Thursday, April 19, 2007

Study Questions for Exodus 5:22-6:27

Exodus 5:22-6:27

What is the context we find ourselves in?
Moses seems to be speechless before the people’s questions, so he goes back to God for help.

Vs. 22-23 – Why is Moses going back to the Lord?
Notice that Moses does not call him YHWH but Adonai.
What is Moses concern?
What 2 questions does Moses ask God?
What has been the result of his ministry with the Israelites and Pharaoh?
Is there a ministry pattern here?
Often ministry leads to greater difficulties before the solution is given. God is still God and is still working to make the situation come out so that he will be the only one to get glory.

6:1—How does God respond to Moses?
While Moses questions and approach don’t seem to be all that respectful, God answers with grace and tenderness.
What is God preparing to do?
How will the Israelites get out of Egypt?
“Drive out” is the word we saw in 2:22 for Gershom.
It also indicates God’s complete control over Egypt. God is God over even Egypt.
Have we seen this sort of deliverance from Egypt before?

Vs. 2—Why does it say “and God spake unto Moses” a second time in 2 verses? Could be something like, “God also said to Moses.”
What is God’s answer to Moses?
I am God, is a typical response on the part of royalty (cf. vss. 6 and 7). Notice how many time in the book of Ezekiel this statement is made.
How is this response similar to God’s response to Job?

Vs. 3—Who did God appear to first?
Why does God start with Abraham instead of Adam or Noah?
Who did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob get to know?
Why did God not reveal himself as YHWH to these patriarchs?
God did not reveal himself to Isaac. (Gen 48:15).
God almighty is El Shaddai
The name YHWH is used earlier than here in Exodus (cf. Gen 4:26), why does he say no one used his name before now?
It has to do with the significance of his name, not that he name was unknown. John 17:6—importance of the Name.
In Hebrew thinking the word “know” has more to do with “experiencing for oneself the reality of the truth being conveyed” than it has to do with external knowledge (Mackay p. 119).

Vs. 4—What did God do with regard to his covenant?
Establish does not mean to create new, but to confirm and include them in something that was already in existence.
What is a covenant? Gen 12:7; 22:21)
What is God’s covenant?
Why is God pointing out this covenant thing?

Vs. 5—What has God heard coming from the Israelites?
And what has God done as a result of hearing his people’s plight?
Why does he tell Moses that he remembers his covenant?

Vs. 6—Why is the therefore there?
What does God say to tell the Israelites?
Why does he start with “I am the Lord…”?
What will God do for the Israelites?
Deliver (Rom. 11:26-27; Gal 1:4)
Redeem goes to relationship (Lev. 25:25; 47-55; Num. 5:8). (Job 19:25; Tit 2:13-14)


Vs. 7—What does all of this have to do with God and his relationship with the people? Gen. 17:7, 8
Why would God go to all this trouble for a bunch of slaves?
What does God want the people to know?
Remember that the sign God gave to Moses was that when they got to the land, they would know that it was God who had done it.
Why is all of this important? Have you seen this sort of promise any other place in the Bible?

Vs. 8—Where is God going to put the people?
What does it mean that God swore? (Gen 22:15-18; Heb. 6:13)
Why is he going to put them there?
How long will the people be allowed to live in the new land?
How do they know they can trust what he says?
Why does he say, “I am the Lord”?

Vs. 9—What did Moses do with the new information?
What was the people’s response to what God had to say to them?
Why do you suppose they reacted this way? Prov 14:29
They thought they would be released quickly, but no, they had to wait a little longer and in the mean time things got worse instead of better. This isn’t good.
Have you ever been in a situation where good news had no affect because of the situation of your life?
You’ll notice that the people are not mentioned again until just before the Exodus. Presumably they are watching everything from the sidelines, where all good armchair quarterbacks should stay.

Vs. 10—What did God do in response to the people’s reaction to the Good News.

Vs. 11—Where did God tell Moses to go? Why did he tell him to go there?
Where were the people to go this time?

Vs. 12—What is Moses response to God’s new commandment?
Why does Moses not want to go to Pharaoh?
What does it mean to be of uncircumcised lips? Can’t speak correctly. He is relying on himself again instead of on God who commands to go!
How much faith in God is Moses evidencing?

Vs. 13—What did God do this time?
What is “a charge”?

Vs. 14-27—Why is this genealogy here?
The Hebrews view of how God dealt with generations because of the covenant promises made genealogies very important. God had dealt with their fathers and he would deal with them. They are on the cusp of a grand adventure and it is important to know that they are indeed the people of God because God had promised it to their ancestors.
This is the second genealogy in the book so far (cf. 1:2).
What does all of this have to do with armies (other translations = hosts)?
Indicates that the people will not leave as a mob, but in a dignified and orderly way—as a force, a nation, an army.

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