COVENANT (EXODUS 4:18-31)

MOSES HAS BEEN COMMISSIONED BY GOD AS LEADER OF THE ISRAELITES. HIS LEADERSHIP MUST NOW BE PURIFIED.

Exodus 4:18 ESV

18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

MOSES IS NOW FULLY IDENTIFYING HIMSELF WITH THE ISRAELITES.

Exodus 4:19–20 ESV

19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

MOSES WILL NOW INTERCEDE FOR HIS KINSMAN AT GOD’S BEHEST – NOT HIS OWN. CF. EX 2

STAFF OF GOD MUCH LIKE THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD IS SPECIAL BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE AND POWER OF YAHWEH NOT ANYTHING ELSE.

Exodus 4:21 ESV

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

MIRACLES OR WONDERS IS USED HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME – ALLUDING TO THE FIRST 9 PLAGUES.

HARDEN = STRENGTHEN PHAROAHS HEART – 22X – 11X PHAROAH – 11X GOD

PHAROAH’S REFUSAL IS SUPERNATURAL ON PURPOSE.

IN ANCIENT EGYPT THE HEART IS THE ESSENCE OF A PERSON. PHAROAHS HEART WAS THE HEART OF THE KINGDOM. THE HEARTS OF THE GODS RA AND HORUS WERE SOVEREIGN OVER ALL: PHAROAH WAS THE INCARNATION OF THESE GODS THEREFORE HIS HEART WAS SOVEREIGN OVER ALL.

YAHWEH’S CONTROL OF PHAROAH’S HEART DEMONSTRATES THAT HE ALONE IS SOVEREIGN.

RATHER THAN BEING UNJUST – GOD IS ACTUALLY GIVING PHAROAH THE STRENGTH TO DO WHAT HE WANTS. THIS IS NOT ANTI-FREEWILL IT IS THE DEMONSTRATION OF IT.

Exodus 4:22–23 ESV

22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”

FIRSTBORN SON AS A METAPHOR AND COVENANTAL CONCEPT.

GOD IS JUST TO SLAY PHARAOH’S SON BECAUSE PHARAOH HAS BEEN AND IS KILLING HIS.

THIS 10TH PLAGUE/MIRACLE/WONDER WILL BE DONE BY GOD ALONE.

Exodus 4:24 ESV

24 At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death.

MET HIM/SOUGHT HIM IS UNCLEAR IN THE HEBREW – COULD MEAN MOSES OR HIS SON.

IN CONTEXT MAKES MORE SENSE THAT THIS IS ABOUT MOSES’ SON.

Genesis 17:9–14 ESV

9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Exodus 4:25–26 ESV

25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

ONCE AGAIN A WOMAN PROTECTS AND RESCUES THE SACRED SEED OF ISRAEL.

BRIDEGROOM – HEBREW WORD ALSO USED OF SON-INLAW, FATHER-INLAW, EVEN MOTHER-INLAW. THUS TRANSLATE “YOU ARE A COVENANT-RELATIVE OF BLOOD TO ME”

Exodus 4:27–31 ESV

27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

IT ALL POINTS TO CHRIST!

Exodus 14:15–18 ESV

15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE GLORY!

John 17:1–5 ESV

1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

1 John 5:11–13 ESV

11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.