Enter the Thicket of the Cross (St. John of the Cross)

Pharaoh's Hardness of Heart

During the plague cycles there are 3 different ways Pharaoh's hardness of heart is expressed:

1. Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exo 8:15,32; 9:34).
• "But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said" (Exo 8:15).
  
• "But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go" (Exo 8:32).
• "When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts" (Exo 9:34).
  
2. Pharaoh's heart was hardened or became hard (Exo 7:13-14,22-23; 8:19; 9:7,35).
• "Yet Pharaoh's heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Pharaoh's heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go'" (Exo 7:13-14).
• "But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart" (Exo 7:22-23).
• "...the magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God.' But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said" (Exo 8:19).
• "Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go" (Exo 9:7).
• "So Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses" (Exo 9:35).
3. God hardened his heart (Exo 9:12; 11:10; 14:8).
• "But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses" (Exo 9:12).
  
• "Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country" (Exo 11:10).
  
• "The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly" (Exo 14:8).

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Liberation from Slavery (Exodus 1-2)

Exodus may be outlined as follows [chapters]:

1. 1-14: Exit from Egypt. In graphic detail God demonstrates his identity as Creator.
2. 15-18: Journey to Sinai. The people's slowly growing trust in God's provision for their daily needs: manna, meat, water, protection.
3. 19-24: 10 Commandments and the Book of the Covenant. Laws for a new society based on God's justice and mercy to maintain their newfound freedom. The 10 Commandments were placed in the holiest place at the center of the community.
4. 25-31: Tabernacle Instructions. God descends from the heavens and from Mt. Sinai and dwell in their midst to be present daily and to travel everywhere with them (Exo 40:38).
5. 32-34: Golden Calf Crisis and God's Forgiveness. God forgives sinful rebellious people and provides a 2nd exodus for them, an exodus from the bondage of their own sinful inclinations (Gen 6:5; 8:21). Ex 34:6-7 are some of the most critically theologically significant OT verses.
6. 35-40: Tabernacle Build and God's Dwelling Presence. The people's heartfelt willing response, bringing generous offerings and building the tabernacle. Exodus ends with God's visible descent to dwell on earth in their midst (Exo 40:34-38; Jn 1:14).

In summary:

• 1 tells of God's intervention in delivering the people from forces of evil, oppression and bondage.
• 2,3,5 concerns equipping the people to live in free relation with God. God gives wilderness provision, builds trust from daily troubles, orders their lives by laws and teaches them to live as forgiven sinners. The laws, given by God as the Creator of the earth, are critical in their role as a blessing to all the nations: lifting the burdens of the oppressed, just courts, healthy ethical living, truth-telling and worship.
• 4,6 concerns God's daily presence in the midst of their lives. The tabernacle creates space for God as well as a place to belong, to give generously and to experience the glory of the Lord.

Questions:

1. What made the new king fearful and why (Exo 1:8-10)? What did he do (Exo 1:11,13)? Why did it not work (Ex 1:12, 7; Gen 1:28; 12:2; 18:18; 22:17)?
2. What is the king's next birth control strategy (Exo 1:15-16)? How did the midwives respond and why (Exo 1:17-19)? Why were the midwives named but not the king (Exo 1:15, 8, 18, 22)? Why should you fear God (Exo 1:20-21; Prov 1:7; 9:10)?
3. How ruthless is Pharaoh's policy of mass scale forced male infanticide (Exo 1:22; Ac 7:19)? Who would God eventually drown (Exo 14:28)?
4. Who were the 5 women who defied Pharaoh's authoritarian decree (Exo 1:15; 2:1,4,9-10; 6:20; 15:20)? Why did Moses' mother do what she did (Exo 2:1-3; Heb 11:23)? What did Moses' sister do (Exo 2:4-9)?
5. What is the time interval between Exo 2:10 and Exo 2:11 (Ac 7:23)?
6. What does Moses' first spoken words suggest about him (Exo 2:13)? What was good and bad about his actions (Exo 2:11-13, 17; Ac 7:24; Heb 11:24-26)? Why did he do this (Ac 7:25)? Was Moses "ready" for God's service?
7. How did the Israelite respond to Moses (Exo 2:14; Ac 7:26-28)? Why did Moses flee to Midian (Exo 2:15)? What happened to him there (Exo 2:16-3:1)? How long was he there (Ac 7:30)?
8. Why was Moses a man who was never at home anywhere (Exo 2:22)?
• Do you sometimes feel as though you don't belong anywhere?
9. What are the four verbs that describe God's consideration of the Israelites (Exo 2:24-25)?
   
• Do you have a sense and awareness of God's presence and his love and care for you personally [and communally]?

Exodus: Freedom and Obedience

• Take a few weeks to read through the book of Exodus (chapter 1-40). Is there anything that God by His Spirit is saying to you? Write it down.

• How does Genesis begin and end (Gen 1:1; 50:26)? How is Exodus a continuation of Genesis (Exo 1:1; Gen 46:8)?

• What are the 2 parts of Genesis [chapter 1-11; 12-50]? A simple 2 part division of Exodus [Outlines and divisions from every Exodus commentary differs]:

1. The power of God in Egypt. What is needed and why?
2. The presence of God in the wilderness. What was given and why is this crucial?

• What are the 2 prominent events in Exodus? What are their equivalents as Christians (Jn 8:36, 31-32;  14:15, 21, 23)? How can Exodus help you to know the grace of God and to love God (Exo 20:2-3)?

• Are you truly free? How do you know (Jn 8:34; 2 Cor 3:17; Gal 5:16, 18, 34-35)? Why precisely does God want you to be free (Exo 3:18; 5:1; 6:6-7; 13:21-22; 19:4; 1 Pet 2:9; 2 Cor 5:15)? How can you continue to live in freedom (Phil 2:12b-13)?

• What is the most important and famous moral code in world history and the central moral code of the Torah (Exo 20:1-17)? What would the world be like if people just lived by these 10 "Ten Words" (Exo 34:28)? Why are we unable to do so (Gen 6:5; 8:21; Ps 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccl 7:20)?

• What "rules" (laws/commandments) do you personally obey daily and/or regularly (Mt 6:33; Lk 9:23; Ac 20:24)?

Read Slaves Need Liberation (Exodus 1-2a).

The Way to become Your True Self (Thomas Kempis)

"A man must go through a long and great conflict in himself before he can learn fully to overcome himself, and to draw his whole affection towards God. When a man stands upon himself he is easily drawn aside after human comforts. But a true lover of Christ, and a diligent pursuer of virtue, does not hunt after comforts, nor seek such sensible sweetnesses, but is rather willing to bear strong trials and hard labors for Christ." — Thomas a' Kempis.