'The Giving of the Law' (Exodus 19-20)

God promised Abraham multiple descendants and a homeland to bless the world (Gen.12:1-3).  Abraham’s descendants multiplied in Egypt but they became enslaved. They cried out to the Lord and the Lord called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The Lord brought ‘His mighty acts of judgment’ upon Egypt and their gods so that Pharaoh let the Israelites go (Exodus 7-12, 12:12). Yet, Pharaoh changed his mind and he pursued Israel pinning them in by the Red Sea. The Lord divided the sea so that the Israelites were able to walk through on dry ground. Pharaoh’s army followed them into the sea and Pharaoh’s entire army drowned. So the Israelites trusted in the Lord and in His servant Moses. However, they quarreled when they faced the difficulties of life in the desert. The Lord miraculously provided the Israelites with food and water and He gave them a military victory over the Amalekites (Exodus 17). This brings us to the story of God giving Moses and the Israelites His law at Mount Sinai. You can watch the video and read the comments below. 

 This is a great story because it shows us something of the holy and awesome character of our God. However, it is also a disturbing story because you get the impression from the story that God is so ‘holy’, and so ‘far above and beyond us’ that He is unapproachable. Moses was told to put a boundary around the mountain to keep people from going up and approaching God; or they would be put to death (Exodus 19:23-24). The story also teaches that God is a God of grace which we can miss among the ‘thunder and lightning’ and ‘fire and smoke’. Remember that the Lord God had already graciously delivered Israel out from slavery in Egypt. The Lord carried the Israelites ‘on eagle’s wings’ and He brought them to Himself. Then God bound Himself ‘in covenant’ to Israel and Israel was to be God’s ‘treasured possession’. Consequently, among all the nations Israel was to be a ‘kingdom of priests and a holy nation’.

The story tells us how God so loved Israel, that He graciously saved them out of Egypt and brought them to Himself to be His people. Consequently, as God’s people the Israelites were to ‘obey Him’ and seek to reflect the character of their redeemer God. As God’s people they were to ‘Worship the Lord as the only true God’. In addition, they were not to misrepresent God by making an idol of any created thing to represent God and they were not to misuse the Lord’s name. They were to ‘work six days and then rest’ in imitation of their God who created everything in six days and rested on seventh day.  Also, they were to honor their parents and love their neighbors as themselves. As the Lord’s ‘treasured possession’ and a ‘holy nation’ they were to reflect God’s character and in so doing they would show the nations what God was like and that they were God’s special people.

The story also tells us something very important about man. Man cannot simply approach God any way old he wants. God came down on Sinai but, only Moses could approach God. Israel was to keep their distance (Exodus 20:18-21). When God manifested Himself on Sinai, Israel only wanted Moses to speak to God because they feared that if God spoke to them they would die. God was saying, ‘I’m the Lord the ‘gracious and compassionate God’ and I’m coming down but ‘I’m holy’; so ‘stand back’. God was saying, “I’m coming down to ‘make myself known’, but they could not approach the Lord any old way you wanted (Exodus 20:22–24). God called Moses up the mountain and gave him His law. Among all the nations God was revealing ‘His will’ and ‘His character’ to Israel. Israel was free to approach the Lord as ‘His People’ but they could only approach Him through a mediator and by means of a sacrifice. God revealed Himself to Israel though ‘His Law’ which was like a portrait of the ‘Holy character of God’.  Now when we look at the portrait of God’s holy character, ‘the Law’ becomes for us something like a mirror. In this sense ‘the Law’ exposes our sin and imperfections and our need for a Saviour who we know to be the better new covenant mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the embodiment of Israel’s God.

Gal.3:24 ‘the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith’.

Water from the Rock (Exodus 17).

God promised Abraham multiple descendants and a homeland to bless the world (Gen.12:1-3).  Abraham’s descendants multiplied but ended up enslaved in Egypt. They cried out and the Lord used Moses to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt by His mighty acts of judgment. The Israelite community left Egypt with the Lord leading them by the pillar of cloud and fire. Then when Pharaoh and his army pursued Israel, Moses stretched out his staff over the Red Sea and the Lord divided the sea so that the Israelites walked through on dry ground. Pharaoh’s army followed them into the sea but the Lord drowned Pharaoh’s entire. The Israelites trusted in the Lord and in His servant Moses but then they quarreled when they faced the difficulties of life in the desert. This brings us to the story of the Lord providing the Israelites with water from the rock and giving them a victory over the Amalekites (Exodus 17). You can watch the video and read the comments below. 

The Lord delivered the Israelites out of Egypt with mighty acts of judgment and led them by the pillar of cloud and fire. Then the Lord provided the Israelites with plenty of ‘manna and quail’ to eat. In this story we find that the Israelites had been led to camp at Rephidim where they had no water. Now instead of trusting the Lord to provide water for them the Israelites tested the Lord and yet the Lord graciously provided water for the people to drink from the ‘Rock at Horeb’.

The Israelite community were traveling place to place and the Lord led them to camp at Rephidim where there was no visible source of water. However, rather than trusting God the Israelites quarreled with Moses and demanded he give them water to drink. Moses questions why they were quarreling and putting the Lord to the test since it was the Lord who had led them to the camp. By quarreling and demanding that Moses give them water they were actually ‘putting the Lord to the test”.

With no water in sight they assumed that there was no water available. They definitely needed water so they chose to quarrel with Moses and they even accused Moses of bringing them out of Egypt only to make them, their children and their livestock die of thirst. They quarreled to such an extent that Moses actually thought the Israelites would stone him to death. Moses was at a loss as to what to do so he cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do… the Israelites are ready to stone me.”

The Lord’s answer was for Moses to walk ahead of the people accompanied by some of the Israelite elders. The Lord would stand before Moses on the “Rock at Horeb’ and Moses was to strike the rock with the same staff which they used to strike the Nile and bring judgment upon the ‘gods of Egypt’. Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel and the Lord provided water from the rock for the people to drink. So Moses called the place Massah, which means testing and ‘meribah’ which means quarreling because there they questioned whether or not He was with them. The Lord allowed Himself to be put on trial by having Moses strike the rock with the staff with which Moses had brought judgment on Egypt.

God calls His people to trust Him to provide for us. Yet in this story we find the Israelites testing the Lord’s patience by doubting that God was with them (Ex. 17:2, 6-7). This happened at Horeb which is another name for Mount Sinai and is the same place where Moses encountered God at the burning bush (Ex. 3:1; Deut 4:15). We find water flowing from God’s presence in other places in the scripture (Gen. 2:10; Ezek. 47:1–2). The New Testament tells us that the Israelites drank from the rock that accompanied them and that rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:3–4). Today, we are to look directly to Jesus the mediator of the better new covenant to provide spiritual water for our thirsty souls (Hebrews 9:15, 12:24, John 7:37b–38).

