I've made it to Exodus, and Moses is about to go demand that Pharoah let God's people go. Most days, God gives me answers from the Scriptures. Most days they are answers to questions I didn't even remember I had, or know I needed to know. Exodus is leaving me with questions that may not have answers this side of Heaven, and I thought I'd share them with you in hopes that maybe YOU know the answer and I'm just a big "stupidhead" as my husband is fond of saying.
In Exodus 1, the king of Egypt orders the Hebrew midwives to kill all newborn males. Because they feared God, they didn't obey and they let the babies live. When questioned by the king, they told him that Hebrew women weren't like Egyptian women, that they gave birth faster than Eyptian women so the midwives couldn't make it to the birthing in time. A blatent lie. Verse 20 says, "Therefore God dealt well with the midwives."
God approved of the lie; indeed He BLESSED them for lying by dealing well with them. Wouldn't it have been better for them to tell the truth - that they feared (respected) God? They mentioned nothing about Him. Why was lying ok, or even preferred maybe, by God in this instance? Why didn't He want them to mention Him to the king? Was it because the outcome was good? This just doesn't seem to jive with the whole of Scripture and it's bugging me.
In Exodus 1, Pharaoh is called "the king of Egypt" up until verse 22, where his is called Pharaoh with no explanation of the title change. Why? Does this have any significance at all? I wonder about the little things like that.
How many years did Moses' mother nurse him before returning him to Pharaoh's daughter? I think I remember learning that children back then weren't weaned nearly as early as in modern times. Surely Moses knew God at that young age from living with his Hebrew mother and father.
Did Moses know that he was a Hebrew? I'm thinking yes - Exodus 2:11 says "He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren." Was it because he remembered spending his early years with his real mom & dad, or did Pharaoh's daughter tell him? I was always under the impression that he was raised as her own son, an Egyptian, and didn't know his origins. Of course that could stem from watching The Ten Commandments too many times.
How many Hebrew men were there his age? They should have all been cast into the river to die as babies. Was disobedience to Pharaoh's edict widespread and common?
In Exodus 3:18, God tells Moses, "...you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt;". I'm not there yet, but I'm pretty sure I remember only Moses and Aaron going to Pharaoh. Hmmm.
Also in 3:18, God commands Moses to lie to Pharaoh. "Please let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God." Again with the lying! And this time at God's command!
Exodus 4:24-26 totally baffles me. Moses is on the way, and "at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him." His wife, Zipporah then proceeds to circumcise her son, cast the foreskin at Moses feet and say, "Surely you re a husband of blood to me!" God then let him go. Completely baffling. This would be a wonderful passage for Joanne Sher to tackle in her Ponderings from the Pentateuch series. HINT TO JOANNE. :)
Those are my questions for today. Not many, huh? If you've got answers, or just want to chime in, I'd love to hear from you!
(btw, all Scripture references are from the New King James Version)
Blessings,
Cat
