[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey, thanks so much for listening to this message. My name is Jason and I'm one of the ministers here at the Madison Church of Christ. It's our hope and prayer that the teaching you hear today will bless your life and draw you closer to God. If you're ever in the Madison area, we'd love for you to stop by and study the Bible with us on Sundays at 05:00 p.m. or Wednesdays at 07:00 p.m. if you have questions about the Bible or want to know more about the Madison church, you can find us
[email protected] dot. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast as well as our Sermons podcast Madison Church of Christ Sermons. Thanks again for stopping by. I hope this study is a blessing to you.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: Alright, so we are going to go ahead and get started. I just wanted to put this slide on the screen as we are beginning. And these are just a few of the things that we've been through so far with relation to Egypt, specifically in the life of Moses. So right here we have the feather of Ma'at being weighed against a human heart that sort of dealt with like the hard heart ness, possibly, of pharaoh. We have pharaoh with the shepherd's crook. We have Moses name originally being an egyptian name, moshe, meaning to like draw out of the water. We have God constantly saying, like, I'm going to like strike you with a mighty hand or a mighty fist, or I'm going with an outstretched arm. We have people doing mud brick building. We have this random land of goshen that was actually separate from any of their capital cities and stuff like that. We have the idea that pharaoh is a God. And the whole Exodus count, essentially referring back to that, here is what I think is just interesting. And I wanted to like, prior to going on, I don't want to miss saying this. So going to the next slide, one of the biggest things about the story of Exodus, about really the Pentateuch as a whole, is a lot of people who are atheists or who may not just believe in the validity of these scriptures say like, hey, this stuff, like, we don't have any evidence of it coming onto the scene until like two or 300 BC, which was hundreds if not thousands of years after, when you're claiming these accounts happened, yada, yada, yada, a lot of people don't believe that. This is one of the most interesting aspects of this whole thing to me, because when you read this story and the way that we've been reading it, you start not just seeing hebrew and israeli based stuff, you start seeing stuff that's from an ancient culture that is far beyond when this hebrew culture existed. And that wasn't really relative to the scene during the days that they claimed that Hebrews would have written all of this. So what's really interesting to me, looking back at this story, is just the amount of egyptian stuff in this story. It's wild. Egyptian stuff is just spread out everywhere. And to me, at least, and to most people out there, that is a super, super good marker that this stuff is valid and that it's historically accurate, and that it was written when they're claiming that it was written. All right, so if you have your bibles, we have been going through Exodus. I don't think I explained this at the beginning. I don't think I thought it was important enough.
But in the original, like, Hebrew Bible, there were not, well, I'll say, in the origina scroll. So the first five books of the Old Testament, there were not chapter and verse breakdowns. And what's really, really interesting is, when you go back and read it, though, it's just these blocks of consonants. It's really hard to get through. But the way that a lot of people, over time, have kind of, like, connected these into sections and stuff, and the way that a lot of rabbis connected these sections is they started to find words that just appeared a lot. And what they began to realize is moses and these other authors, a lot of times, in certain areas of these passages, would use a word or an idea a lot more than other words and ideas. So the first way that they broke apart this scroll so that they could read it in the temple or later on in synagogues and stuff like that, is by taking these words, taking these sections, dividing it up by, like, a massive block or a massive section. In a lot of the ancient temple readings, the beginning of Exodus has, like, three or four really small scenes, but the big block of a section actually ends at the very end of where we're going to get through today. So you could almost call what we've done so far, like, act one or composition one of Exodus or something like that. It kind of ended. At this point, I'm going to explain how some of those words worked. But if you remember, we've been through, like, exodus one through four. That's the whole story of Moses. His life growing up, his life going fleeing after killing an egyptian Numidian, him coming back, him comparing pharaoh before that, him being at the burning bush. And we talked about a lot of the things that Moses went through being rescued from the water, approaching God at Mount Horeb, which would later be Mount Sinai. All these other things were things that later on, the Israelites as a whole were going to have to face. So thats Exodus one four. And then the last little bit weve talked about the beginning of the section