Hello, this is Father Paul and I'm glad we're taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year.
Yesterday we heard about Egypt getting a new Pharaoh, a Pharaoh that did not know Joseph,
and this Pharaoh began to see the Israelites as a threat.
And in order to limit the threat, Pharaoh decreed that every male child was to be thrown
into the river.
However, at the same time, a child was born by the name of Moses, and this child, his
mother did not want to throw him in the river and she wanted to save him, so she hid him
for a few months, but after a while she couldn't hide him anymore, so she put him in a basket
and she covered it with pitch and she pushed it down the river and had a sister follow
up with him until she saw the daughter of Pharaoh find the basket, rescue the baby,
and raise the child as her own.
And we saw how Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh, and we also heard about the incident
where he killed an Egyptian and buried him in the sand, and that was the reason he fled
Egypt and he went to a place called Midian, and there he married Zepra, the daughter of
one of the priests of Midian.
And at the same time, the suffering of the Israelites in the land of Goshen was great,
and when he cried out to the Lord, God heard their cry.
And today we're going to hear about the encounter of Moses and the burning bush when he goes
up the mountain and he hears the voice of God, and how this is the beginning of the
deliverance of the Israelites from the land of Goshen.
And we're going to see how Moses is taken back to Egypt and he goes with his brother
Aaron as commanded by God.
Alright, let's begin.
Today's reading is from Exodus chapter 3 to 6.
Chapter 3
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian.
And he led the flock to the back of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush.
So he looked and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
Then Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not
burn.
So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst
of the bush and said, Moses, Moses.
And he said, Here I am.
Then he said, Do not draw near this place, take your sandals off your feet, for the place
where you stand is holy ground.
Moreover he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob.
And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
And the Lord said, I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt,
and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them
up from the land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to
the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the
Hivites and the Jebusites.
Now therefore behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me, and I have also
seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them.
Come now therefore and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the
children of Israel, out of Egypt.
But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the
children of Israel out of Egypt?
So he said, I will certainly be with you, and this shall be a sign to you that I have
sent you.
When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.
Then Moses said to God, Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them,
the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is his name?
What shall I say to them?
And God said to Moses, I am who I am.
And he said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I am, has sent me to you.
Moreover, God said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, the Lord God
of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me
to you.
This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, The Lord God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appear to me, saying, I have surely visited
you and seen what is done to you in Egypt, and I have said I will bring you up out of
the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and Amorites and
the Perizzites and the Hevites and the Jebusites to a land flowing with milk and honey.
Then they will heed your voice, and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the
King of Egypt, and you shall say to him, The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us, and
now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice
to the Lord our God.
But I am sure that the King of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.
So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders, which I will do in its
midst.
And after that he will let you go.
And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and it shall be, when you
go, that you shall not go empty-handed.
But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house,
articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing.
And you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters, so you shall plunder the Egyptians.
Chapter 4
Then Moses answered and said, But suppose they will not believe me, or listen to my
voice.
Suppose they say, The Lord has not appeared to you.
So the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand?
He said, A rod.
And he said, Cast it on the ground.
So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Reach out your hand, and take it by the tail.
And he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand.
That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.
Furthermore, the Lord said to him, Now put your hand in your bosom.
And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous,
like snow.
And he said, Put your hand in your bosom again.
So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was
restored like his other flesh.
Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that
they may believe the message of the latter sign.
And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice,
that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land.
The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.
Then Moses said to the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since
you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.
So the Lord said to him, Who has made man's mouth, or who makes the mute, the deaf, the
seeing, or the blind?
Have not I, the Lord?
Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.
But he said, O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else you may send.
So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite
your brother?
I know that he can speak well, and look, he is also coming out to meet you.
When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth.
And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall
do.
So he shall be your spokesman to the people, and he himself shall be as a mouth for you,
and you shall be to him as God.
And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.
So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, Please let me go and return
to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.
And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.
Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, Go return to Egypt, for all the men who sought your
life are dead.
Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the
land of Egypt.
And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.
Then the Lord said to Moses, When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders
before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand.
But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.
Then you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, my firstborn.
So I say to you, Let my son go, that he may serve me.
But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.
And it came to pass on the way at the encampment that the Lord met him and sought to kill him.
Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses'
feet and said, Surely you are a husband of blood to me.
So he let me go.
Then she said, You are a husband of blood, because of the circumcision.
And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.
So he went and met him on the mountain of God and kissed him.
So Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him and all the signs which he
had commanded him.
Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel.
And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses.
Then he did the signs in the sight of the people.
So the people believed.
And when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that he had looked
on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.
Chapter 5
Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord God of Israel,
Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.
And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?
I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.
So they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us.
Please let us go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God,
lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.
Then the King of Egypt said to them, Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from
their work?
Get back to your labor.
And Pharaoh said, Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest
from their labor.
So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers saying, You
shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before.
Let them go and gather straw for themselves, and you shall lay on them the quota of bricks
which they made before.
You shall not reduce it.
For they are idle.
Therefore they cry out, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false
words.
And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people
saying, Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.
Go get yourselves straw where you can find it, yet none of your work will be reduced.
So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead
of straw.
And the taskmasters forced them to hurry saying, Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when
there was straw.
Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them,
were beaten and were asked, Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday
and today as before?
Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh saying, Why
are you dealing thus with your servants?
There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, Make brick, and indeed
your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.
But he said, You are idle, idle, therefore you say, Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.
Therefore go now and work, for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota
of bricks.
And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble, after it was
said you shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota.
Then as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them,
and they said to them, Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent
in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants to put a sword in their hand
to kill us.
So Moses returned to the Lord and said, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?
Why is it you have sent me?
For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people.
Neither have you delivered your people at all.
Chapter 6 Then the Lord said to Moses, Now you shall
see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a strong hand he will let them go, and with
a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.
And God spoke to Moses and said to him, I am the Lord.
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name Lord I was
not known to them.
I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land
of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.
And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep
in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant.
Therefore say to the children of Israel, I am the Lord.
I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm
and with great judgments.
I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brings you out from under the burdens
of the Egyptians.
And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and I will give it to you as a heritage.
I am the Lord.
So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel, but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish
of spirit and cruel bondage.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt, to let the children
of Israel go out of his land.
And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, The children of Israel have not heeded me.
How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command for the children of Israel
and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
These are the heads of their fathers' houses, the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel,
were Hanuk, Palu, Hezran, and Karmie.
These are the families of Reuben, and the sons of Simeon, were Jemuel, Jameen, Ohad,
Jasheen, Zohar, and Shal, the son of a Canaanite woman.
These are the families of Simeon.
These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations, Gershon, Kohath, and
Mirari.
And the years of the life of Levi were 137.
The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi, according to their families.
And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uziel.
And the years of the life of Kohath were 133.
The sons of Mirari were Mahli and Mushi.
These are the families of Levi according to their generations.
Now Amram took for himself Josibed, his father's sister, as wife, and she bore him Aaron and
Moses.
And the years of the life of Amram were 137.
The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nephag, and Zikri.
And the sons of Uziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zitri.
Aaron took to himself Alishaiba, daughter of Amin Nadab, sister of Nachon as wife, and
she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eliezer, and Itamar.
And the sons of Korah were Asir, Elkana, and Abiasav.
These are the families of the Korahites.
Eliezer, Aaron's son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife, and she
bore him Phineas.
These are the heads of the father's houses of the Levites according to their families.
These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, bring out the children of Israel
from the land of Egypt according to their armies.
These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring out the children of Israel
from Egypt.
These are the same Moses and Aaron.
And it came to pass on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt that the Lord
spoke to Moses saying, I am the Lord, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to
you.
But Moses said before the Lord, behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh
heed me?
I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I did, and I look forward to seeing you
again tomorrow to continue on our journey.
God bless you and have a great day.