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Thursday, March 21, 2019

Moses as he prepares to leave Midian for Egypt and approach Pharaoh

For this week, read Exo 4:27 – 6:13.[a]

We’ve been discussing God’s promises and will continue with the specific promises to Moses as he prepares to leave Midian for Egypt and approach Pharaoh. In Exo 4:24-26,[b]

we see what appears to be an excursion from the story line. What do you guys remember from last week’s discussion.[c]

What is the requirement of the sons of Israel that is found in Gen 17:10-11. [d]

Do you see a difference between the requirement in verse 10 and 11? [e]

Remember God is working to move us from the physical to the spiritual……what is the requirement in verse 10? [f] Then in 11, what is the sign of that requirement? [g]

Use the text of those two verses to answer.

Now think through circumcision of the heart verses circumcision of the flesh!! [h]

Can you see the differences? [i]

Does this help understand the actions of Zipporah? [j]

We’ll discuss the detail on Tuesday.[k] Then on to the history of Moses’ return to Egypt.

See you guys on Tuesday.

Blessings,

Nathan

[a] For this week, read Exo 4:27 – 6:13.

Exodus 4:27–31 (ASV 1901): And Jehovah said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mountain of God, and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah wherewith he had sent him, and all the signs wherewith he had charged him. And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: and Aaron spake all the words which Jehovah had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed: and when they heard that Jehovah had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Exodus 5 (ASV 1901): 5 And afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto his voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice unto Jehovah our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, loose the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land are now many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. And the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.

Exodus 5:8–14 (ASV 1901): And the number of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught thereof: for they are idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let heavier work be laid upon the men, that they may labor therein; and let them not regard lying words.

And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. Go yourselves, get you straw where ye can find it: for nought of your work shall be diminished. So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. And the taskmasters were urgent saying, Fulfill your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. And the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task both yesterday and to-day, in making brick as heretofore?

Exodus 5:15–21 (ASV 1901): Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people. But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice to Jehovah. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the number of bricks. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, when it was said, Ye shall not diminish aught from your bricks, your daily tasks. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: and they said unto them, Jehovah look upon you, and judge: because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

Exodus 5:22–23 (ASV 1901): And Moses returned unto Jehovah, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou dealt ill with this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath dealt ill with this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all. Exodus 6 (ASV 1901): And Jehovah said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for by a strong hand shall he let them go, and by a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.

And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am Jehovah: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Jehovah I was not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, wherein they sojourned. And moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments: and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land which I sware to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am Jehovah. And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. Exodus 6:12–13 (ASV 1901): And Moses spake before Jehovah, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips? And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. American Standard Version. (1995).[1]

We’ve been discussing God’s promises and will continue with the specific promises to Moses as he prepares to leave Midian for Egypt and approach Pharaoh. In Exo 4:24-26,[b]

Ex 4:24–26----24 And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that Jehovah met him, and sought to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, Surely a bridegroom of blood art thou to me. 26 So he let him alone. Then she said, A bridegroom of blood art thou, because of the circumcision. American Standard Version. (1995).[2]

we see what appears to be an excursion from the story line. What do you guys remember from last week’s discussion.[c] https://reader222.blogspot.com/2019/03/project-for-period-of-3122019.html

What is the requirement of the sons of Israel that is found in Gen 17:10 [d]
Gen 17:10-11 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt me and you. [3]



Do you see a difference between the requirement in verse 10 and 11? [e]
10 introduces circumcision and 11 explains what it means to be circumcised
Remember God is working to move us from the physical to the spiritual……what is the requirement in verse 10? [f]
Gen 17:10-11...every male among you shall be circumcised
Then in 11, what is the sign of that requirement? [g]
Gen 17:10-11 in the flesh of your foreskin which represents a change on the outward side of an individual
Now think through circumcision of the heart verses circumcision of the flesh!! [h]
Can you see the differences? [i]New testament circumcision is of the heart and it is Symbolic

Does this help understand the actions of Zipporah? [j]  Moses would have done it himself if he could have but God had him in a physical encounter so Moses asked Zipporah to perform the operation instead of breaking free from God's grip on him and doing the operation. Zipporah sounded very irritated by this whole scene

