Interpretation of Exodus 3:7-15 - Essay Example

Interpretation of Exodus 3:7-15 Introduction God’s mercy and compassion for the children of Israel are clearly evident in Exodus 3:7-15. Moses is the vessel through which God’s hand of mercy and compassion is revealed to the children of Israel who are in bondage in Egypt. First and foremost, God makes Moses aware of his Holy nature by instructing him to remove his sandals (Burdette 2009, p.308). Moses responds with obedience and humility to these instructions therefore setting the next stage for a divine commission. The commission marks the beginning of a journey for the children of Israel whose end is the fulfillment of the promise that God made to their fore fathers-Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give them a land flowing with milk and honey. It is worth noting that there were two key factors that led to this conversation between Moses and God. First, the political system in Egypt had become hostile and abusive to its Jewish guests and was now seeking to bring an end to the peace and tranquility enjoyed by the Jews. Secondly, God was now fulfilling the promises he had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob about giving their descendants a new and fertile land. Therefore this conversation becomes the starting point for God’s response to these two factors. Author of Exodus It is a common believe among Christians and those who subscribe to Judaism that the Book of Exodus where the passage Exodus 3:7-15 falls was inspired by God while Moses was His human factor that physically wrote down all the words captured in the book (Colson, Geisler & Hanegraaff 2007 , p.83). This belief is based on evidence within the Torah (the first five books in the Bible) that suggests Moses to be one of the human authors of the Holy Scriptures. Examples include Exodus 24:4, Numbers 33:2 and Deuteronomy 31:9, 22. Further evidence can be obtained in other books such as Joshua 8:3, Mark 12:19, Luke 20:28 and John 1:45. In addition, it is a common practice to refer to the first five books of the Bible as the ‘Laws of Moses’ as evident in Joshua 8:31, 32 and 1 King 2:3. However, some skeptics in the nineteenth century had disputed the fact that Moses was the human author of the book of Exodus. They argued that the Semitic way of writing had not yet been invented at the time of Moses. However, this notion was dispelled after the discovery of Semitic writings that dated at least one hundred years before the birth of Moses. Description of Exodus 3:7-15 The above Biblical passage is an extract from a conversation between Moses and God where God is commissioning Moses to go and lead the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. This portion of scripture describes Moses’ first divine encounter with God’s angel where he is commissioned to spearhead the deliverance of the children of Israel from the land of Captivity; Egypt to the land that God had promised their fore fathers; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses is out grazing his father in law’s Livestock when he notices a burning bush that was not getting consumed by the fire. Out of curiosity, he goes to examine this phenomenon when he suddenly hears a voice from the burning bush call his name. Moses responds by removing his shoes since he is informed he was standing on a Holy ground. God then informs Moses that the cry and the suffering of his people in Egypt had reached Him and He was sending him to the Pharaoh with a message to let the children of Israel go to the land that He had promised their forefathers. Initially Moses finds this commission difficult to undertake since he viewed himself in capable of handling such a task. However, God reassures him that He will be with him throughout and therefore there was no need to have any fear or doubt (Holy Bible New International version 1984, p.43; Pink 2002, p.22). Life History of Moses There are several events that lead Moses to this divine encounter with God. First, Moses was born in Egypt at a time when Pharaoh had ordered the slaughter of every male born child in order to control the rapid rate at which the Jews were multiplying. Pharaoh had seen this as a threat to the Egyptians who soon were likely to be outnumbered by the Jews. In order to ensure that he kept the Jewish population within manageable limits he issued the order for the slaughter of any new born baby boy. However, Moses’ mother was determined to save his child so he put Moses in a reed basket and placed it in a river near where Pharaoh’s daughter bathed. When Pharaoh’s daughter arrived in the river she spotted the basket with the baby and decided to adopt the child as her own. She employed Moses’ mother to take care of him until he was of age. Moses then grew up in the noble palace although he was consciously aware of his Jewish origin. Deep within himself was a conviction to safeguard and protect the interests of his people against the oppressive regime. So deep was his conviction that one day he killed an Egyptian who was mistreating a Jew and buried him in the sand. However, the following day he discovered that his action had been discovered. In order to save his life and avoid being punished by Pharaoh he fled Egypt. He ended up in Midia where he meets and marries the daughter of Jethro, the Midian priest. Jethro employs him as a shepherd of his flock, a job he faithfully does until his encounter with God in the burning bush where he is commissioned to go and lead the children of Israel from captivity in Egypt (Holy Bible New International version 1984, p.43; Bergant & Karris 1989, p.82; Ross 1999 ). Theophany in the passage This divine encounter of Moses with the Holy God of Israel bears great similarities to other prophetic encounters experienced by other prophets in the Old Testament. For example, there is a divine appearance followed by some words of introductions, declaration of the commission to be undertaken, some element of resistance by the chosen vessel followed by an assurance from God. It is worth noting that an angel first appears in the scene before God’s voice is heard. Moses’ response is first affirmative when he responds by saying “Here I am” whoever Moses is seen later to waver in his obedient response to God’s call when he begins to express doubts about his capacity to carry on with the commission (Stuart 2006, p.109). Exodus 3:7-15 was written by Moses in a literary form which is a well established form of writing both in the Bible and the ancient literature of the Near East. It is called theophany. It is this form of writing that Moses uses to draft the Pentateuch. Theophany is a theological term that actually refers to instances or moments in the Bible where God in some form suddenly appears to certain people. Here Moses uses theophany and cultic etiology to describe his initial encounter with the supernatural. For example, the initial conversation between God and Moses bears a great resemblance to Jacob’s theophany as seen in Genesis 46:1-5. In both cases God repeats their name twice that is “Jacob, Jacob” and “Moses, Moses”. They both respond in the same way by saying “Here I Am”. God promises Jacob to go with him to Egypt and to also to bring him out again. This promise to Jacob actually becomes the starting point of God’s commission to Moses. It finds it fulfillment in the lifetime of Moses (Dozeman 2009, p.121). In verse 7 we see Moses engaged in a conversion with God where God informs him that he has heard the cry and seen suffering of the people. The choice of words helps to bring out God’s compassionate nature. This is easily brought out by the use of certain verbs in the sentence structure such us, “I have come down to save them”, “ I have indeed seen,” the later sentence includes the infinite absolute Hebrew sentence construction which brings out the aspect that God had been carefully watching the events in Egypt. This therefore indicates the level of God’s concern on the political landscape in Egypt with respect to the unfair treatment advanced against the Israelites (Stuart 2006, p.117). In addition, the fact that ,’God had come down’ to rescue them only serves to reiterate the intensity of God’s care and concern for the plight of ‘His people Israel’. It does not mean that God was literally coming down to the earth since his power and glory cannot be contained within the confines of his limited creation. These words are a theophany which helps to show the level of interest and engagement of God in this matter. Significance of the Passage The first response by Moses to the commission by God to go and lead the Israelites out of Egypt exemplifies his humility considering the fact that he least expected such a big responsibility in his lifetime. Since his escape from Egypt, he resigned to undertaking the humble task of a shepherd of Jethro’s flock. It is interesting to note that God is now promoting him from being a shepherd for livestock to being a shepherd and a spiritual leader of a great nation (Janzen 1997, p.30). The humility of Moses is shown by the words, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” This question is an example of a pro forma question aimed at showing deep humility and respect for being called to an important task. It does not in any way portray doubt or lack of faith to undertake the task but is a polite way of expressing one’s acceptance to the duty assigned to them (Stuart 2006, p.118). God responds to Moses with a promise to be with him throughout this assignment. H e gives him the sign that the mission will be successful since the Israelites will eventually worship God in the same mount Horeb (which later comes to be known as Mount Sinai). This mountain later plays a significant role to both Moses and the children of Israel. Not only is there fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Moses but also it is the very place where the famous Ten Commandments are issued to the children of Israel. Mount Horeb where the conversation between Moses and God is taking place becomes a very significant feature in the lives of the Israelites while they are still on their Journey to the Promised Land. This is the place where Moses gets his first supernatural encounter with God and also becomes the place where the children of Israel first worship the true God after being freed from captivity in Egypt. Verse 13 marks the beginning of Moses’ doubtfulness about the possibility that the Jews would believe the notion that he had been sent by God to come and rescue them from slavery. In addition, the events that led to his escape from Egypt were still lingering in his mind and therefore undermining his level of confidence as far as leading the Jews out of Egypt was concerned. One particular incidence that was still vivid in his mind was the negative response he had received from two Jews whom he had tried to reconcile when he found them quarrelling. Such unpleasant encounters from his fellow Jews might have greatly contributed to his uneasiness in accepting this call. With such negative images still playing in his mind he did not expect God’s message to be met with jubilation without some form of resistance. It is interesting to note that his main area of concern was not the possibility of Pharaoh accepting to let the people go but the possibility of His own people believing he was sent by God to come and rescue them (Janzen 1997, p.31). Therefore it is possible to argue that though the Israelites were held captivate by the Egyptians they still held an element of defiance to the