Something unmistakable(Exodus 19-20)

One of my biggest beefs with Mormonism, aside from being altogether incorrect, is how Joseph Smith found the 'sacred writings' for the Book of Mormon. I don't generally advocate Southpark, but the Book of Mormon episode is fantastic. It shows the ridiculous nature of the founding of the Mormon religion. No one other than Joseph Smith ever saw the tablets that he was given, and we are just supposed to accept what he says with absolutely no proof and stands in direct contradiction to well established facts.

If there is something so life changing that I will build my entire belief system around it, I'm not going to trust the word of someone who's story can in no way be verified. 

A few years ago the History channel aired "The Bible" miniseries. I didn't have a problem with some of the creative liberties they took. It helped tell the story and give emotion to people who were present. One issue I did have was how Moses received the 10 commandments from God. In their depiction, Moses was stumbling up a mountain that was violently shaking and all of a sudden two stone tablets are uncovered from the shaking ground. Moses then marches back down the mountain and everyone accepts these commandments without question. 

The Bible actually gives us a much different picture. All of Israel was gathered at the foot of mount Sinai. God had instructed Moses to take steps to have everyone be ritually cleansed. Barriers were put up keeping people from getting too close to the foot of the mountain. The mountain shook violently and was covered in a thick cloud. Don't miss this, this is super important, the law that Israel would live by, the law that taught holiness and became the foundation for Judaism and subsequently what points out our sin and shows us our need for Jesus, was not stumbled upon or handed to us from one individual who we were just supposed to 'take his word' about its truth and authenticity. God spoke his commandments audibly in the presence of 600,000 Israelite men, not counting women and children.  

Exodus 20:22 "Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven'"

Something so foundational and important, God made unmistakable.  

God's plan and death due to excess foreskin?(Exodus 4-7)

The is so much mystery wrapped up in the Exodus, none weirder than the near death of Moses before his wife touches his feet with his son's foreskin! What's up with that?! Let's start by looking just before that section. 

 "22Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son,a 23and I told you, “Let my son go,a so he may worshipb me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.'"

God's plan from the beginning was to kill the firstborn son of pharaoh!  What a picture of the gospel! For His chosen people to be set free it will take the death of the firstborn son!

Now back to the super weird verse about circumcision. The sign of the covenant God made with Abraham was circumcision, with this covenant Abe would be blessed with innumerable offspring, have a relationship with God and be given a land of his own. A land that is to be holy, set apart for God's people. So much so that later on when Moses strikes a rock instead of speaking to it, he is not allowed to enter. God will even allow a generation of faithless Hebrews to die before giving the land to their offspring. Enter Moses on his way to this promised land,  he may be God's chosen person to lead Israel out of Egypt, but God still expected him to be obedient in all areas of faith and practice. And according to Gods covenant with Abraham, Moses' son should have been circumsized. 

Other random observations: 

Exodus 5:2- Pharaoh- 'who is The Lord?'- demonstrates Pharaoh doesn't know God.  

Exodus 5:20,21- Obedience is met with hardship. Israelites first reaction is to blame God. This becomes a pattern...

Exodus 6:2-5- this one is really interesting, God reinforces his name not Elohim, but Jehovah. He gives a fuller revelation to Moses than the patriarchs.

Exodus 6:15- one of the ancestors of Moses was the son of a Canaanite woman.  

Exodus 7:5- The signs were so the Egyptians would know God.

Exodus 7:10-13- The magicians staffs also become snakes but Moses snake eats them.
 

Don't skip the genealogies! Part 2(Gen 7-10)

Day 3 is really interesting. The flood happens. God establishes a couple of new things. We see division take place. 

Random observation of the day: if you add up the ages of the people up to the time of the flood 1. Noah was really old compared to everyone else before having kids( unless Shem, ham, Japheth were not his first kids but only the ones who came out of the flood with him.) 2. The oldest man to ever live, methuselah, either died during the flood or just before it. 

So the flood happens, but it isn't until after the flood when I think so much interesting stuff takes place. 

1. Seasons

8:22“As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

day and night

will never cease.”

God establishes seasons. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Imagine life without seasons. It would be like San Diego. Or no seed time or harvest. Did that mean up to that time food just grew unhindered and was always ready? Guess there weren't many prayers for patience. Life where all you needed was available without waiting. Maybe this is an institution of markers in life. If it was day time all the time, especially in biblical times, when you know to stop working and rest at sun down. And seasons of planting and harvest give you closure, something you are working for that comes to completion before starting again. And maybe this gives comfort to people to know that "seasons" in life are God ordained. Maybe God wants us to go through different seasons to learn and grow. What do you think?

2. Meat! 

We no longer have to be vegetarians! 

3. Covenant 

God establishes a covenant with all of creation to never again destroy with a flood. 

4. Division

We get an odd little story about naked, drunk Noah being dishonored by Ham, but honored by Shem and Japheth. This is the first time we see one of the patriarchs bless and curse. Noah blesses Shem and sets him above his brothers, but curses Ham. And if you don't skip the genealogies, you see, Ham becomes the father of the enemies of Israel. 

Bonus random observation: in Peleg's time the earth was divided, yes foreshadowing Babel, but what if the earth was actually "divided" during Peleg's time?(Pangea anyone?) Who knows?! Tell me what you think!