This Torah portion includes much information about YHWH’s name and the drama of the plagues, in each of which YHWH makes war on the deities of Egypt. But there is something in this portion that we tend to overlook.
Shemoth/Exodus
CHAPTER 6
13. Thus YHWH spoke to Moshe and Aharon and commanded the descendants of Israel and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the descendants of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
I.e., everyone involved was now responsible to get the Israelites out of Egypt—Moshe, Aharon, and Pharaoh himself --but also the Israelite slaves! It was not just Pharaoh’s problem. If each did his job, no one could blame anyone else if we had not yet left. Even if the government made it hard, they were each also responsible to see to it that the others got out. And if we want Egypt to let us go, we have to start letting go of Egypt. To be compassionate to some, we may have to be a devastator to others, as Moshe was to Pharaoh because he refused to do his part. Even if we are disappointed, and even if we are now having to gather the “straw” that used to be provided for us, we need to find out what our part in the deliverance is. Who is the Pharaoh now? Anything that keeps us in bondage, whether governments, the Church, our employers, or our own ideas of what will keep us secure. Egypt was full of industries geared solely toward preparing people for the afterlife, just like the Church. But the Torah is called our life, so anything that keeps us from the fullness fo life is our Egypt. The Torah represents Moshe today, and Israel is again realizing who we are, so we are in the same situation again. If we do not move out of Egypt, we will be lost with it. Moshe is not responsible to do this alone, as Yahshua cannot be expected to bring the Kingdom alone. We would think slaves would surely want to leave Egypt behind! But amazingly, the people gave Moshe a hard time; they said things became worse when he came. Why could he not have left well enough alone? The rabbis say they were growing accustomed to their bondage and becoming comfortable in their bondage, just as kidnapped hostages often learn to identify with their captors’ goals and hold them in high esteem. People who experience harsh treatment begin to see it as normal. Likewise, many people recognize the truth, but stay in the Church, and even say that those who keep Torah are the ones in bondage—though it is the only place we are free to actually obey YHWH rather than what some men have invented. How could they walk away from what they were born into? Others were probably even married to Egyptians, with the advantages that might have brought them. They might not have been treated as badly, but this kept their hearts in Egypt. In contrast, even though Yaaqov and Yosef died in Egypt, their bodies were eventually taken home because they did not consider Egypt home, and took steps to leave, even after their lives were over. YHWH does not accept our captivity as inevitable; nor should we. We must begin to think as free men and see ourselves where YHWH sees us. The Hebrew word for “exodus” is the same as the word for “exit”. In our automobile culture, we have to know which exit to take from the highway to get where we need to go. We must follow the “hurricane evacuation route” rather than take our own choice of road, or we may end up just as much in harm’s way as the place we left behind. The Torah is the sign, the road map, or the GPS that tells us which exit to take. We are not just leaving Egypt, but going to a particular place and for a particular purpose. If the governor tells us to evacuate, but the local government does not enforce the evacuation, he and those under him will end up paying a price, and this is the situation Pharaoh was in. This hurricane was a “category 10”—10 plagues wide. We cannot just will ourselves off the highway; we have to start turning the wheels in the right direction, or we will never get there. Studying Torah, practicing community, and visiting the Land of Israel are the things that will steer us the right way. We may have heard that there are bad things down that road, but it is the only one that will take us home. The details do not appear on the map until we get closer to each turn, but we must start disconnecting from things that want to keep us here, and start connecting with things that will take us there.
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CHAPTER 8
1. [7:26 in Hebrew] Then YHWH told Moshe, "Go to Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what YHWH says: "Send My people away, so that they may serve Me.
