Exodus (Part 1)

On to the second book of the Bible, Exodus. Exodus means "departure". This makes sense because this book is all about Moses leading the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. He was more or less the Abe Lincoln of ancient Egypt, which was ruled by Rameses but his stage name was Jefferson Davis.

Just kidding.

OK, in all seriousness now...

Since Jacob and his sons came to Egypt, their family has grown and grown. Now there are hundreds of thousands of descendants from each of the 12 brothers. These people are called the Hebrews, and they grew so numerous that pharoh grew afraid that they would join Egypt's enemies if Egypt went to war, and Egypt would lose. So pharoh had the Hebrews enslaved.

Exodus 1:12
But the more they afflicted them (the Hebrews), the more they multiplied and grew. And they (the Egyptians) were grieved because of the children of Israel.

So pharoh decreed that all the males born to the Hebrew women should be thrown into the river (I'm guessing the Nile). This is where we meet Moses. Moses is born shortly after this decree is put forth, but his mother hides him from the Egyptians for a period of about 3 months. When she can no longer hide him, she puts him in a basket by the brink of the river, to save him from death.

Well guess who finds the baby? The daughter of pharoh! Not only does she have compassion on the baby, who she knows is a Hebrew, but she decides to raise him as her own. Here's the kicker: Moses' older sister was watching the basket, and when pharoh's daughter finds him, she offers to find a Hebrew wetnurse for the princess....and of course she got her mother. So Moses' mother not only got to save her son, she got to be with him as a baby and young child, and now Moses is a prince of Egypt and won't have the life of a slave. Talk about God's blessing!

Now fast forward to Moses as a grown up (around age 40). He sees a Hebrew slave get beaten by an Egyptian, and goes back later and kills the Egyptian. When pharoh had heard what Moses had done, he wanted to kill him, so Moses ran away.

He ends up in the land of Midian, and finds some girls at a well trying to fend off other shepherds. Moses saved the girls, and they bring him back to their father, Jethro. Moses ends up living in Midian and working for Jethro as a shepherd. He marries Zipporah, Jethro's daughter.

One day Moses is out shepherding and he has to go find a sheep that ran away from the flock. While following the sheep, he discovers a bruning bush that seems so wierd to him because it is not being consumed by the fire. Then God speaks to him and tells him to go back to Egypt and get pharoh to let the Hebrews leave, promising to lead the Hebrews to the Promised Land (Canaan). Moses is not very confident about his ability to speak in public to pharoh, so God tells him that his Hebrew brother Aaron will speak for him, and shows him signs to show pharoh (like turning his staff into a snake) to show pharoh that God was on his side.

So we get to the part with the 10 plagues. Each time pharoh says that he will not let the Hebrews go, another plague comes along and devestates the land of Egypt. Finally, the last plague kills all the firstborn in Egypt (even the firstborn animals). The Hebrews have been protected from all the previous 9 plagues, and they are also protected from this plague, known as the Angel of Death, by following God's instructions for the first Passover. They had to kill a lamb without spot or blemish (had to be one of the best of the flock) and put it's blood over the lintel (doorpost) and sides of the door.

Exodus 12:11
And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat in in haste: it is the Lord's passover.

After this, pharoh finally gave in and told Moses to get the Hebrews out of Egypt.

Exodus 12:51
And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel of the land of Egypt by their armies.