Egyptian maids-in-waiting, and continued to
weep. At this moment, Miriam came over to the princess and offered to procure for the
child a Jewish nurse, who would keep it as long as the princess thought necessary. Bithya
was glad of this solution. Miriam rushed home and brought her mother, whom she
introduced as an experienced nurse.

For two years the baby was left in his mother's care. Meanwhile Bithya told Pharaoh about
the boy she had found and adopted. Her father did not object, although the foundling was
of Jewish descent; for his astrologers had told him that the one who, according to the
constellation of the stars, had been predestined to become the liberator of the Jews and
to threaten the life of King Pharaoh, had already been placed at the mercy of the water.
Moreover, they further said, it was the fate of this boy to die because of water. Thus, they
felt sure that the danger had already been averted. Moses was taken to the royal court,
where he grew up as the princely adopted son of King Pharaoh's daughter.
Moses Becomes Tongue-Tied

Once it happened that Moses was playing on King Pharaoh's lap. He saw the shining
crown, studded with jewels, and reached for it and took it off. Pharaoh, who was
superstitious like all his fellow-Egyptians, and who in addition was always afraid of losing
his throne, asked his astrologers and counselors for the meaning of this action of the
infant. Most of them interpreted it to mean that Moses was a threat to Pharaoh's crown
and suggested that the child be put to death before it could do any harm. One of the king's
counselors, however, suggested that they should first test the boy and see whether his
action was prompted by intelligence, or he was merely grasping for sparkling things as
any other child would.

Pharaoh agreed to this, and two bowls were set down before young Moses. One
contained gold and jewels, and the other held glowing fire-coals. Moses reached out for
the gold, but an angel directed his hand to the coals. Moses snatched a glowing coal and
put it to his lips. He burned his hand and tongue, but his life was saved. After that fateful
test, Moses suffered from a slight speech defect. He could not become an orator, but his
words were nevertheless to carry weight, for it was God's words that were spoken through
his lips.

The call of Moses

When he grew older, Moses left the palace and observed the suffering of his brothers.
One day, he saw an Egyptian cruelly beating a Hebrew slave. Using the name of God, he
killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. The following day, he went out again and
saw two Hebrews quarreling. When he saw that one man was about to strike the other,
he intervened, criticizing the would-be attacker. The man taunted him, asking: “Will you
kill me like you killed the Egyptian?”

Realizing that he could not stay, Moses fled Egypt and made his way to Midian, where he
married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, and fathered two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.
When he was 80 years old, Moses was shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep when God
revealed Himself in a burning bush on Mount Horeb (Sinai) and instructed him to liberate
the children of Israel.

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he
led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses
saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.

So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight — why the bush does not
burn up.” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from
within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,”
God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and
the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them
crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I
have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out
of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey — the
home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now
the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are
oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the
Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh
and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be
the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of
Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the
Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask
me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM
has sent me to you.’”

Moses hesitated, feeling that he was unworthy and that neither Pharaoh nor the people
would listen to him, in part because he had a speech impediment. Upon his return to
Egypt, Moses and his brother, Aaron, confronted Pharaoh, telling him that God said it was
time for His nation to be taken from Egypt so that they could serve Him. Pharaoh refused
to consider their petition. Moses and Aaron were then instrumental in bringing the Ten
Plagues upon the Egyptians, starting with water turning to blood and ending with the death
of every firstborn Egyptian.

The 10 plagues

1. Water turning to blood 6. Boils

2. Frogs 7. Hail
3. Gnats 8. Locusts
4. Flies 9. Darkness
5. Livestock pestilence 10. Death of firstborn children

The Crossing of the Red Sea

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials
changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the
Israelites go and have lost their services!” So he had his chariot made ready and took his
army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots
of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of
Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. The Egyptians —
all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops — pursued the Israelites and
overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians,
marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses,
“Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?
What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt,
‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve
the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid.
Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians
you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be
still.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move
on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the
Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians
so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army,
through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when
I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and
went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them,
coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought
darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all
night long.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the
sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and
the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and
on their left.

The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen
followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from
the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed
the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said,
“Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters
may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out
his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians
were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. The water flowed back
and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed
the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. But the Israelites went through the
sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the LORD
saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on
the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against
the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his
servant.

God Gives the Law in Mt. Sinai

On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day— they
came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of
Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. Then Moses went
up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are
to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You
yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and
brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all
nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will
be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak
to the Israelites.”

So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the
words the LORD had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, “We
will do everything the LORD has said.” So Moses The Ten Commandments
brought their answer back to the LORD. The LORD
said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a 1. “I am the Lord thy God, thou
shalt not have any other gods
dense cloud, so that the people will hear me
before Me.”
speaking with you and will always put their trust in 2. “Thou shalt not take the name
you.” Then Moses told the LORD what the people of the Lord thy God in vain.”
had said. And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the 3. “Remember to keep holy the
people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Sabbath day.”
Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the 4. “Honor thy father and mother.”
third day, because on that day the LORD will come 5. “Thou shalt not kill.”
6. “Thou shalt not commit
down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
adultery.”
Put limits for the people around the mountain and 7. “Thou shalt not steal.”
tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the 8. “Thou shalt not bear false
mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches witness against thy neighbor.”
the mountain is to be put to death. They are to be 9. “Thou shalt not covet thy
stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid neighbor’s wife.”
10. “Thou shalt not covet thy
on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to
neighbor’s goods.”
live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast
may they approach the mountain.” After Moses had gone down the mountain to the
people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. Then he said to the people,
“Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over
the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses
led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the
mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in
fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain
trembled violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and
the voice of God answered him. The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and
called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up.