March 4, 2024 • 26 mins
Discover the depth of your spiritual lineage and how you are woven into the tapestry of history's divine narrative. Join me, Vic, as we recount the captivating tale of Moses at the burning bush, delving into the mysterious encounter that emboldens him to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage. Feel the desert sand between your toes as we examine why Moses removed his sandals—and why this act resonates with such cultural and religious significance, offering a stark contrast to the public shame experienced in the story of Ruth. Hear God's voice as He calls Moses, and perhaps, hear echoes of how we might be called to serve within His larger purpose.
Then, witness as Moses and Aaron stand before Pharaoh, bearing the weight of God's promise and the awe-inspiring signs given to affirm their divine mission. Understand the power behind the sacred name "I am who I am," and follow us through an analysis of how LORD, spelled in all caps, resonates through the ages. As I narrate the unfolding events, the conversation opens up to reflections on our own hesitations and God's patience, paralleling Moses's initial reluctance with our modern-day struggles. This is not just a story of ancient times but an ongoing dialogue of faith, obedience, and the assurance that our limitations are but stepping stones to witness the Almighty's might in the world.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to our ancient future story, navigating
Scripture Through the Eyes ofFamily, where I share with you
biblical stories like a familymember would share a story
around the dinner table.
As children of God, we are apart of God's family and His
family story has a lot ofhistory.
Each week we will take onestory and talk about it the
(00:29):
cultural, historical,geographical and sociological
impacts.
We will be looking at thesestories from the perspective of
our ancestors, through the lensof ancient times, in hopes of
learning more about our family.
This is our ancient futurestory.
Welcome back to our ancientfuture story.
(01:02):
I'm Vic and I am so excited toshare with you another story
today.
When we left off last time,moses had settled in the
wilderness of Midian with hisnew wife Sappora and their son
Gershom.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, the peopleof Israel were groaning because
of their suffering, but Yahwehheard their cries and was
actively working to pull themout of Egypt.
(01:23):
And today we will see thebeginning of this plan come to
pass, as God meets Moses in thewilderness and invites him to
take the leap into this epicstory.
So grab your cup of coffee orsomething to drink and let's get
ready to dive into the story ofMoses.
(01:50):
Our story opens in thewilderness of Midian, where
Moses has been living with hiswife Sappora and his son Gershom
in his father-in-law Jethro'shouse, the Bet-Ov.
One day, while walking hisflock to the west side of the
wilderness, he came to MountHorib, also known as the
Mountain of God.
In here, god appeared to him ina burning bush.
(02:10):
Moses looked at the bush,clearly on fire, yet it was not
being consumed.
Perplexed, moses said I willturn aside to see this great
sight.
Why is the bush not beingburned?
When God saw him do this, hecalled out from the bush, saying
Moses, Moses, here I am.
Moses replied Do not come near,remove your sandals, for you
(02:32):
are standing on holy ground.
Historical fun fact removingsandals in this culture was a
very vulnerable thing because itput you in the mercy of the
person in front of you, unlikein the story of Ruth, where the
closerer demer had his sandalsremoved, which was a shameful
act because he refused tofulfill the Leverite Law.
This act was one of greatrespect and honor.
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I am the God of your fathers,the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac and the God of Jacob.
Hearing this, moses hid hisface because he was afraid to
see God.
Then the Lord said to him Ihave seen the affliction of the
people of Israel.
I have heard their cries fromEgypt and I know their suffering
, and I have come down todeliver them out of Egypt into
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the land flowing with milk andhoney, the land of currently
possessed by the Canaanites, theHittites, amorites, pesarites,
the Hivites and the Jebusites.
I have seen the suffering of mypeople.
Now come, moses, I will sendyou to Pharaoh to bring the
children of Israel out of Egypt.
But Moses responds the same waymany of us do.
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Who am I that I should go toPharaoh and bring the children
of Israel out of Egypt?
Don responds this will be asign to you.
When you bring the children ofIsrael out of Egypt, you will
come back here, to this verymountain, to worship me.
Then Moses asked anotherquestion what if I tell the
children of Israel that the Godof their fathers sent me to
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bring them out of Egypt?
But they asked me your name.
What am I to say to them?
And God says to Moses say tothem I am who I am.
Tell them I am sent you.
Yahweh is the God of yourfathers, abraham, isaac and
Jacob.
This is my name forever.
Thus I am to be remembered forall generations.
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So go, gather the elders andtell them all I have told you,
and they will listen to yourvoice.
So then you and the elders areto go before the king of Egypt
and tell him the God of theHebrews has asked us to leave
Egypt and go into the wilderness.
