This time the list is not a genealogy. But each one’s name is important, and that each name is present is important. It is preferable to have a great name (which often signifies reputation) than to be very wealthy. (Prov. 22:1; Qoheleth/Eccles. 7:1) Coming: a present participle, because the descendants of Israel have kept coming into “Egypt”—not always literally, but whenever we have resorted to nations or systems that parallel it in our search for security, we have been brought back into bondage over and over. It is noteworthy that even in their Egyptian slavery, the subjects of our story continued to give their children Hebrew names, not Egyptian ones, preserving their identity to some extent. This may be one reason they merited coming back out of captivity.

3. Yissachar, Z'vulun, and Binyamin,

4. Dan and Nafthali, Gad and Asher.

The sons of the two maidservants are listed last, for they carry the lowest rank, even though they were all born before the three listed in verse 3 as well as Yoseyf, for Leah and Rakhel were Yaaqov’s true wives, so their sons received higher priority. Yoseyf, of course, had the highest rank.

Seventy is the numerical value of the Hebrew word translated by the phrase “and as the sand” in YHWH’s promise to Avraham in Gen. 22:16. So long before their were myriads,when there were already just 70 descendants, Yaaqov was already fulfilling YHWH’s promise on one level. And in Yoseyf’s dream of Genesis 37:9ff, these eleven men were called “stars”, so this list of names alone fulfills on one level the promise that Avraham’s descendants would be like the stars of the heavens. Of course it has taken on much larger dimensions, to the point that today his descendants cannot be counted (in part because most do not remember that they are Avraham’s descendants). But as the numbers get larger, the people also tended to become harder for YHWH to work with. But if the sons other than Yoseyf fulfill this promise, Yoseyf’s descendants more specifically fulfill the promise that “in your seed all the nations be blessed (or grafted)” (Gen. 22:18), since his sons were to become “the fullness of the nations”. (Gen. 48:19) When Yoseyf walks in Torah, all nations benefit. And Yoseyf is the only one who asked his bones to be taken back out of Egypt. But the world system has “shot itself in the foot” by putting in place so many obstacles to Yoseyf’s returning to Torah, even directly opposing it and saying it is a curse. Our enemy is clever to hold back the people who are supposed to bring redemption by keeping us distracted with man-made religion. Deut. 32:7-8 tells us that YHWH divided the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the sons of Israel. Thus, in the table of nations (Genesis 10), there are 70 nations listed. When Yahshua sent out his disciples on two occasions, he sent 12 (representing the twelve tribes of Israel) the first time (Luk. 9:1) and 70 (representing all the nations of the world) the second (Luk. 10:1). 70 bulls are offered at the Temple during the feast of Sukkoth—one for each nation. (Num. 29:12-39) For this reason, it is called the Festival of the Nations.

[c. Year 2311 from creation/1689 B.C.E.]

6. Then Yoseyf died along with all his brothers and all of that generation.

After a brief reminder of where we came from, this generation is summarily dismissed, because Moshe, the author, wants to focus on those who are living. (Many were still living in his own day.) B’reyshith (Genesis) was written to show us who our fathers were and what they did; Exodus is about what we will do to continue walking out the promises He established in them. We now have many more names to add to the list of forerunners; it is commensurately more important that we consider what our part is in carrying forward the work they began. These people are gone; who is responsible to preserve what they learned? This is our inheritance, and Moshe will soon add more aspects to what it means. Why is Yoseyf singled out among all his generation for the mention of his death? Because since Re’uven tried to ascend to a position that belonged only to his father (much like HaSatan), Yoseyf (like Yahshua) was put in his place as the firstborn. He took care of his brothers, proving that he was worthy of the position, while Re’uven had even offered to let his father Yaaqov kill his own sons if he did not bring Binyamin back to him. R’euven tried to take his father’s place, but Yoseyf earned his position, and was made, instead, an extension of his father (as Yahshua was) as his second-born, Efrayim, later took on the name Israel (since his tribe led the kingdom that retained that name). He did not try to grasp for his position as his half-brother did, so he is “highly exalted and given the name above every name” (as with Yahshua in Philippians 2).

They were still identifiable as Hebrews, but were now mixed in among the general populace. Like the mustard plant in Yahshua's parable that grew so oversized that scavenger-birds began to infiltrate it (Matt. 13:31ff), the descendants of Israel grew wealthy and began to depart from their calling of looking after flocks; they outgrew Goshen, the temporary resting-place, and herdsmen were not welcome in other parts of Egypt, so they were not all shepherds anymore. The exodus is a call to return to being overseers of flocks so that we can be ready to leave together when the time is right. The burden is light when we do it together. Again we have grown numerous and strong, but by and large have no clue whose children we are or what our real responsibilities are, so what we fill are churches or polling-places rather than the camp of Israel. Something must separate us out again so that we do not become completely Egyptian, and here it is:

King: It does not say “a new Pharaoh”, implying that a new dynasty is beginning, not just a new generation. Rose: rather than inheriting the throne. In this way, he is like the beast that rises out of the sea. (Rev. 13:1; compare Daniel 7:5) The Pharaoh in Yoseyf's day was most likely one of the Hyksos, a Semitic group that took over Egypt for a time. We know from history that there was at least one Hyksos Pharaoh. A new dynasty of true Egyptians (Chamites) had taken over again by this time. But if Yoseyf had been seen as the savior of the whole world and was the very reason the rest of the Israelites were there, this Pharaoh would have to be willingly ignorant of his nation’s history. He did not want to honor someone from the past regime, which he now considered his enemies. Allegorically, the church, which, in its present form is not in true progression from the Apostles but from another usurper, has by and large lost its knowledge of being the lost sheep of the House of Israel (otherwise known as the House of Yoseyf), and so has suppressed some sons of Yaaqov and co-opted the others for its own goals. It has changed the message of the restoration from that of Israel to that of Rome or the whole world, and thus cannot see Yahshua in His true context. The rulers of today also do not know who Yoseyf is, but when his people grow large again, they will feel threatened, just as they have in regard to Yehudah in Spain, Germany, the Arab world, and now France, influencing others to become paranoid about them and therefore less hesitant to mistreat them:

10. "Come on! Let's be smart in our dealings with it, so [they] won't get so big that they can ally themselves with our enemies in case of a battle, and wage war against us, and go up out of the land."

Ally themselves: thus increasing the number of their enemies with a fifth column from within. The new king was probably afraid that a Hyksos invasion might recur, and decided to be politically prudent with the Semites, but in a somewhat subtle way: they kept them busy doing other things. Go up out of the land: While they felt threatened by them, they did not want to lose this large tax base, or have such a large neighboring people with no guaranteed loyalty, so they thought it best to hang onto these outsiders.

Part of the reason for this oppression was that Avraham asked for a sign that YHWH would really let his descendants inherit the Land. (Gen. 15:8) This was the sign YHWH responded with. Decrease their strength: or busy them, turning their attention to how they could be useful through civic duty. Israel has always been interested in the public welfare, and tradition says he called for volunteers, and since Yoseyf had built great storehouses, they thought this was worthy of their labor, and only then did he enlist the taskmasters. Pithom means “city of justice”—a seemingly worthwhile pursuit. He gave them something useful to do, a new trade to learn, and thus took their minds off who they really were—herdsmen, though Yaaqov had reminded them to always be known that way in Egypt. Now that the patriarchs were no longer there to teach them, they had forgotten they were in exile and gotten used to Egypt. Amusement is what people want now, and we forget that we have a role to fulfill and that our exile will soon come to an end. (For this reason, at Sinai, YHWH commanded Israelites to pass the knowledge of Himself on to each new generation.) It may be that they were replacing Yoseyf’s legacy to further erase his memory. Replacing our heritage keeps us from being Israel to the fullest extent. Today’s “neighborhoods” have replaced true communities, for people in them are no longer like-minded. Programs and the attaining of wealth through the new storehouses of individual retirement accounts and 401K plans are again obstructing Israel’s unification. Raamses: Some have decided that since this was the name of the city they were building, the Pharaoh in power at that time was Raamses (a king known from secular history). But this does not allow the Egyptian and Israelite chronologies to synchronize. The name Raamses was instead based on the name of the Egyptian sun-god, Ra (which means “evil” in Hebrew!). They were thus actually even building something dedicated to another deity, just as many Israelites still in the Church unwittingly serve the sun-god by honoring its day. Many had moved out of Goshen and settled in other parts of the land.

Pharaoh thought he would use up their strength through hard work so they would be too tired to sire more children—an Egyptian philosophy indeed, for Israel seems to perform best under strain. Only tremendous pressure brings out the purest oil in olives, and this is the only type of oil acceptable for use in the Temple. Yahshua says that when we lose our lives we will find them. When we put our energy into building His “city” (Rev. 21), everything else we need will be added to us as well. (Mat. 6:33) So rather than having less energy to procreate, they actually were strengthened by their hard work. There were still blessings and promises at work, but because Israel was mixed with the Egyptians, the fruitfulness was out of context, and therefore was seen as a negative thing by those around them, as it has throughout recent generations as well. Having many children is now seen as a liability, not an asset. For the fruitfulness to again be seen as a blessing, not a curse, we need to get back into the Biblical context defined for Israel.

14. And made their lives bitter with severe slave-labor in mortar and brick and all sorts of field work. All the servitude with which they enslaved them was with cruelty.

Mortar: literally, a pile of fermenting mire. A measurement with this same name (chomer) is equivalent to 50 sheqels, 100 times the value of the Temple tax for an individual and thus what a congregation (ten men) is a tithe of (Lev. 27:16). It is thus symbolic of the whole world, the “heap” from which YHWH calls His people out. It is also the root for the word that means “donkey”, which Avraham left behind when he ascended Mount Moryah. (Gen. 22) So it is hardly something Israelites should busy ourselves with. Brick: the word means “whiteness” and is based on Lavan’s name, so in both ways it represents the church, which presents itself as pure but is actually interested in our wealth, or the P’rushim (Pharisees), forerunners to rabbinic Judaism, whose focus was purity, but even this distracted them from other things important to YHWH. Field work: literally, service of the field, a term missionaries often use, but Yahshua says a field represents the world (Mat. 13:38). If we forget we are to be finding the lost sheep of the House of Israel, we are likely to end up molding our message around whichever “field” we are in. Though the intent may be to better communicate our message, the church has assimilated so well that it lost sight of most of its message. The problem was not that the Egyptians held slaves (for Israelites are permitted to do so), but the harshness with which they did so, especially since it was YHWH’s bride that was being abused.