After they quarreled and putting the Lord to the test the Israelites were attacked by the Amalekites. First came the infighting and then came the attack from the outside. Moses tells Joshua to choose some of their men to fight while he would go up the hill with the staff of God to intercede. So Joshua and his chosen men fought the Amalekites while Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. While Moses held up his hands the Israelites were winning, but whenever Moses lowered his hands the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired Aaron and Hur held Moses hands steady till sunset.

Moses lifted up his hands to the throne of God and Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. The Lord told Moses to write this account down on a scroll so that the event could be remembered. Moses was to make sure that Joshua heard it since the Lord would blot out the memory of Amalek. Then Moses built an altar and called it ‘The Lord is my Banner’ and he said that the Lord fought for Israel when hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord. The story shows how quarreling can make one vulnerable to outside attack. It is curious how being attacked can motivate people to work together to overcome a common enemy. Facing opposition can stimulate cooperation and divert attention away from quarreling and bickering. The story makes it clear that the battle is the Lord’s and that spiritual battles are won by lifting up hands in prayer to the throne of God. Moses interceded for the Old Testament people and we look in pray to the better new covenant mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ.  

"God Provides Manna and Quail" (Exodus 16)

God promised Abraham multiple descendants and a homeland to bless the world (Gen.12:1-3).  Abraham’s descendants multiplied in Egypt but they became enslaved. They cried out in and the Lord remembered His covenant (Exodus 1:7, 2:23) and He called Moses to help deliver the Israelites out of Egypt. The Lord sent several plagues upon Egypt to deliver Israel and to reveal Himself to both the Israelites and the Egyptians (6:6-7, 7:3-5). The Israelites were to slaughter a year-old male lamb and put the blood on their doorframes. Then the Lord ‘passed over’ the Israelite households and brought judgment upon the ‘gods of Egypt’ by striking down every firstborn in Egypt (12:12).

Pharaoh let the Israelites go and the Israelites left Egypt and many other people accompanied them. The Lord led the Israelites to camp by the Red Sea and the Pharaoh sent his troops to pursue them. Moses stretched out his staff over the sea and the Lord divided the sea and the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. Pharaoh’s army followed them into the sea but the Lord downed the Pharaoh’s entire army in the sea. The Israelites saw the Lord’s power and they trusted in the Lord and in His servant Moses. After a celebration, Moses and the Israelites continued their journey through the desert towards their promised land. This brings us to the story of the Lord providing the Israelites with ‘quail and manna’ (Exodus 16) so watch the video and read the comments below. 

In the Exodus the Lord delivered His people from Egyptian slavery and led them towards their promised land by the pillar of cloud and fire. In this story God miraculously provided food for the Israelites in the wilderness and tested them to see if they would follow his instructions. The Israelite community came to the ‘Desert of Sin’ where they grumbled against Moses and Aaron. They selectively thought back to Egypt and remembered having food had meat to eat. Then they accused Moses leading them into the desert only to starve them to death. They don’t recall crying out in their slavery and God delivering them out of Egypt and drowning Pharaoh’s army in the sea. Yet, despite their grumbling the Lord promised Moses that He would “rain down bread from heaven”. Then the Israelites were to gather enough for each day, and twice as much on the sixth day. In this way the Lord would test the Israelites to see if they will obey Him.

So the Israelites grumbled but God graciously provided them with meat so that they would know the Lord had brought them out of Egypt. In the morning they would see the glory of the Lord when they were provided plenty of bread. Then when Aaron was speaking, the Israelites looked up and saw the glory of the Lord in the pillar of cloud.  So God promised to graciously provide for them and He manifested His presence among them so that they would know that the Lord is God. God did as Moses said and in the evening quail covered the camp and in the morning a fine, flake-like thing was on the ground. The Israelites asked what it was and Moses said, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat”. They were to gather what they needed and share what they gathered so that no one had too much or too little.  Moses also told them not to leave any of it until morning. Earlier they had seen the power of God displayed in the drowning of Pharaoh’s army and they had trusted Moses. But now some of them ignore Moses and when the ‘bread’ they kept smelled bad and was full of maggots. Then they were told to gather twice as much as usual on the sixth day because the seventh day was a day of Sabbath rest and there wouldn’t be any to gather. They were to cook what they wanted and to keep what was left over for the next day. Some of them went out to gather it on the seventh day and they found none. The Lord considered this to be a refusal to keep His commands.

Now the Israelites called the bread that God rained down from heaven ‘manna’. It was white like coriander seed and it tasted like wafers made with honey. Aaron put some of the ‘manna’ in a jar to be kept before the Lord so that generations of Israelites could see the bread the Lord had provided in the desert when He brought them out of Egypt. The Lord provided the ‘manna’ for the Israelites to eat for forty years till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. Surely, the story teaches that God is fully capable of providing for his people. God even provided graciously for them despite their grumbling against Him. The way God dealt with the grumbling of the Israelites reveals God’s great patience. It also shows us that the Israelites didn’t deserve God’s gracious provision and guidance (Ex. 16:2, 7–9, 12). So God wants us to trust Him to be the one who provides for us. Therefore God expects us to obey him particularly because of all that He has done for us. 

'Passover and Exodus' (Exodus 12-14).

God promised Abraham multiple descendants and a homeland to bless the world (Gen.12:1-3).  Abraham’s descendants, Jacob and his twelve sons, end up in Egypt where they multiplied but they became enslaved. They cry out and God remembers His covenant (Exodus 1:6-12, 2:16-25) and called Moses to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt. The Lord sent a variety of plagues to show His superiority over the gods of Egypt but the Pharaoh stubbornly resisted the Lord’s request to let the Israelites go. Yet, the Lord orchestrated the plagues to multiply His mighty acts and reveal Himself to both the Israelites and the Egyptians (6:6-7, 7:3-5). This takes us to the last plague so watch the video about the ‘Passover and the Exodus’ and read the comments below. 

 The Israelite households were to slaughter a year-old male lamb and put the blood on their doorframes. They were to roast the meat and eat it with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. Then the Lord would bring judgment upon the ‘gods of Egypt’ by striking down every firstborn in Egypt. When the Israelites entered their ‘Promised Land’ they were to observe the ‘Passover’ throughout the generations and they were to teach their children that in ‘Lord’s Passover’ the Lord spared the Israelites when He struck down the Egyptians. When this happened there was loud wailing throughout Egypt because the Lord took the life of the firstborn in every Egyptian household from the house of Pharaoh to that of the prisoner. Pharaoh told Moses and the Israelites to take their flocks and herds and go worship the Lord. The Egyptians urged the Israelites to hurry and leave Egypt so they left before they could add yeast to their bread dough. The Lord caused the Egyptians to give the Israelites articles of silver and gold and so the Israelites plundered Egypt.  

After 430 years, the Israelites left Egypt with their families, their possessions and with many other people who accompanied them. The Lord led them on the longer route through the desert because the Lord knew that if they went directly through Philistine territory and faced war they may return to Egypt. Moses took Joseph’s bones with them as the Israelites had promised Joseph they would. The Lord led them out of Egypt by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Then the Lord challenged the Israelites by having the Israelites camp by the Red Sea and hardening Pharaoh’s heart so that Pharaoh would pursue them. Yet, the Lord would overthrow Pharaoh and his army to display His glory and to reveal Himself to the Egyptians. Pharaoh realized that their slave labor was gone so he sent his troops with their chariots to pursue the Israelites. Apparently he had forgotten the connection of the plagues to Israel and how the various plagues had left Egypt in ruins.

When the Israelites saw the Egyptians they cried out in terror and they questioned why Moses had led them out into the desert only to die at the hands of the Egyptians. They showed that they doubted God’s good intention towards them by telling Moses they were better off as slaves than corpses in the desert. Moses told the Israelites to stand firm and they would see the Lord deliverance. God through Moses told the Israelites that the Egyptians who they feared they would never see again. They only needed to be still and the Lord would fight for them, but they were not to sit immobilized in fear. The angel of the Lord, leading Israel, went behind them and the cloud went between Israel and Egypt bringing darkness on the Egyptians and light to the Israelites. Moses stretched out his staff over the sea and a strong east wind divided the sea. Then the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. Pharaoh’s army followed the Israelites into the sea. But the Lord jammed the wheels of their chariots and threw them into confusion. Again Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the Lord swept Pharaoh’s army into the sea. None of the Egyptians survived and the Israelites saw their dead bodies washed up on the shore. The Israelites saw the Lord’s power in the destruction of their enemies and they trusted in the Lord and in the Lord’s servant Moses.

The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt until God manifested Himself in the plagues. In the final plague the Lord spared His people and brought judgment upon their oppressors. When the Israelites covered the doorframes of their houses with the ‘blood of the lamb’ the Lord passed them over when He struck down the firstborn of Egypt. So the Lord brought judgment on the ‘gods of Egypt’ and led His people by the pillar of cloud and fire. Yet, when they ended up pinned in by the Red Sea they were full of fear and they complained against Moses. Moses exhorted them to be still and he assured them that the Lord would deliver them. The Lord parted the ‘Red Sea’ so the Israelites could pass through on dry ground. Then when the Egyptians followed them into the sea the Lord fought for Israel (Ex. 14:14) and drowned their enemies in the sea. God is perfectly capable of overcoming any obstacle and delivering His people from any trouble. However, this doesn’t mean that the Lord promised to rescue us from every difficult situation. In this story God displayed his power when the way out was humanly impossible. God intervened and when the Israelites saw the power of the Lord they put their trust in the Lord and in the Lord’s servant Moses. In the same way, when we see the demonstration of the Lord’s power particularly in the death and resurrection of Jesus we are to put our trust in God and His servant the Lord Jesus (John 1:29, 1 Cor.5:7, Eph.1:19-21). 

The 9 Plagues before the Passover (Exodus 7-11).

God promised Abraham multiple descendants and a homeland to bless the world (Gen.12:1-3).  Abraham’s grandson Jacob and his twelve sons end up in Egypt where they multiplied but they became enslaved. They cry out and God remembers His covenant (Exodus 1:6-12, 2:16-25) and called Moses to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt. After spending 40 years as a shepherd, the Lord called Moses to rescue the Israelites out of Egypt.  Through His mighty acts of judgment the Lord would redeem Israel. Moses was to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go even though Pharaoh would not listen and through this process the Lord would show His superiority over the gods of Egypt and reveal Himself to both the Israelites and the Egyptians.  Pharaoh stubbornly resisted the Lord’s requests but the Lord orchestrated the plagues in order to multiply His mighty acts so that Israel (6:6-7), their children (10:1-2), Egypt (7:3-5) and all the earth (9:16) might know that the Lord is God. Watch the video or listen to the audio of the first six plagues then read the comments below. https://www.dropbox.com/s/dz2zmb6xm7bxw4v/19-20.%20The%20First%20Nine%20Plagues..MP3?dl=0

1-3 ‘The Plagues of Blood, Frogs and Gnats’.

The Lord was concerned for the Israelites and sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the Lord’s people go. The Lord wanted to free His people from slavery to Pharaoh so they could worship the Lord. In these first three plagues the Lord began to reveal that He alone was the ‘true Lord and God’ (Exodus 7:5, 16-17). The Lord sent Moses to confront Pharaoh to let the Israelites go to worship the Lord. Then the Lord turned the water of Egypt to blood and while the Egyptian magicians did the same thing by their magic arts they could only make the matters worse (7:22). But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he wouldn’t listen so Moses warned Pharaoh and then the Lord plagued Egypt with frogs. The Egyptian magicians again did the same thing but Pharaoh needed Moses to pray to the Lord to remove the frogs (8:10-14). Pharaoh hardens his heart and without further warning the Lord turned the dust of the ground to gnats. When the magicians couldn’t reproduce the gnats they concluded this was the ‘finger of God’, but Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he wouldn’t listen. (8:17-19) 

4-6 'The Plagues of Flies, on Egypt’s Livestock, and Boils'.  

In the next three plagues the Lord would show that He was in the land and that He deals differently with His own people, and makes a distinction between Israel and Egypt (Exodus 8:22-23, 9:4). Pharaoh is warned and swarms of flies pour into Pharaoh’s palace and throughout Egypt. Pharaoh summons Moses and tells Moses to go and worship the Lord but not to go very far (8:28, 32). Pharaoh wanted Moses to pray, Moses did and the flies left Pharaoh and his people but Pharaoh hardened his heart. Then after another warning the Lord sent a plague that killed the livestock belonging to the Egyptians but none of livestock of the Israelites died (9:6-7). Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he wouldn’t let Israel go. Then without further warning the Lord brought festering boils on the Egyptians. The boils were so bad that the Egyptian magicians couldn’t even stand before Moses. Yet, the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron (9:10-12). 

7-9 'The Plague of Hail, Locusts and Darkness over Egypt'.

In the next three plagues the Lord would send the full force of His plagues against Egypt so that it would be known that there is no one like the Lord in all the earth. The Lord could have wiped Pharaoh and Egypt off the earth but the Lord actually raised you up Pharaoh so that the Lord’s name might be proclaimed in all the earth (Exodus 9:14–16). The Lord has Moses confront Pharaoh to let Israel go or Pharaoh would have to face the most severe hailstorm ever seen in Egypt. The Egyptians are warned to shelter everything in their fields but only those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord sheltered their slaves and livestock. Moses stretched out his staff and the hail struck both men and animals and beat down everything in the fields. But it didn’t hail where the Israelites were staying in Goshen. The Pharaoh acknowledged that he had sinned and he wanted Moses to pray. Moses prayed, the hail stopped but Pharaoh hardened his heart and he would not let the Israelites go (9:33-35).

Then Moses was to go to Pharaoh, but the Lord would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that the Israelites could tell their children how the Lord struck Egypt with miraculous signs. The Lord would send the worst locust plague ever to occur in Egypt. Pharaoh’s officials pleaded with Pharaoh to let the Israelites go for they realized that Egypt was in ruins. Pharaoh tells Moses to go worship the Lord their God, but Pharaoh wanted to know who would go. Moses said that their young and old, their sons and daughters and their animals would all go, but Pharaoh would only let their men go. So Pharaoh had Moses driven from his presence. Then the Lord caused a strong east wind to blow a mass of locusts into Egypt that devoured everything remaining after the hailstorm. Then Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and Pharaoh admitted that he had sinned. Pharaoh asked for forgiveness and he wanted Moses to pray that the Lord would remove the locusts. Moses prayed and the Lord sent a strong west wind carrying the locusts into the Red Sea but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go.

With no further warning Moses stretched out his hand skyward and total darkness covered Egypt for three days, but the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. Pharaoh summons Moses to let the Israelites go and worship the Lord with their women and children. But Pharaoh wouldn’t let the Israelites take their flocks and herds with them, but Moses said that they would need to use their livestock in their worship. The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and Pharaoh ordered Moses out of his sight and to never return again. The Lord would send one ‘last plague’ and this time Pharaoh would actually let the Israelites go. The Israelites were to ask their Egyptian neighbors for articles of silver and in this way they would plunder Egypt (Exodus 3:21-22). At midnight the Lord would strike down every firstborn son in Egypt from the firstborn of Pharaoh to that of the firstborn of the slave girl and even the firstborn cattle would die. There would be such loud wailing heard throughout Egypt like never before in their history. The Lord would make a distinction between Egypt and Israel so that not even a dog belonging to the Israelites would bark. Then Pharaoh, the Egyptians, the Israelites and their offspring would all know that the Lord is God and that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel (Exodus 7:5, 8:10, 22-23, 9:14, 10:1-2). Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go.

End of Year 2015!

Dear friends and family,

Thanks for your prayerful support over the past year. We hope you have had a ‘Merry Christmas’

season and ‘Happy New Year’ to you. In South Africa they have modern grocery stores and nice restaurants but ministry can be very challenging. The history of the Church in South Africa is troubling which makes the ‘Story of Christianity’ here a confusing one. While South Africa is called the 'rainbow nation' the people seem to be separate and suspicious of those outside their group. At the end of the day, South Africa is a beautiful but it also a very complicated place.

Pastor Yoms receives his Ph-D. 

Over the last few months there have been a number of protests at the University of Stellenbosch.  Local South African students started a movement called ‘Open Stellenbosch’ demonstrating against the use of the Afrikaans language and the dominance of the Afrikaans culture at the University. The majority of South Africans who don’t speak Afrikaans consider the use of Afrikaans a hindrance to them and others like them. Then students of all different backgrounds protested across the country against a 10% increase in student tuition. Students blocked buildings, disrupted classes and took over the main library before the exam week. In response to the demonstrations the government withdrew the increases in tuition. After this, workers on the university campus protested the practice of Stellenbosch University of hiring third party contractors to work on campus.  These employers pay lower wages and without any benefits. These last demonstrations got out of hand when trash cans and even a couple of vehicles were burned.  

These events happened right around us although those we’re working with are a little removed from these issues.  We’re working with 'international students' coming from outside South Africa who are doing their graduate studies in English. The students we are trying to serve are coming here from across the continent of Africa and also as far away as Korea. Many of these are Pastors so our emphasis on teaching Biblical Theology through the Bible’s own stories can have a far reaching impact. We’ve made a number of dear friends from places as diverse as Nigeria, Botswana and Korea. We all share English in common and we’re all in one stage or another of transitioning to life in a foreign culture.

Koreans and Africans learning stories. 

Our story group has been meeting for about 10 months now and it’s slowly progressing, but not as rapidly as it would in a pure ‘oral culture’. I'm working with Masters and Ph.D. students who are not typical Africans or typical oral learners. However they are still finding the ‘Biblical storytelling’ helpful and those in our group enjoy the approach and see the merits of it. We’ve been able to story through the gospels and Genesis and we’re currently up to the Exodus. So telling the Biblical story along with having students over to our house, meeting with students and showing basic hospitality is essentially our philosophy of ministry. We are doing this through the local church, Christ Church Stellenbosch, where I’m on staff and my role has expanded so that now I'm also the missions’ pastor. I've been invited to teach Biblical storytelling in Malawi, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Gambia and South Sudan. Malawi and Nigeria are the most likely stops for me in 2016.

Christmas Eve at our flat. 

Today we moved into a new house.  We looked at a least nine different places and when the house we really wanted fell through we were a bit discouraged. We were one of the last 5 potential renters down from 13 when the owner decided to sell rather than rent. The same day the place we wanted fell through we received a call from a couple in the church who had decided to go to the states for a year so to make a long story short we staying in their house. The rent is a little more than we had hoped but it’s a nice house and it will be great for entertaining and showing hospitality. It’s also fully furnished and it’s only a 10 minute walk from campus. Our girls are excited about the move since they’ve been a bit cooped up in relatively small apartment for a year. We’ve suffered some severe setbacks lately, so we are asking that you would please pray for us and our children. We feel particularly needful of prayer as we enter this ‘New Year’. Have a great a ‘New Year’ and thanks again for your prayerful support.

