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BORN
INTO DANGER
Moses
was the youngest child of a Levite couple, probably Amram and Jochebed. He
was born at a bad time. The Jewish population in Egypt was
growing too rapidly for the Pharaoh's comfort, and he decided to set in
motion one of the many pogroms the Jews have faced throughout their history. He ordered that all male Jewish babies be killed at birth -
this would control their population growth.
Moses' mother hid her new baby for three months and then put him in a
papyrus basket and pushed the little Ark out onto the Nile river. She
could do no more for him, she decided, and God would decide his fate.
The little basket floated for a while, then
lodged in the shallows of the river. The baby's sister Miriam had been
following, and saw that it was not far from a bathing party - one of the
Pharaoh's daughters was there with her retinue. The women saw the basket
and investigated, finding not some flotsam but a live baby, probably crying with hunger.
PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER ADOPTS THE BABY
In the confusion that followed,
Miriam stepped forward and offered to find a wet-nurse for the baby. The
baby was then adopted by the royal women, the wet-nurse being Moses' own
mother. Moses was brought up in the court - thereby receiving an excellent
education and the sort of social contacts that would give him the confidence
he would need later in life.
Moses grew up. Did he have any inkling of his
cultural roots? Probably yes. The princess who adopted him would have
had a good idea of why a healthy baby had been cast out onto the river in
the first place, and Moses probably resembled his Jewish forebears rather
than the Egyptians he lived with.
MOSES LEAVES THE SAFETY OF THE PALACE
One day Moses sided with a Hebrew being beaten by
an Egyptian, and in his anger he killed the Egyptian. The penalty for this crime
was
severe, so Moses avoided capture and headed out into the desert, where he
lived as a shepherd. He married and became a father, his father-in-law
being
the priest Jethro.
The historical background of what happened
next is unclear, since it is virtually impossible to date the story
accurately in Egyptian history. In any event, there was a mass movement of
the Jewish people out of Egypt - caused, the text suggests, but impossibly
difficult working condition imposed on the Hebrews by the Egyptians.
According to the Bible story, it was Moses who led this movement.
GOD TELLS MOSES WHAT TO DO
In a vision, Moses saw God in the form of a
burning bush. God commanded Moses to 'bring my people out of Egypt'.
When Moses pointed out that this might not be easy, God revealed his
identity - 'I Am Who I Am' and gave instructions on how Moses should
proceed. He also gave Moses the power to perform miracles, and the one
thing that Moses knew he truly lacked - eloquence. Thus fortified, Moses returned to confront Pharaoh.
Pharaoh did not acquiesce, so in a final confrontation
Moses imposed ten
plagues on the Egyptians: water which turned to blood; swarming frogs;
gnats and biting insects; disease-carrying flies; diseased cattle and
livestock; eruptions of boils on the skin of people; hailstorms that
destroyed crops; locusts that ate any crop that had survived; unexplained
darkness over the land; and the last and most terrible, the death of every
firstborn member of a generation, a repetition of the killing of the
Hebrew babies of Moses' generation (go to BIBLE
PLAGUES
for some rather ghastly images of the Ten Plagues.) During this last, the first Passover
was celebrated by the Hebrews.
Under this barrage of misfortune and plague,
Pharaoh conceded defeat and agreed to let the Hebrews go. They left Egypt,
led by God in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by
night, and also by Moses and his brother and sister, Aaron and
Miriam.
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'In a final confrontation he imposed ten plagues on the Egyptians: water
which turned to blood; swarming frogs; gnats and biting insects;
disease-carrying flies; diseased cattle and livestock; eruptions of boils
on people's skin; hailstorms that destroyed crops; locusts that ate any
crop that had survived; unexplained darkness over the land; and the last
and most terrible, the death of every firstborn member of a generation...'
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THE PARTING OF THE RED SEA
But Pharaoh regained his composure and
pursued them, triggering another disaster - the drowning of his army in
the Red (Reed) Sea. The Songs of Moses and Miriam are triumphal chants
composed around this event. Then began
the long wandering in the desert, where the Hebrews became what they had
been originally - nomadic herdsmen.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Eventually they came to Mount Sinai, where
Moses received the inspiration to formulate the Ten Commandments, a set of
laws that gave shape and direction to the people (see BIBLE:
WAYS TO HEAVEN for a modern reworking of the Ten Commandments). He also codified laws
around Hebrew worship and ritual, the treatment of slaves, property,
restitution, violence, social and religious laws, the annual festivals and
the sabbatical year. This complex system of laws would serve the Hebrews
throughout their history.