Shifrah means "fair" (beautiful) and Puah means "splendid" (glittering), but its root meaning is “blast”. Since Shifrah’s name shares the same root with the shofar, so we could say a shofar and a blast delivered Israel.

Birthing stools: Possibly "supporting-stones" (Fox) of a dual nature; the same word as a "potter's wheel", on which clay vessels are made. Many times in Scripture human beings are called "vessels" for YHWH's service. (Yeshayahu 64:8; Yirmeyahu 18:1-6; Rom. 9:22-23; 2 Tim. 2:21)

They had more respect for YHWH than for Pharaoh.

19. But the midwives told Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian ones, but [they] are vigorous; before the midwife gets to them, they give birth."

20. For this reason Elohim treated the midwives with favor, and the people multiplied and became very numerous.

Numerous women in Scripture (Rahav, et al) were blessed for lying to save Israel, so we must surmise that though we are certainly to speak the truth to one another—those of the same flock (Yirm. 9:5)-- we need not do so to an enemy, as in the case of those who hid Jews from the Nazis. Paul’s statement about being subject to authorities was mainly in the context of non-Jews submitting to the rulers of the synagogues which they wished to attend in order to learn Torah.

Households: one of them seems to have become the ancestress of David, for Psalm 16:6 says, literally, “the lines have fallen to me in Shifrah” (pleasant places); i.e., her inheritance came down to him. In any case, we know their names over 3,600 years later! Some traditions say these midwives were Yokheved and Miryam, Moshe’s mother and sister. In that case, the household of Yokheved would include Aharon and Moshe. But we never even read of Miryam’s husband, let alone children. But there was another Miryam many years later (known more commonly by her foreign name Mary) from whom the Messiah and several other honored men were born. This is especially thought-provoking in light of the Jewish tradition that says this slaughter of the innocents was due to Pharaoh’s astrologers had foreseen that a deliverer was to be born for the Israelites. The story of King Herod and the Magi around the birth of Yahshua is a repetition of the same, especially since it is Egypt to which Yahshua’s parents are sent to keep him alive!

Now Pharaoh has made all Egyptians responsible to see that Israel does not thrive. When people walk in the ways of Egypt, whether they know it or not, they are working toward the destruction of Israel. But it does not actually specify “every Hebrew son”, for Pharaoh, not knowing from what quarter the deliverer would come, might have even preferred to be without any new Egyptian children for a few years than to have this deliverer survive. "The River": i.e., the Nile, which the Egyptians considered a god. Thus they did not say directly that they were to kill them, but rather that they should let the river-god decide who was worthy to survive. Its name was Hapi, and statues depict it as a breasted, pregnant male that guarded the source of the Nile. They thus saw a river now dedicated to death as a river giving life. But how many kill their children so they can be “happy” (blessed by this god)? Billions of dollars are spent in pursuit of this elusive emotion, but YHWH does not burden us with this goal. But if we seek His pleasure, we find joy and fulfillment. Y'chezqEl (Ezekiel) 29:3 tells us that Pharaoh considered himself to be still a greater god, who had created the Nile himself. Thus he could command the Nile to do the deciding. Many also dedicate their sons to a pagan elohim (God, which in Hebrew means “fortune”) using water, calling it baptism or christening, while YHWH’s ceremony for dedicating infants to the covenant is circumcision.

CHAPTER 2

[c. Year 2484 from creation; 1516 B.C.E.]

1. But a man from the house of Levi proceeded to marry a daughter of Levi,

Despite Pharaoh’s edict, they went ahead and procreated. 6:20 tells us that their names were Amram and Yokheved.

Well-tempered: or right, pleasing—actually a generic term for anything positive. Any mother would naturally think this about her child, so what would make him the exception? Since this is describing the author of this account, he understates the point, and does not specify what it was that was special about him. But Avraham must have passed down by tradition the revelation of how long it would be until his descendants returned to their Land. Did YHWH reveal to her that her son would be the one to bring this redemption? Concealed: or treasured him up. She risked the lives of her whole family by doing so. Three months: They reckoned time by lunar cycles, unlike the Egyptians who emphasized the sun. But this was also the amount of time the Ark of the Covenant was hidden as well (2 Shmuel 6:11). The Torah was in it, but first YHWH put it within Moshe; he was the “living ark” that came first.

She actually obeyed Pharaoh’s command to throw him into the river, but found a loophole with this ark. Just as she put him in the river but did not give him to the river, our children are unavoidably in the world, but are not turned over to it. Like this watertight vessel, the Torah is the “pitch” that we surround them with so that they will not be consumed. Why was she less able to hide him after three months? Newborns cry more than older infants. It may be to parallel Yahshua being "hidden" in the tomb for three days before he was raised up and "given to the Gentiles". This is the only place in Scripture that this type of "ark" appears except in the account of Noakh. Again it was a lifeboat that preserved his life, and again it was covered with pitch. It would not have looked like a basket, having black tar literally "heaped" on it. Another effect this would have would be to make it float better. As with Noakh's, it was closed by someone else who was on the outside. Papyrus reeds: Moshe, the writer of the Torah, started his adventure surrounded by "paper". The Hebrew word for papyrus is based on the word for "swallow", indicating that it is absorbent--i.e, able to bind well with the pitch (but also able to hold ink for long periods).

5. Then Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her female attendants were walking along the riverside. When she saw the ark among the rushes, she sent her attendant to capture it.

This was not just a random placement in the river. Indoor baths were already in use in Egypt among the royalty of this time, so this would have been a ritual bath, part of her worship of the river. The baby’s mother knew where the specific place set apart for such worship was, and that is exactly where she launched the “ark”. The word for riverside here is literally "hand". In v. 3, the “bank” of the Nile is literally the “lip”. So the river is described as having various body parts. Thus this strange egg-like object must have seemed like the river’s own offspring. Yokheved had probably heard the Egyptian myth of Isis hiding her son Horus in a reed boat in a papyrus thicket, and knew that this would present the princess with a compelling reason to spare this child.

There were people from all over the known world in Egypt at this time; how did she know he was Hebrew? Because he was circumcised. This set him apart as committed to the covenant. By tradition, the tribe of Levi had remained faithful to this command all the while, whether or not the others did. It may be that Yaaqov had already recognized that the priestly line would come from Levi, and the Pharaohs did not take away the land of priests (Gen. 47:22). They may not even have been enslaved, as seen by the fact that Moshe's brother Aharon was later able to travel freely, unlike other Israelites. And here we see this Hebrew girl free to come and go as she pleased, having access to Pharaoh’s daughter, no less, at what was undoubtedly a private beach. The princess, schooled in the ways of the Egyptians to consider the Nile a god, must have known there was something special about the child who "the river brought". The river, which had swallowed up many Hebrew boys' lives, appeared to have let this one live, and to have brought him back after a considerable length of time, as he was not newborn. In the Egyptians' eyes this “miracle” would give him an air of divinity, just as the other Gentile nations later attached haloes to their depictions of "saints". Anyone not of Hebrew education has generally perceived Yahshua as a second deity. Pharaoh was seen as a god, and his wife a fertility goddess, and now here is a third anomaly--something the river-god brought. They probably would have added him to their existing pantheon. There was indeed intervention from Elohim, not by the divinity they imagined —just as people today give credit for YHWH’s acts to “luck”.

Wet nurses would be plentiful, as there were many women who had given birth but were not able to nurse their sons who had been taken away to be killed. But how was Moshe’s mother able to sequester Moshe for so long? The Israelites, though suppressed, were not yet officially enslaved, as they had had Yoseyf’s special protection when all the Egyptians sold themselves to Pharaoh. They seem to even have agreed to be kept busy with civil duty, as seen in chapter 1. After “business hours”, they seem to have been free to have a normal home life. But according to tradition, the Levites were never in bondage to the same extent the rest of the Israelites were. They were even held in relatively high esteem by the Egyptians. If she were a slave, she would not have been paid to, as it turns out, raise her own son. If Yokheved was indeed the Shifrah of 1:15, she would have had access to the royal household because the midwives delivered both Egyptian and Hebrew babies. But by the same token, living so near the capital would make it harder to keep him hidden any longer than this.

Thus Moshe was taught the ways of YHWH from his earliest days. Young maiden: the same term used in the Messianic prophecy of Yeshayahu/Isa. 7:14, and the Messiah’s mother was also named Miryam.

The “wages” most important to her were to have her own son with her for such a long time!

In Hebrew Moshe means “drawn out”. Moshe would also himself draw the whole people of Israel out of Egypt through water! But we hear a similar word in Egyptian names like Thutmose, in which Pharaohs were often called the “son of” a particular deity. So in her language, she may have also been simply calling him “son”!

[c. Year 2524 from creation/1476 B.C.E.]

11. And during those days Moshe grew up. Then he went out to his relatives and saw their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man--[one] of his brothers.

Moshe could have given us every detail of his childhood in which he became “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22), but he does not even consider this to be worthy of mention. This is where the story that matters to him actually begins. Moshe grew in two stages, which parallel Yahshua's life. First he was raised to some level of readiness to go out among the Gentiles, having been in an Israelite house long enough to know right from wrong. Then he came to a greater level of maturity--just as Yahshua's "body" is being fully assembled. By this clear glimpse of the fact that the true Egyptian nature is to beat back and repress what is holy (the Hebrew), he is rudely brought back to his roots. He instantly distances himself with Egypt (if that is what it is really like), and identifies himself with the Hebrews:

It took place like this on the literal level, but the Hebrew wording—“no man”—also reminds us of Yaaqov's wrestling with "a man" yet being "alone". Though he was 40 years old, he still did not qualify to be called a "man”, since until now he was unsure of who he was. Was he an Egyptian or a Hebrew? The two were warring within him. He had to choose quickly, because his brother was about to die. So the Hebrew man rose up within him again and he “crossed over”, covering the Egyptian in himself with “sand”--an idiom for the descendants of Avraham (Gen. 22:17), with whom he now identifies, "immersing himself" as one of them. This also links us to Yeshayahu 59:16-- "And He [YHWH] saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his [own] Arm brought salvation unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him." This is spoken in context of the dispersed northern kingdom. The Arm of YHWH is an idiom for the Messiah (e.g., Yesh./Isa.51:9; 53:1). Moshe saw none of the Hebrews being a man and standing up for his fellow, so he, who was assumed to be an Egyptian, took matters into his own hands. Knowing that we are not Gentiles after all is a necessary step toward our becoming that "one new man" that Paul speaks of in Ephesians 2:15; 4:24; Colossians 3:10.

Weren’t the Egyptians harming us enough? Do we have to kill one another too? Metaphorically, even after we recognize that we are of the commonwealth of Israel and not Gentiles, we still have to decide what kind of Hebrew we are going to be. Many fall by the wayside by thinking they must convert to Judaism, and the price they pay is to forsake the Messiah. Though we recognize we have to leave the man-made hybrid of a church, we each also have to choose to be an Israelite for the sake of the flock, not just unto ourselves. Guilty: literally, evil. Even among the Hebrews, there is an evil one-- our own internal inclination to do evil. Yochanan speaks of it as the "flesh", which is a separate enemy from "the world" (Egypt) or the devil (Pharaoh). Moshe still had to confront this side of himself after he put to death the "Egyptian" in him. There is also the question of why one house of Israel (Yoseyf) should still be at enmity with the other (Yehudah).

The guilty always respond with, “Who are you to judge me?” The Israelites only saw him as an Egyptian prince, and though they had become Egyptianized in many ways, they still recognized that they were separate and not to be treated lightly by anyone who was not a Hebrew. Who was he to tell them anything? 40 years later, he would be able to tell them it was YHWH that had made him their judge. But how did this man know Moshe had killed the Egyptian? Either he was the man whose life Moshe had saved—an abused man who had entered into the pattern of abusing others (compare Mat. 18:23-34)—or the one he rescued had told him who had done it. Rabbi Levi Meir (Chaplain at Cedar Sinai Hospital) calls this “the curse of ingratitude”. All of Egypt had been grateful to Yoseyf, but now they thought they no longer needed his descendants, and turned on them. Now that this man had spoken aloud, everyone knew what Moshe had done, and he was exposed as truly being a Hebrew. When we start walking openly in the Torah, some people become frightened, others angry, but some follow our lead.

Now he was a threat to the Egyptians and was driven out; will the same thing take place in the Gentile world as Yahshua’s "Hebrewness" is recognized more and more? Though he knew who he was, he was not able to enter fellowship with other Hebrews, and so he entered the land of Midyan, which means “strife”. Whether in a traditional church or synagogue, or out on your own with no authority over you, strife will be the inevitable result if you are not in a community with other Israelites. Sat down by a well: the best thing for any Hebrew to do, because the word for “well” means “a place of clarification or explanation”. Anyone dwelling in the land of strife needs clear vision. But this would lead him to the life of a shepherd, and he would indeed understand why he had acted as he did on behalf of his brothers. Midyan is in northwestern Saudi Arabia along the northeastern shore of the Red Sea--still excellent pastureland although there is nothing but desert beyond the mountains behind it. Sha'ul (Paul) also went into Arabia right after he learned how the Messiah made a difference in what type of Hebrew he was meant to be. (Galatians 1)

Priest: Aramaic, "chief". So many things in Scripture take place at wells, most notably the discovery of wives. Yitzhaq (by proxy) and Yaaqov also found their wives at wells, and even the Messiah met a woman who would become part of his "bride" and who would bear many spiritual children for him by her witness to those in her community. And in a sense he was the seventh man for her, who had already had five husbands and now had a man who was not her husband. (Yochanan 4:6) One of the seven women here would become Moshe's wife. "Seven" is sheva' in Hebrew, and well is Be'er. Be'er-Sheva' was a place where YHWH had met all three of the patriarchs, and though this is not literally the same place, the linguistic connection shows us that he is now getting in touch with his true roots and again worthy to drink pure water from the well where YHWH's name was revealed to them. After this time in the desert--a place of growth and strengthening--this "ex-Egyptian" is met by the One who reveals Himself by this name (3:15).

They wanted to be the first to have access to the clear water; after they were finished, it would be stirred up and muddied, and the next to come would have had to wait until it settled down again. This connects us to the passages about the evil shepherds [ominously, the word "pastor" means “shepherd”] who also made the water (a common idiom for the word of YHWH) inaccessible to the sheep, or muddied it with their feet—a Hebraic idiom for their own substitute holy days. (Yeshayahu 56:11; Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 50:6; Yehezqel/ Ezekiel 34) Rose up and freed them: a classic picture of Yahshua, the “prophet like Moshe”, whose very name shares its root with the word here for "freed". He delivered us by rising up. (I Corinthians 15) But his forefathers were shepherds, so it is in his blood to be one also, and this latent characteristic is now coming out.

Re'u-El means: " Elohim’s companion"—or one from Elohim’s flock. (Compare v. 13.)

The parallels with Yahshua continue, yet still, although the Egyptian has been wrested from his heart, in outward appearance he remains Gentile. Besides, he still speaks Egyptian, and thus this is the immediate impression. Yahshua's "body", now being called out from among the Gentiles, is still not recognized as having Hebraic ancestry by the other descendants of Avraham.

21. And Moshe agreed to dwell with the man, and he gave her his daughter Tsipporah [as a wife],

Agreed: was willing or content to settle there. Why so quickly? As he saw their flocks, he knew he was coming back to the heritage of his ancestors. Also, bread symbolizes community. (1 Cor. 10:17) And the Midyanites were, after all, direct descendants of Avraham as well through his third wife, Q'turah. Furthermore, by tradition, Re’u-El had, like Avraham, recognized that idols had no real power, and thus was also a “Hebrew” (one who crosses over). Thus he was a worthy host for Moshe. (Mat. 10:11) But the rest of his people would not follow him in this belief, and de-frocked him from his position as priest, forbidding anyone from even working for him. Thus his daughters had to be the ones who tended his sheep. Tsipporah means "a small bird", possibly a sparrow.

Gershom means "foreigner", “refugee”, “one driven out”, or "exile there". Have been: past tense. He considered Egypt a place of exile, but now he had a family. Yoseyf expressed similar feelings when he named his first son.

The king: An extant text purporting to be the “Book of Yasher” calls this Pharaoh Melol, and the son who reigned in his stead Adikam. Others think he was Seti I. Dr. Lennart Möller believes the incoming Pharaoh was Amenhotep III, also known as Thutmosis IV, father of the well-known Tutankhamon, whose untimely death as a teenager may relate very closely to the events in this book. Since Egypt was the most powerful nation in the world, the news of Pharaoh’s death would have certainly been heard in Midyan. Reached: literally, "arose" or "ascended to". It seems to have had to reach a certain threshold. Why could they not be heard until the king died? The king’s death might have necessitated finishing his tomb quickly, within the 40 days it took to embalm him. This would have increased their work load, since the new king did not appreciate the help the Israelites had been giving his father, and treated them as chattel. Or, with a new Pharaoh, they may have had to start from scratch with a new tomb, since Pharaohs often spent their whole lifetimes preparing their tombs. Often YHWH is the last one we think about until there is adversity, and even then we try to exhaust other solutions first. But adversity brings unity, for we have a common enemy. Now they finally realized they were actually in slavery. But it is pressure that changes nearly-worthless coal into diamonds that can withstand even fire—the kind of people YHWH wanted to make Israel. Later an involuntary manslayer could not safely leave a city of refuge until the high priest died. Similarly, the king’s death would allow Moshe to return to the land where the late king had been trying to kill him. Yahshua also said the strong man could not be plundered until he was bound. (Mat. 12:29) YHWH was about to do just that. Yet they were not crying out specifically to YHWH. They were surrounded by many deities in Egypt, but YHWH chose to pay them attention anyway because Moshe had chosen to cross over.

25. And Elohim considered the descendants of Israel, and Elohim acknowledged.

Or, "Elohim saw...and knew (intimately)" or "took note". Why had He not recognized them earlier? Because many had moved away from Goshen, and they were no longer unified. We have to be gathered before YHWH can be in our midst. YHWH does not recognize us strictly as individuals, though He noticed the efforts of one man who stood up for the sake of his brothers. But now they are all again doing the same thing—even if it is just groaning. They have something in common again, and this is better than nothing, even if it takes life becoming harsh. This may have pushed them to reassemble in this fertile region, and their deliverer could deliver them as an actual separate community, not just scattered laborers mixed in among the Egyptians. Yahshua defines who our brothers and sisters are by our actions; they are those who do YHWH’s will. May what unites us for the greater Exodus to come not be groaning, but the carrying out of Torah and the pursuit of His Kingdom.

CHAPTER 3

1. When Moshe was tending the flock of Yithro, his in-law, priest of Midyan, he guided the flock to the far side of the pastureland, and came upon the mountain of Elohim at Chorev.

Pastureland, or wilderness, literally means "place of a word". Yet the root for “word” in Hebrew is also “a place to feed the sheep”. According to Israeli botanical expert Nogah Hareuveni, it can mean any kind of uncultivated land, ranging from a thicket to a scrub desert, but in any of these cases it can denote a place to pasture flocks. “Far side”: Heb., akhar, a word that Greek logic has a hard time wrapping itself around. It can mean”behind”, but it can also mean “later time”. This one word sums up Qoheleth/Eccles. 1:9, which tells us that “what has been is what will be.” In other words, time is a spiral, not just a straight line or just a circle. YHWH would indeed later speak His words to Israel at this same mountain. Yithro’s name means “his excellency”, and is therefore a picture of YHWH here (as indeed he provided Moshe with shelter, a wife, and favor because of his actions on behalf of his children, and would later tell him the wisest course of action to take in leading Israel). The fact that Moshe was pasturing his flocks is another reason Elohim took note of Israel’s outcry, because He often acknowledges Israel by its leaders (v. 6), and often judged the whole nation because of what its king was doing wrong. (Later He promised to simply change its leadership, as in Yehezqel 34.) The rest of Israel was occupied with Egypt’s building program, but Moshe was concerned with taking the sheep of “His Excellency” to the place of the word—i.e., he was their teacher. A midrash about Moshe leaving his entire flock to go look for one lost animal forms the background for Yahshua’s parable in Luqa 15:4. Once this juxtaposition of facts coincided, a “combination” was worked in the heavenlies to unlock Israel’s redemption. Like David’s youth, Moshe’s 40 years in the wilderness (which symbolize a transitional period) trained him to be the "shepherd" of a stiff-necked people. In-law: literally, the one making him a bridegroom”. Yithro is probably another name or title for Re’u-El, as he is called “priest of Midyan” in 2: 16, but possibly the nephew or brother of Re'uel. Mountain of Elohim: probably originally an idiom simply meaning the most outstanding mountain in the area. But YHWH would indeed give new meaning to this description, as it would become a mountain He would use over and over for very special purposes. Chorev means dried-up or scorched. Later fire would indeed scorch its top,as another name for it is Sinai. (v. 12) Paul tells us this mountain is in Arabia (Galatians 4:25), so the traditional site in the Sinai Peninsula is not the correct one; Moshe would have been unlikely to lead his flock some 150 miles away from Midyan to pasture them. It is more likely Jabal al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia, very close to Midyan, and whose top is blackened by fire, but it is not volcanic. This was a desolate wasteland—not the type of place one would expect to find the “mountain of Elohim”, but YHWH often chooses to meet us in the places we least expect to find Him. When we get to places that are all roses and no thorns, we soon forget that these are not entitlements that we deserve, but special blessings from YHWH. Yahshua said, based on Mikha 7:6-15 (which also alludes to His shepherding and the Exodus), that He came to make things worse so that he could set in motion the only way they can get better rather than just staying the same, which is substandard. So do not expect to come to Torah without things being shaken up—but trust the Shepherd; He is the constant that can accomplish His will.