With Love from the Stoms Family,

Jay, Laura, Clara, Katherine and Lauren.

Simeon and Anna at the Temple with Jesus (Luke 2:21-40).

God had promised Abraham a homeland and multiple descendants to bless the world. His descendants multiplied but ended up enslaved in Egypt. Then God delivers them from Egyptian slavery and calls them to be a ‘holy nation’. They began to take possession of their land, but the chaotic period of the Judges showed that they would need a king to be a ‘kingdom of priests’. God found a king after His own heart in David and David’s son, Solomon, developed the ‘Nation of Israel’ into an Empire. But, Solomon introduced an idolatry that split Israel and the ‘Northern kingdom’ was scattered by the Assyrians and the ‘Southern Kingdom’ was carried into ‘Exile in Babylon for 70 years’. The Persians conquered the Babylonians, allowing the Jews to return to their land. But Israel remained dominated by various pagan empires and at the time when Jesus was born God’s people were waiting for 'God’s King' to restore the kingdom and deliver God’s people.

Caesar Augustus ordered a census throughout the Roman world, so Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem in Judea to register. They went to Bethlehem, the town of Israel’s King David, because Joseph was from the line of David. In the Bethlehem Mary gave birth to a son who she wrapped in cloth and placed him in a manger. Then shepherds came saying that an angel had told them the child was ‘Christ the Lord’. The people there were amazed and Mary treasured the news in her heart. You can watch and or listen to the story of 'Simeon and Anna’ that happened after Jesus’ birth below. The story is coming from Luke 2:21-40.  

As faithful Jews, Joseph and Mary showed they trusted God by doing what was required in the ‘Law of Moses’. But they also had to submit to the ‘Roman Empire’. Their trip, prompted by Caesar’s census, took them from Nazareth in Galilee up to Bethlehem in Judea. They went to Bethlehem, the city of David, because Joseph was from the line of David. While in Bethlehem Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a son, and she wrapped him in cloth and laid him in a manger. When the shepherds found the newborn wrapped in cloth and in a manger, they knew they had found ‘the Christ’. So the shepherds told everyone the ‘good news of great joy’ about the child. Later when Mary and Joseph had the child circumcised, they named him Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived. When the time of preparation after childbirth was over they took Jesus to Jerusalem to consecrate their firstborn to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice acceptable to the Mosaic Law. Then after fulfilling their obligations the family returned to Nazareth in Galilee where Jesus grew strong, became wise and the grace of God was upon him.

The parents of God’s coming king, Mary and Joseph, were faithful to give the child the sign of the Abrahamic covenant. They were also faithful to give him the name Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived. They observed the period of purification after childbirth and they faithfully took Jesus to the temple to present him to the Lord. They also offered a sacrifice of either “a pair of doves or two pigeons” acceptable for the poor. In Jerusalem, Mary and Joseph met a righteous and devout man, Simeon, who was waiting for the consolation of Israel. The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die before he saw the ‘Lord’s Christ’. The Spirit led Simeon into the temple where he met Mary and Joseph. There Simeon took the baby in his arms and told the Lord that he was ready to depart this life in peace for he had seen the Lord’s salvation. The Holy Spirit led Simeon to recognize the child as the long anticipated Christ of God, and the fulfillment of Israel’s story. Moreover the Holy Spirit enabled him to see beyond his own salvation and that of Israel for he saw the child as a light of revelation to Gentiles.

God had chosen Abraham and Israel to bless the world and this is what Messiah Jesus came to do but not in way that most Israelites expected. Simeon spoke of Jesus as a sign to be spoken against and he told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart also. Mary would see her son rejected by the nation he came to console and be crucified in the Jerusalem he came to redeem. The child who would cause the falling and rising again of many in Israel would himself fall at the hands of the political and religious leaders. He would be defeated, put to death, and in so doing he would bear the penalty for sin. Then he would rise again from the dead and bring comfort and redeem his people. Joseph and Mary marveled at what Simeon said about their child. The child was the long anticipated Messiah but he would cause the falling and rising again of many in Israel. Ironically, Israel was living under Gentile domination but Messiah Jesus would be a light to the Gentiles. Also in the temple Mary and Joseph also found an elderly widow, a prophetess, named Anna. Anna had lived with her husband seven years but her husband had died. So Anna lived as a widow and she was now 84 years old. She stayed in the temple area where she worshiped God with fasting and prayer on a regular basis. When Anna saw the child she gave thanks and spoke about the child to those who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

God’s ‘coming king’ would bring about God’s reign in a most unexpected way. The Messiah would deal with the oppressive forces of this world and turn the tables on human evil. But he would do this by taking it upon himself in order to break its power in our lives. He would embrace the consequences of sin and evil without participating in it and would suffer its penalty. This was not what most expected but the story tells us that some did recognize and embrace Jesus as God’s ‘anticipated but unexpected’ king. The shepherds responded to the message of the angel by seeking the Christ child in Bethlehem. When they saw the child in a manger they told everyone about him. When the shepherds told everyone the people were amazed and Mary treasured and pondered the news in her heart. Simon had been promised by God that he would not die before he saw the ‘Lord’s Christ’ and he was led into the temple where the Spirit enabled him to embrace the child. Moreover Simeon saw the child as his savoir but also as the savior of the world. Anna, a prayerful 84 year old widow, saw the child andtold everyone who was waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem about him. Simeon and Anna were led by God to speak of the child and Mary and Joseph marveled at what was said about their child. All of these lived lives of faith and hope at a time when God would have seemed distant and unconcerned. They heard the ‘good news which God had prepared in the sight of all people’ and the Holy Spirit enabled them to recognize and embrace the child as God’s king and the world’s true Lord! 

The Birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 2).

In order to better understand the story of the birth of Jesus Christ we should know something of the background story to the story of Jesus that we find in the Old Testament. In the beginning of the Bible we are told that God created man in his own image to do ‘God’s Will’ on the earth. Adam was to consecrate the creation in submission to the God and His Word. Yet, man believed a lie, declared independence from God and brought ‘evil and suffering’ into the world. So God banished man from His presence. Then man deteriorated so that God judged the world by a flood but promised to preserve man and the world in order to redeem it. Then God called Abraham promising him a homeland and multiple descendants to bless the world. His descendants multiplied in Egypt but they ended up enslaved. They cry out and God delivers them from Egyptian slavery called them to be a ‘holy nation’. They began to take possession of their land, and consecrate it to the Lord, but the chaotic period of the Judges showed that they would need a king to be a ‘kingdom of priests’. God found a king after His own heart in David and promises David a ‘perpetual kingship’ over God’s people. David’s son, Solomon, developed Israel into an Empire and built the Jerusalem Temple as a dwelling place for God among His people. But, Solomon introduced an idolatry that split Israel and lead to ‘CIVIL WAR’. The ‘Northern kingdom’ was scattered by the Assyrians and the ‘Southern Kingdom’ was carried into ‘Exile in Babylon for 70 years’. The Persians conquered the Babylonians, allowing the Jews to return to their land but the ‘return from Exile’ fell desperately short of the ‘glories of the prophesied kingdom’ and Israel remained dominated by various pagan empires. So the OT ends with God’s people waiting for God to send His 'anointed King' and restore the kingdom and deliver God’s people. Now you can watch and or listen to the story of the 'Birth of Jesus and of the announcement of his birth to the shepherds that is coming from Luke 2. 

The Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, wanted everyone throughout his empire counted in a census in order to tax his subjects. Caesar issued his decree and people throughout the Empire had to return to their hometowns mostly out of fear of retribution. So Joseph left Nazareth in Galilee to go up to Bethlehem in Judea, the town of Israel’s King David, because Joseph was from David’s family line. Joseph took his fiancee Mary, who was expecting a child, and sometime after they arrived in the ‘little town of Bethlehem’ she gave birth to a son. She wrapped her baby in cloth and placed him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the ‘inn or guest room’.

Are you thinking of a fully booked roadside ‘inn’ in the ‘little town of Bethlehem’? While the translation ‘inn’ in Lk 2:7 is possible, Luke in Lk 10:34 uses a different word in the parable of the ‘good Samaritan’ when the Samaritan took the bandaged man to a commercial ‘inn’.  But in Lk 2:7, Luke uses the same word he uses in Lk 22:11 where the disciples say, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the ‘guest room’, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ The word in Lk 2:7 more likely refers to a ‘guest room’ crowded with relatives. They were staying, either in a two story house where animals were stored at night on the ground floor or they were in a one story house with a main room and a ‘guest room’. The main room would have had a lower area by the door which (See Kenneth Bailey) was used to shelter animals at night. In either case the manger that was there to feed animals at night became the ‘resting place’ for the child because the ‘guest room’ was full of relatives for the census.

It is not that the people of Bethlehem where ‘too busy’ to help a pregnant woman. Neither should we think of them as being ‘so bad’ that they turned away a woman about to give birth to fend for herself. Are we really to think that in city of David, Bethlehem, a descendant of King David would not be able to find any relatives to give him accommodation? No, the story is told to give us a vivid contrast between the ruler of the Roman Empire, Caesar Augustus, and the child who was born as God’s king ‘Christ the Lord’. To advance his empire Caesar Augustus issued a decree and the lives of the ordinary common people were disrupted so that they could be taxed. Caesar wanted to expand his kingdom and he did it at the expense of common people and woe to all who didn’t comply. However, when God wanted to advance His kingdom purpose He appointed an ordinary villager to give birth to what would otherwise have been a very ordinary common child. Yet, this child was anything but ordinary for he was God’s anointed and the alternative king to Caesar who would usher in a kingdom very different to that of Caesar Augustus.

That night shepherds were in the fields outside Bethlehem watching their flocks. Suddenly an ‘angel of the Lord’ appeared to them, light shown around them and they were terrified. The angelic messenger tells them not to be afraid for he was bringing good news of great joy all people. The ‘good news’ was that a Savior had been born in Bethlehem who was ‘Christ the Lord’ and this was ‘good news’ not just for Israel but for all people. The shepherds were told to look for the sign of a baby born in Bethlehem wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger then they would know they had found ‘Christ the Lord’. So while Augustus was exerting his power over his subjects, one of those very subjects was being raised up by God to be God’s alternative to Caesar and the world’s true Lord. Then a great company of angels appeared praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom God’s favor rests.” The angels departed and the shepherds hurried off to Bethlehem, where they found Mary and Joseph, with their newborn child wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger. Seeing the promised sign as told to them by the angel they were convinced that the child was the savior, Christ the Lord! Those hearing the testimony of the shepherds were amazed and Mary treasured the ‘good news’ and pondered it in her heart. Then the shepherds returned to their fields, praising God for sending a savior and for seeing the Christ child, just as they had been told by the angels.

Luke mentions the manger three times though we’re not actually told that there were any animals there at the time. While the manger does speak of Jesus’ humble beginnings, the child wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger was the sign to confirm to the shepherds that what the angel had said was true and that they had found the Christ. This was significant because it was the shepherds who were told who the child really was. The shepherds had been given the good news by the angel but the others would hear about the child from the shepherds. When Mary and Joseph heard what the shepherds had to say it would confirm what they had been told about the child. Up to this point only Joseph and Mary knew the truth about the child which they themselves were previously told by angels. The news of a rival king to Caesar could have potentially harsh consequences but Mary treasured the news and pondered it in her heart. 

Augustus Caesar, enthroned in Rome, had issued a census in order to tax his subjects and expand his empire at their expense. Augustus had defeated all rivals in a bloody civil war and he had turned the Roman republic into an empire with himself as its sole ruler. He claimed to have brought peace to the whole world and having declared his dead adoptive father Julius Caesar to be divine he had declared himself to be the ‘son of the divine’. Augustus had ushered in the empire wide peace but any nation that dared to upset that peace would be crushed by the Roman military and any individual leading an uprising would be nailed to a Roman cross. Augustus contracted his ‘poets and historians’ to tell the story of Rome as culminating in himself. So many people thought of Augustus as the ‘Savior and Lord’ of the world.   

Meanwhile, in the ‘little town of Bethlehem’ the ‘city of David’ a savior was born who was ‘Christ the Lord’. So while Caesars’ subjects sought to comply out of fear of retribution at the very same time Jesus was born. The Lord Jesus Christ was born as a descendant of David in the town of David. David was Israel’s king whom God had promised a perpetual kingship over the people of God. Jesus of Nazareth was unknown to Augustus and his immediate descendants and most of Jesus life was relatively invisible to anyone outside of Israel. Moreover, Jesus would end up being crucified on a Roman cross and later Roman emperors would try to exterminate Christians. However, in just over three centuries the emperor himself would become a Christian. Then not long after that the empire itself would become officially Christian. This story points us to the truth that the baby lying in a manger and announced by lowly shepherds was Christ the Lord and that Caesar was not!  

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Moses initial interaction with Pharaoh (Exodus 5-6).

