Exodus 8

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Exodus 8

Summary

Now Moses (and Aaron), at God’s instructions, tells the Pharaoh that he will send frogs to cover the land if he doesn’t let them go and worship. Then he sends the frogs (I guess the Pharaoh said no) and they cover everything. The magicians could do this too, but Pharaoh begs for relief and Moses prays the frogs away. Then Pharaoh hardened his heart again (or did God).

God and Moses then turn dust into gnats to plague Egypt. Pharaoh didn’t change his mind this time, even though the magicians could do it and even told his that is was the finger of God.

Then it’s flies. God and Moses send flies. Pharaoh tried to compromise by asking that the Israelites worship and sacrifice in Egypt, but Moses said the Egyptians wouldn’t put up with it. Pharaoh gives in and agrees, but as soon as the flies are gone he hardened his heart (maybe God) and refused to let them go.

Commentary

This is fairly simple, I suppose. Moses (still lying) and God are ratchetting up the pressure to get the Pharaoh to let them go. Pharaoh, either being a jerk or under the influence of the God of the Israelites (they kinda look the same by now) won’t let them.

So, by now it’s blood, frogs, gnats and flies that have plagued Egypt and Pharaoh still won’t let them go. God really hates slavery. Must be a pretty bad crime and I’m sure we’ll learn more about how bad it is in the future.

Exodus 7

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Exodus 7

Summary

God has Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh and show him signs, but He will harden the Pharaoh’s heart anyway. As they perform their signs, the Pharaoh calls his magicians to do the same, but Moses’ and Aaron’s are better. This doesn’t change the Pharaoh’s heart (the one God is manipulating). Even turning the water to blood, which the magicians could also do, and the Pharaoh wouldn’t let the Israelites go. The Egyptians didn’t have anything to drink for seven days.

Commentary

The narrative is either dishonest, or God is. It clearly states that God will make Pharaoh’s heart hard against Moses and the Israelites. When God points out that the Pharaoh’s heart is hard he has Moses and Aaron perform more signs as if it’s not all controlled. If it was just the Pharaoh that’s one thing, but denying water to all the people of Egypt over God’s own cruel games seems a bit excessive. And throughout Moses repeats the same lie. That his people want to be allowed to worship and that is all.

Exodus 6

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Exodus 6

Summary

After Moses had mouthed off to God in Exo 5:22-23, God now boasts of who he is. How he appeared to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. How he promised them Canaan. How he now hears the groaning of his people. God tells Moses to tell this to the Israelites and how he will free them.

But, of course, they don’t listen to him. So God tells Moses to go and tell the Pharaoh. Moses once again begs off because due to his lack of speaking skills.

Now we read  a truncated family record of 3 of Jacob’s sons, Reuban, Simeon and Levi down to Moses and Aaron.

Moses once again complains about his speaking ability.

Commentary

It’s nice that God didn’t try to kill Moses again for complaining (see Exo 4:24), but God wants Moses to try to convince the Pharaoh with words. Why didn’t Moses use the signs God gave him with the Pharaoh. Now he wants him to go back again to speak to Pharaoh? Words clearly aren’t working, but of course they woudn’t, since God says it is him who is hardening the Pharaoh’s heart. Which means this can only escalate.

The family record of the first 3 sons of Jacob (Israel) hear is instructive of the timeline.  Moses is only the 3rd generation of Israelites born in Egypt since the sons of Jacob moved there. It also tells us that he is the product of incest, as his mother was also his great aunt. (His father Amram married his aunt,  Jochebed)

Exodus 5

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Exodus 5

Summary

Moses and Aaron meet with the Pharaoh to ask that the Hebrews be allowed to have a festival to worship. The Pharaoh refuses, saying that he doesn’t obey the Hebrew god and that they should get back to work.

The Pharaoh then orders that the Hebrew slaves need to work harder by getting the straw they need for brick themselves, saying they are lazy. The slaves realize how things are getting much worse and go complain to Moses, accusing him of causing all the trouble.

Moses in turn lays the same accusation on God.

Commentary

I suppose this is the part where God is hardening Pharaoh’s heart. Moses tells Pharaoh that they want to go to the desert and worship (a lie, but God’s OK with that), and Pharaoh sees this as a complaint from lazy slaves.

Maybe the plan is to make it so much worse that the other Hebrews have to do something and follow Moses. Kinda shitty plan, both in likelihood to success and ethically.

Exodus 4

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Exodus 4

Summary

Moses is afraid that he will fail at his task of convincing the elders of what God wants of them. So the LORD gives Moses a few signs that he can use to convince them: A staff that turns into a snake, his hand can become leprotic and healed at will, and he can turn river water to blood.

Moses continues to while that he’s not a good speaker and shouldn’t God find someone else. God gets angry, but agrees that they can enlist the help of Aaron, his brother to speak while Moses performed the signs.

Moses sets out for Egypt from his home bringing his family. At which point God discusses the plan with him. He’s to attempt to convince the Pharaoh, but God will harden his heart anyway.

When Moses got to a lodging place, the LORD was going to kill him, but Zipporah, his wife, circumcises their son and God let him live.

Moses explained to Aaron what was going on, they went to the elders performing the signs, who then believed them and bowed down to worship.

Commentary

First off, whining apparently works on God. But he will also kill you for no apparent reason after giving you his plans for his people. He sounds more like a movie villian than the creator of the universe, to me.

Also, God plans to harden the heart of the Pharaoh to make sure he refuses to let the Hebrews leave. Does this mean the Pharaoh would have let them go otherwise? Isn’t that what God wants? So he merely has a desire to inflict suffering on the people of Egypt. Well, they were slavers, so God must hate slavery. I’m sure we’ll see that theme again later.

I also want to call attention to Exo 4:11 where God is making an allusion to the idea that all good and bad is by his hand alone.