The word for "thornbush" (sneh) is related to the name Sinai, which was probably so named because of this event. A place of thorns and fire is often the setting YHWH chooses by which to execute Israel’s deliverance. The trial of faith by fire only consumes the impurities in us. (1 Kefa/Peter 1:7)

Phenomenon: Moshe had spent 40 years in this region and would be familiar with anything common there. So he asked why it was this way—so often the first step away from acceptance of the way things are to the better path. We have had to ask why the Church was not doing things that were in Scripture, but was doing things that were not—and it was a major step toward our deliverance as well. Physically, this could have been a mirage, in which light waves refract from another actual physical spot on earth and show a "live image" of what is really going on elsewhere; they are not a figment of the imagination of the viewer (Hareuveni). Moshe was told not to come closer (v. 5), and indeed one must maintain a certain distance to see a mirage. Whatever physical mechanism was used to present this appearance, the strength of miracles is often in their timing. YHWH's call to Moshe here was a very literal event, and an important one to the history of our redemption. The word for phenomenon is often rendered “vision”, and indeed we are told of another vision involving the Messenger of YHWH (Yahshua) and Moshe in Matithyahu 17. But since YHWH is not bound by time as we see it, the two may be the same event. The fact that Eliyahu, who represents all the prophets and who also appears in this vision, is also spoken to by the Word of YHWH (a title for Yahshua, Yochanan 1:1) after encountering a fire at Mt. Chorev (1 Kings 19:7ff) upholds this theory. Both of them wrapped their faces in their cloaks (see v. 6 below) in response, and the three of Yahshua’s students who will make the most impact in restoring the Kingdom to Israel are in on the vision during the festival of Sukkoth, when it is traditional to invite Moshe and Eliyahu as guests in one’s sukkah (temporary booth). Mt. Moryah, like Chorev, is also called “the mountain of Elohim” (or “of YHWH”), and that is where all the patriarchs encountered Him. The two are thus connected, though in different places geographically. And here He connected these prominent Israelites with what He was doing in the earth.

Note that YHWH notices, but Elohim speaks. The compassionate One has seen His people’s plight, but He speaks as the Judge, because He is testing Moshe, and by leaving the sheep and possibly other shepherds behind and being the only one to leave his normal path, he passed the test. He probably called him in a whisper, but he was not just in the right place, but had the right answer as well: “Here I am!” or "Look at me!" The Hebrew word hineni includes the sense of being fully present and ready to hear instructions. YHWH has new things to show us, and we have to get out of our ruts in order to see them. The Sabbath helps jar us out of our routines in this way, so that we will pay attention to what He is saying right now, so that we can do something that will enable us to know Him better still. We must examine our lives to see if they line up with what is in His word, for what took place there is meant to take place again in us. Moshe asked for a job to do. He knew that whatever was going on here was awesome, and wanted to be part of it, though he had no idea where it would take him. That is what made Moshe, David, and Yahshua great.

This place also included the path YHWH was about to set him on, for it too was set apart. We are such a tenderized people that we can hardly walk across a field barefoot anymore, but we cannot expect to keep anything between ourselves and what He wants to do in us. We need to fully experience the Torah path rather than keeping a “force field” that insulates us from confrontation or correction. We must not form a shell to shield ourselves from YHWH, but be vulnerable to whatever the path holds and . Mystical Judaism says that what is here in the midst of the bush is the sefirotic tree (ten attributes by which YHWH's nature is expressed), also called the Tree of Life and the "ancient Adam". This "tree" is also called a "stairway" (sulam), which in Hebrew has the same numeric value as "Sinai", so there is a connection between this place and the Temple Mount (Moryah), on which Yaaqov saw his vision of the stairway to heaven. way he is walking in the footsteps of Yaaqov, and now Yaaqov's name is added to the list of those with whom YHWH is personally associated. Paul calls Yahshua the "last Adam", or rather the Head of which we are parts of the body as we are being built up into one new man (adam in Hebrew) and one complete Temple. As Adam and Chavvah walked barefoot in the Garden of Eden, which was later walled off as holy ground, like the Temple, Moshe is brought a short respite from his exile and allowed to step in and again hear the voice that spoke there in the cool (literally "breeze" or "spirit") of the day. He is barefoot so he will have direct contact with the sand--symbol of the descendants of Avraham. Priests also went barefoot in the Temple, where YHWH's presence was also revealed by fire.

He apparently had been taught enough by his parents before Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him that he recognized these names and knew enough to fear YHWH.

Its outcry: the whole "people" is acting as one man. While Moshe covered his eyes, YHWH’s eyes were uncovered toward His people. But when He counted them up, He came up one short. But the missing man was was not dead, for he was still on YHWH’s “list”. He found him out here grazing flocks instead of building Pharaoh’s cities. That was enough to make him the one He chose. Indeed heard: or, listened with interest. Acquainted with its sorrows: very similar to the phrase in Yeshayahu 53 in which the Suffering Servant is a "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief [or disease]". For this reason all judgment is given to the Son, because he is the son of mankind (Yochanan 5:27) and can identify with our afflictions and can judge with the appropriate restraint.

Snatch them out: This is the Hebrew word for the "catching away" in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, in which a trumpet figures prominently in the scenario. The 18 benedictions in the traditional shakharit morning prayers include a request to “sound the great shofar for our freedom… to gather our exiles from the four corners of the earth”. The Exodus is a picture of a greater one to come in which multitudes of Israelites will be brought back to their Land not just from one place but from every nation on earth. (Yirmeyahu/Jer. 16:14-15; 23:7ff) YHWH also says He will come down, which for us He has done through the one who bears His image--Yahshua, who spoke of having "come down from heaven" (Yochanan 6:33-58) to take us out of the clutches of paganism (symbolized by Egypt). Roomy: the opposite of the Hebrew word for "oppressed". The place of: includes the sense of displacing them. These six peoples maintained the Land for the sake of a seventh (Deut. 7:22), Israel, just as the other six days exist for the sake of the Sabbath. The Sabbath liturgical song, L'cha Dodi, speaks of the Sabbath being "last in creation, but first in [YHWH's] intent." Gushing with milk and honey: This bespeaks a wild, untended land that has to be cleaned up to be cultivated, in addition to describing it as a land of plenty. The paganism of these peoples also had to be cleared from the Land.

Though YHWH knows everything and "collects every tear", there is some sense in which a critical mass of cries and prayers motivates him to act. Even Yahshua told a parable of a woman whose importunity finally got her what she wanted from an indifferent judge, and he tells us that YHWH is not so indifferent. Yet collective prayer and the intensity of our cry does seem to make some sort of waves in the spiritual realm and move His heart to act.

Go: literally, walk. This all sounded wonderful, but here was where the rubber met the road. YHWH said He would deliver Israel, yet said Moshe must do so. He will be the way in which YHWH keeps His promise. YHWH would certainly work through him, but he had to start walking. His miraculous deliverance would be accomplished only when Moshe acted, and so it will be for us. This is the simple meaning of “the word being made flesh”.

12. So He said, "Because I will be with you, and this will be the proof to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you will serve Elohim on this mountain."

This is His answer to Moshe’s realistic response. Yes, what he is being asked to do is impossible! Couldn’t he start with something smaller first to “get his feet wet”? Yet he will indeed confront the most powerful man in the world at that time, ask to take all his slaves somewhere, not to mention all his people’s wealth (v. 22)! He is the one who is available, and the only one of His people that YHWH found still shepherding a flock, so that is who He chooses. What matters is who YHWH is and what He can do. When He says He is going with someone, He is out front, for He is not following us! It is also impossible to reunite all Israel and have a kingdom based in Yerushalayim. But we must trust YHWH, and act. He already sees it as done, for He says “when”, not “if”. We have to see ourselves as there, and we will get there when we obey. The proof will not be evidenced until after Moshe does what YHWH says. “An evil generation looks for a sign.” He has to trust YHWH and act before the reassurance will come.

He has a “problem for every answer”. He is trying to find a way out of this job. The last time he had seen these people, they asked him who made him their ruler. His name: being raised in Egypt, he knew that one’s name also represented his attributes and strengths. Was He like Ra? Horus? Hapi? Was He a sun god? A river god? A storm god? Like Yaaqov, he somehow thought knowing the name of this Intruder was important and would validate his message for his people.

I will be: the same word in the phrase,"I will be with you" in v. 12. This description of Himself is in the imperfect tense, which can also mean, “I will continue to be what I [customarily] am”, or “I can be whatever I need to be”. It is a name that looks forward, and would give Israel hope of leaving their place of bondage, and a name that shows that He is not boxed in by the whim of some priest like the Egyptian gods, which can only control one aspect of reality, and can make incursions into other territories to remove His people. He is not restricted to any one of these things, but can be whatever His people may need Him to be. He will control the river, the wildlife, the sun—whatever He needs to. Wherever they go, He will have arrived before them.