God had promised Abraham multiple descendants and a homeland to bless the world. The blessing would come through Abraham’s son, Isaac, and through Isaac’s son, Jacob. Jacob’s twelve sons end up in Egypt where they multiplied but they became enslaved. The cry of the Israelites went up to God and God remembered his covenant (Exodus 2:16-25). So God called Moses to go to Pharaoh and to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses had been raised the ‘son of Pharaoh’s daughter’ but he fled Egypt when it was found out that Moses had killed an Egyptian for beating an Israelite. After Moses spent 40 years as a shepherd the Lord called him to rescue the Israelites out of Egypt and to will lead them into their ‘promised land’ (Exodus 3:7-10).  This brings us to the story of Moses’ initial interaction with the Egyptian Pharaoh. Watch or listen to the story here and read the comments below.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8fozitc87uxd8hu/18.%20Bricks%20without%20Straw%20and%20the%20Coming%20Plagues..MP3?dl=0

The book of Exodus begins with the covenant apparently forgotten and with no sign that God was with His people. God calls Moses and acts in the plagues to advance His purposes and to make His presence known. In obedience to the Lord, Moses and Aaron tell Pharaoh, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go and offer sacrifices in the desert.’ ” But Pharaoh wouldn’t let Israel go because he didn’t know the Lord and he took their request as an attempt to avoid their hard work. So Pharaoh made things harder on the Israelites by making them get their own straw. Now they would have to fetch their own straw before mixing it with mud, then the decaying straw would strengthen the bricks when dried in the sun. Yet, Pharaoh demanded that the Israelites make the same number of bricks. When the Israelites failed to meet their quota of bricks, Pharaoh had the Israelite foremen beaten. The foremen appealed to Pharaoh for relief, but Pharaoh harshly refused to give them more straw or reduce their quota of bricks. Then the Israelite foremen rebuked Moses and Aaron by saying, “May the Lord ‘judge you’ for making us a stench to Pharaoh.”

So Moses complains to the Lord that ever since the Lord had sent him to Pharaoh the Lord hadn’t rescued the Israelites and that Pharaoh had only brought more trouble on them. The Lord reminds Moses that He had heard the groaning of the Israelites, and that He had remembered His covenant. The Lord confirms that He would redeem Israel and that He would do this by sending His mighty acts of judgment on the Egyptians. In this way the Israelites would know that YHWH was Lord  and their God and that they were the Lord's people. The Lord was confirming that He was faithfully working out His covenant promise to give the Israelites the land He had sworn to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses tells the Israelites that YHWH was the Lord and that He would fulfill His covenant to redeem them by bringing His mighty acts of judgment upon the Egyptians. But, the Israelites wouldn’t listen to Moses because the cruelty they were suffering at the hands of the Egyptians.

Moses wants to know why Pharaoh would listen to him if the Israelites wouldn’t even listen to him.

The Lord tells Moses to go ahead and tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go even though Pharaoh would not listen. The Lord would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that through His mighty acts of judgment the Lord would redeem Israel and that both Israel and Egypt would know YHWH was the Lord. The Lord sends Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh and Aaron was to throw Moses’ staff down before Pharaoh. Aaron threw the staff down and it became a snake. However, Pharaoh’s magicians did the same thing with their magic arts so that their staffs also became snakes. While the Egyptian magicians could duplicate the sign, YHWH showed His supremacy when Aaron’s staff swallowed up the staffs of the Egyptian magicians. The power of YHWH was shown to be superior to that of the Egyptian magicians but Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he refused to let the Israelites go. Yet this was all according to the Lord’s plan and it was just what the Lord said would happen.

In this story God acts to fulfill his covenant promise by freeing Israel from Egypt and to give them the land of Canaan. The Lord chose to deliver the Israelites from the Egyptians through his mighty acts of judgment. In this way the Lord would show His superiority over the gods of Egypt and reveal His power to both the Israelites and the Egyptians. In one sense, the story tells us that Pharaoh stubbornly resisted the Lord’s requests. But at the same time, the Lord would orchestrate the plagues in such a way so that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. The Lord would do this to multiply His mighty acts so that Israel (6:6-7), their children (10:1-2), Egypt (7:3-5) and all the earth (9:16) might know that YHWH is Lord. We ourselves must acknowledge the supremacy of the Lord our God. Moreover, we are to demonstrate our belief by patiently waiting for God’s deliverance while trusting that God is with us and is able to fulfill His plans and purposes on our behalf.

Moses and the Burning Bush (Exodus 3-4).

God had promised Abraham multiple descendants and a homeland to bless the world. The blessing would come through Abraham’s son, Isaac, and through Isaac’s son, Jacob. A famine in Canaan led Jacob’s twelve sons into Egypt where they were taken care of by Jacob’s son, Joseph, who rose to prominence in Egypt. There Israel multiplied but they became enslaved when a Pharaoh who didn’t knew Joseph came to power. The Israelites were oppressed but the more they were oppressed the more they multiplied. Fearful that the Israelites would fight against Egypt the Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew baby boys be thrown in the Nile. When Moses was born his parents hide him, then Moses’ mother put her baby in a basket and placed in the Nile River. Pharaoh’s daughter rescued the baby so Moses was raised as the ‘son of Pharaoh’s daughter’. When Moses was 40 years old he saw and Egyptian beating a Hebrew, so he killed the Egyptian. Pharaoh found out about this and he tried to have Moses killed, so he fled to live in Midian. There Moses married the daughter of a Midianite priest and he became a shepherd. Then the Pharaoh died and the cry of the Israelites in their oppression went up to God, and God remembered his covenant (Exodus 2:16-25). This brings us to the story of Moses and the burning bush. Watch or listen to the story here and read the comments below.

In this story God calls Moses to confront Pharaoh and to liberate Israel from Egypt. The Israelites were to be formed into a ‘community of worshipers’ that Moses was to lead to their own land, a land to be ‘wholly consecrated’ to the Lord! Moses upbringing in Egypt as the ‘son of Pharaoh’s daughter’ is long past and we find him shepherding the flock of father-in-law’s in the wilderness around Sinai. The ‘angel of the Lord’ appears to Moses from within a bush that is on fire but doesn’t burn up. The direction of Moses life changes forever when he investigates why the bush is not burning up.  The Lord calls Moses from the fire and Moses responds, “Here I am!” The Lord tells Moses to take off his shoes for he’s standing on holy ground. Moses covers his face being afraid to look at God. The God of their fathers tells Moses that He has seen the affliction of his people in Egypt and has committed to rescue them out of Egypt and to will lead them into their own land, a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:-10).  