Send away: more than just “let My people go”, for if he left it to us, to our shame we probably would not have all left. Many of us had too much invested in Egypt. YHWH had said (Ex. 6:1) that Pharaoh would drive us out with a “strong hand”. The Hebrew denotes a “tightly-clenched” hand—i.e., He would be unwilling, preferring and trying to hold us back, yet would be forced to not just let us go, but give us a military escort out of his land, though not in the way anyone expected. Serve Me: instead of Pharaoh! This is the key. Pharaoh sees them as his slaves; what would be in it for him if he let them go? YHWH sees things differently. They are His people, accordingf to an agreement made long before this Pharaoh ever existed. (Even after He said the Northern Kingdom would no longer be His people, He said He would still bring us back after “putting us through hell”.) So the rivalry here reaches dramatic proportions. The Hebrew word used here for “send away” (shalakh) is used in Lev. 21:7. Numbers 30:0, and Deut. 24:1 specifically as term for divorce. They are to come out of Egypt so they can come into His Land—His household, as His bride. He is telling Pharaoh to divorce himself from them—to say not, “You can go, but be sure you come back”, but “I never want to see you again!” YHWH wants to take His bride camping! He is jealous of the Egypt that holds His people captive today as well. What keeps us attached to “Egypt”? A job? Citizenship in a particular nation that has low taxes? Church membership? Any of these can keep us from fully seeking the One to whom we belong. We need to consistently see ourselves as YHWH sees us—as belonging to Him. If we have reached the point where we are eager to leave the pagan system, what is our reason for wanting to leave? Because it gives you some emotional comfort? Because Hebraic dance makes us feel nice? Because community seems like a refuge if the system collapses? Because the family and authority structures that have been abandoned elsewhere are still intact and even increasing within Israelite community? Rebellion against some other authority? Just wanting to be different? These have all helped many people shake loose from Egypt, but even feeling a connection with the beautiful heritage He has given us is not the “why”. The only acceptable primary motive is that we want to please YHWH—to give Him what He asks for—not just to prove you know more than the pastor or rabbi! YHWH Ekhad can mean “YHWH is one”, but it must also mean “YHWH is number one”. He comes first. He does not want us “married” to anything that has more importance in our lives than He does. The context He wants us in is serving one another, not Pharaoh. We need to divorce Pharaoh, too—to “burn his dinner” and do other things that make him no longer find pleasure in us, so that when YHWH says it is time to leave, our bags are already packed.
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21. "‘And if you do not send My people off, look out! I am about to send swarms upon you, your slaves, and your people, and into your houses, and the houses of the Egyptians will be filled with swarming things, and also the ground which they are on."
Swarms: it does not specify what type of animals or insects this entailed, but its name means "mixture", "with constant or involved motion", or what “darkens” the ground. Josephus calls it "various sorts of pestilential creatures". The LXX says it was flies. At this specific time period in Egypt, the “order of the golden fly” was a much-coveted military decoration. The fly also graced the rods of the heads of Egypt’s armies. A golden chain with three pendants bearing the fly motif was found in the tomb of Queen Ahotep from 1550 B.C.E. The fly hieroglyph signified bravery. How does one beat a fly, especially if multiple flies are buzzing around you? They can drive you crasy without even hurting you in any way. Pharaoh’s armies had conquered the whole world like such a swarm; to hear of them would make anyone’s knees weak. So YHWH is symbolically turning Egypt’s own armies against it.
22. And in that day I will isolate the Land of Goshen on which My people are remaining, until no swarms will be there, in order that you [who are] in the midst of the land may acknowledge that I am YHWH [the One who exists]."
It appears that this is the first plague that did not affect that part of the land, possibly because the Israelites were not listening well enough before this, but possibly so that they could empathize with what the Egyptians were going through, and be willing to let some of the Egyptians join them in leaving the land, because YHWH shows Himself merciful to those who are merciful.
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CHAPTER 9
1. So YHWH said to Moshe, "Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘Thus says YHWH, the Elohim of the Hebrews: Let My people go, so that they may serve Me!
His message has not changed, nor has His reason. Is this the reason that we are coming out of today’s “Egypt”? Most of us start for other reasons, and many of those are pleasing to YHWH in certain seasons, but loving our Husband is always in season; if loving Him with all our heart, soul, and strength is not our motivation, we are driving on the wrong side of the road and will eventually run into something. We can learn to “switch lanes” and go in the right direction as we regularly and intentionally ask whether all that we have been doing is for the sake of pleasing Him. It is about the One who made us. This is the only road home. Those who have trouble learning this are usually those who end up going back to Egypt. If we do our part and get our motivation right but Pharaoh still does not do his part, YHWH will take care of hitting whatever stands in our way hard enough to make it want to release us. YHWH knew Pharaoh would not agree to obey; the first nine plagues were mainly to get Israel back to Goshen and ready to leave. The best way to show him where the exit is is to have our wheels turned toward it, because a wedding awaits us in the wilderness.
Commentary on
Parashat VaEra
Leaving Egypt:
It's Not Just
Up to Pharaoh
