Seder 49 Sermon: Signs and Wonders

 One of the ways that God communicated with Pharaoh and the Egyptians was through signs and wonders---e.g., Aaron's rod turning into a serpent/crocodile and the various plagues that preceded the Exodus.  In a sermon about signs and wonders at Church of the Messiah on December 7, 2024, Kyle Kettering noted several purposes of signs and wonders:

• They deliver messages from God.
• They gain people's attention.
• They serve to validate a message.
• They can strengthen people's faith.

He also talked about some limitations of signs and wonders:

• They don't prove anything for sure--e.g., Ex 7:11-12.
• They don't have staying power, given the nature of human memory.  After awhile we may forget that one happened.  
• They're not foolproof--e.g., sometimes false prophets can do signs and wonders---e.g., Dt 13.
• They're not controlled by the human agent through whom they are done. 

Let's be sure to pay attention to what God is trying to tell us through signs and wonders.

Seder 70: Descending the Mountain---Exodus 32-33 and Luke 9

 After God prepared Moses for what was happening in the Israelite camp, it was time for Moses to descend Mount Sinai and face the situation there.  

Even though he had heard what was coming, seeing what was happening in the Israelite camp angered him.  He dashed the two stone tablets to the ground, an action that symbolized Israel's breaking of the covenant.  

He then had the golden calf burned up and ground to powder, and he had the Israelites drink the water containing the powder (Ex 32:19-20).  An interesting midrash suggests this action was a sort of test of spiritual adultery analogous to the ceremony of Numbers 5.  According to this midrash, when the instigators of the golden calf sin drank the water, there was a physical manifestation that identified them. 

In any case, when Moses asked for those on God's side to identify themselves, his fellow Levites stepped forward, and they killed those most responsible for the idolatrous actions (vv 25-29).  The zeal of the tribe of Levi has both positive and negative aspects in the Torah, depending on the object at which that zeal is directed.  We see the negative side of Levi's zeal in the massacre at Shechem (Gen 34; cf Gen 49:5-7).  We see the positive side here and in the decisive actions of Phinehas later (Num 25).        

Order was restored in the camp, but there was still a major rift in Israel's relationship with God.  Knowing this, Moses continued to intercede on behalf of the people.  

God made the problem clear when he announced that although he would be sending an angel to guide them, he himself would not be accompanying them (Ex 33:1-3).  The angel described in Exodus 33 is therefore a lesser one than the one described in Ex 23:20-22, since the presence of the angel in Exodus 23 would constitute God's presence.  The angel in Exodus 23 is in some sense Yahweh in visual form, perhaps a Christophany.     

At this point Moses met with God at a tent outside the Israelite camp, again showing the broken relationship.  Israel's removing of ornaments (Ex 33:4-6) represented a humbling before God, a first step toward repentance.  

As Moses continued to intercede, the relationship between God and Moses was deepening, leaving Moses with a longing to understand and experience even more.  God agreed to show Moses more, making clear that there were limitations to what Moses would be able to handle (vv 12-23).  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on August 28, 2021, Kyle Kettering drew analogies between Moses' Sinai experience and the experience of the disciples of Jesus at the Transfiguration (Luke 9).  On the mount of transfiguration Jesus met with Moses and Elijah, both of whom had had important encounters with God on a mountain.  

Kyle shared a fascinating midrash, recorded in Numbers Rabbah, that comments on Psalm 24:10, which refers to God as the "king of glory".  The midrash notes that God shares his glory with those who fear him.  For example, Moses is called a god before Pharaoh (Ex 7:1), and Elijah is enabled to raise the dead, a prerogative of God (I Kings 17:23).  The midrash goes on to say that God would dress the Messiah in his own robes, using Ps 21:5 as a proof text.  The transfiguration, where the Messiah is glorified and spends time with Moses and Elijah, was a striking example of this.

After Peter, James, and John experienced the transfiguration, they had to descend the mountain and work with the problems of those waiting at the foot of the mountain, as Moses had.  Kyle made the point that we do not live on a mountain, but in a world that needs us.  After sharing in God's glory at times of worship, we should in turn share that glory with others.    

Seder 49: Exodus 7:8--8:15---The Plagues Begin

 In the plagues of Egypt, we see God's complete control over the forces of nature and his mighty deeds, as portrayed in texts like Psalm 135.  

Aaron and Moses gave the Egyptians a glimpse of God's power when Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and it became a serpent--Exod 7:9-10.  The word for "serpent" here is tannin, which means a large serpent or crocodile. (In modern Hebrew this word is used for "crocodile.") 