THE GOLDEN CALF - A FALSE GOD
Moses was focused on the God he had found (or
who had found him) but the people were not. They remained loyal to many of
the ancient gods of fertility and agriculture, and were reluctant to
abandon them. In the desert they continued to worship a god of plenty who
they imaged as a a young calf. While Moses was away in the mountains they
designed and made a golden image of this god, probably Baal, and
worshipped it with orgiastic rituals.
When Moses discovered what they had done, he
was furious. He smashed the image and forbad them ever to worship in this
way again. He also commanded the people who had remained loyal to 'I Am'
to slaughter those who had reverted to worship of the Calf - which they
did. The Covenant between God and his people was now sealed in blood.
The authority of Moses' brother Aaron now
declined, and he was replaced by Joshua. He was a military leader and
excellent judge of people, and he was eventually consecrated as Moses'
successor.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
The group of Hebrews moved northwards into
Canaan. The land was settled and well defended, but the less desirable
hill country was a possibility. This is where the Hebrews, now the
first Israelites, would put down roots. Moses was not to see this happen.
He died on the borders of the new land, in the land of Moab - but his work
and faith produced a people who remembered not only slavery in Egypt, but
freedom under God.
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INTERESTING
WEBSITES - stories, pictures, reconstructions
Reworking
the Ten Commandments for the modern world
BIBLE TOP TEN
WAYS TO GET TO HEAVEN
Ten
ways to ruin your life: the Ten Commandments reversed
BIBLE TOP TEN WAYS
TO GET TO HELL
The
story of Shiprah and Puah, the midwives who saved babies like Moses
BIBLE TOP TEN: HEROINES
Graphic
(well, gross really) photographs illustrating the Ten Plagues of Egypt
BIBLE TOP TEN: PLAGUES
The
Stone Tablets of Moses - were they stelae?
BIBLE
ARCHAEOLOGY: STONE TABLETS
The
story of Miriam, Moses' sister
BIBLE WOMEN: MIRIAM
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ACTIVITIES
AND FOCUS QUESTIONS
Understanding
the Ten Commandments - then living them
The Ten Commandments are far more complex than they seem - for example
'Thou shalt not steal'. Steal what? Goods on credit that you cannot pay
for? A reputation? A safe future?
Health? Peace of mind? A husband or wife? These are only some of the
things that can be stolen from a person.
Take each commandment one by one and tease out its meaning, so that you
understand what each one is about. BIBLE:
WAYS TO HEAVEN and BIBLE:
WAYS TO HELL are re-workings of the Ten Commandments; they may
help. Make up a list of the ways each commandment can be kept, and can be
broken - keeping them relevant to your own life.
In
depth study of one person's story
Choose one of the people whose stories are told on this site and develop a
PowerPoint presentation about them.
The presentation must be at least 10 slides long and should include
* a supporting image/picture/painting of each person
* a map of Israel showing
the cities and areas where the story took place.
You may call up other websites to support your ideas.
In
your presentation (approximately 10 minutes), answer the following questions:
1.
What are the main events of the person's life?
Tell the story.
2.
What
were their main qualities? What made them stand out from the crowd?
3. What obstacles did they face?
Did they overcome them, or go with the flow? Explain.
4.
How
did they use their abilities to do God’s work?
5.
Which part of their story appeals to you most? Why?
You must include three short quotations from the Bible texts to illustrate
the points you are making.
Speaking
Up
When
God tells Moses to confront Pharaoh and demand the release of the Hebrews,
Moses points out that he is not a good public speaker (Exodus 6:30). How,
he asks, will he impress the ruler of mighty Egypt when he does not have
oratory skills? But God will not let Moses off the hook - he gives him the
power to speak with authority.
How many of us put off making our faith evident to other people, fearful
that we will embarrass ourselves or put people off? After all, people may
not want to hear our message. How do we make our faith evident to others
without being boorish about it? Make up a list of practical suggestions to
guide you in this sometimes delicate task.
Focus
Questions
1.
Choose one of the events in Moses' life. What are the most interesting moments in the story?
2. In the story, who speaks and who listens? Who acts? Who gets what they
want? If you were in the story, which person would you want to be friends with?
Which person would you want to avoid?
3. What is God's interaction with the main characters? What does this tell
you about the narrator's image of God? Do you agree with this image?
4. What is happening on either side of the story, in the chapters before
and after it? Does this help you understand what is happening?
5. The narrator/editor has chosen to tell some things and leave other
things out. What has been left out of the story that you would like to
know?
6. Are the characteristics and actions of the people in the story still
present in the world? How is the story relevant to modern life, especially
your own?
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