where Moses is really challenging pharaoh and saying, like, let my people go or let gods people go. And some of it is working, some of its not. And then finally God sends these plagues or these strikes upon the Egyptians. And then we talked last week how those were almost done in sets of three in the way that the language worked, but it could have been towards the egyptian gods. It definitely was to let them know who God was as a being and as a creator. And then there's like a decreation aspect that we talked about. But then at the end of all of those first nine plagues, we have the big plague, the plague that God predicted in Exodus chapter four. Actually, when Moses originally comes to Pharaoh says, let my people go, Pharaoh says, no. God looks at Moses and is essentially like, hey, I'm going like, put down his firstborn son because of this, prophesies it in advance. And then we get to this section that we're in today. All that we're going to be talking about in this class is the 10th plague and the Passover and how that originated and stuff. There's this huge block of like two, two and a half chapters where suddenly the story of Moses and the Israelites as a story stops and it's almost like instructions begin to appear where the Israelites are being told, you must do this, you must do that for generations to come. We'll talk about that a little bit. I wanted to say at the beginning, I'm not going to ask a question about this, but anytime I hear a lord's supper remark on this, it happens to be about this. But it's September 11 today. And there are a whole lot of memorials that deal with September 11, obviously for very, very good reasons. So because of that, today we are specifically talking about a ceremony, a thing that the Israelites did in order to remember. And I think today, more than any other day, we probably can relate to how some of them felt through this. So Exodus chapter eleven, it's the short one.
We're going to have a lot of discussion, but to do that, I'm just going to read tonight and I'm going to try to read fast. Exodus eleven one. Now, the Lord had said unto 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. Tell the people that men and women alike. Are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold. The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed towards the people. And Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by pharaohs officials and by the people. So Moses said, this is what the Lord says. He is speaking to Pharaoh about midnight. I will go throughout Egypt. Every 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. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt, worse than there has ever been or will ever be again. But among the Israelites, not a dog will bark at any person or animal. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before you and saying, go, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will leave.
Then Moses, hot with anger, left. Pharaoh. The lord had said to Moses, Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you so that my wonders may be multiplied. In Egypt, Moses 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 the country.
All right, so as I'm reading this, like, all these questions just come from, like, kind of what I'm thinking as I read this. So why do you think the Egyptians began to be favorably disposed to the Israelites? This, like, tagline that's in verse three. Any ideas?
[00:09:37] Speaker C: Perhaps because several of the plagues did nothing affect the Israelites. And so maybe the egyptian people wanted to cozy up with them, because when they were in their area, they were saved from several of the flames.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: That could definitely be something that's there. I don't have, like, this, like, clear cut answer to this. These are. This is a question. I have any other ideas behind that?
[00:10:10] Speaker C: Well, not to take over your class, but I've also. I've heard that God allowed them to find favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, because, as it says, they gave them gold and silver and all these things that later on were used to. To build the tabernacle.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: Yeah, that's definitely true. And we'll get to that in a little bit. Kind of the only. I agree with your first point. The only other line I'm thinking is, like, how has pharaoh responded to the plagues thus far?
He's been basically, like, keep them coming. Bring them on. Like, we don't care about this. Like, his heart is hard towards all of it. And Moses, when he's approaching pharaoh, is giving him the option for these things to not happen. So as Pharaoh is looking at Moses and is saying like, hey, I don't care, whatever else. And God continues to bring these plagues, and he continues to not let the Israelites go. At some point, if I'm sitting to the side and I keep, like, having my country getting punched in the face by this guy, and then the ruler is like, all right, like, we're going to keep going. Like, keep going strong. At some point, I'm going to be like, all right, I'm switching sides. I don't like this guy who's leading us. I don't like the peace that he's trying to bring about, because it's not peace. This is chaos. But they seem to have chaos over there where they are, just like you mentioned.
