Notes for Lesson Seven

Lesson 7 – Moses and the Passover

Exodus 5-12

I. Introduction to Moses – 1525 B.C.

· Exodus 1:4-8 – over __400_____ years have passed and the king is worried about the number of Israelites

· v. 9-22 – Pharaoh seeks to kill the boys but the midwives disobey and are blessed – why? The _____Abrahamic Covenant___!

· Moses is hidden by his sister and mother, and found by Pharaoh’s __daughter____

· As an adult, Moses has to flee because he killed an Egyptian soldier

· Moses’ wife – Zipporah – lives in the wilderness for __40__ years

· Moses’ Egyptian brother is now king – God sends him with a message – “Let my people go!”

II. The 10 plagues - Exodus 5-11

A. Why did God want the Israelites back in Israel?

· Exodus 6:1-8 –

· Genesis 15:13,14

B. The Plagues:

1. Nile water into blood

a. Hapi: god of the Nile

2. Frogs

a. Heket, Hekhet, or Heqt: Egyptian goddess of Fertility,

Water, Renewal; frog-headed

3. Gnats or Lice from dust

a. Geb: Egyptian god of the Earth; also

b. Khepri: Egyptian god of creation, movement of the

Sun, rebirth; beetle-headed

c. Thoth: one time considered god of magic,

failed along with magicians (or priests) to duplicate

conjuring of gnats or lice.

4. Flies (gadflies)

a. Khepri: Egyptian god of resurrection, creation,

movement of the Sun, rebirth; beetle-headed

5. Cattle/livestock disease

a. Hathor: goddess of love and protection; possibly

absorbed Bat, the cow-headed goddess.

b. bull cult gods Apis, Buchis, and Mneuis

c. bulls sometimes considered embodiment of Ptah and Ra

6. Boils

a. Isis: goddess of medicine and peace

b. Im-Hotep: real person turned deity, patron of wisdom and medicine

c. Sekhmet: lion-headed deity of plagues, believed to

bring about or prevent epidemics or pestilence

7. Thunder/hail

a. Nut: Sky goddess

b. Shu: god of air; associated with calm or cooling

c. Tefnut: goddess of water/moisture; linked to sun and moon

d. Seth: associated primarily with chaos

but also thunder, the desert, and infertility.

8. Locusts

a. Senehem: possibly locust-headed, god of protection

from ravages of pests

9. Darkness

a. Ra or Amon-Ra: god of the sun

b. Horus: sky god; sun was his right eye, moon his left.

10. Death of the firstborn

a. Pharaoh himself

b. Min: god of reproduction

c. Ra: god who was believed to create all things

d. Anubis: god of the dead and embalming;

Ex 11:7 refers to no dogs barking,

possibly referring to jackal(or dog)-headed

Anubis having no power over Israelites during this plague

· The first nine plagues did not touch the Israelites – Exodus 8:21,22; 9:4; 9:25,26

· The tenth plague required a response from the people

III. The Passover – Exodus 12

A. The Instructions:

1. v. 3-5 Take a ___lamb____ – no substitute was allowed, an unblemished, male, yearling

2. v. 6 – Bring it into your ____home____ on the tenth day and on the fourteenth day, you are to kill it at twilight

3. v. 7 – Take some of the ___blood___ and put it on the two door posts and the lintel (cross bar) of your doorway on the outside of your house

4. v. 8-10 – ___Eat___ the lamb – gave specific directions on how to prepare – eat with unleavened bread (no time to rise) and bitter herbs (remembering their hard life in Egypt)

5. v. 11 – Be prepared to __leave__ quickly

B. The Picture:

1. Take a lamb – the___spotlessness___ of the living lamb did not save them. Jesus’ death brought them life - Hebrews 9:22, I John 1:7

2. Put blood on the doorposts – killing the lamb was not _____enough_______for salvation. The blood had to be applied to the doorpost of the house – the blood of Christ cannot save you unless it is applied

3. Eat the lamb – After salvation through the blood, ___nourishment________ comes from feeding

4. Be dressed and ready to travel – live a life that is prepared to be united with the Father, to be taken ____home____

5. The elements of the Passover Meal:

· Lamb – sacrifice – innocent for the guilty – eaten not raw or unbaked, but as a suffering lamb who passed through the fire. No bone could be broken

· Bitter herbs – bitter cup of God’s wrath that Jesus tasted for us

· Egg – new life in Christ

· Salt water – sorrowful tears from hard work in Egypt

· Unleavened bread – Matzoh – made in a hurry – leaven represents sin, so this bread is a call to leave the past and enter a sinless life

· Charoset – apple, raisin, cinnamon – represents the mortar for the bricks – hard work but a sweetness in the end because God saves

· Celery – the wealthy of Egypt ate celery

6. Ending – Exodus 12:37-51

· God gives specific instructions for this feast – it is to be a _____remembrance____ of God’s deliverance from oppression for generations to come

· It is only for the children of Israel to observe – no foreigners

· We observe the communion table now as a remembrance of God’s deliverance from sin – only believers are to observe

IV. Heading into the wilderness – Exodus 13-19

· Pharaoh finally lets the people leave and the Egyptians load the Israelites with material wealth – Exodus 12:33-36

· God led them as a ___cloud______ by day and a pillar of ____fire____ by night

· The parting of the Red Sea

· Time of complaining – God provides manna – means “what is it?” – and water from a rock – Exodus 16,17

· Manna was only supposed to be enough for each day – why?

· The Law is given at the foot of Mount Sinai

V. On to Kadesh – Numbers 11-20

· After about a year at Mount Sinai, Israel is ready to move to the Promised land

· More complaining – Numbers 11:8-10, 18-23, 31-33

· The story of the 12 spies – Numbers 13

· Their report:

1. The land is ___full____ of milk and honey

2. They brought back fruit to prove its ____fertility____

3. The people are ___strong_____ and many

4. __Giants _____ live in the land

· The people’s response – weeping and grumbling

· The Lord’s anger burned – Numbers 14:10-22

· Finally He had enough:

o at the Red Sea – Exodus 14:11-12

o at Marah – Exodus 15:23,24

o in the wilderness of Sin – Ex. 16:2

o in connection with manna – Ex. 16:20

o and manna again – Ex. 16:27

o at Rephidim – Ex. 17:1-3

o at Horeb – Ex. 32:7

o at Taberah – Numbers 11:1

o the complaint of the rabble – Num. 11:14

o at Kadesh-Barnea – Num. 14

· God puts an end to the problem by: (Numbers 14:28-38)

1. Not allowing the adults to ___enter____ the land but telling them they would die in the wilderness

2. Allowing the faithful spies to _____survive____and live in the land

3. Allowing the ______children____ to enter the land

4. Sentencing the people to __40_____ years of wandering, one for each day the spies were in the land

5. Killing the unfaithful ___spies____ with a plague

VI. The Serpents in the Wilderness – Numbers 21:4-9

· In this story, you see God dealing with the rebellion in a unique way

· God sends fiery __serpents____ into the camp

· An act of ___faith_____ would save them

· John 3:1-16 – interesting discourse between Jesus an Nicodemus includes this story

Conclusion: