The Second Book of Moses: Exodus, Chapters 1-12

These chapters deal with the life of Moses and how he freed the Israelis from the Egyptians.

The Pharaoh once decreed that all the sons of Hebrew women were to be killed, for he feared that the Hebrews would revolt against him if their population increased. The mother of Moses, however, hid him then sent him on a reed basket, where he was collected by the Pharaoh's daughter, who took pity on him and let him live.

He grew up, but one day he got angry at an Egyptian and murdered him. He then ran away and married a woman, then became a cattle herder. One day God spoke to him and asked him to free the Israelis. When Moses asked Him what to say when someone asked him who God was, he replied:

"I am that I am." (Chapter 3, Verse 4)

I don't understand what this means. I guess the literal meaning would be "I am that which I am," which I don't really think He means. Maybe he means that he is the fact that he is, which makes more sense in my mind then written down, so I won't go on about this.

Anyway, Moses goes on and meets his brother Aaron. God says that Moses will become, in a way, God, and Aaron his prophet.

They meet the Pharaoh, and he refuses to accede to their requests, and instead makes the Hebrews' life more miserable.

Another strange thing here is that God gives himself a name, in Chapter 6, Verse 4:

"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by name JEHOVAH was I not known to them."

I didn't know that God had a name. Actually, never mind. I just looked it up and it just means God in Hebrew.

So the Pharaoh refuses to believe Moses, and he sends many plagues to Egypt to prove to him that God really is supporting him.

The first on is turning all the rivers to blood. The Pharaoh doesn't listen. Then comes the invasion of the frogs. The Pharaoh pretends to listen, then changes his mind. After that come the lice. Pharaoh does the same thing as last time. Repeat with the flies. The God kills all the cattle of all the Egyptians, but none of the Hebrews. Pharaoh doesn't listen. The come the boils. Pharaoh doesn't listen. Then Egypt is bathed in thunder and rain. The Pharaoh pleads Moses to stop, but he refuses to let the Israelis to leave. Pharaoh tells Moses that he will believe him if he plunges Egypt in darkness for three days, and Moses does so for everyone except the houses of Israelis. Yet the Pharaoh still doesn't believe him.

I would just like to say that this reminds me a bit of the modern world. Politicians refuse to believe that certain things, such as Global Warming, are happening, even though they have ample proof from all over the world.

Finally God gets sick of it and decided that he will kill all first-born sons of Egyptians, including the Pharaoh's. He tells Moses to pass on the message to all Hebrews that they need to eat nothing but unleavened bread for seven days, then on the last night eat a lamb and smear it's blood on their door so that the night God passes over Egypt to kill all the people he spares them. That week became known as Passover, and if people eat anything but unleavened bread that week they will be cut off from Israel and their people.

When the Pharaoh discovers of the death of his son, he is stricken and finally allows all the Hebrews to leave Egypt, guided by Moses.