Verse 11 tells us that Pharaoh's magicians "did the same thing by their secret arts."  Here we wonder whether Pharaoh's magicians were tapping into some dark spiritual power source, or just doing conjuring tricks.  (Commentator Douglas Stuart argues for the latter.)  In any case, Pharaoh had an excuse to continue to ignore Aaron and Moses.  And so the plagues of Egypt soon began.

The first nine plagues can be divided into three groups of three, where in each group of three

• the first began with Moses and Aaron meeting Pharaoh in the morning at the Nile;
• the second was announced to Pharaoh at his palace;
• the third came with no warning.

The plagues also intensified as the sequence continued.  

In the first plague the waters of the Nile were badly polluted so that they were undrinkable and looked like blood.  This plague was a judgment on the Nile god Hapi and revealed Yahweh as the one in control of life and death.  It also condemned the way that the Egyptians had treated the Israelites.  Blood was on the hands of the Egyptians for throwing Israelite babies into the Nile.  

This plague was an annoyance to the Egyptians.  It killed fish in the Nile and forced the Egyptians to seek out other sources of water (v 24).      Verse 25 may imply that this plague lasted for seven days.

Pharaoh's magicians were able to pollute some water themselves, but they couldn't remove pollution from the water.  At any rate, Pharaoh remained stubborn, and the plagues continued.

In the second plague Egypt was overrun with frogs.  This was a judgment on the Egyptian god Hekt, who was represented as a frog.  Hekt was believed to help women in childbirth, so this plague could have reminded the Egyptians of their campaign to kill Israelite infants.  Pharaoh's magicians could make frogs appear, but they couldn't remove the frogs.  

Pharaoh asked Moses to pray for the frogs to be removed, and Moses offered to remove them at any time specified by Pharaoh.  Not only could God bring a plague of frogs; he could also remove them immediately whenever he liked.  God removed the frogs in response to Moses' prayer.  Pharaoh took this respite as an excuse to continue to refuse the demands of Moses.  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on March 20, 2021, Rob Wilson addressed the meaning of the plagues and the phenomenon of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart.  

Seder 48: Exodus 6-7---A Fuller Revelation of the Meaning of God's Name

 Moses was very discouraged when he prayed at the end of Exodus 5.  God answered in Exodus 6:1, 

"Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land."  

The wording in this verse may be significant.  Egyptian kings were said to have mighty arms and hands.  God is saying here that he is the real king.  A few verses later God refers to his own "outstretched arm" (v 6).  [For more on this imagery, see James Hoffmeier's paper, "The Arm of God Versus the Arm of Pharaoh in the Exodus Narratives," Biblica 67 (1986), pp. 378-387.] 

God went on to tell Moses, "I am the Lord.  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty [Heb. El Shaddai], but by my name the Lord [Heb. Yahweh] I did not make myself known to them" (vv 2-3).  

This passage has puzzled readers, since God's name Yahweh is used often in the Genesis narrative, many times in the mouths of the patriarchs.  One explanation, championed by Australian biblical scholar Francis Andersen, is that the verse should be a question:  "Did I not make myself known to them by my name the Lord?" 

Another possibility is that God was announcing that Israel would now experience a fuller revelation of the meaning of his name.  The patriarchs had been blessed by God and had received God's promises, but the complete fulfillment of those promises was still in the future---in particular, the promise of the land.  Now Israel would experience God as covenant keeper.  (Kyle Kettering developed this theme in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on March 13, 2021.) 

God tells Moses more about the concrete meaning of his name in verses 6-8.  He announces to Israel that 

• I will free you from bondage.
• I  will deliver you.
• I will redeem you.
• I will take you as my people (in a marriage relationship).
• I will be your God.
• I will bring you into the land.
• I will give the land to you.

At this point the Israelites were too weighed down with their burdens to care much about what God was revealing through Moses (v 9).  Moses faced a problem:  How could be go to Pharaoh as a representative of the Israelites when he didn't have the support of the Israelites?  This may be part of what Moses was saying in verse 12, along with his worries about his speaking ability.  

God has a solution to this problem.  Moses would be going to Pharaoh not as a representative of the people, but as a representative of the supreme God of the universe (Exod 7:1).  

The rest of Exodus 6 contains genealogical information about the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, concentrating in particular on the Levites and the family of Aaron.  Why were the rest of the tribes not mentioned here?  One midrash says that Moses and Aaron went to the tribes of Israel, starting with Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, trying to drum up support for what they were doing.  No one was interested.  When they saw that not even their own tribe was interested, they gave up this effort.  

It is worth noting that the genealogical information in Exodus 6 is not exhaustive.  Biblical genealogies often do not include every generation.  In particular, the text just mentions four steps from Levi to Moses:    Levi--Kohath--Amram--Moses.  But there probably were a number of additional links.  One evidence of this is that in the tribe of Ephraim, there are 11 links between Ephraim and Joshua ( 1 Chron 7:23-27).