Will the real Mount Sinai please stand up?

Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, who was also the priest of Midian. Moses led the flock to the back of the desert, coming to Horeb, the mountain of God, also known as Sinai (Exodus 3:1). Controversy has long surrounded the actual location of Horeb or Sinai. Midian, where Moses fled after killing the Egyptian 40 years later, was located entirely in modern-day Saudi Arabia. This was ideal for Moses because it was outside of the control and influence of Egypt. However, Moses' decision to hide in Midian may have been influenced by the presence of the Egyptian military in the Sinai Peninsula. Pharaoh's soldiers were supervising the construction and operation of copper and turquoise mines throughout southern Sinai. Inscriptions on their walls and the surrounding ruins of ancient temples still provide visual evidence of Egypt's presence there during the years of Moses' exile. It is doubtful that, as a fugitive, Moses would have lived or traveled anywhere in the south Sinai with an army committed to his capture close at hand. The prospects of sanctuary in Midian, however, were far more significant (The Exodus Revealed).

Map of Moses moving to Midian--Headwaters Christian Resources

After 40 years, Moses wandered to the base of Mount Sinai. There, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame from a burning bush. Moses looked and saw that the bush was burning with fire even though it did not consume it. So, naturally, Moses did what anyone would do, right? He said (paraphrasing), "Gee, there's a bush burning over there, but nothing is happening to it. That doesn't happen every day. Let me go get a closer look and check that out." When God saw that Moses was looking, he called to him. The first thing he had Moses do was take off his sandals because the ground he was standing on was holy. Then God informed Moses that, even though it had been hundreds of years, God heard the cries and sorrows of the Israelites because of their taskmasters. So he was finally going to deliver them from Egyptian bondage and bring them to the land he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Genesis. Furthermore, God let Moses know that he had been selected to go to Pharaoh to demand their release and lead them out (Exodus 3:2-10).

"Moses and the burning bush" by vlastas on Video Hive

At this point, we should probably identify who this Angel of the Lord is in verse 2. The Hebrew word translated as "Angel" is "Malak," which means "messenger." Therefore, this particular messenger is not just an angel but the "Angel of the Lord." The messenger of the Lord—or in Hebrew, "Malak" Lord—is the only messenger who bears the name of the Lord. Later, God makes an interesting statement when he says of the Angel of the Lord, "My name is in him" (Exodus 23:21). If you continue to explore the Bible, you see that sometimes the Angel of the Lord speaks as if he is a messenger of the Lord. Other times, he seems to indicate that he actually is the Lord.

The story of Hagar illustrates the complex way that the Angel of the Lord is portrayed in Scripture. In Genesis 16, we encounter a slave woman who has become pregnant by her master. Then she is abused by her master's wife until she ends up fleeing to the desert to meet her likely death. The Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness. (Genesis 16:7). The Angel of the Lord speaks to her, but then something strange happens. The Angel of the Lord says to her, "I will give you and your family many children. There will be more of them than anyone can count. You are now pregnant and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael because the Lord has heard about your suffering. He will be like a wild donkey because he will use his power against everyone. Everyone will also be against him. He will not get along with any of his family. She gave a name to the Lord who spoke to her. She called him, "You are the God who sees me." That's because she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." That's why the well was named Beer Lahai Roi (The well of him that lives) (Genesis 16:10-14). The Lord is the one who typically issues this kind of blessing.

Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness

So the Bible portrays the Angel of the Lord as both God and yet distinct from God. Is this sounding familiar yet? Can you think of anyone else in the Bible described as separate from God and yet as God himself? Jesus said, "The Father and I are one" (John 10:30). This ancient and creative way of portraying the Lord as a complex unity helps readers understand that he is a diverse yet unified community of love. This is foundational for understanding that perfect community of love—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—that we have come to call the Trinity. The Lord interacts personally with humans while also maintaining his identity as God above all, yet entirely other. This God takes on an embodied form to relate with humanity, ultimately taking on human flesh to restore humanity to the right relationship as partners with him. This complex portrait of the Angel of the Lord uniquely communicates truths about the character and identity of Yahweh—that he is a complex unity, one who is both unified and diverse, near, and above all. What we see in the Angel of the Lord is brought to a culmination in the person of Jesus. Jesus draws near to humanity to draw us near God ("Who is the Angel of the Lord?").

"Jesus" from season 1 of "The Chosen"

Given the biblical record, some believe that Mount Sinai must be in Midian. Several Jewish documents, some written hundreds of years before Christian traditions, locate the mountain of God in the Midianite territory. In 250 BC, a council of 70 scholars translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek for the first time. This Greek translation is called the Septuagint. Their translation of the Exodus account presupposed that Mount Sinai stood in the Arabian Peninsula. Three centuries later, the Jewish philosopher Philo placed the mountain east of the Sinai Peninsula and south of Israel. At the same time, the Apostle Paul also located Mount Sinai in Arabia (Galatians 4:25). Perhaps the most specific description of Sinai's location can be traced to the first century AD historian Josephus. He wrote that Mount Sinai was the highest of mountains near the city of Madian. Shortly after this account, Madian was identified in the Arabian Peninsula by the Greek geographer Ptolemy. The ruins of Madian lay just outside the modern-day town of Alba, near Saudi Arabia's northwest coast. Thus, the best modern-day candidate for this mountain is called Jabal al-Lawz (Mountain of Almonds).

Jabal al-Lawz (possible location of the biblical Mount Sinai

There is a tradition among the locals there that Jabal-al-Lawz ["Mountain of Moses"]. Specific features of the mountain resemble the biblical description. Most prominent is a jagged peak more than 8,000 feet in elevation and blackened as if scorched by fire. Exodus 19:18 says smoke covered Mount Sinai because the Lord came down on it in fire. The smoke rose up from it like smoke from a furnace. The whole mountain trembled and shook.

Possible evidence of God descending on the mountain in a fire

At its base, an enormous pile of boulders at least 15 feet high and 60 feet across from where Aaron built an altar in front of the golden calf (Exodus 32:5). The flattened top of this structure has the appearance of being manmade.

Etched into its rock faces were petroglyphs of bovine creatures: cattle and bulls. The distinctive horns in some of the inscriptions resemble those found on pictures of sacred Egyptian Apis bulls.

Satellite photos of the area have revealed another geographical feature that parallels the biblical account. There is a sprawling plain of more than 10,000 acres. Flat, surrounded by mountains, and adjacent to the dried bed of an ancient river, it could have provided an ideal place for the Israelite encampment. After they started out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai. They camped there in the desert in front of the mountain (Exodus 19:2). Just west of the mountain stands another possible link to the Exodus account. A towering rock 60 feet high is split from top to bottom. Evidence of water erosion is etched into its base (The Exodus Revealed). The Lord broke open a rock, and streams of water poured out. They flowed like a river in the desert (Psalm 105:41).

Open rock from which water gushed out (Psalm 105:41)

As interesting as all this information is because it provides geographical evidence for the accuracy of the Bible, let's not lose sight of what is going on with the Israelites because God didn't. The Israelites groaned and cried out for help because they were slaves. God heard their groans, which took him back to the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites with concern for them (Exodus 2:23-24). Reflect on their situation and try to imagine what it would be like to live under those conditions. The whip of the cruel taskmaster was a daily reminder of their slavery. Maybe people are enslaved today by invisible taskmasters not seen by the naked eye, but that is just as real as the Egyptian taskmasters (Precept Upon Precept: Exodus). Perhaps your taskmaster is alcoholism, drugs, pornography, pride, people-pleasing, hatred, bitterness, anger, self-pity, or any number of things too numerous to list. The worst slavemaster of all are not these things, though, but the one who uses them to enslave people. Satan, the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), is the real enemy that seeks to use whatever he can to keep you in bondage all the way to Hell.

Israelite bondage

On one occasion, Jesus was speaking to some Jews who had believed in him. He told them they were only really his disciples if they obeyed his teaching. The Jews, quite bafflingly, bragged that they were children of Abraham and had never been slaves of anyone. As such, they didn't see what they needed to be set free from. How could they make such a statement given the number of times in the past they had been captives in a foreign land? How could they say that when they were facing Roman occupation at the very time they said they were slaves to no one? Jesus replied that everyone who sins is a slave to sin. A slave has no lasting place in the family, but a son belongs to the family forever. Only when Jesus sets you free from sin are you really free (John 8:31-36).

"Gospel of John" movie

Maybe, like those Jews, you believe there is a God. Perhaps you acknowledge Jesus Christ, but are you really his disciple, learner, and follower? Are you enslaved in bondage, afflicted by persistent unrelenting sin, or have you been set free? Think about what Jesus taught in John 8:31-36 and parallel it with the picture of the Egyptians. Do you need to call out to God because of your bondage and torment? If so, don't wait. Do it now (Precept Upon Precept: Exodus).

Images of stones described in ancient Hebrew from Daily Star

The earliest known inscription of a Menorah from Daily Star

Keep it simple

I needed this reminder. I was just telling someone how I had been sitting and pondering how to increase the reach of my blog. How can I increase my influence? How can I make a more significant mark? How could I learn to market this so well and produce things that people will be interested in enough to make the most of my gifts and talents? But then, from an unexpected place, came the suggestion of a book that I had never heard of before, from an author I had never heard of before. In fact, this wasn't even a suggestion as much as a mention of a book that was part of a larger personal story that the person was telling. So, out of curiosity, I just decided to check out the introduction to the book to see what it was like. That small couple of minutes helped me get my mind out of excessive reasoning and what I should do next and put my focus back where it should be: on God himself. 

The author tells a story about a young college student who says he wanted to live a radical life for God. But the student's understanding and expectations of what it means to live a radical life from God all had to do with his external accomplishments. The student had likely unintentionally conflated his impact on the world and how significant he appeared in it. The author points out that Jesus lived the most radical life of anyone of all time. Yet, he did this while spending most of his life in obscurity. I would add that Jesus didn't travel very far from his home throughout his entire life. Yet the whole world has known who he is ever since, with many of those people believing that Jesus is not just the most important person to ever live, but the incarnation of God himself. The most significant line that impacted me in the introduction is when the author said that we need to redirect where we find our value, away from an external impact upon the world and toward an inner communion with God. 

That solved my dilemma. I was sitting here trying to excessively reason my way to more significant influence, bigger numbers, and more engagement. But God never asks or expects us to worry about focusing on how to provide for ourselves better. Jesus doesn't spend a good portion of his ministry teaching people how to increase their influence or maximize their cultural footprint. Instead, he calls us to make our lives what they are really supposed to be all about: Him. It's by Jesus that all things were created, whether that be heavenly things or earthly things, whether they be visible things or invisible things. Thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, anything and everything was created by Jesus and for Jesus. That includes you and me because we are his creations. So when we get the focus off of him and onto whatever agenda we happen to be thinking about at the time, even if it's for the intended purpose of being about him, we can veer off into a land of confusion and set ourselves up for frustration, possibly failure. 

It's incredible how God uses so many different types of people and things to provide the answers we are looking for. Even if the problems we have or the questions we ask don't seem that significant to us in the big scheme of things, we have to remember that everything is essential to God. Even things that we might be tempted to think are too small for him to focus on are of the utmost importance to him because YOU are of the utmost importance to him. So this unexpected interruption in plans ended up helping me. Thank you, God, for using a friend and the introduction of a book from an author I have never heard of to speak to me in such a way that it got my mind refocused on where it should always be.

SOURCES

1. What if Jesus Was Serious ... About Prayer?: A Visual Guide to the Spiritual Practice Most of Us Get Wrong by Skye Jethani
2. Matthew 6:25-34
3. Colossians 1:16

An unexpected letter from an unexpected place

High school students Josh and Zack were best friends. They played soccer together, had classes together, and pretty much did everything together. But then, one fateful night, after a few too many beers and tragic drive home, there was a crash, killing Josh.

Then came the unexpected, though no one was quite sure how. Zack got a letter from Josh. In the letter, Zack lets Josh know that he is writing it after his death. But the afterlife was not at all what Josh expected. Josh always thought that death would bring him to a world that is foggy and hazy. But this world is crystal clear. In fact, it was even more real than Josh's life on Earth. It was a place where he could talk, think, and feel. Then, right after the wreck, Josh could feel his spirit leaving his body. It was the weirdest feeling.

The next thing Josh knew, he was standing in a long line. To him, it seemed like some kind of a registration queue. He was asked for his name, which was searched for in the Book of Life. Unfortunately for Josh, they couldn't find it. Then the angel standing next to Josh grabbed him and dragged him away. He was terrified, having no idea what was going on. Josh asked where the angel was taking him, but the angel didn't respond. So Josh kept asking until the angel finally answered. The angel told Josh only those whose names were written in the Book of Life would enter Heaven. The rest, including Josh, would be condemned to Hell forever.

Josh was so scared when the angel threw him into a holding cell. Josh had a lot of time to sit and think, but what he thought about the most was his friend Zack. Josh knew that Zack was a Christian because Zack told him. In fact, the subject had been brought on the day of Josh's death. Their friend brought it up, and Zack laughed it off. Finally, their coach brought it up, and Zack changed the subject. This all happened right before the wreck, which left Josh wondering why Zack hadn't told him how to become a Christian. Zack said he was Josh's friend, but if he really was, he would have made sure Josh knew how to accept Jesus and avoid the terrible place he was now headed for.

Josh's heart was pounding in his chest. The angels whose job it was to cast people into Hell were coming down the hallway. Josh could hear their footsteps. He had heard of Hell before. Someone called it the Lake of Fire, but no one told him how to keep from going there. He was so terrified he couldn't stand it as the angels got to the door. They came in, grabbed him, and carried him out of the room. He could already smell the fire and brimstone. He could see the edge of the cliff where Hell burns. So this was it, and Josh was without hope as he got closer and closer. His heart burst with fear as he was held over the flames because he knew he would be damned forever. All that followed was fire, pain, and Hell forever.

Josh's letter to Zack ended this way: "Why Zack? Why didn't you tell me about Jesus?

Your friend,
Josh

P.S. Wish you were here."

This letter is fictional, a made-up story. However, Hell is not fictitious or made-up. It is very, very real. God doesn't force anyone to go there because it is each individual's choice. Then he warns you where you will go if you reject Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, refusing to repent of your sins. That's why Jesus said your words will either declare you justified or condemned. If you say you don't believe Jesus is the only way to Heaven, then your own words condemn you. All people are automatically on the road to Hell. We're all born in sin and therefore already condemned. We're already on that road to 

Hell because we are sinners. Jesus came to get us off that road.

Governments aren't mean for constructing prisons because no one has to go there. When the first leaders came to the United States, they didn't have prisons in mind. They had in mind the great opportunities that were ahead. It's the same way with God. When God created Earth, he saw how beautiful it was and was happy to give it to us. He didn't have Hell in mind for us because he prepared Hell for the devil and his demons. But if you reject the only way to Heaven, Jesus Christ, there is nowhere else for you to go. You are an eternal being because you are made in God's image.

Sin must be punished because God is a just God, but he took out that punishment on Jesus on the cross. But if you reject the pardon for your sins that Jesus purchased for you, then you must take the penalty. That's not God's fault because it would be your choice, and you would condemn yourself to Hell by your own words. God is just and deems Hell a justifiable place for someone who rejects the provision he made through his sacrifice for your sins. You may not believe the Bible, but God says the unbelieving will have their part in the lake, which burns with fire and brimstone. Anyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire. You have been warned in advance. So you have no excuse if Jesus says to you, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." You will be without excuse because your own words will condemn you. You will either obey God and trust in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of your sins, or you will abide by the father of lies (Satan) and dwell in the place made for him. It is your choice.

SOURCES

1. Letter from Hell
2. Why would a loving God send people to Hell? by Bill Wiese
3. John 3:36
4. John 14:6
5. Acts 4:12
6. Luke 13:3
7. Revelation 21:8
8. Matthew 12:37
9. Psalm 51:5
10. Psalm 143:2
11. Romans 3:10, 12, 20, 23; 5:12
12. John 12:47
13. Matthew 7:13-14
14. John 6:40
15. Matthew 25:41
16. Genesis 1:26
17. Romans 6:23
18. Deuteronomy 32:4
19. Psalm 96:13
20. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
21. Galatians 1:4
22. Deuteronomy 30:19
23. Psalm 86:5
24. Psalm 145:8-9
25. John 3:16
26. Romans 5:8, 18
27. 2 Corinthians 5:21
28. Psalm 9:17
29. Proverbs 11:19, 21; 2 Peter 2:9; Revelation 20:13-15

When angels and humans reproduce

A population explosion took place on Earth before the Flood (Genesis 6:1 TLB). If the growth rate in the pre-Flood world was equal to the growth rate in 2000 (0.012), there could have been about 750 million people at the time of the Flood. However, given the extremely long lifespans before the Flood, the growth rate could have been much higher. Increasing the rate by just 0.001 would put the population at close to four billion at the Flood ("What was the pre-Flood Population like?" published by Answers in Genesis on January 6, 2016).