The name “I will be” reveals that His attributes are limitless, but the name by which He wants to be addressed is YHWH. His name appears to be the composite of HaYaH (He was), Howeh (He is), and Yihyeh (He will be). Thus the best translation, if such is necessary, would be "the Eternal One". What He has been and what He has promised to be, He already is, even if we only see it on a small scale. So we need to get on board what He is doing so that we can experience all that He can be. By revealing His Name, Israel would recognize that although Moshe looked foreign, he was telling the truth, because though most of their heritage was suppressed by Egypt, they still remembered His Name. Brought to mind continuously: or remembered from generation to generation. Nehemia Gordon, an expert in ancient Biblical languages, also notes that this phrase has a broader meaning of which remembering is only one form; it means to make mention (as in 23:13) or refer to, so it is clearly indicating that we should use His actual Name, not substitutes. Forever: not until rabbinic injunction forbids its use or until foreign, paga names are substituted for it. Many generations have forgotten His Name, so we have much ground to make up in restoring it, but His true Name is again a major credential in whom we should listen to. The dispersed tribes of Israel also responded to Yahshua because, though they had isolated themselves from YHWH, He proved to have remembered us. And it is the knowledge of His true Name which is finally delivering us completely from "Egypt". Tsefanyah 3:9 also tells us that the reason He will one day restore all peoples to one pure language (the reversal of Bavel) is so that they can all call on His Name and serve Him in unity. As long as we do not, every word is tainted by paganism, especially the names we have used for Him previously. The name “I will be” (Ehyeh) in verse 14 has the numeric value of 21 in Hebrew, the same as the total of the first letter of each of the names of these three patriarchs. YHWH is saying that He will be all that He was to these men. Moshe’s people have already experienced what He can do, and this would tell them they could trust Him, though He was not yet telling them any of the details of what He would do.

Gather the elders: before the rest of the nation can move, the leaders must be in unity. This corresponds with the altar of uncut stones being built before the Temple itself is begun. The morning prayers repeat daily the request to “restore our judges as at the first”, and in this order YHWH will build His nation once again. The rabbis say there was a teaching among the Israelite slaves that the one who would come to deliver them would know His name. Most had forgotten it, but the elders were the ones who would understand. They say there was a “Book of Life” passed down all the way from Adam to the greatest student of each generation, and that this knowledge had been preserved by a few despite the slavery. He did not have to deal with every one of the people, as Yithro would later counsel him. Not everyone had a say, despite the ideas of modern democracy. If he went through the proper channels, those who were prepared to recognize YHWH’s Name would.

18. "‘"And they will listen to your voice, and you shall come (you along with the elders of Israel) unto the king of Egypt, and tell him, ‘YHWH, the Elohim of the Hebrews, has met up with us. So now, please let us go three days' journey into the uncultivated land, so we may [make a] slaughter to YHWH our Elohim.'"'

Listen to: the word includes the fact that they obeyed. Hebrews: descendants of Ever, but the word itself means "crossers-over". Met up: the term gives the sense of something unexpected. Three days' journey: far enough from the Egyptians to slaughter animals which were considered an abomination to the Egyptians. We also cannot properly keep His festivals (which they asked to do, 5:1) properly while we are still in Egypt. The institutional church does not allow us to observe His sabbaths, and if it allows Passover, it still retains other pagan holidays--an unacceptable admixture. But notice that they were not to tell Pharaoh anything about what He had revealed in verse 17. This was all he needed to know, and YHWH would make sure that after three days, they no longer had any responsibility to answer to Pharaoh. But we should not tell him that!

Not even by a strong hand: or, "except under compulsion". Pharaoh would not afford Him even this little bit of honor, but this is just the beginning of how YHWH is setting him up to feel the full force of what he deserved because he was, like his predecessor (Gen. ), holding YHWH’s “wife” captive in his “great house”. Now the Lover is going after His bride, and the rival will have to pay for what he has done! When he has felt the pain well enough, YHWH will let him let her go.

My hand: a common Messianic title. Extraordinary deeds: "wonders" beyond the king's power to match. This relates to the word by which Yahshua is described in Judges 3:18 and Yeshayahu 9:7. He is the one who fights the gods of Egypt, including the images of today’s “Egypt” by which He Himself is distored into a Greek “Christ” with a true revelation of who He is—a Hebrew who is customarily in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16), upholds the Torah, had a kosher beard, wore tzitziyoth, etc. We need to portray the same in our lives. Give a push: or strike.

22. "but each woman must ask [to borrow] from her neighbor and from the one seeking hospitality in her house articles of silver, articles of gold, and garments, and you shall put them on your sons and daughters; thus you will plunder Egypt."

Plunder: YHWH had promised this to Avraham (Gen. 15:14) and to Yaaqov (45:20). It is based on the word for "snatch away to safety", so in some sense through the removal of these things, at least some aspects of Egypt as well would be redeemed. (Compare Zech. 14:18; Yeshayahu/Isa. 19:19-25) The term is also often used for “taking a bride”, and she would be adorned as one. The women could borrow earrings, necklaces, etc., in a way that men would not be likely to. From these precious metals and garments, the implements for the tabernacle would be made. Israel would not otherwise have supplies of cotten or dye with them in the wilderness, so these garments would have to be unraveled to get threads to make the Tabernacle's coverings, and the probably-idolatrous objects melted down. The materials were usable once purified, but they could not be used in their present form. They had to be re-woven into something that could cover (“atone for") a whole people, not just one person. This “plunder” also includes the people from Egypt who would join them. Through the Temple, Efrayim is also removed from the paganized church (Y'chezqel/Ezek. 43), and thus inherit the remnant of Edom, so other nations can be called by YHWH's Name. (Amos 9:12)

CHAPTER 4

Moshe has responded properly up to this point. He has proven to be a man of fortitude, conviction, and willingness to learn. But before this he has not been exposed to YHWH, so he has not yet developed confidence in Him—or at least in what He can do through him. He needs to believe he is capable of doing his part. But the only way to develop this kind of faith is to enter into the action to which He calls us. I.e., “faith with works”. (Yaaqov/James 2:24) Only then can we see Him prove His trustworthiness. If you are not sure it is YHWH you are hearing from, we have more ways to check than Moshe did: the Torah, the prophets, and the community of believers, especially elders who hold proper authority.

Like "Adam, where are you?", this question was not for His own information, but to get Moshe to focus on what he already did have as opposed to what he did not. It was no coincidence that he held a rod in his hand. A shepherd's rod usually had events from his whole life carved into it (his encounters with danger, his victories, the significant events), so his rod represented his identity. To answer his own question, he needed to look at his own past—his own training as both a leader and a keeper of flocks, and realize that he was indeed specially groomed for this task. "Rod" also means a "tribe", and YHWH indeed had put the tribes of Israel into Moshe’s hand to shepherd. A rod is the symbol of power and rulership, for, just as with the sheep, it is used to inflict pain, whether on rebellious sheep or those that come against the flock from outside. A king and a shepherd are usually on opposite ends of the social scale, but they both carry the same tool. If the people did not believe him, he could pull it out! Hebrew is an action-based language. The root meaning of the word for rod (matteh) is “to stretch out”. If it is not used in this way, it is not a rod, but just firewood. The same is true of anything YHWH has entrusted to us: if we do not live as Hebrews, we really are not, no matter what our genetic history. What is in your hand? Is what you are grasping something useless? If not, are you using it rightly—that is, for His Kingdom? Or are His gifts themselves the focus?

On one level, YHWH is telling Moshe to put the rod away from himself so he can see the tool He has given him objectively: it is for the sake of the whole nation of Israel. On another level, this is the same word for “snake” as is used for the serpent that appeared to Chawwah in the Garden of Eden. This is what his own life is revealed to be, if he lets the authority that YHWH has given him drop, as he is trying hard to do at this point. Everything would get out of control. His training would all be wasted, dissipated into a wild (undisciplined, unfocused, self-serving) life. About the only benefit a snake is seen as having is that it gets rid of rats! A snake’s brain is the size of a pea, so it can only react; it cannot be trained, according to experts. It does not even have the knowledge of a dog. He would become one that only devoured and gave nothing back. And worse, he would prove a danger to YHWH’s people—even if only because they would now have no deliverer, and would remain in bondage and probably be killed off. This is true of any of us, but especially those to whom He has given great gifts. Moshe’s evil inclination was now exposed, and he could not bear to face it: “That can’t be me!” He was mature and past the more obvious sins, so his evil side was camouflaged behind supposedly noble or innocent intentions (such as the false humility he displays below).

This is the Kingdom’s call: take the serpent by the tail. Usually one would try to grasp a snake just behind its head so it could not bite him. If anyone takes it by the tail, it is usually to whip it and break its spine so it is no longer a threat. But YHWH tells us not to run from the challenges when things get out of hand, but embrace them. Later we will see that Moshe indeed learned to do this. There is treasure in the trials. Things that seem painful build us into the kind of people we need to be. Even when they get the best of us, we can kearn from them, for we will hjave experience that we would not later want to have missed. The way to overcome the evil inclination is to come to “grips” with it, to identify where the real enemy is so it does not have the advantage of being an enemy we don’t know about or cannot locate, and to get in “touch” with it. “Hand” is one of the titles of Messiah. Thus YHWH is telling Moshe to seize control of his evil inclination through the Messiah’s power and not be satisfied to leave it in the serpent's. He is supposed to become part of the restoration of Adam instead. (v. 11) “Rod” can also mean "branch", which is another title of the Messiah, and this was whom Moshe’s actions were to foreshadow. Yahshua will conquer the serpent (Gen. 3:15) by the rod of iron (Rev. 2:27)—His exercise of the authority of the Torah (Moshe), and when his 6,000-year rule is turned over to Yahshua, haSatan will have no influence. Nachash (serpent) and Mashiach (Messiah) have the same numeric value in Hebrew. Thus the same thing can either be a “hissing” to us or our “anointing”. They are in one sense the “light and dark sides” of the same energy, since YHWH makes all things work together to benefit those who love Him. Both are called the “morning star”. The one with the first right of redemption became a rival in the story of Ruth, because he was unworthy. Yet serpents were sent to drive Israel to repentance. (Num. 21) We can react to the evil inclination or we can act along with it. When a temptation raises within us some evil motivation, we need to ask why it is there, learn from it, and let it unravel the puzzle of our hearts. (Yirm. 17:9) Anger in itself is neutral, and we need to get it by the tail and remind ourselves that we are supposed to be a rod, not a snake. The New Age examines self and considers everything equal in order to uphold self; we are to examine the depths of ourselves in order to subordinate self to the interests of the whole of Israel. Throw it on the ground: the phrase can also mean “send it to the earth”. Yahshua became distorted into the antinomian “Jesus” when sent out of Moshe’s jurisdiction to the rest of the world, and thus ended up in the position of one of YHWH’s rivals. Once back in the hand of Moshe (kept within the right boundaries by the Torah), he is again back in the right context as Yahshua again, and thus is once again unmistakably on YHWH’s side. (cf. 1 Cor. 15:24)

Why would this prove anything to them? Because the imagery of the serpent as enemy went all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and Israel was the remedy YHWH provided to counteract the curse. The Pharaohs also used a snake as their symbol, so to them this would also represent the subduing of Egypt. But mentioning the patriarchs would also clue them in to the hope of returning to their Land, because Avraham, Yitzhaq, and Yaaqov themselves were promised the Land as well as their descendants. To receive it they had to be resurrected. As Yahshua pointed out, YHWH is not the Elohim of the dead, but of the living. (Mat. 22:32) The people of Israel, who had the deed to the Land, therefore also had to be resurrected. The next sign only reinforces this:

In some ways a leper is like a dead body--not to be touched. His hand represents his works. Bosom means "the hollow" or "within an enclosure", as if he were reaching inside his body to touch his own heart. (This was to be a miracuilous sign, not just a foreshadowing of Napoleon!) He is testing his own heart—and theirs. By himself, he could only produce “dead works". The most notable other usage of “bosom” in Scripture is “Avraham’s bosom”, which is an idiom for the grave of the righteous. The word for “snow” is also used of the (white) bones of the slain when spread out (Ps. 68:14), and is thus can also be indicative of death. It is a picture of selfishness.

When one is inclined to his own heart, the flesh is corrupted. This is where we are. But when we immerse ourselves in the “heart of Moshe”—the Torah—we will be healed. When our heart is inclined to YHWH, we will be made pure again, and when made to serve the interests of His community instead, even our flesh is made whole and useful again. Like his flesh: This also reminds us of Chawwah, whom Adam said was “flesh of his flesh”. The hand represents Messiah, and the bosom is associated with Avraham, so this is also a prophecy that when Yahshua is put back into the context of Avraham (i.e., being the Hebrew that he is), a bride who is like him (and ultimately the New Unified Man who is like Adam originally was) can finally be brought about. This is a picture of resurrection, and foreshadows Thoma’s doubt being assuaged by placing his hand inside Yahshua’s “bosom”.

The way one proves his authority to Israel is by his fruit. Voice: message or witness. The signs themselves speak! They are not just a novelty to amaze us or pique our curiosity, but so we will hear what YHWH is saying. The small wonders in our lives may be nothing more than His way of saying, “I love you and want you to come closer to Me”, but even that—or especially that—is worthy of our attention. Even the word for snake means "one that whispers". If the testimony of the evil inclination does not show us our need for deliverance, the proof of the resurrection should. His leprous hand being restored also symbolized the fact that the nation of Israel was about to be resurrected from the "dead". Our Exodus (Yirmeyahu 16:14-15) will do the same.

YHWH is offering Moshe the first solution to the lack he feels: He is training him to overcome the powers of Mitzrayim, one step at a time. Dry: or withered, from a root meaning “ashamed”. Egypt represents the Church as mixed with the world’s paganism, and its water supply is the New Testament. The River of Egypt (possibly the Nile) was one of those that flowed from Eden (Gen. ), but (being worshipped itself and being used to kill Hebrew babies) it became corrupted. The New Testament, which was really a restating, filling out, and explaining of the Torah, is no longer being taught the way its original proponents taught it. Thus the water (a common idiom for the Word of YHWH, which is most authoritatively concentrated in the Torah) no longer belongs to it, and it must be taken back out. Then the distortions are removed and it becomes blood—that which covers sin for those who are ashamed. YHWH told Yehezqel to show more details about the Temple to those of the House of Israel who were ashamed of their strayings. Since much of the Church still consists of descendants of the (northern) House of Israel, Yehezqel’s prophecy applies directly to it. When we are ashamed of having taken Yahshua’s blood out of its Hebraic context and giving the credit YHWH deserves to pagan deities, He will again allow us to see His hand in action. (Yirm. 16:19-21) If we do not repent, the water will be withdrawn from us.

Since you have spoken: Though he may have been with YHWH here for several hours by this time, he does not think it has improved his capability at all. Not a man of words: the idea that he had a speech impediment was a later rabbinic tradition; in the first century, Stefanos said Moshe was “mighty in words” (Acts 7:22). This is not in Scripture, so Stefanos must have gotten it from the prevailing opinion of his day. What Moshe was slow at was speaking the Hebrew tongue, since he was a young child when he began living in Egyptian circles, and had also lived in Midyan for 40 years, where he still might have been speaking Egyptian since that was the trade language of the day, and his in-laws might have spoken it as well.

I.e., “This is not your problem! Give My problems back to Me! Walk in obedience, and I will take care of the other details!” We have no business taking on responsibilities He does not require of us; Moshe will be as eloquent as he needs to be, if he just obeys; YHWH could enable him to “speak in tongues” if necessary! We must not let our imagination go too far, because this breeds pessimism and only gets in His way. He has already put other pieces in place, though we will not see them until we enter into our part. The only consideration for us is whether He is pleased with the part we play. “YHWH is One" means in part that He is in control of all that takes place, even what we think of as problems. (Yeshayahu/Isa. 45:7) For mankind: Literally, for Adam. Moshe was the one He intended to function as the mouth in the restored Adam, the “one new man” who is to again bear YHWH’s image. The way to get there is through Moshe’s reiteration of YHWH’s words in the Torah.

YHWH is well aware that Moshe does not know how to do every aspect of the work He is calling him to do, and He will give him further instruction as he enteyrs into the situations. But he has the basic skills, and is expected to exercise them.

This is fear speaking. After many more lessons, Moshe will also be telling the people, “Fear not!” Whatever hand You can send: i.e., since Messiah is ultimately the one to bring Israel back to its Land, why not just bring Him now so I don’t have to be the one to do this? This is a prevalent way of thinking today, as many wish to simply be “raptured” and have the Kingdom be brought in magically.. But the king must have a people to rule, and He does not want to come back as a brute using force, but to a people who will be ready to celebrate Him as king. Israel functions in a prescribed order; He will not come until we have a place prepared for His authority. Saying, “I believe, but let someone else do the work” is not true faith at all.

The discourse between them is short and simple until Moshe tries to back out. If YHWH has to say many words to you, beware; you may have angered Him! Talk the talk: i.e., speak the Hebrew language. He had a brother who could interpret for him, and he was being called back to be surrounded by Hebrews who spoke the language, so he had no excuse. This is how YHWH would teach him what to say. (v. 12) But since Moshe shows by his response that he does not want the awesome gift that YHWH is offering him, YHWH takes part of it back and makes him share the honor and credit with his brother, who clearly has ears to hear YHWH, because he is already obeying. Notice that Aharon is called a Levite while Moshe is never called this, though they are brothers. The rabbis say that YHWH called Aharon "the Levite" here because Moshe was originally to have been the high priest, but because of his unbelief and unwillingness, he was made the Levite and Aharon the high priest. Ideally, YHWH did not want another mediator; He desires obedience, not sacrifice (over which the priests officiated). But Moshe forced Him to take Plan B. In it there was too much order—more than He intended. Moshe was to be YHWH’s spokesman, but now there has to be another buffer between the man who is the picture of the Torah and the people of Israel, and he would make a much larger mistake than Moshe. This is part of what Paul meant when he said “the Torah was added because of sin” until Yahshua would come to set the order straight again. (Gal. 3:19)

16. "And he will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were a mouth for you, and you shall be like an Elohim to him.

Likewise, Yahshua is the mouth for his Father. Moshe was YHWH’s prophet, and Aharon would now be his prophet, for YHWH knows that if Moshe has a spokesman, he will learn the importance of listening carefully and doing exactly what one is told without adding one’s own opinions or reservations into the mixture. This is the very way in which Moshe himself would gain confidence and learn to be YHWH’s spokesman. And indeed, Moshe would indeed do the speaking without Aharon needing to, so he was learning the language.

18. So Moshe departed and returned to his in-law Yether and said to him, "Let me go now and return to my brothers who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive." So Yithro told Moshe, "Go in peace."

Yether: meaning “excellence”, “what is above and beyond” or “extra”, hinting that this is a very special man in YHWH’s eyes and that serving him has been the right picture. That his “name” is given in two different forms adds credence to the idea that this was a title and not his name as such. Moshe proves that he is indeed a man of few words. (v. 10) But this was actually his strong point, though he did not recognize it as such. At least in the text, he never even tells Yithro about the burning bush. He goes straight to the bottom line. He says nothing that is not relevant to the need at hand, which is for permission to leave, since he is, after all, a man under authority, despite the fact that he has been face to face with YHWH. This in itself did not give him the freedom to just get up and leave. But For all we know, up to this point Yithro may never have learned that Moshe was anything other than the Egyptian his daughters mistook him for. He may have assumed that all of Moshe’s relatives were Egyptians, so there is nothing unusual about his wanting to go back and see them. He does not tell him anything that might make him try to hold him back—as Yaaqov had learned the hard way with Lavan.

Now, after Moshe has taken the first major step toward obedience, YHWH tells him the reassuring news that, just by the way, all the people that he was afraid of were no longer even around. The dream of Yoseyf, husband of Miryam, Yahshua's mother, echoes this closely (Matt. 2:20), except that he was being called out of Egypt rather than into Egypt. Now YHWH speaks to him without a burning bush.

21. Then YHWH told Moshe, "As you are walking back to Egypt, consider the miraculous signs that I have put in your hand, and perform them all before Pharaoh. But I will make his heart rigid, and he will not let the people go.

As you are walking back to Egypt: Wasn’t he already in the land of Egypt? (v. 20) Yes, but Egypt owned a lot more land than “Egypt proper”. Hieroglyphics show Egyptian soldiers dressed in many different ways, showing that they were conscripted from many lands. Make his heart rigid: or, strengthen his resolve.

Pharaoh would understand the concept of an Elohim having a firstborn, since each of the Pharaohs was considered the firstborn son of a particular god (most often Ra). Yet here He is challenging his honor: Your elohim has one firstborn; I have a whole nation as My firstborn! The privileges of a firstborn include receiving a double portion of the father’s inheritance; his duties include using it to rescue his brothers in their time of need. This is why Israel, who received so much more light than the other nations, is called to be a light to the nations.

YHWH begins to stake his claim, but only gives Pharaoh part of the information at this time. He does not yet call Israel the beloved bride that Pharaoh has taken into his harem (as one of his predecessors had done with Sarah). He starts with something Pharaoh can relate to, because all the Pharaohs (as evidence by their names like Amen-hotep or Tut-ankh-amen) considered themselves to be the firtsborn of the particular deity they worshipped. So Moshe is to inform Pharaoh who YHWH’s firstborn are and that they have a responsibility to Him. He is beginning to press the point that He is more powerful than the gods of Egypt, and if Pharaoh insists that He prove it, he is forewarned at the very beginning of what the consequence will be. But since we are speaking of the firstborn son…

Place where he stopped to spend the night: This turn of events that seems so out of place to modern ears is very reminiscent of Yaaqov’s encounter at Mt. Moryah, which we have already seen is linked in many ways to Mt. Sinai (Chorev), where Moshe appears to be. (v. 27) This is where he had led the flocks and met YHWH, so it was holy ground, and, as with the Passover, he could go no further until he was in complete compliance. Moshe’s firstborn may have become violently ill at this point:

She is not angry, as it might at first seem; she realizes she has done something wrong. Moshe might have told her that YHWH was going to kill Pharaoh’s firstborn son if he did not obey. Being a Midyanite, a descendant of Avraham as well, she was familiar with circumcision and knew immediately where she had apparently been holding back, as evidenced by the fact that he is called “her son” and not Moshe’s. He had not taken responsibility to see that he was circumcised as his forefathers had been told to do. A sojourner cannot join in the Passover unless he is circumcised (12:48). After that he is counted as equal to any native-born son. But if Moshe’s household was going to look just like the household of an Egyptian, he can hardly proceed with this mission that regards the covenant which is not even evidence in his own son! If he wants to become the awesome leader YHWH has shown him he can be, he can hardly expect to keep one of the enemy within his own house! The "him" here must mean Moshe's firstborn, in context of. v. 23. “Whom YHWH loves, He disciplines”, and one who leads YHWH's people is judged more strictly, for he is held up as an example for others. One who is chosen to cut diamonds must come out of the trash-heap if that is where he was living. Moshe must surround himself with the right people, not one who looks just like Pharaoh’s son! The sign of the covenant must be on all who are closely associated with him. His firstborn’s name is Gershom, meaning “sojourner” or “exile there”. The northern kingdom is still in exile, and the Torah (represented by Moshe) is indeed taking us back, but the fact that we have embraced Moshe is not enough; we must also be circumcised to be true Israelites. “Efrayim [the northern kingdom] has provoked [YHWH] to anger most bitterly, so He will leave his blood on him, and allow his disgrace to return to him.” (Hoshea 12:14) Until the self is removed from us an we act as one man again, we cannot go back. There was a major controversy in the first century over whether a proselyte should be circumcised prior to being taught, or after. Paul’s view won out, even among rabbinic Jews, and it is correct; the outward act is not enough, but is meant to be a sign of what has already taken place inwardly. After Yahshua submitted in the ultimate way to His Father's will, His side was pierced, and blood and water flowed out. For this to happen, the pericardium--the sac surrounding His heart--had to be pierced. So His heart was literally circumcised! Removing the “flesh” from our “hearts” lays bare our evil inclination and makes the tenderness of our hearts open to all Israel so we can all be unified. A sharp stone: elsewhere, flint was used, though metal knives were already commonly used. (Y’hoshua 5:3) Why? Because the Messiah is often called a “stone”, and he is the one who has made it possible for the lost sheep of Israel to come back to the covenant, so that as we follow Torah, our hearts can be circumcised. Bridegroom of bloods: The foreskin bleeds profusely when one is circumcised. "You" is Gershom and not Moshe here, since circumcision qualifies one to be a bridegroom to a woman of Israel:

This unusual phrase “bridegroom of bloods” is not so strange to anyone familiar with the Hebrew liturgy. The circumcision ceremony still includes the specific request that “just as he has entered into the covenant, so may he enter into the Torah, the wedding canopy, and beneficial deeds.” In Arabic, the same word is even used for “circumcision” and “bridegroom”, because often Arabs are not circumcised until shortly before their wedding. His legs: Since the procreative organs are one of the “gates” of our bodies that need to be defended against temptation, the legs are the “doorposts” of this gate. Right away we can see why Tsipporah put the blood there, because the effect was the same. (v. 26) The shape of the lintel corresponds with the Hebrew letter “heth”, whose numeric value is 8, the same as the day on which circumcision is meant to take place. It is the first letter in the word chai, which means “life”, for this is what YHWH said would ward off the angel of death. Withdrew from him: or let it drop, just as the messenger of death would pass over those who also had the blood “touched” to the doorposts and lintel in Egypt. (12:22) Now that his own house was in order, he could get on with YHWH’s business. (1 Timotheos 3:5)

That he met him at the mountain shows that he lived in part of Midyan that was beyond Sinai, unless this is simply another “great mountain” on the way into Egypt—possibly even the one traditionally but mistakenly called Mt. Sinai. Despite his life in Egypt, Aharon was still hearing from YHWH. YHWH already had a man in Egypt. Yet he needed to go out to get Moshe before the deliverance could occur. Likewise, “Egypt” (the Church) already has Yahshua, from which Moshe (the Torah) was expelled, but now Yahshua is bringing the Torah back to us so that all can be ready for us to be a nation again. How was Aharon free to leave Egypt? Some traditions say the Levites were never enslaved, since the priests always had special privileges in Egypt. (cf. Gen 47:22, 26) A brother coming out to meet the one with many flocks is reminiscent of Esau and Yaaqov.

He hardly told Yithro anything, but he told Aharon everything—and Aharon shows no surprise, so he must have been expecting YHWH’s deliverer. He even knows where this mountain is, probably because he, being a Levite, has already been keeping the feasts like the one they will ask Pharaoh to let Israel come out to celebrate.

30. and Aharon spoke all the words which YHWH had said to Moshe, and performed the distinguishing proofs in the sight of the people.

31. And the people believed! When they heard that YHWH had watched over the descendants of Israel, and that He had paid attention to their affliction, they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves [in worship].

The last time a Hebrew had spoken to Moshe, the message to him was “Who made you our judge?” But after 40 years, the tables have turned. Watched over: or visited, mustered, numbered. YHWH knew what would persuade them. They may have simply needed to be reminded that YHWH remembered them and was aware of their plight. Worshipping Him may have been something they had not been able to do for a long time, but somehow all the leaders were able to gather at this time.

CHAPTER 5

Afterward: That is, after the people responded positively to YHWH’s interest in them and showed Him proper respect. They literally “made themselves smaller” and “lowered themselves”. (4:31) Only then was Moshe in a position to deal with Pharaoh. We, too, must be not just a relationship with YHWH, but also in a proper position toward Him—as servants lowering ourselves before our Master--in order for our burdens to be lifted. Previously their eyes had been on the fact that they were slaves and their burdens were large, but when they saw evidence that they were part of something much larger than this problem—the promises made to Avraham and Yitzhaq, and the blessings pronounced by Yaaqov—they could not only put their pains into the perspective of YHWH’s promises; they could put His desires ahead of their own and eventually have their own desires come to be no different from His. If we do the same, our captivity in exile wil be dealt with as well. Aharon seems to have already been known to Pharaohsince he could enter the presence of the most powerful man on earth unchallenged. YHWH preserved a position for him so that Moshe could have the access to the Pharaoh that he needed. But where are the elders that were supposed to come with them (3:18)? They may have come, but the absence of the mention makes us wonder if they told Moshe, “Yes, that is a great idea! It needs to be done! Why don’t you go do it for us, as our representative?” If they refused to go due to fear, Moshe is only reaping what he himself sowed when he hesitated to obey YHWH. Celebrate a festival: the root word means to move in a circle. The Egyptians were obsessed with straight lines, lining everything up with certain auspicious stars such as the dog star. They even turned the round sun into a straight line through a sunbeam portrayed as coming down into the hand of Tutankhamon’s father Akhnaton (which some identify with this very Pharaoh). As brickmakers the Israelites had to make all their lines straight. The Greek mindset continues this theme, seeing even time as only linear, whereas the Hebrew way sees everything instead as circular—not just repeated cycles which go nowhere, but an upward spiral of seasons that form the “staircase” by which we can ascend. “What has been is what will be again.” (Qoheleth 1:9). Note that He did not just say, “Let My people go.” Unbridled freedom is a myth. We either serve sin or we serve YHWH. We can never actually serve self without serving sin. The Torah was brought in as a way to be released from this bondage. We were released from Egypt in order to belong to YHWH. This involves a particular way of life, not a life with no boundaries. The uncultivated land: Why couldn’t they just all gather somewhere in Egypt to celebrate the feast? Because they would still be surrounded by statues and obelisks. Egypt has its own “gravitational force”, even if it is not as strong toward us as it once was. But as long as we stay in its orbit, will will remain out of the context YHWH intends. Even in the Land of Israel, YHWH calls us out of the everyday context for the pilgrimage feasts, for he wants His people gathered as one. And the only place we can truly revolve around Him is in the “place of the word” (the Hebrew meaning of “the uncultivated land”). When we are overwhelmed by the pressures of our “Egypt”, we can at least temporarily leave them behind when we immerse ourselves in YHWH’s word.

Why should he care who YHWH was if he himself was the son of the sun-god? This was a question he would come to regret asking. He did not expect the answer he was going to get. YHWH would, layer upon layer, show him that He was more than the Elohim of Pharaoh’s captives—the only piece He gives him now. He will show that He is the Elohim of the river, the air, the food supply, and even of life itself. It also was exactly what YHWH had told Moshe would transpire, so it would be a confirmation to him. I do not recognize: as we might answer someone who demanded that we “stop in the name of Allah”, for example. But this could also read, I have not known (or been made familiar with) YHWH. YHWH resolved that problem for him too.