That we may worship him, butPharaoh will not let you go
unless he is compelled by amighty hand.
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So I will strike Egypt with anoutstretched hand.
Only then will he let you go,and when he does, I will give
you favor and you will plunderthe Egyptians.
Then Moses again challenges Godand says they will not believe
me or listen to me, for theywill say Yahweh did not meet
with you.
But I love God's response herebecause he didn't say how dare
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you not believe me?
Instead he asked what is inyour hand?
And Moses replied A staff.
Yahweh said Throw it on theground.
And when Moses did, it became aserpent.
And Moses ran from it.
But Yahweh said Stretch outyour hand and pick it up.
Then they will believe thatYahweh, the God of your fathers,
of Abraham, isaac and Jacob,has appeared to you.
(05:22):
And when Moses did it, itbecame a staff.
Again and again God said toMoses Put your hand inside your
cloak.
And when he took out his handit was leprous like snow.
And when he put his hand backin his cloak, his hand was
restored like the rest of hisflesh.
Then God said If they still donot believe you or listen to the
first sign, they may believethis one.
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But even if they do not believeyou after these two signs, then
take some water from the Nileand pour it on the ground and
the water will become blood ondry ground.
But then Moses said to God I amnot eloquent because I cannot
speak well.
Then the Lord said to him whomade the mouth?
Who makes one mute or deaf, orseeing or blind?
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Is it not I, the Lord?
Now go and I will be your mouthand help you speak and teach
you what to say.
But Moses was still hesitant.
He said oh, my Lord, pleasesend someone else.
Then the anger of Yahweh burnedagainst Moses and he said what
about your brother Aaron?
I know he speaks well.
Look, he is coming to see youand when you meet he will be
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glad in his heart.
You will speak to him and I toyou and then I will teach you
both what to do.
So Moses took his staff andreturned to his father-in-law
Jethro's house and said to himPlease let me go back to my
brothers in Egypt to see if theyare still alive.
And Jethro blessed him andallowed him to return.
Yahweh spoke to Moses and saidReturn to Egypt, for those who
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are seeking your life are dead.
So Moses packed up his wife andhis sons and headed back to
Egypt with his staff in his hand.
And Yahweh spoke to Moses again, saying when you get back to
Egypt, do all the signs I havegiven you before Pharaoh, but I
will harden his heart so that hewill not let the people go.
Then you shall say to PharaohThus says the Lord Israel is my
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firstborn son.
And I say to you Let my son gothat he may serve me.
If you refuse to let him go,behold, I will kill your
firstborn son.
Historical fun fact thefirstborn son holds the
patriarch heat in their hands.
They are the legacy.
They carry on theresponsibility of their father
when they pass In Egypt.
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That was for the son to takeover as Pharaoh.
In Israel, the oldest son wouldtake on the responsibilities of
caring for his mother, sistersand younger brothers.
So God is saying Let my peoplego or I will kill your legacy.
I think we talk about Godconfronting Pharaoh about this
in the 10th plague.
But here we see, god tellsMoses to tell Pharaoh up front
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what will happen if he choosesto not let the people of Israel
go.
Then, while they were lodgingat the place, on the way back to
Egypt, the Lord met with Mosesand wanted to kill him.
Zipporah, seeing this, tookmatters into her own hands and
took the flint knife andcircumcised her son and threw
the foreskin at Moses and saidSurely you are a bridegroom of
blood to me.
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Then the Lord left him alone.
Back in Egypt, the Lord said toAaron Go into the wilderness to
meet Moses.
So he went and met him at themountain of God and he kissed
him and Moses told him all thatYahweh had told him to say and
showed him the signs that he wascommanded to do.
Then Moses and Aaron went andgathered together all the elders
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of Israel and Aaron spoke thewords that the Lord had given
Moses and did the signs on theside of the people.
And the people believed.
And when they heard that Yahwehhad visited the people of
Israel and that he had seentheir affliction.
They bowed their heads andworshiped.
And that is our story ends fortoday.
Moses is back in Egypt andYahweh proved to be faithful to
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Moses.
The people of Israel believedhim, either by words or by signs
, and Aaron spoke to the peoplefor Moses and they believed and
worshiped Yahweh.
But the story is not over.
The people believed that Yahwehappeared to Moses and that he
had heard their cries, but theywill soon see his power in might
as Yahweh faces Pharaoh and theEgyptian gods in the ultimate
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showdown of divine power.
If you grew up in church, youhave probably heard this story
many, many times.
It is basically the staple VBSstory.
But I think there are a fewthings for us to note to help
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shape the context of the storyfor us.
First location Our story takesplace in Midian on Mount Horib,
the mountain of God.