Circumcision

CIRCUMCISION IS THE PROCESS of cutting off all or part of the foreskin of the male genital organ. Circumcision is performed as a religious rite by Jews on the eighth day of life (Lev. 12:3; Luke 1:59; 2:21; Phil. 3:5). It was practiced in ancient Egypt, Herodotus said, for hygienic reasons, and anthropologists have found it was performed by certain tribes in Africa, America, Malaysia, and Polynesia. Today it is frequently performed as a hygienic measure, usually shortly after birth. Both in the past and currently, some tribal peoples perform circumcision as a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, usually at puberty.
God told Abraham that circumcision was “the sign of the covenant” between God and Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17:11–14). “Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised” (17:24). The fact that Ishmael was thirteen when he was circumcised (17:25) explains its practice in Islam when boys are thirteen. Since circumcision involves the shedding of blood, it may have signified the ratification of the covenant relationship. Commanded in conjunction with the change of Abram’s name to Abraham and God’s promise to make him “very fruitful” (17:6) and “the father of many nations” (17:4) and His promise of a son by Sarah (17:16, 19), circumcision can signify dependence on God, dedication to Him, and separation to Him from the world and its practices.
Despite God’s command to Abraham concerning circumcision, its observance apparently was not always maintained in Israel’s history (Exod. 4:25–26; Josh. 5:2–5). Circumcision eventually became a routine external religious rite. By New Testament times it had become a mark of Jewish ethnic and religious pride, and Jews looked on the uncircumcised with contempt. The apostle Paul confronted a form of this when the Jewish Christians from Judea came to Antioch and claimed that gentile believers must be circumcised to be saved (Acts 15:1). The same demand for gentile circumcision was made and rejected at the Council of Jerusalem (15:5–29). But the conflict with “the circumcision group” continued (Gal. 2:11–13; Titus 1:10).
The spiritual foundation for circumcision and its true significance was underscored by Moses in his farewell to Israel on the east side of the Jordan River: “Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer” (Deut. 10:16). Similarly just before the Babylonian captivity Jeremiah told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts” (Jer. 4:4). These were calls to separation from self and the world and to dedication to God as His covenant people.
As a Jew “circumcised the eighth day” (Phil. 3:5), the apostle Paul recognized circumcision’s spiritual significance. He wrote, “Circumcision has value if you observe the law” (Rom. 2:25), and “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit” (2:28–29). Paul recognized, however, that the advantage “in being a Jew” and the value “in circumcision” was that circumcised Jews “have been entrusted with the very words of God” (3:1–2).
The time will come when God will redeem and restore His chosen people, Israel, and fulfill His covenantal promises to Abraham. Then, as Moses said, “The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (Deut. 30:6). In this present church age, however, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation” (Gal. 6:15). “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (5:6). As a result of our faith in Jesus Christ and our position in Him we are “circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ” (Col. 2:11). —JAW

Acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s spiritual surgery of circumcising your heart
to separate you from the world to Christ.
--Witmer, J. A [4]

We’ll discuss the detail on Tuesday. [k]

Ac 7:88 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac did so with* Jacob, and Jacob did so with* the twelve patriarchs.[5]

Ro 2:25 25 For circumcision is of value if you do the law, but if you should be a transgressor of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.[6]

Ro 2:29 29 But the Jew is one inwardly⌋i, and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, whose praise is not from people but from God.[7]

Ro 2:26 26 Therefore, if the uncircumcised person follows the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be credited for circumcision?

Ro 3:1 3 Therefore, what is the advantage of the Jew, or what is the use of circumcision?

1 Co 7:19 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.[4]

Col 2:11

11 in whom also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made by hands, by the removal of the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

Then on to the history of Moses’ return to Egypt.
See you guys on Tuesday.

Blessings,

Nathan

Appendix / Bibliography

[4] Witmer, J. A. (2000). Circumcision. In C. R. Swindoll & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Theological Wordbook (pp. 57–59). Nashville, TN: Word Publishing, Inc.

[5] Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga,

M. (Eds.). (2012).

The Lexham English Bible (Ac 7:8). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[6]Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga    (Eds.). (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Ro 2:25). Bellingham, WA
[7]Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M. (Eds.). (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Ro 2:26). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[8]Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M. (Eds.). (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Ro 2:29). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[9]Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M. (Eds.). (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Ro 3:1). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[10]Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M. (Eds.). (2012). The Lexham English Bible (1 Co 7:19). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[11]Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M. (Eds.). (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Col 2:11). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.