God tells Moses to go to the successor of the Pharaoh who wanted Moses dead, and to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses’ response is, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” Moses had tried to deliver the Israelites and he had put his position and influence on the line. He was willing to fight for his people and he even killed an Egyptian for beating an Israelite. But Moses was forced to flee and live in exile in Midian as a shepherd for 40 years. Moses tells the Lord, ‘who am I to confront Pharaoh and leading the Israelites out of Egypt’. As a deliverer of the Israelites, Moses had been a miserable failure so he saw himself as totally inadequate for the job. Now he was a shepherd and the last guy in the world to go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

As Israel’s deliverer Moses was a dismal failure, so he saw himself as incapable of confronting Pharaoh and rescuing the Israelites. Moses had tried to rescue the Israelites in his own way and in his own strength and so he failed. However, now having confessed his own inadequacy, Moses is God’s man for the job. Moses confessed inadequacy would be overcome by the Lord’s personal presence. Moses said, ‘who am I’ and the Lord said, ‘I will be with you’! The Lord was not with the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, when he took matters into his own hands. But now the humble shepherd was now ready to lead Israel out of Egypt God’s way. So the Lord tells Moses you’re the guy and ‘I will be with you’ so things will be different.  

Now the sign that God had sent Moses would be that the Israelites would be rescued out of Egypt. The Lord told Moses, ‘I will be with you’ and He would enable Moses to do what he had previously failed to do. When Israel was out of Egypt and gathered at Sinai in worship that would be the sign that the Lord had sent Moses. When the Israelites were gathered together at Sinai as a worshiping community then Moses would know that it the Lord done it. The Israelites would be shaped into a worshiping community at the very place were Moses led the flock of father-in-law to graze, the very place the ‘angel of the Lord’ had appeared and the Lord had called Moses from out of the fire.

The Lord was calling Moses to do what the Lord said that He would be with Moses to do. The Lord would do what the Lord had promised Abraham 400 years earlier He would do (Gen.15:13-14). The Lord said the Israelites would be rescued and the Lord would be with Moses to make it happen. The Lord was calling Moses to do what Moses knew he was utterly dependent upon the Lord to do. Moses had been living as a shepherd in exile in Midian for 40 years because he had failed as Israel’s rescuer. Now the Lord was calling Moses to step out in faith and trust that God would be with him to do what could only happen if God made it happen.

Moses had said ‘who am I’ to go to Pharaoh and to rescue the Israelites and the answer to Moses’ inability was ‘I will be with you’. So Moses now wants to know what he should say when the Israelites ask the name of the God who has sent Moses. In other words, Moses says okay I’m inadequate for the job and I hear you saying you’ll be with me but, ‘Who are you? And what is your name?’  The God of our fathers lead Jacob and his family into Egypt during a time of famine when Joseph was in power in Egypt, but now Joseph is a distant memory and the Israelites had been in Egypt for 400 years. Not only that but they’re suffering under Egyptian oppression so really God ‘who are you’?

God tells Moses, ‘I AM who I AM’! Moses was to tell the Israelites ‘I AM’ has sent me to you! The name God gave to Moses, Yahweh, comes from the Hebrew verb to be. The Septuagint translation of the name emphasizes the ‘self-existence’ of God. The translation ‘I AM who I AM’ and the context itself suggests that ‘God is who He is’. That is God is who ‘He has revealed Himself to be’ and He is not a God of our own making. He is the one who promised Moses ‘I will be with you’. He is the one who made a covenant with Abraham promising him multiple descendants and a homeland to bless the world. He is the one who would further reveal Himself by rescuing Israel out of Egypt, forming them into a worshiping community and leading them into a land of their own. He is the one speaking to Moses from the fire and He had previously manifested Himself when a smoking firepot with a blazing torch passed between the animal pieces and bound Himself to Abraham in covenant. He is the one who would later, lead the Israelites in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 3:13–15). Yahweh is the one who is faithful to His promises and is fully capable of fulfilling all His promises.

When God called Moses to go to Pharaoh and rescue the Israelites Moses said you’ve got to be kidding do you know, ‘who am I?’ God was saying, ‘I know who you are Moses and I will be with you’. But now God was saying to Moses, ‘Moses, do you know who I AM? God’s answer was ‘I AM who I AM’ now you go and tell the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you’! The Lord would be with Moses so Moses was to step out in faith and he was to tell Pharaoh, ‘that the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, wants us to take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord, our God.’ But Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go, so Yahweh would lift His hand and strike the Egyptians with miraculous signs. Then not only would Pharaoh let them go but the Egyptians would give the Israelites their articles of silver and gold and fine clothing so that in this way the Israelites would plunder the Egyptians (3:18-21).

Now Moses wants to know what to do if the Israelites fail to listen to him or believe that the Lord had appeared to him. So the Lord gives Moses two special signs to convince the Israelites that YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had appeared to Moses. Moses was to throw down his shepherd’s staff which Moses did and it turned into a snake. Moses jumped back but the Lord said, “Grab it by its tail” and when Moses did it turned back into a staff. Then the Lord had Moses put his hand inside his cloak and when he did his hand become leprous. Then the Lord had Moses put his hand back into his cloak and when he did his hand was healed. Then if the Israelites were still unconvinced then Moses was to pour some water from the Nile River on the ground and it would turn to blood (4:1-9).

So the Lord gave Moses these signs to convince any doubting Israelites. But Moses claims that he has never been a good speaker and he’s not one now even though Lord had spoken to him. The Lord challenges Moses by saying who makes people speak or not speak, hear or not hear, see or not see. The Lord promises to be with Moses and enable him to speak and teach him what to say. After all this Moses simply says, ‘Please, Lord, send someone else’. The Lord becomes angry with Moses, but He remains committed to Moses. Aaron, Moses’ brother will be Moses’ spokesman and Moses will tell Aaron what to say. Now is the time, those in Egypt who wanted to kill Moses were dead. Moses was to go and perform the miraculous signs before Pharaoh. But Pharaoh would refuse to let the Israelites go so Moses was to tell the hard-hearted Pharaoh that the Lord says, ‘Israel is my firstborn son, let my son go, so he can worship me. But since you have refused, I will kill your firstborn son!’ ” So the two brothers, Aaron and Moses, go to Egypt and gather the elders of Israel and tell them everything the Lord had said, and Moses performed the miraculous signs. Now when the elders of Israel hear that God had seen their suffering and had promised to rescue them, they bowed their heads and worshiped (4:10-31).