All right, here was my next question, and this is a weird one. I just want to explain this for a little bit where my thought process went, because this has been something that's been on my mind a lot recently.
Verse six. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt after the firstborns die, worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites, not a dog will bark at any person or animal.
Psalm 46 ten is like the most hobby lobby verse of all the hobby lobby verses. It's be still and know that I am God. Like, super hobby lobby. One of the crazy things about psalm 46, when you really dig into that chapter, it's wild. I think I put it here. Yeah. So it starts with a very happy thing. God is our refuge and strength and ever present help and trouble. But as you get along, it starts having this, like, deeper, meatier tone to it.
So verse eight, come and see what the Lord has done. The desolations he's brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of earth. He breaks the bow and he shatters the spear. He burns shields with fire. He says, be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.
A lot of people take this. I don't want to ruin it if it's your favorite verse in the world. But a lot of people take this verse, be still and know that I am God. And this is like their meditation by the beach verse, where it's like, all right, I just need to, like, be still for a moment and take a breath of deep air and just, like, chill out for a sec.
In a way, it can relate to that. But when you dig into this, all of this, especially, it's a lot more, like, prominent in the hebrew language.
It shows that it's God actually speaking to the enemies of Israel in this.
So when God says, be still and know that I'm God, that's not him looking at his people. That's him looking at the enemies of Israel and saying, be still.
Stop your chaos and recognize who I am for a second. I am God. I am the God who breaks the bow, shatters the spear, like does all these other things. Now, if that ruined it for you, I'm sorry. But to make it up a little bit, when our enemies end up being shut down by God, how does our life become after that? In the end, a little bit more peaceful? There we go. So, in the end, it does relate to some peace and stuff. But when I'm reading this, I'm thinking a little bit about the earlier sections of when Moses first approaches pharaoh. So Moses approaches pharaoh, and this is his, like, first try at this thing, and he's like, let the people go. Pharaoh says, I don't know who your God is, gets all upset and is like, now you guys are going to, like, make even more bricks. I'm not going to provide straw. It's going to be a lot tougher on you. And all of a sudden, you see the Egyptian, like, magnificent society, greatest society in that day and time, all joyful, still having their massive buildings built. And then you have the israelites wailing and weeping and struggling through this. And these two verses signify that there's a shift there.
There has been a power exchange, and the opposite is now happening for each group. And it is because one of the most awful, horrendous things has just occurred. The firstborns, well, they're about to occur. They're going to die. Now, I didn't want to leave this chapter without pointing out this.
Moses says all this to Pharaoh, lets him know the firstborns are going to die. And it says, then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh. Why do you think Moses was hot with anger right here?
[00:16:04] Speaker D: Well, so I don't know. You know, this is me projecting onto Moses. He knows how it feels to have taken a life. And so he knows, like, he's told Pharaoh, like, this is going to happen, and pharaoh just, you know, shuts you down. And so he's walking away knowing all of these children, all these Firstborn, are going to die. And I mean, when you go from that perspective of, I've been there, I've been in those shoes, you don't want this on you, and you're still making that choice.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: That's tough. Yeah. Like, Moses, I think, is just, like, so horribly frustrated at Pharaoh. And what's really interesting, looking at some of the language here, is a lot of this, interestingly enough, when it comes to the death of the firstborns, actually is similar language to the very beginning of Exodus. Exodus, chapter one, when Pharaoh decides to cast the baby boys of the hebrew people into the water. And one thing that I think God is trying to show here in the midst of just such a horrible thing occurring is that pharaoh did not give these baby boys and families a chance. They had no way to decide if I'm going to die or if I'm not going to die. Like, you're just dead if you're a hebrew baby boy. At this day and time, God here is giving them an opportunity. He's saying, basically, like, this is going to happen, but you can make it not happen. You have the opportunity here to stop this. And yet Moses, I think, here seems to recognize that Pharaoh is not going to stop this. And he is just heated. He is upset. He is like, I cannot believe that this guy and all of his stubbornness is keeping this going. So now, Exodus, chapter twelve.
Starting in verse one, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, this month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the 10th day of this month, each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share it with their nearest neighbor. Having taken into account the number of people there are, you are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year old males without defect. And you may take them from the sheep or from the goats, take care of them until the 14th day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat in the lambs that same night. They are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire with the head, legs, and internal organs. Do not leave any of it till morning. If some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat it, with your cloak tucked under your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. On the same night, I will pass through Egypt. I will strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you. When I strike Egypt, this is the day you are to commemorate for the generations to come. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord, a lasting ordinance. For seven days, you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day. Remove the yeast from your houses. For whomever eats anything with yeast on it from the first day through the 7th must be cut off from Israel. On the first day. Hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the 7th day. Do not work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat. That is all you may do. Celebrate the festival of unleavened bread, because it was on this day that I brought you and your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. In the first month, you are to eat bread without yeast. From the evening of the 14th day until the evening of the 21st day, for seven days, no yeast is to be found in your houses, and anyone foreign or native born who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. Eat nothing made with yeast.
Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread. Then 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. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip in the blood in the basin, and put the blood on the top of both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out the door of your house until morning. When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top of the sides of the door frame and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your house and strike you down.
Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants when you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised. Observe this ceremony, and when your children ask you, what does this ceremony mean to you, then tell them, is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the house of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians. Then the people bowed down and worshiped. The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded. Moses and Aaron.
I wanted to make sure to read all this. That's a whole lot. I'm going to have to take a drink of water in a little bit of. But I wanted to make sure to read all of this because when I was kind of developing this class, I feel like the two sections that a lot of people tend to leave out when they teach this class are these long sections about the Passover early on. And then there's like some stuff about like the temple and the furniture and stuff. Towards the end, I wanted to spend a little bit of time on it. If you didn't know, like, what happens during the Passover, what it's for or how it occurs or what the different parts of it are. Exodus twelve, Exodus 13 are great chapters to go to. Alright, so I have a few questions for you guys. At the very beginning, God literally states, like, starting then when this is to occur, this month is to be, for you, the first month, the first month of your year.
Imagine God coming down, speaking to us and just saying like, all right, scratch your calendar, tomorrow's January 1. Like, would that cause a little bit of chaos in the moment? Like, for me, it definitely would.
Why did God restart, literally restart the hebrew calendar or why do you think he did?
[00:23:14] Speaker E: I think he's having them structured not only their physical life, but like doing stuff, but also they're like how they view the world in time around him now, right? I mean, they're starting their year now, remembering the salvation that they got. It's very similar to how we are supposed to start every single week, remember the salvation that we got. I think he's wanting us to structure our time and their time around him.
[00:23:44] Speaker B: I love it. I think that is the perfect answer.
And as we go throughout this, if you're a Christian, you can probably see how the Lord's Supper is going to start coinciding with the Passover in a lot of ways. If we can get to the end of this class, we'll talk about that some more.
Next question.
Why do you think that God asked them to slaughter lamb? And I asked this for two reasons.
First reason is God had been like, for the most part, I should look this up beforehand, but for the most part, most all, if not all, the other plagues were in Egypt, but not in the goshen region, to my memory, why did God not just say, I'm going to go into Egypt, or I'm going to approach the bad guys and I'm going to strike down all their firstborn sons, and you guys can just sit in your houses and be happy and joyful. Why do you think he makes them kill and slaughter a lamb?
[00:24:51] Speaker D: It has to show participation. Like, put forth a little effort. I don't know if I'm finding the right words, but instead of just giving it to them as just a gift, they needed to show that they would obey, not only obey his commands, but, like, there was a purpose behind that. It's like a buy in. You know, you got to do this.
[00:25:17] Speaker B: I definitely think a buy in as an aspect of it takes the place. Takes the place of the first one. Yeah, I think that is a portion of it as well. Going off of both of those, they're asked to keep. Imagine this. Like, these were, like, field animals in that day and time. Like, kept way out in the field. They're slaughtering them all the time. It is not normal. Like, if you go to a third world country today, like, having a dog in your house is really, really weird, because dogs are things that are, like, running along the road. They're rampant. Like, bringing an animal into your house is not a normal thing. Why does God. And I think.
I think this relates to the two things I've already been brought up. Why does God ask them to bring a lamb into their house from the 10th day until the 14th day?
I don't know about the specific days, but what I've heard before is, like, a lamb.
It's, like, attractive is a weird word, but they're cute, right? So you, like, bring it into your.
[00:26:23] Speaker E: House, and the family develops almost like a relationship, like a little household pet.
[00:26:30] Speaker C: And so when it's time for the.
[00:26:31] Speaker B: Sacrifice, it really is a little more meaningful for that family because they've developed.
[00:26:37] Speaker C: Maybe a little bit of a bond.
[00:26:39] Speaker B: Over those four days, and they've got a slaughter.
Exactly. And going along with what's already been mentioned, this is.
I won't call it my theory, because when you really look into, like, ancient sources and stuff, like, for the most part, this is something that almost all of them will agree on.
A lamb in that day and time would have not been like a super cheap meal or something like that. Like, they can't just go to a grocery store, especially when you're talking about slaves. A lamb would have cost them something.
A lamb being in your house for four days in the midst of all of this would have caused you to develop some sort of relationship with this lamb, like my father in law right now, they just built their house on a piece of property that's really, really big. And he's like a really weird guy. I love him, but he's made all of these jokes about how on this massive piece of property, he just wants to go out in his boxers with a bow and arrow and kill deer or something like that. That's why he wants his retirement to be.
But he literally mentioned this to us like a week or two ago. He said, this is really weird, but these deer are coming around my house every single day, and I don't know if I'm going to be able to kill them.
They're like my little pets now.
So they're developing a relationship with it. They've spent money on it. I think another aspect of all of this is really any type of creature that you slaughter or kill in any way, you're probably going to have some emotional effect or toll on you because of that situation.
I don't know. Because there's not like a sacrifice for atonement yet. Like, we're not really into a section of the scripture where we're talking about sin, but we are in a section where I think God is wanting the Israelites to know, like, how big of a deal the thing that he's doing is in this instance. And if you're spending a lot of money, if you are living with this thing, if you are having to kill it in the end, like, that is something that will not be lost in your mind and in your conscience, you are going to remember this situation. And I think by God asking them to do such a significant thing in this moment, he's almost saying to them, like, hey, you guys will not forget this. If you do this, you're going to understand how big of a deal it is.
So I guess I have two questions off of this one. One of them is, why do we think that God thought it was so important for them to remember this in such a dramatic way?
[00:29:41] Speaker F: They had been in egyptian captivity for generations, and their behavior after they left Egypt would indicate that they had picked up some of the idolatry and some of the other things from the Egyptians in their time there. And so to me, it does point to some aspect of, I'm going to have to cleanse you from this influence that you've been around.
You know, the fact that they, you know, they were barely out and they were wanting to go back, be better off in Egypt.
Yeah.
[00:30:22] Speaker E: I think it also, I think you mentioned it earlier, but this kind of denotes the moment where God inverses the curse that Egypt put on them in the beginning, which started with the killing of the firstborn. And so I think God is making it such an important moment that they need to remember. This is the moment that he reversed the curse that they were under.
[00:30:45] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:30:46] Speaker E: Which put them into slavery, which again, I think goes up into why it's so important. It becomes very important for us.
[00:30:53] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:30:56] Speaker C: I also think that it's kind of two fold.
It's one of the most obvious shadows for Christ in the entire Bible.
But it also not only does it point forward to Christ, but it points back to Abraham and Isaac, and how Abraham was commanded to take Isaac up on the mountain and sacrifice him. But at the last minute, God allowed him to sacrifice a ram, even though it's not a lamb, but it's a significant sacrifice.
And I think a large reason why they would have kept it in the house and is because it would almost force the kids to ask, why are we doing this?
[00:31:53] Speaker B: Why is this happening?
[00:31:54] Speaker C: And that would force the parents to explain.
[00:31:57] Speaker B: And when your children ask you, what does this ceremony mean to you, then tell them, 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.
These are dramatic things that are happening. And as their children see these things, they're going to obviously ask questions. This is something that God wants remembered, not only then, but through generations. I think that's perfect.
All right, I want to do this. This is going to look really weird to most of you.
It kind of looks weird to me, too.
These are two words I thought were really interesting, and this is one of the reasons that a lot of people think that this section is the end of, like, one of the compositions of the scroll of exodus or whatever. This word is habayat. It basically means, like, into the house or something like this. This word is Teva. Teva is only used a couple times in the entire Bible. Noah's ark, and then the basket that Moses is put into when he's a baby. Here's what's really interesting in Hebrew. There's all these dots and stuff. Don't let them distract you. The main thing that matters is, like, the consonants, which are basically the letters without dots in the end. And what's really interesting is when you take these two words and you remove all of that gumpity goo, you get these consonants in the end. And then it's just really interesting to me because I don't know the exact reason why. But most scholars believe this.
This word that is used so rarely, Teva backwards, is habayat in the end. And what's really interesting is this whole series starts with Moses in the ark in this basket in this section right here. The Israelites are now being told to go into their houses. And what a lot of scholars believe is happening right here, which is just like, kind of fascinating to me. There's other tie ins and stuff like that. What a lot of people believe is happening is God is essentially telling them, like, your house shall be your ark, and you're going to be in this ark with your animal in the end. And this is a situation where I'm going to rescue you from everything else that is happening around you. Just a really weird kind of interesting, like, thing I discovered this week. If you're a nerd, you'll like it. Okay, exodus twelve, I'm going to read. Well, maybe I should. Okay, let me just paraphrase, because I want to get along a little bit.
So basically, God strikes down all of the firstborn. There's weeping and wailing throughout Egypt. Pharaoh comes to Moses, he says, I'm going to let you go. But really interestingly, he ends his series with Moses by saying, and I want you to bless me. Which is just, there's, we won't go into that question right now, but there's some significance there, right? Like Pharaoh at the end of the story is asking Moses to bless him.
So they took their dough without yeast, because if you know more about baking than I do, you are way more apt to talk about this yeast stuff, I guess, grows. So you got to let it sit there for a little bit and then you can bake stuff. Well, if you're in a hurry, you ain't got time to let it sit there. So that's why it was unleavened originally, because they were in a haste. The Israelites leave. We're told that 600,000 men, not including women and children or possible other people and herds and flocks all left together. Just millions upon millions of people, I guess. I think some people estimate it anywhere from like 1.4 to 2.7 million people are exiting Egypt at this day and time.
But then at the end of this section, God once again talks about just instructions for Passover.
Here is my big question, because this seems to be at the end of these 1st 1213 chapters, or at least we're nearing the very end. One of the big crux themes that we've talked about all of this thus far is God's name.
What does the Passover situation tell the Israelites about who God is?
[00:36:32] Speaker D: Yeah, I think it tells them that you go all the way back to Genesis 15 when God makes his covenant with Abraham.
[00:36:44] Speaker B: He tells them, good job.
[00:36:48] Speaker D: Yeah, they're going to be looked after.
[00:36:53] Speaker B: He makes so many promises to Abraham. 400 years before these Israelites, our hebrew people, are struggling in this wilderness, like, possibly still doing the circumcision ritual. But just, you can, even if they're remembering certain things, there's a lot of aspects in ways that the Egyptians have just beat them down and defeated them up to this point. But yet it seems that they're holding on to the many promises they made. Abraham one of them. Even I didn't know that this was one of them. But it's not only that they would, like, thrive one day and go back to this land, but it literally says that they are going to take the possessions of the Egyptians with them as they. They leave the land. And that end. I didn't read of Exodus twelve talks about that psalm. What else does it tell us about God?
Yeah, I don't think there's a better answer than those two answers. He keeps his promises.
Ultimately, his goal is to save his people. And it's really interesting to me that, yes, this is about him saving the Hebrews, but in every plague example, he offers the Egyptians two paths, two choices.
I want to tell you guys, are there two bells in these notes? Okay, that was the first one. Okay, good. Want to tell you guys about this. This is just really interesting to me. That's the sphinx. It's in a lot of video games and stuff, but it's real. But this is a picture I took of it. It has no nose. It fell off at some point. But in front of the sphinx, there's this little tablet thingy that's super interesting. It's called a stela. And if you go in front of the sphinx, it's right here. And this is kind of what it looks like when you're looking up close. This is the dream Stela. And this is one possible piece of interesting evidence that goes back to my timeline, which would be that Amenhotep II was the pharaoh in this day and age. We talked about it in a class a long time ago.
What's really interesting here is Amenhotep II, his son that became the pharaoh. Afterwards was Thutmose IV in egyptian history.
The way that somebody became pharaoh is they were just the firstborn son, and boom, they're pharaoh. What this dream stela written by Thutmose IV in front of the sphinx describes is he starts essentially going on and on about how the gods, the egyptian gods, have chosen him to be the pharaoh. And what is really, really strange about that is no other pharaohs would claim that because just based upon your birth order, like, boom, you're pharaoh or whatever, they don't have to make the claim that these gods have chosen me, out of all the sons, to be the next pharaoh. It's really interesting is if Amenhotep II was the pharaoh and thutmose IV is trying to prove a reason why he should be the pharaoh, it seems that he's trying to say, like, well, the firstborn son, for some reason, is not the pharaoh, or there's a fight for the throne because there's not a person who's holding this position or whatever else. That's just a possible, like, pointer towards the idea of this whole situation. All right. And then we have Exodus 13. I think it's just really interesting there. God tells the Israelites that he wants their firstborn to be consecrated and redeemed as well.
Later on, when we get into the other parts of Torah, we start realizing that children, like, oftentimes the first animal would be sacrificed. And if it wasn't sacrificed, then they would take, like, a bird or a sheep and like a valuable animal, like a donkey's place to sacrifice it. And for any son that was a firstborn, it could be son or daughter that was born to Israelites. From this day forth, they were supposed to give five shekels to the temple, essentially in order to redeem or to consecrate them. In the end, what is the significance of God wanting here? Not just the Egyptians, but everyone, specifically with the Hebrews, to recognize that their firstborn belongs to him.
[00:41:38] Speaker E: I think it's them reenacting Passover in every generation to remind them that it's.
[00:41:45] Speaker B: Not just then, it's now. There's layers. It's inception. There's layers to everything. Like, Passover falls in a lot of things. It's also really interesting. Didn't get to talk about it tonight.
This whole Passover feast lasts from the 14th. They get lamb in their house. 10th day, keep it to the 14th day. Then they have this Passover feast from the 14th day to the 21st day. That's seven days. We also know that on the last day, they were supposed to celebrate and rest. Well, seven days of creation right there. In the end, there's themes within themes. In the midst of all of this, stuff, and it's all based upon God wanting his people to remember. And we didn't even get into it. And we're going to have a final class at the end of all of the Moses stuff on this. But Moses parallels to Jesus in a million different ways, and probably the most significant way is because Jesus decided at the passover feast. That's where he's going to institute the Lord's supper, and then within 24 hours later, he's going to be dead afterwards. And that is significant in terms of God wanting us simply to take time to remember. So I like the conversation earlier about our calendar should be based around that. Everything should be based around that. Like God wants us to remember and pass this information on. So. All right, that's class.