Mount Horib is found at the tipof the Sinai Peninsula.
Most scholars agree that MountHorib is Mount Sinai.
God told Moses that this wouldbe a sign for him that once God
(10:03):
pulled the people of Israel outof Egypt, they would come back
to this exact mountain toworship.
And guess what?
When Israel was freed fromslavery, they did return to this
mountain.
This is where the TenCommandments were given.
This is where God gave Israelthe law.
They did indeed worship at thismountain.
In fact, it was this mountainthat they traveled around for 40
(10:26):
years in the wilderness.
So what about the burning bush?
When we think about the burningbush, usually our first
question in Western society iswhat did it look like?
Usually followed by how wouldyou have responded if you saw a
bush on fire but not beingconsumed?
And though these are not badquestions to ask, it is not the
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most important question weshould be asking.
In fact, we should be askingwhat is the Middle Eastern
understanding of this scene?
And for that we have to ask notwhat does it look like, but why
would God do that?
And that is a differentquestion.
Why would God choose to revealhimself to Moses in this way?
And my initial response to thisis because it would have gotten
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Moses' attention At this point.
Moses had been living in Midianas a pastoral shepherd for 40
years.
He has been all around thedesert following the pastoral
patterns of for food.
He has been to Mount Horridbefore.
These are not new territoriesfor him, but on this day.
God appeared to him for apurpose and Moses' immediate
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response is one I think we allcan understand.
Moses first looks withcuriosity, but then, when God
speaks, he looks away because hewas afraid to look at God.
And I love that.
This is how his story started,because later, in Exodus 33, he
is the one who begs to see theglory of God, and I just love
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the growth of Moses.
He starts off very timid andafraid and with all these
reasons why he can't do what Godis asking him to do, but by the
time he is leading theIsraelites in Exodus 33, he is
so confident in his relationshipwith God that he begs to see
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the face of God, and I thinkthat is so cool.
The next thing I want to talkabout is ancient idioms.
The first in here we see is theland flowing with milk and
honey.
For the ancient, this was anidiom used to describe the
wealth of a place.
The milk refers to an abundanceof livestock, but specifically
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goats, and for a pastoral nation, this was vital because
livestock was the key tosurvival.
Goats, especially, could beused for milk and meat.
Honey, on the other hand,referred to an abundance of
vegetation, but specificallyfigs, fig trees provided
nutrients and would last forlong periods of time.
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The other idiom in here, inthis passage we see, is that
Yahweh uses a mighty hand.
He says that Pharaoh will notrelent unless persuaded by a
mighty hand.
In the ancient world, pharaohwas known by their mighty hand.
This was their authority andpower, and God is setting up
that he has the mightier handthan Pharaoh.
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So anytime we see that theYahweh pulls you out with a
mighty hand, that is what he'stalking about Now.
The next thing I want to talkabout is the name of God.
I am who I am.
Moses asked God who am I?
To say that sent me.
When the people of Israel askand God says to him I am who I
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am Now our first question isusually that's not a name, but I
am who I am.
In Hebrew is Ea, e'sher, ea.
Ea shares the same root asYahweh.
Prior to this moment, godrefers to himself as God
Almighty or El Shaddai, but nowhe is giving Moses, the people
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of Israel and eventually Pharaohthe name in which God of Israel
was to be remembered by YahwehI am who I am.
I am who always has been andalways will be.
In our Bibles, this istypically depicted as Lord in
all caps.
So when you see Lord in allcaps, it is the name of Yahweh
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in Hebrew.
The last thing I want to talkabout are the three signs that
God gives Moses.
God gives Moses these threesigns to convince the leaders of
Israel that Yahweh actuallyappeared to him.
One staff turns into a snake.
Two hand turns into leprosy.
Three water to blood.
(14:43):
Now I never noticed this before, that these three signs that
Moses and Aaron actually do atleast four times over the next
few chapters, as we will seenext time, moses will do these
signs for Aaron, for the leadersof Israel and before Pharaoh,
before the plagues really startand the Hebrew people will
believe Moses, but Pharaoh willharden his heart, just as Yahweh
(15:08):
had said.
But we can take a minute toappreciate each of these,
because I think Moses' reactionis 100% legit.
The first sign is a staff into asnake.
Moses threw the staff on theground and it became a snake and
he ran from it.
Um duh, I would have run too,but when God told him to pick it
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up by the tail and it became astaff again, can you take a
minute to imagine what thiswould have felt like to have a
wiggly, silky, smooth, flexiblesnake in your hand.
And then it transformed in yourhand to a still wooden and
rigid staff.
What would that have been like?
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But God doesn't stop there.
