Jan 19 (Exodus 1-2)

The word Exodus means "exit" or "way out" in Hebrew. This book is also written by Moses, but unlike in Genesis where he wrote down what God told him happened before he lived, here, Moses is documenting his life. I point out to my kids that it will be very interesting and telling when Moses writes down his own failures...for millions to read in the future! I point out that if Moses made the five books of the Torah up, he would have definitely deleted the parts where he lost his temper and looked vulnerable, but it was the Holy Spirit who told Moses to write these five books of the Torah.

Moses lived about 400 years after Abraham, and we left Genesis with Joseph dying in Egypt, where the family of Abraham thrived in the land given to them by the Pharaoh.

Exodus 1

However, in (v.8) we see that there was a new king, and he didn't like the family of Jacob. Scholars believe this Pharaoh was not Egyptian, but Assyrian (Isaiah 52:4). This is a prelude to the Assyrian described as the Anti-Christ in (Micah 5).

I like to remind my kids of Genesis 12, where God says He will bless those that bless Israel, and in (v.17) we see the midwives, who feared (respected in awe) God, were blessed because they spared the Isreali sons.

Exodus 2

Moses is a descendant of the tribe of Levi...this tribe will produce the line of priests for Israel.

As with the midwives, we see the hand of God at work with Moses in the basket (ark) in the river. I point out a couple of things here:

~ Isn't it odd that the daughter of the man who orders the murder of all Jewish sons, takes one into the very house of that man? My kids like to talk about how that all worked out in that household!!!

~ We see the second time God saves His people through water:

~ The ark of Noah in the flood
~ The ark (basket) of Moses in the river
~ The whole nation of Israel in the Red Sea fleeing from Pharaoh

Moses flees the Pharaoh to go into the mountains and fields of Midian. Scholars locate Midian to be in what we call today, Saudi Arabia...not Egypt.

We also see a parallel between Moses and Jesus:

~ In defense and leadership of Israel, the people would reject Him the first time

~ After being rejected, he marries a Gentile Bride (the Church)

~ He comes back again with His Bride and becomes their Deliverer

Another thing my kids like, is the subject of wells. As expected, in arid areas, wells and places of water were common gathering places. We like to explore the importance of wells:

~ Isaac (through Eliezer) met his Gentile Bride at a well
~ Moses met his Gentile Bride at a well
~ Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at a well, and she proclaims who He is