In Egypt, all vegetation depends on the water of the Nile. God says to Pharaoh through the first plague in Exodus 7:17-18, “You are dependent. I can take your livelihood away from you at any time.”
The turning of Nile water into blood is about realizing that our life depends on God. Every moment in our life is a gift from God.
What is interesting is that Pharaoh’s people were able to take life away from them and add to the misery but were unable to heal the damage (Exodus 7:22).
In the biblical context, the serpent is always a symbol of evil. However, evil only has as much power as God allows.
Even though man can imitate evil, it is limited by God. God puts an end when he wants.
From the stick of Moses we know that the serpent could only work until Moses took it again. In Exodus 7:15 we see that the same thing happened to Aaron’s stick and the serpent became the stick again.
The message to Pharaoh in Exodus 7:12 and to all who want to understand it is clear: God has the power to set limits. God intervenes when things get too much out of order.
There is an interesting structure in the text. Three times Moses should go to Pharaoh early in the morning. By the first (Exodus 7:15), fourth (Exodus 8:16) and seventh plague (Exodus 9:13) God always makes a new beginning. In all three cases, Moses must appear before Pharaoh early in the morning. Each morning points a beginning of God’s calling to the Pharaoh and Egypt. Continue reading The structure of the 10 plagues
There are three levels in the 10 plagues of Egypt. On the one hand, through history we see what man is like and what God is like.
Then history is also a model that shows us how God knocks on peoples’ doors and on individuals. We see how God gives opportunities for repentance and how he speaks more and more clearly.
But it also becomes visible how man distances himself more and more from God. Man does not perish because he knows nothing about God, but because he does not want to admit him. There were also Egyptians who joined Israel. Exodus 12:38 says, “A great crowd of other people also went with them.”
It is interesting that in the last book of the Bible, in Revelation, similar plagues are mentioned. There it also says that people do not want to turn back to God.
It is an eye opener that God does not change the world but leads people who trust in him out of trouble. We see that in Noah, in Lot of Sodom, in Moses and in Revelation.
“Then the people believed, and when they heard that the LORD had taken care of the Israelites and seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped him” (Exodus 4:31).
They recognized their misery. But they had not yet heard that God had mercy on them. They were still in the midst of misery. There was still nothing to be seen of salvation. The only new thing was God’s Word – His promise. And that was enough for them. They take it in faith. That was their insurance of salvation. That bowed them down and made them worship their God!
It’s the same for us today. As humans, we are mired in misery. But then comes the Good News: Jesus wants to free us from slavery! We can entrust ourselves to Jesus. The situation itself has not changed at this moment. But Moses and Aaron assured the Israelites: God will save them. This insurance is sufficient. They bow in worship.
Those who can praise God before completion gain the strength and courage to trust in God even in the face of difficulties. Whoever invites Jesus into his life also receives the certainty that he will accomplish everything. In Philippians 1:6 Paul writes, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
(Exodus 4:1-9)
The staff that becomes a serpent and then a staff again is an image that evil can only go as far as God allows. Jesus will defeat the serpent, the devil, through love for God. Genesis 3:15 says, “He (Jesus) shall bruise your head, and you (serpent) shall bruise his heel.” When Jesus healed the mute demoniac possessed man, it became clear that he had power over the devil and his demons.
The healing of leprosy is another sign of the Messiah. When Jesus healed the leper, the question of whether he was the Messiah was raised publicly for the first time. From that point on, the scribes came to Jesus and watched him.
The transformation of water into blood is also the sequence of symbolism found by Jesus. At his first miracle at the wedding at Cana, he turned water into wine. At Passover he pointed the cup of redemption to his vicarious death on the cross, where his blood was shed for the forgiveness of all human transgressions. This sacrificial death becomes effective for everyone who gratefully accepts Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and no longer builds on their own righteousness. Life (water) is obtained by protecting the blood of God’s vicarious Lamb, is the message of Passover. Jesus says it this way in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Moses knows it’s not an easy task. Therefore, he rejects God’s commission. Once he had been a royal prince. Now he’s just a poor shepherd. That may have been embarrassing for him. Because it says in (Genesis 46:34): “Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” He also spent the very best years of his life, from forty to eighty, in no man’s land. His best manhood was wasted with roving. Now he is old. Who will still expect much from an 80-year-old man? What a failure from a proud height!
God doesn’t make mistakes. Continue reading Moses reacts reservedly to God’s calling
God introduces to Moses himself as the I AM. Not as the Creator. God is defined by being, not by action. This is exciting. We in the West are touched by action. In the East one defines oneself in being. It is important whose son or daughter I am and not what awards I have received. Maybe we should fix our identity more in being. If we have given ourselves to Jesus, then we are children of God and that is enough. We love God because he is and not because he does something for us.
The second thing to notice is that God does not reveal himself in a way that can be disposed of by calling his name. He doesn’t fit into our thinking box. He defines himself as a God who is related to us humans. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He spoke to all these forefathers. He promised everyone that through Israel he would bless all peoples. God keeps his promises. God keeps his word.
It is also noticeable that God reveals himself in a thorn bush. In fact, one would expect something else. Kind of like the shepherds in Bethlehem. Heaven opens and the glory of God becomes visible. Throughout the Bible it becomes clear again and again: God reveals his love in suffering. We see that by Job. Then when everything fails, then God is there. Not as a consuming fire, but as a light in the darkness. Just as he also appeared at Pentecost over the first church in tongues of fire and thus pointed out: In the midst of all your troubles I reveal myself by being with each and every one of you and enlightening you. Jesus endures our suffering and supports us in our suffering.
Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’
The encounter with God turned Moses’ life upside down. After Moses has become irrelevant, God takes him to set Israel free through him. But it is not an easy path, but with many surprises.
Exodus 2:23 “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.”
The suffering of the children of Israel in Egypt has become proverbial. Oppression, hard work, want, contempt, all worked together to make life miserable for them. They sighed and cried out in their distress, and their cry came before God. The suffering of the earth is known in heaven. God perceives everything. But he does not provide an instant solution. God is waiting for the right moment.
Continue reading The suffering on earth is known in heaven
Moses finds refuge by the priest of Midian in Exodus 2:15-22. Without his knowledge, he fled to the place of divine revelations. Here at Jetro or Reguël, Abraham’s belief in God is lived. Therefore, Moses comes to a place where he learns more about God by waiting to him, as indicated by the two names of his father-in-law.
Perhaps it is also a challenge for us to wait for God to learn more about him, to understand him even better and to be even more fascinated about him?
After Moses fails as a saviour in Egypt, he becomes the saviour for the daughters of Jetro. A son from a royal house becomes the servant of disenfranchised women. It’s like a reference to Jesus. After Jesus is rejected, he focuses on the servant side of the Saviour. Continue reading Moses in the land of divine revelation