He tells Moses to put his handin his cloak and when he pulls
it out it's white as snow,taking on the disease of leprosy
.
So let's take a minute and putourselves in Moses' shoes.
Leprosy is the disease that eatsat the body, and the people who
had leprosy were shunned to theoutskirts of society because
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they were considered unclean oreven cursed.
But here Moses is, a formerprince of the palace of Egypt,
now in a desert, talking toYahweh with a leperous hand.
What is he thinking in thismoment?
But before he could think toomuch, god tells him to put his
hand back in his cloak and itcomes out whole again.
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God tells him to do one moretask.
If they do not believe thefirst two signs, he says go down
to the Nile and get some waterand pour it on the dry ground
and it will become blood.
This sign should be familiar toyou, as it is the first plague.
I think it is interesting thatGod had already set up a sign to
tell his people that he is theGod of their ancestors and that
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this would be the sign that hewould use to kick off the series
of plagues, to convince Pharaoh, on a much larger scale, that
he is the supreme God.
So now Moses knows that Yahwehhas the power over animals,
power over disease and over thehuman body, and now the Nile is
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the source of all of life inEgypt, and God has power over
even the Nile.
So each time we get together,we'll talk about how this story
points us to Yahweh.
In today's story, we obviouslyknow that Yahweh is the one in
the fire.
He is the one who calls out toMoses, who tells of Moses what
he needs to do and how he willbe a part of what God is doing.
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But what I love most is thepatience of God.
Here Moses has questions, legitones, and God doesn't roll his
eyes and say come on, man, getit together.
No, instead, yahweh asks whatis in your hand?
God gives him the tools to goand do what he is asking him to
do.
See, moses was so focused onwhat he could do.
He lacked speech and the factthat the Hebrew people didn't
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want to hear from him, insteadof focusing on what God wanted
to do, which was tell Pharaohand the Israel.
It's about Yahweh and hismighty power, and I think we
find ourselves in similarsituations.
We forget that Yahweh is theone doing the work, and it
doesn't matter so much about ourskill set or our lack of
resources, because God's powerdoesn't depend on us.
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So I want to end our timetogether, as we always do, by
reading the scripture, fromwhich our story comes from today
, in Exodus, chapter 3.
I hope that as we read thisstory and we reflect on all that
we have learned, that thisstory will be illuminated for us
and we will see it in a newlight.
Let's read Now.
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Moses was keeping flock of hisfather-in-law, jethro, the
priest of Midian, and he led hisflock to the west side of the
wilderness and came to Horib,the mountain of God, and the
angel of the Lord appeared tohim in a flame of fire out of
the midst of the bush.
He looked and behold the bushwas burning, yet it was not
consumed, and Moses said I willturn aside to see this great
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sight, why the bush is notburned.
When the Lord saw that he hadturned aside to see, god called
out to him from the bush andsaid Moses, moses.
And he said here I am.
Then he said do not come near,take your sandals off your feet,
for the place you are standingis holy ground.
And he said I am the God ofyour father, the God of Abraham,
(19:28):
the God of Isaac, the God ofJacob.
And Moses hid his face, for hewas afraid to look at God.
But then the Lord said I havesurely seen the affliction of my
people who are in Egypt, andI've heard the cry because of
the taskmasters.
I know they're suffering andI've come down to deliver them
out of the hand of the Egyptiansand to bring them up out of the
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land to the good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and
honey, to the place of theCanaanites, the Hittites, the
Amorites, the Pesarites, theHivites and the Jebusites.
And now, behold the cry of thepeople of Israel.
Have come to me, and I havealso seen the oppression with
which the Egyptians oppressedthem.
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Come, I will send you toPharaoh that you may bring my
people, the children of Israel,out of Egypt.
But Moses said to God, who am I?
That I should go to Pharaoh andbring the children of Israel
out of Egypt.
And he said but I will be withyou and this shall be a sign for
you that I have sent you.
When you have brought thepeople out of Egypt, you shall
serve God on this mountain.
(20:30):
Then Moses said to God if Icome to the people of Israel and
say to them the God of yourfathers have sent me to you and
they asked me what is his name,what then shall I say to them?
God said to Moses I am who I am.
And he said say this to thepeople of Israel I am has sent
me to you.
God also said to Moses say thisto the people of Israel the
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Lord, the God of your fathers,the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, the God of Jacob, hassent me to you.
This is my name forever, andthus I am to be remembered
throughout all generations.
Go and gather the elders ofIsrael together and say to them
the Lord, the God of yourfathers, of the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac and Jacob haveappeared to me saying I have
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observed you and what has beendone to you in Egypt, and I
promise that I will bring you upout of this affliction of Egypt
to the land of the Canaanites,the Hittites, the Amorites, the
Pesarites and the Jebusites, aland flowing with milk and honey
.