At this time, beings from the spirit world looked upon the beautiful Earth women and took any they desired to be their wives (Genesis 6:2 TLB). However, some people object to the idea that beings from the spirit world could consummate a relationship with a human. Their primary reason for not believing this is Jesus' words in Matthew 22:30. In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels of God in Heaven (LEB). There are two misunderstandings I have heard with how this is commonly taught:

1. People have taken this to mean that dead people become angels. This isn't "It's A Wonderful Life," and that's not true. Jesus said they would be LIKE angels of God. He never said we would be angels. We will only be like angels regarding marriage.
2. Some people have said that just because angels don't marry, they can't marry or reproduce. But again, that's reading into the words of the text. Just because they don't marry doesn't mean they are incapable, especially if they take on human form.

To summarize, this passage seems to teach that demons (fallen angels) took on human form. We know from many other places in the Bible that angels can take on the bodies of humans. That's why the Bible tells us not to neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this, some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it (Hebrews 13:2 CSB). That's why in those days, and even afterward, when the evil beings from the spirit world were sexually involved with human women, their children became giants, of whom so many legends are told (Genesis 6:4 TLB). It would make sense that such an unnatural union would be produce offspring with abnormal characteristics.

What lesson can you learn from Moses' life?

Last time, we got a better understanding of Moses and the early years of his life. God is sovereign and brings about his purposes. Moses' life proves that our sovereign God brings about his intentions. This should bring confidence to our lives that will only grow as we continue to study the book of Exodus. But remember that a large part of our study of this book is actually about a study of Moses' life. So if we are going to get a complete picture of that life, we need to look at other Bible passages that talk about Moses. For that reason, we will begin by looking at what is recorded in the life of the first Christian martyr named Stephen.

Stephen was a man full of God's grace and power. He performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. But one day, some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke. So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, "We heard him blaspheme Moses and even God." Few people will admit if they are wrong. Even fewer will admit you were right or that something you said could have changed their minds. At best, if someone does change their thinking, they will act as if they had some epiphany or came to a new conclusion totally on their own. At worst, they will dig their heels in, refusing to change their minds in the presence of truth. People who are losing a debate and/or have a weaker position will often resort to attacking their opponent personally. You know you have won the argument when the person disagreeing with you makes the issue about you rather than the subject being discussed. That is what happened to Stephen here. They couldn't handle the heat he was throwing across the plate. So he became the target rather than his words.

Their accusations against Stephen roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. The lying witnesses said, "This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us." Stephen speaks to an exclusively Jewish audience, who, in their zealousness to defend the Torah (the foundation of Judaism), was willing to violate it, breaking one of its foundational 10 laws by bearing false witness to build a case. It's like when George W. Bush said he had to abandon free-market principles to save the free-market system. Suppose you're trying to prove the superiority of what you believe. In that case, it's not a good idea to violate those very beliefs to reach that end.

At this point, something unusual happens. Everyone in the high council stared at Stephen because his face became as bright as an angel's. We're now playing on a different level. This is no longer your typical "day that ends in 'y'" encounter with a street preacher. God has gotten their attention. Then the high priest asked Stephen, "Are these accusations true?" Stephen's reply recounts to the Jews the summarization of the history of Israel, which we have looked at in great detail in our previous study on Genesis. He said, "Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. God told him, 'Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.' So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live. But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. However, God promised that eventually, the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet. God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. 'But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,' God said, 'and in the end, they will come out and worship me here in this place.' God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob and when Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation. These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom. Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace. But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food. Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons—our ancestors—to buy some. The second time they went, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and they were introduced to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his relatives to come to Egypt, seventy-five persons in all. So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors. Their bodies were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought for a certain price from Hamor's sons in Shechem."

