Hindsight can be a beautiful thing but sometimes hindsight blinds us rather than illuminates us. As the people of Israel are ready to leave Egypt for good, they have little idea of the epic journey has in store for them. As we read the story of Yeshua’s life in the New Testament, we have the same benefit and “curse” of hindsight as we read about the last few weeks of his life. We tend to be a little judgmental towards His favorite disciples because of they lacked a true understanding of Yeshua’s mission until after His death and resurrection. Today, ignore hindsight and discover some truths in these stories that hindsight otherwise obscures.
Category: Torah
The people of Israel didn’t follow Moshe (Moses) initially. Moshe didn’t believe that Pharaoh would hear him either. God affirmed Moshe yet God told Moshe and Aaron to go to Pharaoh anyway. God had a plan to elevate Moshe and Aharon (Aaron) in the eyes of Pharaoh and the people of Israel. The first three plagues were unleashed on Mitsraim (Egypt) but the magicians of Mitsraim have the same power and Pharaoh doesn’t want to believe that the hand of the Creator is at work in Moshe and Aharon.
In today’s discussion, we explored Exodus 6, focusing on God’s promise to deliver Israel and the meaning behind His name, “I Am, that I Am.” We talked about Moses’ doubts, the Israelites’ broken spirits under oppression, and how God’s actions fulfill His promises. The group reflected on the importance of faith during hardship, the pattern of God revealing Himself, and the significance of genealogy in understanding Israel’s story. We also connected these lessons to our own spiritual journeys.
Moshe (Moses) returned to Mitsraim (Egypt) and found Aharon (Aaron) was willing to help him accomplish the task God gave him to do. However, Moshe and his wife Tzipporah have a life-and-death confrontation with God first, and she saved them all by quickly circumcising a son. Once Aharon and Moshe set God’s plan into motion, they face Pharaoh and hit their first roadblock.
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Moses’ first 80 years (Exodus 1–3)
The first 80 years of Moses’ life are summarized in Exodus 1-3. It starts with his birth in Egypt and the end of chapter 3 tells us about his call to return to Egypt. The rest of the book focuses on the last 40 years of his life.
This section of Genesis introduces us to Abraham and his family. We start to see how God communicates His revelation through Abraham’s family (not just the men, but the women as well). We also rediscover how God calls, trains and corrects those He longs to call His sons and daughters.
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Genesis 4–11 recap
This recap of Genesis 4–11 into what happened to mankind right after God had to throw Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and into the time of the flood and the post-flood period. We come to discover that unless we believe the Messiah’s own words that the book of Genesis is real history, we can lose our way. We also need to keep in mind what Messiah said about the book of Genesis (and the differences between people and angels) so we are not led astray by fanciful and even salacious interpretations of how mankind fell away so far that God had to destroy all of mankind (except for one righteous family). A Spirit-filled grounding in the Word of God will help us provide the right answers when those around us ask us about our confidence in God and His scriptures.