thought of being rescued from their oppressors. Moses was not afraid of the Egyptians though he had committed an atrocity that had led to his escape but rather was doubtful about the acceptance of the message by the very people who he had been trying to protect when he committed he murdered an Egyptian. The defiant nature of the Israelites is first exposed by this conversation between Moses and God though it becomes more elaborate as the Journey to Canaan progresses. For example, It is seen when they make a calf and begin to worship it while Moses was up on Mount Sinai communing with God. The other aspect that might have affected Moses’ level of confidence with the commission might have been the negative effects of Egyptians’ way of life on the Israelites themselves. The Israelites had mingled with the Egyptians to an extent that they were adopting their way of worship which was an abomination before the eyes of God. The Jews had lived among a people who had many gods and therefore there was a high possibility that their faith in the one true God had been compromised and contaminated their way of worship. Since they lived among pagans, they may have adopted some of the pagan practices and therefore distorted the positive beliefs they once upheld and practiced (Stuart 2006, p.120). God responds to the concerns of Moses by telling him to tell the Israelites that he had been sent by the “God of your fathers- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” This statement was definitely going to jolt their minds back to their one and only true God and Savior the great “I AM”. One of the most important aspects of the introductory conversation between Moses and God from this portion of scripture was a revelation of His Holy nature. This revelation comes way before God gives Moses the instructions to go and deliver the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt. First and foremost, God commands Moses to remove his sandals and not to draw any closer since the place he was standing was Holy ground. Right from the start God begins to declare to Moses that He was a Holy God who did not tolerate any form of sin and contamination (Burdette 2009, p.308). He begins by giving him an indication into his nature that is He was a Holy God. This aspect is replicated almost in the entire Bible. God insists Holiness to be a central part of His nature. In the first book of Peter 1:16 God declares “Be ye Holy for I Am Holy”. The message being conveyed to Moses and the rest of the Humanity is that for us to maintain a healthy relationship with God we need to be established and grounded in Holiness. One is only left to wander what might have happened to Moses if he had failed to obey God’s instruction to remove his sandals and to not get any closer to the burning bush. If Moses had failed to heed the first instruction it is obvious that he would probably have not lived to receive the second instruction. We also learn that before God sets out to commission an individual to carry out a certain task or mission they are first required to attain a status of Holiness so that they can be used as vessels of honor (Bramsen 1998, p.160). Conclusion Moses plays a central role in God’s plan to rescue the children of Israel from Egypt. God chooses him for his great humility and eagerness to obey the instructions given to him. His personal life experiences were part of his preparation process before he could be used by God. Particularly his life as a shepherd was a key preparation ground for this mandate since he was also going to shepherd the children of Israel to the land that God had promised them. Though he had exhibited some doubt during the initial stages of his conversation with God. He eventually agrees to do as God commanded him after receiving the reassurance of God’s presence (Colson, Geisler & Hanegraaff 2007, p.158). In addition, Moses writes down a detailed account of this experience with God for future generations to read and learn from the history presented therein. His narrative account as presented in the book of Exodus helps us understand the key events surrounding the children of Israel and how these events contribute to their exodus to Canaan. Moses comes out as the distinguished human author of the book exodus under the supernatural inspiration of God although there is evidence that other individuals who lived after Moses helped to shaped part of the contents presented in the book (Colson, Geisler & Hanegraaff 2007, p.158). References Accomando, K. (2007) God's Divine Plan through Jesus Christ. Bloomington, UK: AuthorHouse Barton, S. (2003). Holiness: past and present. London: T & T Clark Ltd. Bergant, D. & Karris, J. (1989).The Collegeville Bible Commentary: Based on the New American Bible. Minnesota: Liturgical Press. Betz, N. (2010). In the Arms of a Real God. Oklahoma: Tate Publishing & Enterprise LLC Bramsen, P. (1998).The Way of Righteousness. Spring Lake: CMML Burdette,.D. (2009). Old Texts through New Eyes. New York: Xulon Press. Colson, C., Geisler, N. & Hanegraaff, H. (2007). Apologetics Study Bible-HCSB. Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers Dozeman, B. (2009). Exodus: Eerdmans Critical Commentary. Michigan: Wm.B.Eerdmans International Bible Society (1984).The Holy Bible: New International version Janzen, J. (1997). Exodus. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press Pink, A. (2002). Gleanings in Exodus. New York: Sovereign Grace. Ross, B. (1999). Hey, that's not what the Bible says!. Tennessee: Tommy Nelson, Nashville Samuelson, N. (2003). Jewish Philosophy: An Historical Introduction. New York: Continuum Stuart, D. (2006). The New American Commentary: An exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture-Exodus. New York: Holman Publishers Read More

They argued that the Semitic way of writing had not yet been invented at the time of Moses. However, this notion was dispelled after the discovery of Semitic writings that dated at least one hundred years before the birth of Moses. Description of Exodus 3:7-15 The above Biblical passage is an extract from a conversation between Moses and God where God is commissioning Moses to go and lead the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. This portion of scripture describes Moses’ first divine encounter with God’s angel where he is commissioned to spearhead the deliverance of the children of Israel from the land of Captivity; Egypt to the land that God had promised their fore fathers; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Moses is out grazing his father in law’s Livestock when he notices a burning bush that was not getting consumed by the fire. Out of curiosity, he goes to examine this phenomenon when he suddenly hears a voice from the burning bush call his name. Moses responds by removing his shoes since he is informed he was standing on a Holy ground. God then informs Moses that the cry and the suffering of his people in Egypt had reached Him and He was sending him to the Pharaoh with a message to let the children of Israel go to the land that He had promised their forefathers.

Initially Moses finds this commission difficult to undertake since he viewed himself in capable of handling such a task. However, God reassures him that He will be with him throughout and therefore there was no need to have any fear or doubt (Holy Bible New International version 1984, p.43; Pink 2002, p.22). Life History of Moses There are several events that lead Moses to this divine encounter with God. First, Moses was born in Egypt at a time when Pharaoh had ordered the slaughter of every male born child in order to control the rapid rate at which the Jews were multiplying.

Pharaoh had seen this as a threat to the Egyptians who soon were likely to be outnumbered by the Jews. In order to ensure that he kept the Jewish population within manageable limits he issued the order for the slaughter of any new born baby boy. However, Moses’ mother was determined to save his child so he put Moses in a reed basket and placed it in a river near where Pharaoh’s daughter bathed. When Pharaoh’s daughter arrived in the river she spotted the basket with the baby and decided to adopt the child as her own.

She employed Moses’ mother to take care of him until he was of age. Moses then grew up in the noble palace although he was consciously aware of his Jewish origin. Deep within himself was a conviction to safeguard and protect the interests of his people against the oppressive regime. So deep was his conviction that one day he killed an Egyptian who was mistreating a Jew and buried him in the sand. However, the following day he discovered that his action had been discovered. In order to save his life and avoid being punished by Pharaoh he fled Egypt.

He ended up in Midia where he meets and marries the daughter of Jethro, the Midian priest. Jethro employs him as a shepherd of his flock, a job he faithfully does until his encounter with God in the burning bush where he is commissioned to go and lead the children of Israel from captivity in Egypt (Holy Bible New International version 1984, p.43; Bergant & Karris 1989, p.82; Ross 1999 ). Theophany in the passage This divine encounter of Moses with the Holy God of Israel bears great similarities to other prophetic encounters experienced by other prophets in the Old Testament.

For example, there is a divine appearance followed by some words of introductions, declaration of the commission to be undertaken, some element of resistance by the chosen vessel followed by an assurance from God. It is worth noting that an angel first appears in the scene before God’s voice is heard. Moses’ response is first affirmative when he responds by saying “Here I am” whoever Moses is seen later to waver in his obedient response to God’s call when he begins to express doubts about his capacity to carry on with the commission (Stuart 2006, p.109).

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