Moses

The timing of the Exodus has been debated for centuries. One thing most scholars agree on is that the Israelites were not under harsh slavery for 400 years. That prophecy of a 400 year oppression began when God gave Abraham the promise. It was about 400 years from that promise until Moses and the Exodus. The Israelites did undergo harsh labor and I’m sure it felt like 400 years.

They came into Egypt with Jacob with over 70 people. Actually it’s quite a lot more. The number 70 is just the sons and grandsons from Jacob. It doesn’t include wives, daughters, servants and their households. Remember all the people Abraham had in his “household”? Many of those families would have served Isaac and then Jacob as well. So you can imagine here a huge entourage coming with Jacob to Egypt complete with livestock too. They’ll leave Egypt some decades/centuries later with a “multitude” under the leadership of Moses. Let’s just say the land of Goshen was indeed fertile, an incubator to birth the nation of Israel.

Moses’ life is broken into 3 sets of 40: 40 years growing up in Egypt, 40 years shepherding in Midian, 40 years leading Israel from bondage to freedom.

The beginning story of Moses may sound familiar to us in that he was saved from drowning in water by floating above it in a basket as his mode of deliverance. The word for basket in Hebrew is tebah, and it’s the same word used for “ark,” as in Noah’s ark. These are the only instances this word is used in the Bible. Moses’ mother was rewarded for preparing an ark for her son. She was the one chosen to nurse Moses until he was weened, and she got paid for it!

By the end of the first 40 years he assumes everyone knows he is the deliverer. He gets another 40 years of humble pie working as a shepherd. Sounds a little like the Joseph story, only Joseph’s was not as drawn out. During this time Moses marries a daughter of the priest of Midian, Jethro AKA Reuel. Remember that name “Midian” from Abraham? He was one of the sons from Keturah after Sarah died.

At the end of the second 40 years, Moses is reluctant to deliver anyone (the humble pie is in full effect). He meets God in a “burning bush” when God is ready for him to be a deliverer, but Moses has five excuses for why it’s a bad idea. God meets every excuse.

I love that God already had Aaron on his way to meet Moses. God was not surprised by Moses’ questions and apprehensions, and His plan was already in motion. But can you imagine Aaron’s thoughts when God spoke to him to go meet Moses in the wilderness? It’s been 40 years since they’ve seen each other (unless there are accounts we do not have recorded in scripture, which is possible). I wonder if Aaron obeyed the first time or if God had to tell him a few times (like He has to do with me a lot). What I would give to be a fly on a camel for that trip back to Egypt with Moses and Aaron!

10 plagues precede the Exodus. They are broken into groups of three with the tenth and final plague standing on its own. Sometimes when we read this narrative, we picture it all happening within a couple of weeks, but it’s possible the sequence of plagues took at least a year.

The calendar changes during Moses’ time. God makes the 7th month of Nisan the 1st month. It’s the inauguration of the Religious Calendar with all of the Appointed Feasts. Check out the Messianic Passover Haggadah at the bottom of this page.

A second set of tablets had to be made because Moses smashed the first set. It was quite symbolic of the sin that Israel had committed with the golden calf. And the story of how Moses ground up the idol into powder and made the people drink it? Classic!

Moses isn’t perfect and he makes some mistakes in leadership along the way. One in particular gets him banned from entering the Promised Land. He did get to see it all from a mountain top though. Then God buried him and no one knows exactly where. Even Satan and the angel Michael had a dispute over it (Jude 9). This is the only time we see God burying someone. It’s the direct opposite of God creating Adam from the dust.

It’s not the last time we see Moses. He makes an appearance with Jesus and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration and they discuss Jesus’ departure. Could it be because Moses and Elijah both had interesting departures themselves?

Scholars dispute over the location of Mt. Sinai and where the crossing of the Red Sea took place. The second map looks more promising to me:

Here are a couple of great videos with supporting evidence for the site in Midian (bottom map above):

The Tabernacle that God had Moses build was patterned after the one in Heaven. Solomon will later build a permanent one called Solomon’s Temple. Unfortunately it gets destroyed and lies in ruins for centuries. Herod the Great renovates and finishes it just in time for Jesus. That one gets destroyed too 40 years after Jesus. Here is an illustration of the tabernacle of Moses:

There are many other things to glean from the life of Moses. Check out these resources for more.

Extra Charts & Resources: