Post by alon on Nov 18, 2022 16:52:55 GMT -8
This Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Exodus 10:1-12:12
Haftara- Isaiah 19:1–17
D’rash: Exodus 10:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, The Hebrew uses the idiom “הִכְבַּ֤דְתִּי אֶת־לִבּוֹ֙ ekbdthi ath’lbu, made heavy the heart of him.” Gives a little bit different connotation to the terms. Another way to interpret this is to strengthen his heart. A Just God (Job 34:17) doesn’t harden our hearts then punish us. But He will give us an extra bit of toughness, resolve, willpower- then allow us to make our own decisions.
Exodus 10:2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.” In the 60’s I often heard the idiotic adage “Never trust anyone over 30.” Everything was supposed to be made “new” by the “young generation.” But since they kew nothing of the past, they never attained wisdom. Studying the past, “remembering,” takes effort. The fear [moral reverence] of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Prov 9:10) This requires knowledge of God, and that requires some effort. The resentment of that generation took no effort; just a desire to be in control without any qualifications. And they eventually did gain control, which is why we are in the mess we now find ourselves. Faith requires trust, and trust comes from reliving what God has done. This is why God commands the retelling of the Exodus from generation to generation. And every year at Passover this story is retold as though the participants are there in Jewish and Messianic seders.
Exodus 10:7-11 (redacted) Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, “… Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, … But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind [before your face]. No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, …” And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. Most Egyptians knew the Hebrews had to go and serve their God. And here we see the Jewish axiom of “leave no one behind.” Jews take care of their own, as well as many others. I’ve found the Jews to be a very giving people. But Pharaoh is untrusting of Moshe. He speaks mockingly and rudely, in what amounts to a challenge to Moses’ God. Not the best idea.
Exodus 10:4-5, 13-15 (redacted) For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, and they shall cover the face of the land [וְכִסָּה֙ אֶת־עֵ֣ין הָאָ֔רֶץ I will cover the “at” eye of “at” the land], so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, … So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. … the east wind had brought the locusts. The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. Theycovered the face of the whole land [covered the eye of the land], so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. … . Why didn’t YHVH-Hose’enu, God Our Creator (Ps 95:6) just say “Let there be locusts?” Well, He has been attacking Mitzrayim through the nature gods they worshiped. With a wind, they (and we) could just say “this is nature run amok.” However locusts are migratory, and this was clearly not their usual routine, nor was it a usual infestation. Either way, from the Egyptian point of view something has gone terribly wrong!
In the Hebrew (as opposed to English transliterations) this plague attacks “עֵ֣ין הָאָ֔רֶץ ayin ha’eretz, the eye of the land (Mitzrayim).” Most are familiar with the symbol for Ra, foremost of the Egyptian nature deities. It looks like an eye. Amun’Ra was the sun god, who watched over Egypt and protected the land. Now the locusts blocked the sun, so this idol could not see its land or people, nor could they see him. And he certainly was not able to protect them from this foreign God! Yet Elohei Ha’Ivriyim, Lord God of the Hebrews (Ex 3:18) could still see and protect His people.
Exodus 10:16-17,20,21 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” … But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go. Like one infamous US president who, every time he was caught in some indiscretion would grab the biggest Bible he could find and get photographed in front of a church; then go do it again. It’s human nature- beg forgiveness, but never change. And change is the evidence of true repentance, which is necessary for forgiveness. God relented and sent a wind to blow the locusts away in order to show the plague was from Him. And it is evident Pharaoh knew this, yet still his heart was hardened. He had challenged God, and God was not through with either Pharaoh or with the petty deity Amun’Ra. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.”
Exodus 10:22- (redacted, with commentary) So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. This was not an eclipse, as some claim. Eclipses only last minutes or hours; this lasted three days. And they do not stop at man made borders. This one afflicted Mitzrayim, but not the land of Goshen where the Hebrews were. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived. They used to turn out the lights in the Carlsbad Caverns tours. That is a total absence of light- true pitch darkness. It is a darkness that can be felt! Three days of that and the Egyptians must have about gone insane! Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” Pharaoh still thinks he can barter with God, which would imply he still retained at least some power. But Moses reply is both as rude as Pharaoah’s comments, and probably humiliating to him as well. My Stones TNK translates vs. 25 as “Even you will place in our hands feast-offerings and and burnt-offerings, and we shall offer them to HASHEM our God.” the JPS translation is similar, however most English translations miss this. Moshe is telling Pharaoh he will himself provide the animals he worships to the Hebrews for sacrificial purposes! Our livestock also must go with us; … for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” But … he would not let them go. Or you could let us take our own sacrifices. Kedoshi, the Holy One (Hab 1:12), through Moshe gives Pharaoh a choice, but not an opportunity to barter. Pharaoh is powerless before the God of the Hebrews.
Exodus 10:28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” This is a clear threat by Pharaoh. The Hebrew here translated “take care” is literally “הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֗ hashamer lecha, watch yourself.”
Exodus 10:29 Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.” There is no purpose to another meeting. Pharaoh wants to barter, to retain some semblance of power; to save some face. God is not going to go along. He challenged Almighty God and now must be utterly humbled. Either the Hebrews will leave Mitzrayim with all they own, or they will likely be destroyed by Pharaoh. The stage is set for the (almost) final showdown. As most know, he will let the Hebrews go, but later he’ll try to kill them. They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. Apparently it can also drive you utterly insane with jealousy and rage when your evils are confronted and you are bested.
Exodus 11:4-5 So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. This final plague will depart from the pattern of natural disasters. This will be utterly and evidently supernatural; a true act of divine judgement.
Exodus 11:6-7 There shall be a great [loud] cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ The Egyptians will make a “loud cry,” which is just and equal punishment for making the Hebrews cry for their slain children.
Exodus 12 (redacted) … on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. … You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, … the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs [between the two evenings].“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; … its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. … For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. I want to focus on just one aspect of this familiar story: trust in God. Think about what is being asked of the Hebrews here- they are to ritually kill one of the gods of Egypt in the sight of Egyptians, probably most of their recent taskmasters. They are to eat the entire animal, anything left they are to burn. They are to be dressed ready to go; to leave Egypt. Any one of these offenses could incite the Egyptians to take revenge, probably killing the Hebrews. And they were to just wait inside their houses for either the Egyptian reprisal or for God to deliver them. Moreover they are to mark the houses they are in with blood, making them easy to find if it is Pharaoh’s army that comes knocking! This takes an awful lot of trust in their God. But it is necessary for them to place this trust in God, as well as to defy their masters if they are to become a free people and serve Elohei HaElohim, God of Gods (Deu 10:17).
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; Stone’s TNK: D Prager; my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
arashah- Ex 12:13-28
Haftara- Jer 46:13-28
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
Parashah- Exodus 10:1-12:12
Haftara- Isaiah 19:1–17
D’rash: Exodus 10:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, The Hebrew uses the idiom “הִכְבַּ֤דְתִּי אֶת־לִבּוֹ֙ ekbdthi ath’lbu, made heavy the heart of him.” Gives a little bit different connotation to the terms. Another way to interpret this is to strengthen his heart. A Just God (Job 34:17) doesn’t harden our hearts then punish us. But He will give us an extra bit of toughness, resolve, willpower- then allow us to make our own decisions.
Exodus 10:2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.” In the 60’s I often heard the idiotic adage “Never trust anyone over 30.” Everything was supposed to be made “new” by the “young generation.” But since they kew nothing of the past, they never attained wisdom. Studying the past, “remembering,” takes effort. The fear [moral reverence] of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Prov 9:10) This requires knowledge of God, and that requires some effort. The resentment of that generation took no effort; just a desire to be in control without any qualifications. And they eventually did gain control, which is why we are in the mess we now find ourselves. Faith requires trust, and trust comes from reliving what God has done. This is why God commands the retelling of the Exodus from generation to generation. And every year at Passover this story is retold as though the participants are there in Jewish and Messianic seders.
Exodus 10:7-11 (redacted) Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, “… Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, … But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind [before your face]. No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, …” And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. Most Egyptians knew the Hebrews had to go and serve their God. And here we see the Jewish axiom of “leave no one behind.” Jews take care of their own, as well as many others. I’ve found the Jews to be a very giving people. But Pharaoh is untrusting of Moshe. He speaks mockingly and rudely, in what amounts to a challenge to Moses’ God. Not the best idea.
Exodus 10:4-5, 13-15 (redacted) For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, and they shall cover the face of the land [וְכִסָּה֙ אֶת־עֵ֣ין הָאָ֔רֶץ I will cover the “at” eye of “at” the land], so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, … So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. … the east wind had brought the locusts. The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. They
In the Hebrew (as opposed to English transliterations) this plague attacks “עֵ֣ין הָאָ֔רֶץ ayin ha’eretz, the eye of the land (Mitzrayim).” Most are familiar with the symbol for Ra, foremost of the Egyptian nature deities. It looks like an eye. Amun’Ra was the sun god, who watched over Egypt and protected the land. Now the locusts blocked the sun, so this idol could not see its land or people, nor could they see him. And he certainly was not able to protect them from this foreign God! Yet Elohei Ha’Ivriyim, Lord God of the Hebrews (Ex 3:18) could still see and protect His people.
Exodus 10:16-17,20,21 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” … But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go. Like one infamous US president who, every time he was caught in some indiscretion would grab the biggest Bible he could find and get photographed in front of a church; then go do it again. It’s human nature- beg forgiveness, but never change. And change is the evidence of true repentance, which is necessary for forgiveness. God relented and sent a wind to blow the locusts away in order to show the plague was from Him. And it is evident Pharaoh knew this, yet still his heart was hardened. He had challenged God, and God was not through with either Pharaoh or with the petty deity Amun’Ra. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.”
Exodus 10:22- (redacted, with commentary) So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. This was not an eclipse, as some claim. Eclipses only last minutes or hours; this lasted three days. And they do not stop at man made borders. This one afflicted Mitzrayim, but not the land of Goshen where the Hebrews were. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived. They used to turn out the lights in the Carlsbad Caverns tours. That is a total absence of light- true pitch darkness. It is a darkness that can be felt! Three days of that and the Egyptians must have about gone insane! Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” Pharaoh still thinks he can barter with God, which would imply he still retained at least some power. But Moses reply is both as rude as Pharaoah’s comments, and probably humiliating to him as well. My Stones TNK translates vs. 25 as “Even you will place in our hands feast-offerings and and burnt-offerings, and we shall offer them to HASHEM our God.” the JPS translation is similar, however most English translations miss this. Moshe is telling Pharaoh he will himself provide the animals he worships to the Hebrews for sacrificial purposes! Our livestock also must go with us; … for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” But … he would not let them go. Or you could let us take our own sacrifices. Kedoshi, the Holy One (Hab 1:12), through Moshe gives Pharaoh a choice, but not an opportunity to barter. Pharaoh is powerless before the God of the Hebrews.
Exodus 10:28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” This is a clear threat by Pharaoh. The Hebrew here translated “take care” is literally “הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֗ hashamer lecha, watch yourself.”
Exodus 10:29 Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.” There is no purpose to another meeting. Pharaoh wants to barter, to retain some semblance of power; to save some face. God is not going to go along. He challenged Almighty God and now must be utterly humbled. Either the Hebrews will leave Mitzrayim with all they own, or they will likely be destroyed by Pharaoh. The stage is set for the (almost) final showdown. As most know, he will let the Hebrews go, but later he’ll try to kill them. They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. Apparently it can also drive you utterly insane with jealousy and rage when your evils are confronted and you are bested.
Exodus 11:4-5 So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. This final plague will depart from the pattern of natural disasters. This will be utterly and evidently supernatural; a true act of divine judgement.
Exodus 11:6-7 There shall be a great [loud] cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ The Egyptians will make a “loud cry,” which is just and equal punishment for making the Hebrews cry for their slain children.
Exodus 12 (redacted) … on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. … You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, … the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs [between the two evenings].“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; … its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. … For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. I want to focus on just one aspect of this familiar story: trust in God. Think about what is being asked of the Hebrews here- they are to ritually kill one of the gods of Egypt in the sight of Egyptians, probably most of their recent taskmasters. They are to eat the entire animal, anything left they are to burn. They are to be dressed ready to go; to leave Egypt. Any one of these offenses could incite the Egyptians to take revenge, probably killing the Hebrews. And they were to just wait inside their houses for either the Egyptian reprisal or for God to deliver them. Moreover they are to mark the houses they are in with blood, making them easy to find if it is Pharaoh’s army that comes knocking! This takes an awful lot of trust in their God. But it is necessary for them to place this trust in God, as well as to defy their masters if they are to become a free people and serve Elohei HaElohim, God of Gods (Deu 10:17).
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; Stone’s TNK: D Prager; my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
arashah- Ex 12:13-28
Haftara- Jer 46:13-28
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot