𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁/ "𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴"

𝗘𝘅𝗼𝗱𝘂𝘀 𝟭:𝟭–𝟲:𝟭

This weeks Portion introduces us to Moses / Mosheh. The Hebrews (Israelites) have been in Egypt multiplying until Joseph and all of his brothers (the entire generation) have died in the land. There then arose a new king who did not know Joseph or all that he had done for Egypt. Yet after seeing the Israelites growing he feared them - and decided to force them into slave labor. Seeing that this did not slow down their growth, he then issued a decree for the midwives, who were delivering the Hebrew babies, to kill the sons and only allow the daughters to live. Yet we find the midwives 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 and did not do what was asked of them. When the king (Pharoah) asked why, the midwives just said the Hebrew women were not like Egyptian women - that they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘏𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. (Ex 1:21) Pharoah then went a step farther - vs 22 says, "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦.”

In our story at this point we begin to see the story of a man from the Tribe of Levi - who marries a daughter of Levi and she becomes pregnant. After giving birth to their son, she is able to conceal him for 3 months before she must do something to prevent Pharoah from killing him. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘭𝘦. (Ex 2:3) So Moses, as he would later be named, is placed in an ARK of his own it seems - yet not alone. We are told that his sister, stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. As she watched, the daughter of Pharoah came down to bathe at the Nile, and upon seeing the basket had one of her maids fetch it. When she opened the basket the boy was crying and she had pity on him, yet saying “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘴’ 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯.” (vs 6) How did she know that? Well...most likely because he was circumcised according to the covenant of Abraham. But this is where we see the sister of Moses, appear and offer the services of Moses' biological mother (as a Hebrew nurse) to nurse the boy.

𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘩’𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, “𝘎𝘰 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.” 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥’𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘩’𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, “𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴.” 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. (vs 8-9) So in a great turn of events, Moses is back with his mother, yet of the household of Pharoah's daughter. Wow. What I really want to highlight here though is his sister - as I pondered over this week's portion I saw a picture of how both her and Moses (later in this portion) are both acting as an 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙧𝙮. An intermediary is someone who acts as a go-between or a mediator between two other people. In this instance, his sister is the go between with the daughter of Pharoah and her own mother. Its even more astounding when you understand that they come from the 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙇𝙚𝙫𝙞. Why is that important? Well, the Levitical priests come from this line - Aaron, the brother of Moses is the first High Priest - 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘆 between GOD and the people! Coincidence? I think not. So even here in our opening chapters of Exodus we see a 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 of Yeshua/Christ as our greatest mediator!

As Moses grows some interesting things take place. One - he sees an Egyptian attacking an Israelite and he steps in and kills the Egyptian, burying him in the sand. Then later when he sees two Israelites quarreling among themselves he steps in to stop them - they ask him who made him judge and did he plan to kill them like he did the Egyptian. Moses became terrified knowing the secret was out and that Pharoah would kill him - so he fled to Midian. There he sat by a 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹. The priest of Midian had 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 daughters who had gone to the well to draw water for their fathers flock, the shepherds came and drove them away but Moses stood up and helped them, even watering their flock. Because of his kindness the girls father invited Moses to stay with them - and even gave him one of his daughters to marry. Moses and Zipporah give birth to a son whom he names, "Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.” (Ex 2:22)

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘚𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮, 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘤, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣. 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.(Ex 2:23-25)

A side note here. Israel didn't cry out to GOD until the oppression became too much to bear. Remember they had been there for 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 years - even past the generations of Joseph and his brothers. But they were 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 and had no real desire to leave - I mean why would they, right?!?! So maybe, just maybe the oppression the enemy meant to harm them, was the very thing GOD used to awaken them. Shew...that will preach.

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳-𝘪𝘯-𝘭𝘢𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘣, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘩; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘰 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱.” 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴!” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦; 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰, “𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘤, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥. (Ex 3:2-6)

Notice, the LORD didn't call him until Moses turned aside to look. We can have all the 'burning bush' moments we want, BUT, if we don't take the time to look closer - well, we might miss the greatest invitation of our lives!

The LORD begins to tell Moses (Bev summary) that hey, My People are crying out to Me - I need you to go get 'em! Tell them I AM sent you, then go tell Pharoah to let My people go, that they may worship Me! I am going to be with you, and here are the signs to prove it...Pharoah isn't going to listen, but by the end of what I am about to do, He will send you out with a strong arm - but not empty handed! My people will plunder Egypt of goods!

And Moses responds, '𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, “𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦.” (Ex 4:10) Hold up. Why have we never heard this about Moses up until this point in our story? I mean we don't see in the text anyone poking fun at him - or him hesitating to kill an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite, or speaking boldly to the Israelites he tried to stop from fighting - or when he stood up for the daughters of Jethro. But here, after all the things the LORD Himself has said to him, FROM A BURNING BUSH, he shrinks back. I really had to sit in that text for a bit. Why now, Moses? Surely you spoke often in the presence of the one who was Pharoah before you ran - raised by his daughter, most likely in his house. Why would this 'shortcoming' be a big deal now?

And then it hit me. Moses had lived an ordinary life - with ordinary people - all with their own ordinary limitations. But in this moment he was face to face (so to speak) with the embodiment of 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Standing in the Presence - full of light and truth - Moses could now clearly see the areas where he, as a mere mortal, was falling short. Isn't it that way with us, too? When we take the time to come before the Most Holy One, don't we more clearly see the mess in us? Oh friends, I am so very, very thankful that He sees our imperfections and still chooses to love us - and yes, to use us for His purposes, all while 𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 us, and making us more like Him. He could have said, 'you are right Moses, I will find someone else' - but He didn't. But He also didn't give 𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 to the words Moses spoke about himself. Instead, He told Moses (summary by Bev), I AM He that created you - and I AM He that called you - therefore know that I AM is He that will do this through you- and I AM is all that you need! What Moses thought of himself was not important - what the LORD thought of Moses was! Sometimes we just need to get before the LORD and hear what He has to say!

Yet Moses continued to insist that the LORD find someone else. The anger of the LORD burned against Moses, yet He offered a solution. He told Moses his brother Aaron was coming to meet him - Aaron would be the one to speak to Pharoah. Ex 4:15-17, "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘐, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰. 16 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴.” Thus Moses will be the 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘆 between GOD and Aaron - 'he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him'.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘥. (Ex 4:29-31) 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘩, “𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭, ‘𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘔𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.’” 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘰? 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘰.” (Ex 5:1-2)

A feast to the LORD. Hmmm. It seems one of the LORDs appointed times was about to occur - and He wanted Israel to celebrate with Him. And this was before the Torah was given to Moses. Wow.

And so our portion ends with Pharoah increasing the workload of Israel and driving them harder - even causing them to grumble against Moses/Aaron for causing it. Moses then goes before the LORD and asks why He sent Him to deliver His people, because they aren't being delivered!

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.” (Ex 6:1)

I want to finish with these final thoughts. This weeks portion shows us what it means to stand in the face of injustice - to fear GOD over man -and finally how to stand before a most Holy GOD and see the weaknesses that lie within ourselves. We see the struggle between 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙩 as Israel prepares for a deliverance that they aren't sure will take place, in their timing. Yet in all of these things we see there is a GOD who works to bring about His plans and purposes for a people He has called - has set-apart - and made His own. A good Shepherd who knows that the fatness of Egypt is not what His sheep need. Instead, He begins the call to a different path - one which has challenges of it's own, yet one which will be for the saving of many. An ark for the world, so to speak. One commentator noted that the weekly Sabbath is a picture of what it means to pull away from the world and all of its pursuits, to be transformed again and again by our Good Shepherd. I agree - I think its the burning bush each week where if we will just turn and take notice, we can hear Him as He calls to us. Beckoning us to partake of His goodness. It is up to us, however, to answer with, "Here am I, Lord, Here am I"!