And now we get to the part in Stephen's sermon that focuses directly on what we are studying right now. Stephen continues, "As the time drew near when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased. But then a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph. This king exploited our people and oppressed them, forcing parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die. At that time, Moses was born—a beautiful child in God's eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months. When they had to abandon him, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son. Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action. One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel. He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man's defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian. Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn't. The next day he revisited them and saw two men of Israel fighting. Moses tried to be a peacemaker. 'Men,' he said, 'you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?' But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. 'Who made you a ruler and judge over us?' he asked. 'Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?' When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There, his two sons were born. 40 years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the Lord called out to him, 'I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look. Then Yahweh said to him, 'Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.' So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, 'Who made you a ruler and judge over us?' God sent Moses to be their ruler and savior through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush. And utilizing many wonders and miraculous signs, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for 40 years. Moses himself told the people of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.' Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God's people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there, Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us. But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt."

That's not the end of Stephen's sermon, but that's where we will stop it for now because he continues on talking about even more stuff far beyond what we will discuss in this Exodus study. But the reason for starting here in Acts 7 is that cross-references in both the Old and New Testaments can give us details that the first accounts do not. We get even more information in Hebrews 11, which is called the Hall of Faith because it lists heroes of our faith and demonstrates how all the good they did in their lives was done through faith in God and not their own power and strength. It was by faith that Moses' parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king's command. It was by faith that Moses when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Moses chose to share the oppression of God's people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king's anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the invisible one. By faith, Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons. By faith, the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned.

So when we look at these New Testament passages, what do we discover about Moses?

• Moses was a beautiful and unusual child, unusual in a good way.
• He was cared for a very short time by his family. Still, because of government policy, the only way to keep him safe was to surrender him, not knowing what would happen to him.
• In even more evidence of God's providence, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son. Moses had the best education, and he made the most of it in word and deed.
• Despite this, Moses knew who he was. He was adopted into the Egyptian royal family, but he never lost sight of who his people really were. He even refused to be known by his adopted title because of his commitment to God and eternal perspective.
• Moses' zeal to protect a people he belonged to but didn't grow up around highlights Moses' sense of right and wrong, his sense of justice.
• In Moses' anger toward his people's mistreatment, he kills an Egyptian. He thought this would make him a hero in the people's eyes, but instead, his act is used against him when he tries to stop another injustice. This shows that even the best of us can try to accomplish the right thing in the wrong way and that no one is safe from the consequences of our actions.
• Though Moses was not spared from all of the earthly consequences of his actions, God still had a plan for his life, and even something so egregious as killing another man was not enough to stop that plan.
• Moses ended up accepting God's will for his life and walked it out in strength and humility.
• By the time the Israelites left Egypt, Moses did not feel any fear toward Pharaoh. Perfect love casts out fear.

So far, here is what we know from the timeline of Moses' life:

Moses was born to Amram (the dad), a Levite, and Jochebed (the mother), a Levite. Moses had a brother, Aaron, 3 years older, and an older sister, Mariam. When Moses was born, Pharaoh decree that all male children were to be killed (Exodus 1). Still, Jochebed was able to hide Moses for about 3 months. At that time, Jochebed made a little floating basket that could hold Moses, and after asking God to protect him, she placed him in the Nile River. Mariam stayed with the basket until Pharaoh's daughter found it and opened it. Mariam came and asked her if she would like to have an Israelite woman look after the child for her. So Moses lived in his own home and was actually protected by Pharaoh until he was about 12 years old. In addition, because Moses was now a "son of Pharaoh's daughter," Jochebed would have been able to stay home and care for Moses rather than working as a slave every day. This training period with his real mother was crucial in the life of Moses.

Moses became the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and so when he was about 12 years old, he would have lived as a prince. He would have been schooled as if he would someday be the ruler of Egypt, and this would have given him many skills that God would use later to lead His people to the Promised Land. This was 28 years of training that none of the other slaves could ever hope to receive. When Moses was a full 40 years old, he came upon an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave. He looked around, and not seeing anyone else, he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. He later learned that what he had done was public knowledge, so he fled Egypt and went to Midian. Moses and his wife, Zipporah, had two sons. He was with Jethro for 40 years, where he became a shepherd until he was 80 years old when God told him to go back to Egypt.

What lessons can you learn from Moses' life?

SOURCES

1. Precept Upon Precept: Exodus
2. Acts 6:8-7:39
3. Bush says sacrificed free-market principles to save economy by India Times, last updated on December 17, 2008.
4. Hebrews 11:23-29
5. Moses and the Exodus timeline by Bible timelines