The Exodus is the birth of Israel as a people. Moses leads the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage to safety. The Passover, The Ten Commandments and the Burning Bush all happened during this time.Exodus, the second book of the Bible, describes the emancipation of the Jewish nation from Egypt. In the latter part of the Book of Genesis, Jacob's family had settled in the Goshen area of Egypt. This family of seventy people was the root of the Hebrew nation &endash; the twelve sons of Jacob.... Joseph, one of Jacob's sons, had risen to a position of prominence in Egypt and the Pharaoh had allowed his family to ride out the famine in Egypt. ..."Now the sojourning of the children and of their fathers, which they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt was four hundred and thirty years" ..The Hebrews sojourned two hundred fifteen years in Canaan and two hundred fifteen years in Egypt. The Historian Josephus concurs. the descendents of Jacob "were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them." (Ex.1: 7). The Israelites grew from 70 souls from the time Jacob arrived in Egypt to over 2 million at the time of the Exodus.
The new king was afraid of the children of Israel. Their population was growing too large and the king ordered them to be afflicted and to make them "serve with rigor". (Ex.1: 13) They were put to work building new cities for the king. Pithom and Ramses were cities built with Jewish slave labor. The cruel work conditions did not stem the growth of the Hebrew population. "And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage…" (Ex.1: 14) This was a plan of extermination that wasn't working so the king ordered the midwives to kill any newborn Hebrew males that they delivered. The midwives didn't follow through and told Pharaoh that the Hebrew women were too "lively" and delivered before they arrived to help. The new decree from Pharaoh was that all male babies were to be thrown in the river.
Joseph came to Egypt during the reign of the first pharaoh Amenemhet I (1688-1667), who then co-reigned with his son for another 20 years). Joseph was elevated to vizier by his son and successor, Sesostris I (1667-1625 BC). Sesostris is his Greek name and his Egyptian name is Senuset. Jacob came to Egypt in the 22nd year of Joseph in Egypt, which marked the beginning of the Israeli stay in Egypt.. The children of Israel had been granted land and certain freedoms because of the unique relationship Joseph had with Pharaoh. Things change rapidly in Exodus: "Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph." (Ex.1: 8) The pharaoh of the Exodus was probably Amenhotep II.
Moses' mother hid him for three months and then "when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank." (Ex.2: 3)
When Pharoah let the Hebrews go. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him out of Egypt. .. Before they can cross the Red Sea Pharaoh has a change of heart and sends the army out to stop them. The next great miracle is that the Red Sea parts enough for Moses to lead his people across to safety. When the Egyptian army attempts to cross, the sea swallows them up.
Three months after leaving Egypt, the Hebrews arrived at Mt. Sinai. There God spoke the Ten Commandments in His own voice directly to all of the people of Israel. Therefore, the ten commandments have the highest possible authority, having been given directly by God without the help of Moses. Even the written version of the commandments were first written by God's own hand on stone tablets.... The people were afraid of the voice of God, so they requested that the additional laws be given to the people indirectly through Moses. These 613 additional laws are referred to as the "Law of Moses".
The people complained about their condition, so God provided them with "manna" ([Exodus 16:31] meaning "what is it?") -- a bread-food that was white and tasted like wafers made with honey; formed from dew on the ground. Later at his father-in-law's suggestion, Moses appointed "judges" to administer the Law to the people. The journey to the Promised Land takes forty years. They wandered the desert all through that time and often complained about their situation and about Moses' leadership. God takes care of them and provides food and water. God sends "manna" and "quail" for them to eat. Their bitter complaining and lack of faith would cost this generation not only to die off but the right to cross the Jordan into Israel except for two men of Faith. Joshua and Caleb.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
* Exodus 20:3: (1) You shall have no other gods before Me.
* Exodus 20:4: (2) You shall not make for yourself an idol...
* Exodus 20:7: (3) You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God...
* Exodus 20:8: (4) Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy... the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work...
* Exodus 20:12: (5) Honor your father and your mother...
* Exodus 20:13: (6) You shall not murder.
* Exodus 20:14: (7) You shall not commit adultery.
* Exodus 20:15: (8) You shall not steal.
* Exodus 20:16: (9) You shall not give false testimony (i.e., not lie)...
* Exodus 20:17:(10) You shall not covet your neighbor's house.... or anything that is his
Mount Pisgah where Moses saw the Promised Land ( Deut 34:1) is just NW of Mount Nebo and is connected to Mount Nebo by a saddle.
A Comparison of Leadership Styles
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MOSES |
JESUS |
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1 |
Born as a Hebrew |
Born as a Jew |
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2 |
Was not a priest |
Was not a priest |
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3 |
Chosen by God to Lead People |
Chosen by God to Lead People |
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4 |
Communicated Directly with God |
Communicated Directly with God |
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5 |
Not Liked by the Establishment - Egyptians |
Not Liked by the Establishment - Jewish Priests/Roman Procurator |
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6 |
Law Giver - Ten Commandments |
Law Giver - the Great Commandment |
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7 |
Founded a new religion |
Founded a new religion |
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8 |
Had brothers and sisters - Misunderstood |
Had brothers and sisters - Misunderstood |
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9 |
Chose 12 Leaders to Govern |
Chose 12 Leaders to Follow |
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10 |
Lead his people to the promised land |
Lead his people to the promised land |
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11 |
Chose special people to carry forward |
Chose special people to carry forward |
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12 |
Taught others how to pray |
Taught others how to pray |
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13 |
Feared God more than Loving him |
Loved God and Feared Him as a Father |
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14 |
Chose a life of hardship |
Chose a life of hardship |
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15 |
Dominant person in Torah |
Dominant person in Gospels |
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16 |
Followers Strayed from his Teachings |
Followers Strayed from his Teachings |
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17 |
Revised an existing religion |
Revised an existing religion |
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18 |
Provided his People with a Vision and Identity |
Provided his People with a Vision and Identity |
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19 |
Miracle Worker - and Empowered Others |
Miracle Worker - and Empowered Others |
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1 |
Developed many Ritualistic Laws - made God remote |
Simplfied the Law - Made God Personal |
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2 |
Wrote books - Torah (first five books) |
Wrote no books - oral teachings |
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3 |
Escaped Persecution - Pharoh |
Died by Roman/Jewish Trial and Crucifixion |
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4 |
Reluctant Leader of Hebrews |
Born Leader of Jews and Gentiles |
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5 |
Had a Long Life - 120 Years |
Short Life and Ministry - 33/3 years |
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6 |
Died a natural death |
Died on Cross |
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7 |
Offended God - once |
Never Offended God |
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8 |
Never Appeared to Others after His Death - Except to Jesus and His Disciples During the Transfiguration |
Ressurected to Live after His Death |
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9 |
Taught by Laws |
Taught by Parables and Signs |
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10 |
Could not Heal Others |
Healed Others |