YHWH does not yet exerting His authority over Pharaoh, who is not a Hebrew, but a descendant of Kham. But Aharon recognizes that Pharaoh understands the concept that if one does not serve his deities properly, he will have trouble from them. Nit he could have deduced that if YHWH’s subjects are in the midst of His land, if the Hebrewsare plagued, the Egyptians around them will be as welll. It would seem strange enough to him that the Hebrews had only one Elohim. But now He was crossing over into someone else’s territory—unheard of among the pagan gods. But “crossing over” is what “Hebrew” means, so He was proving to be a Hebrew Himself. And the people were identifying themselves as non-Egyptian in the presence of the “son of Ra” himself, and saying they had an obligation to someone else. Pestilence: Heb., dever, from davar ( "word") in the sense of a threat. Revelation 2:16 also speaks of the sword of Yahshua's mouth, and Paul speaks of "dying" when the commandment came (Rom. 7:9). Strike us: including Pharaoah and all the Egyptians. YHWH had never made this threat to Moshe, since he knew he was a Hebrew and was a shepherd, who understood what a blessing it was for the sheep to respond to his orders. But to someone like Pharaoh, who was not a shepherd but one who “consumed the flocks”, he had to appeal to “what was in it for him”. The modern-day equivalent is the church’s selling point: being saved from hell. The reason a true Hebrew would go into the wilderness was different: it was for YHWH’s sake. This is the difference between walking in the spirit and walking in the flesh. Do we act because we love Him, or does He need to threaten to use force? Psalm 119:36-40 is an excellent example of the prayer of a true Hebrew, contrasting the desire to know His way with the desire for personal profit.

It seems that even Moshe had been given some tasks to work on since he came back—or so Pharaoh assumed. Or this may mean the people who believed Moshe’s word from YHWH had already stopped working so they could prepare for their journey.

Break: or ceasing; in Hebrew, it is the same word as for “sabbath", for the Sabbath is a miscrocosm of the Exodus, as even the slaves must be given a rest thereon. But Pharaoh sees this as logistically impossible, considering that there are more Hebrew slaves than there are Egyptians by now. So he tells them to forget this “pipe dream”; it just won’t work. The greater Exodus that is to come is just as impossible, if not more so, but YHWH says it will take place! Pharaoh means “great house”. YHWH’s people are the true house He is building, but the Church makes the same claim. Those who are truly dedicated there really belong to Israel, and they should be devoted to the pure service of YHWH and not what has paganism mixed in. But this would be too large a number for the church to let go easily.

"On that day" is often a term for the sabbatical millennium when the Messianic Kingdom will come; there is a prophetic level on which this will somehow be repeated during our greater Exodus back to the Land. (Yirm. 16:14-15) Slavedrivers: literally, tyrants who exact or press.

Straw: related to the Hebrew word for "build". It is what gives more substance to the clay and makes it adhere better. But using it this way takes food away from the flocks. Make bricks: literally, whiten bricks. This seems to be for a cosmetic purpose, and in the same way the church keeps those who are meant to be Israelites busy making the world a nicer place rather than building a true dwelling place that is fit for YHWH. Archaeology shows periods of mainly brick construction in Egypt interspersed with eras when the colossal stone edifices that that nation is better known for. But this withholding of supply is a blessing in disguise, for now they are no longer using what Egypt provides. When the church cut off its support from us, wehad to learn to study on our own instead of just being told, “This is what the Scripture means”, so now there are building materials from YHWH, forged by Israel, and we have also found that there is much supply available from other Hebrews who have been gathering it for a long time—the Jews. We are not building an Egyptian house, so why should we use its resources to build it? Also, having lost their Egyptian help, they needed more help from other Hebrews. The whole family probably had to get involved in finding straw so the men could continue their work, so they would all have a common burden. Hardship would unify them. And they would have to constantly have to look to YHWH to get the job done., and He relates to us most fully when we are operating as one unit.

I.e., “If they have enough energy to think about going on a trip, you are not busy enough. If you have time to take a break, you are not getting enough work done! We will work this dream right out of them!” The spirit of Egypt does not like the Sabbath, because it drains the system of labor and revenue. Here Pharaoh gives away the enemy’s secret: keep them busy, and you will keep them under your thumb. Big prosperous churches have non-stop programs, and the smaller ones strive for this. They recruit people to keep them attached by making them feel important and indispensable. It keeps their minds off YHWH’s Torah by giving them “Jesus-based works”. If we have time to start studying what the Scripture really says, they will lose their revenue and their best workers! Daniel 7:25 tells us theat the Beast that blasphemes the Most High and changes the seasons will also wear out those who are set apart to YHWH—the very same strategy.

Work on it: Aramaic, "be occupied with it" (Onqelos); i.e., so they'll have something to keep them busy. Futile matters: Aramaic, "idle chatter". This talk about moving in circles—what kind of progress is that? What will it accomplish? That gets us nowhere!

11. "‘You will go get straw for yourselves from wherever you can find it, because not a thing will be cut back from your duties.'"

12. So the people were scattered throughout the whole land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw,

Scattered: the divide-and-conquer strategy, for the more we bear the burdens of Egypt, the more Israel is scattered. They were no longer a close community, and were thus less organized and less of a threat to Egypt. Israel now is scattered throughout the world, living as many different nationalities and focusing on the other nations they have formed rather than on being Israel as they truly are. Stubble as building material rather than stones bespeaks the massive facades made by men, built from the short, rough stumps—the dregs of the grain—the “wood, hay, and stubble” rather than "gold, silver, and precious stones". (1 Cor. 3:12) The Church thinks gathering the crumbs that fall from the table is enough to “whiten” us. It is building its counterfeit “great house” with inferior building materials—people who think of themselves as Gentiles instead of Israelites. This keeps the nation scattered and preoccupied.

Pushed: or, beat. When we set out to keep YHWH’s feasts, we should not expect it to be easy. The world increases our workload just at those times. To enter YHWH’s rest, we must go through six days of labor. It grows darker right before the dawn.

These officers were Hebrew collaborators, much like those Jews who worked for the Nazis, thinking they would get off more easily because they cooperated. But they were now being beaten just like the rest, and maybe even more. It is loathsome to bear the name of Hebrews while retaining the goals of Egypt.

16. "There is no straw given to your servants, yet they're telling us to make bricks! Your servants are being beaten, but your own people are the ones at fault!

They do not dare go so far as to say that Pharaoh himself is to blame, though he told them to do this. They are trying to compromise so that he will do the same. But his response is, “Even if it is the foremen’s fault, I am behind them”:

18. "So now, go, get to work, because straw will not be provided for you, but you will deliver the quota of bricks!"

This had exactly the effect that Pharaoh wanted: Rather than using the leverage they had already gained and facing the consequences, they “tucked their tails” and did not say another word about going out into the wilderness, though that was still the call from YHWH. They backed down, leaving the whole burden on Moshe and Aharon.

20. So they confronted Moshe and Aharon, who were standing there [waiting] to meet them when they came out from Pharaoh,

They had finally become frustrated enough to do what they were supposed to have done the first time Moshe went before Pharaoh. They were beginning to “speak the same language” as Moshe, but here he was to remind them that they had failed the test. They had reneged on what they had agreed to do (4:31). A true people is one that has been tested and proven. When there was no one left who was found true to YHWH within the Northern Kingdom, we too were scattered. But now YHWH has given us another open door to show that we believe He can finish what He calls us to.

In the eyes: Heavy fragrance does indeed make the eyes water. But an offering brought in the right attitude of worship is a sweet savor to YHWH. (Ex. 29; Lev. 1, etc.) A sword in their hand: They spit Moshe’s words of verse 3 back in his face, as if to say, “Will any sword that YHWH could bring upon us be any worse than this sword? Pharaoh did not do this to us until you got involved!” And so they blame the messenger. But at a certain point in our walk, doing the right thing is not enough; we must desire the right thing, too, not just the end product it will achieve. If we are blaming the messenger for the hardship that must come on the way, we are not fully committed. What comes easily is not often worth having. When YHWH starts doing something, we cannot expect instant results. If we do not willingly go through what is necessary to bring about our release from bondage, we should stay out of it altogether, for we will only defile it if our heart is not inclined to YHWH; He will not be please, even if we do it outwardly. If our desires are not changing, we are not really gaining any ground. How do we make the ground more fertile? It is done with dead material. Something ahs to die—and it is our own fleshly desires; only then can the truth take root.

23. "Because since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your Name, he has done evil to this people, and You have not rescued them at all!"

I.e., "I've done all You told me, but You're not keeping Your end of the bargain!" He heard them because of their outcry, but things still have to get worse before they can get better. The first few plagues affected everyone, even the Israelites. It is not working because they are not united. His commandments are impossible to follow as individuals. They are not designed to be done by onself. So Pharaoh is doing them a favor by making them identify with one another. The menorah is a very intricate piece of workmanship, yet it is beaten out of a single piece of gold. Nothing can be formed separately and then welded on. It must all be hammered out. Modern technology has not caught up with this method, but many ancient people knew the technique. Still, it was not easy; it required skill and experience do carry out this painstaking work. Egypt beats us into shape and shows us the contrast vividly so that we appreciate what YHWH does when He finally does act. We will not have the curse of ingratitude if we let the suffering make us pliable and usable. As Daniel, Yirmeyahu, and all the prophets know well, obedience will eventually bring you to a place where there is no way out, and will test whether we are still following for our own sakes or for His. We have to get to the point of not fearing anything that is not YHWH. He forms the dark backdrop for His most dramatic plans with impossible situations...

CHAPTER 6

Now: Now that things have worsened enough that there will be no doubt that YHWH is the one accomplishing their redemption. This is His direct response to Moshe’s complaint or challenge in 5:23. This is not the kind of answer he was looking for, though. He wanted an easy or instant solution, but this was not a birthday present; Moshe was looking at it wrongly. He was not just going to shake hands with Pharaoh, say, “It was nice knowing you”, and leave! It is meant to be a training experience, teachig him that while YHWH is using him, it is really YHWH who is delivering Israel, and that has to be his focus. He will accomplish this in the way that he chooses, not the way that seems right to any man, whether Pharaoh or Moshe. Moshe is merely the agent of YHWH’s redemption—just as Yahshua is, and just as we are. He could have gotten it done in many ways, but He chose a course that would profit Israel in the process. He wants His people to come close to Him, as did His friends the patriarchs. If we were already saved, as Christians say, we would already be back in the Land of Israel, the Temple would be sta nding, and everyone would be keeping the Torah. We must follow His instructions in order to bring His salvation to its fullness. Moshe did well, expect that he expected an immediate return on his investment, rather than expecting it to take time to mature. He had to also keep “making deposits” or the “account would close”. It looked as if things were getting worse rather than better, but this only gave YHWH an occasion to demonstrate His power more vividly.