Exodus -- God's Wrath and Mercy

Exodus #1 The Book of Exodus continues the story of Genesis. Four hundred years have passed since Joseph and Jacob had gone down to Egypt, and during these years God remained silent. He had to wait patiently until his children called to him before he took action. We cannot help but wonder if their stay in Egypt would have not been shortened had someone amongst the Israelites called to God saying, "Lord, you gave our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob another land. A land flowing with milk and honey. Twice did you warn us not to go down to Egypt, and yet here we are, enjoying our stay here long after the drought that brought Israel down. We have sinned before your face. Forgive us and bring us home." But they did not, preferring to live in the comfort of Goshen. So often, God's punishment is wrapped in the very thing we desire, when this desire takes us away from him. So he raises an Egyptian king known under the anonymous title of Pharaoh, a man who did not know Jacob and Joseph -- that is a man who opposes God -- to persecute them. The Israelites cry out to God but their cries are imperfect: they want God to meddle in politics. "Please God, remove this tyrant and let us be. Do not take heed of the fact that we are disobeying the covenant you instituted with Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. Do please overlook our vices and our attachments to the Egyptian lifestyle. Just remove Pharaoh and leave us alone." When Scripture says "God heard," it does not mean that physically because, after all, God has no physical ear to hear with. What it means is that God is ready to give us what we need -- not what we want. So God sends Moses. He makes him an Egyptian arrogant Prince, prone to anger like his adoptive father. Moses kills a man and when the Israelites chide him publicly, his anger turns to cowardice and he flees, he runs away leaving everything behind. But God, who is Mercy, does not abandon him. He knows what this crime Moses committed is going to end up costing him. He knows his Son will die on the Cross for this crime and every other crime mankind has committed and will commit. He also knows that Moses will pay for this crime by carrying Israel on his shoulders for forty years, but that is still to come. In this talk, we explore the early life of Moses. Our study is centered on five main themes: To know, to serve, and to Love God Moses recapitulates in his person the covenant with Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph Complete Reliance on God Complete Reliance on Self and the State The Role of Women. Art in logo by By Jacques Stella - Sotheby Lot.55 --Public Domain.