Difference between revisions of "Points of Contention with the Life of Moses"

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(Where did Moses receive the Ten Commandments?)
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== Who provided the Ten Commandments to Moses? ==
 
== Who provided the Ten Commandments to Moses? ==
*The Ten Commandments were given by the Lord directly to Moses (EXO 19:20; 20:22).
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*'''God.''' The Ten Commandments were given by the Lord directly to Moses (EXO 19:20; 20:22).
*Moses did not speak directly with God. The Ten Commandments were provided by angels acting as mediators (GAL 3:19).
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*'''Angels.''' Moses did not speak directly with God. The Ten Commandments were provided by angels acting as mediators (GAL 3:19).
  
 
== What are God’s Commandments? ==
 
== What are God’s Commandments? ==

Revision as of 00:38, 29 April 2017


How many Israelites were in Egypt?

  • Many. The Israelites outnumbered the Egyptians (EXO 1:8-9).
  • Few. The Israelites were selected by God out of pity, because they were the absolute smallest minority group (DEU 7:7).

Did Moses fear the Pharaoh?

  • Yes. The Bible explicitly states that Moses was afraid of the Pharaoh, who sought to kill him. Moses fled from the Pharaoh for this reason (EXO 2:14-15; ACT 7:29) until he was safe (EXO 4:19).
  • No. “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king” (HEB 11:27).

Who appeared to Moses in the burning bush?

  • One of the Lord’s angels spoke on his behalf (EXO 3:2-2).
  • God called directly to Moses (EXO 3:4).

Was Moses good at public speaking?

  • Yes. Moses “was mighty in words and in deeds” (ACT 7:22).
  • No. Moses himself explicitly stated that “I am not eloquent,” and that he was “slow of speech, and of a slow tongue” (EXO 4:10).

Did the Israelites listen to Moses?

  • Yes, in fact “they bowed their heads and worshiped” (EXO 4:31).
  • No, they didn’t listen, because they were discouraged by their years of hard labor (EXO 6:9).

Who hardened the Pharaoh's heart?

  • Aaron did. The Pharaoh took the power of Aaron’s shape-shifting rod as a personal affront (EXO 7:11-13).
  • The Lord did, to prevent the Pharaoh from allowing the Israelites to escape (EXO 10:20).
  • The Pharaoh did it to himself (EXO 8:15).

What were the Plagues that God brought upon Egypt?

The Plagues God Brought Upon Egypt
Plague EXODUS 7-12 PSALMS 78 PSALMS 105
Blood 7:20 78:44 105:29
Frogs 8:6 105:30
Lice 8:17 105:31
Flies 8:24 78:45 105:31
Crop blight 9:3
Boils/pestilence 9:10 78:50
Thunder, hail, and fire 9:23 78:48 105:32
Locusts 10:13 78:46 105:34
Darkness 10:22 105:28
Killing of the firstborn 12:29 78:51 105:36
Frost 78:47 105:33
Evil angels 78:49

Were all of the waters of Egypt turned to blood?

  • Yes. All of the water in Egypt was explicitly turned into blood (EXO 7:20-21).
  • No. The groundwater was not contaminated (EXO 7:22-24).

How many of Egypt's cattle were killed by God?

  • All of them. God explicitly slew the entire Egyptian cattle population (EXO 9:6).
  • God only killed the firstborn cattle (EXO 12:29).

What was the extent of the damage of the Seventh Plague’s hailstorm?

  • It killed every man and beast that happened to be outside at the time. In addition, it killed every plant and broke every tree (EXO 9:25).
  • Some plants had to survive, because the plague of locusts were explicitly described as eating the plants and fruit that survived the hailstorm (EXO 10:14-15).

How long did the Israelites' sojourn last?

  • 400 years (ACT 7:6).
  • 430 years (EXO 12:40-41).
  • < 350 years, as implied by analyzing different genealogies (GEN 46:8, 11; EXO 6:18, 20; 7:7).

How does God part the Red Sea?

  • God imbues Moses with the power to part seas (EXO 14:15-16).
  • God created a strong east wind (EXO 14:21).
  • God parted the sea with the power of wisdom itself (WIS 10:18).
  • God did not need into invoke anything to part the sea; he just did it (NEH 9:11).

Did the Israelites have adequate water after leaving Egypt?

  • No. The Israelites had no water (EXO 15:22) and were unable to find any potable water sources after three days (EXO 15:23), which caused the people to question Moses (EXO 15:24).
  • Yes. The Israelites must have had plenty of water, as they were able to wash their clothes (EXO 19:14).

How was the Israelites’ condition in the desert?

  • Good. The time spent the desert was comfortable and the Israelites “lacked nothing” (DEU 2:7). Cereal grains, honey, butter, milk, fat, and grape juice were all readily available (DEU 32:13-14).
  • Bad. The lack of food led the Israelites to speak ill about Moses, compromising their confidence in both Moses and God (EXO 16:2,8). The emancipated Israelites received lesser quantities and lower-qualities of food than what they had received from their Egyptian oppressors (NUM 11:4-6).

Did God accompany the Israelites on the Exodus?

  • Yes. God explicitly stated that he would personally accompany the Israelites on the Exodus (EXO 33:14).
  • No. God sent an angel instead. God explicitly did not follow the Israelites, since he would probably wind up killing them (EXO 33:2-3).

Who went before the Israelites?

  • God himself personally spoke to the Israelites (EXO 13:21, 16:10).
  • An angel did, who spoke on God’s behalf (EXO 14:19, 23:20-23).

Did Moses see the face of God?

  • Yes. God and Moses spoke “face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (EXO 33:11).
  • No. Moses asked to do so (EXO 33:18), but he was told that anyone who tried would be killed in the process (EXO 33:20).

Where did Moses receive the Ten Commandments?

  • At Mt. Sinai (EXO 19:18,25; 20:1-3).
  • At Mt. Horeb (DEU 4:10,12-13). While scholars argue that Mt. Horeb was an alternate name for Mt. Sinai, this has never been confirmed.

Who provided the Ten Commandments to Moses?

  • God. The Ten Commandments were given by the Lord directly to Moses (EXO 19:20; 20:22).
  • Angels. Moses did not speak directly with God. The Ten Commandments were provided by angels acting as mediators (GAL 3:19).

What are God’s Commandments?

God's Commandments
# Commandment EXO 20:2-17;

DEU 5:6-21

EXO 34:13-28 MAT 19:17-19 MAR 10:19 LUK 18:20
1 No other gods X X
2 No graven images X X
3 No Lord's name in vain X
4 Observe the Sabbath X X
5 Honor parents X X X X
6 Don't murder/kill X X X X
7 No adultery X X X X
8 No stealing X X X X
9 Don't lie X X X X
10 Don't covet X
11 Observe Feast of Unleavened Bread X
12 God gets all firstborn X
13 Observe Feast of Weeks X
14 Men appear before God three times per year X
15 No leaven in sacrificed blood X
16 God get the first fruits of harvest X
17 Don't seethe kids in mother's milk X
18 Love neighbors as self (actually LEV 19:18) X
19 Don't defraud (actually LEV 19:13) X

Who wrote the second set of Ten Commandments?

  • God carved them for Moses (EXO 34:1).
  • Moses carved them himself, based on what God had told him (EXO 34:27).