And they will listen to yourvoice and you and the elders of
Israel shall go to the king ofEgypt and say to him the Lord,
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the God of the Hebrews, has metwith us and now, please, let us
go three days journey into thewilderness that we may sacrifice
to the Lord, our God.
But I know that the king ofEgypt will not let you go unless
compelled by a mighty hand.
So I will stretch out my handand strike Egypt with all the
wonders that I will do in it.
After that he will let you goand I will give this people
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favor in sight of the Egyptians.
And when you go you shall notgo empty.
But each woman shall ask of herneighbor and any woman who
lives in her house for silverand gold and jewelry, for
clothing.
You shall put them on your sonsand on your daughters, so you
shall plunder the Egyptians.
Then Moses answered.
But behold, they will notbelieve me or listen to my voice
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, for they will say the Lord didnot appear to you.
The Lord said to him what isthat in your hand?
And he said a staff.
And he said throw it on theground.
So he threw it on the groundand it became a serpent and
Moses ran from it.
But the Lord said to Moses putout your hand and catch it by
the tail.
So he put out the hands handand caught it and it became a
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staff in his hands.
That they may believe that theLord, the God of their fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God ofIsaac and the God of Jacob, has
appeared to you Again.
The Lord said to him put yourhand inside your cloak.
And he put his hand inside hiscloak and when he took it out,
behold, his hand was leprouslike snow.
Then God said put your handback inside your cloak.
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So he put his hand back insidehis cloak and when he took it
out, behold, it was restoredlike the rest of his flesh.
If they will not believe you,god said or listen to the first
sign, they may believe thelatter sign.
If they will not believe eventhese two signs, or listen to
your voice, you shall take somewater from the Nile and pour it
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on the dry ground, and the waterthat you shall take from the
Nile will become blood on thedry ground.
But Moses said to the Lord O, myLord, I am not eloquent, either
in the past or since you havespoken to your servant, but I am
slow of speech and of tongue.
Then the Lord said to him whohas made the mouth?
Who makes him mute or deaf, orseeing or blind?
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Is it not I, the Lord?
Now, therefore, go and I willbe your mouth and teach you what
to say.
But he said O, my Lord, pleasesend someone else.
Then the anger of the Lord waskindled against Moses and he
said Is there not Aaron, yourbrother, the Levite?
Now I know that he can speak.
Well, behold, he is coming outto meet you and when he sees you
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, he will be glad.
You shall speak to him and putthe words in his mouth, and I
will be with your mouth and withhis mouth and will teach you
both what to do.
He shall speak for you to thepeople and he shall be your
mouth and you shall be as God tohim and taking your hand, this
staff with which you shall dothese signs.
Moses went back to Jethro, hisfather-in-law, and said to him
(24:35):
Please, let me go back to mybrothers in Egypt to see whether
they are still alive.
And Jethro said to Moses Go inpeace.
And the Lord said to Moses andMidian Go back to Egypt, for all
the men who were seeking yourlife are dead.
So Moses took his wife and hissons and had them on a donkey
and went back to the land ofEgypt.
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And Moses took his staff of Godin his hands.
And the Lord said to Moses whenyou go back to Egypt, see that
you do before Pharaoh all thesigns I have put in your power,
but I will harden his heart sothat he will not let the people
go.
Then you shall say to Pharaoh.
Thus says the Lord Israel is myfirstborn son.
And I say to you Let my son gothat he may serve me.
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If you refuse to let him go,behold, I will kill your
firstborn son At a lodging place.
On the way the Lord met him andsought to put him to death.
Then Zipporah took the flintand cut off her son's foreskin
and touched Moses' feet with itand said Surely you are a
bread-groom of blood to me.
So he let him alone.
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It was then that she said Abread-groom of blood because of
the circumcision.
The Lord said to Aaron Go intothe wilderness to meet Moses.
So he went to meet him at themountain of God and kissed him.
And Moses told Aaron all thewords of the Lord with which he
had sent him to speak and allthe signs that he had commanded
him to do.
The Moses and Aaron went andgathered all together, all the
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elders of the people of Israel.
Aaron spoke all the words thatthe Lord had spoken to Moses and
did the signs in the sight ofthe people.
And the people believed.
And when they heard the Lordhad visited the people of Israel
, that they had seen theirreflection, they bound their
heads and worshipped.
Thank you for listening totoday's episode of our Ancient
(26:27):
Future Story.
I hope that you really enjoyedit.
This episode was written by me,vic Harman.
Music is embarking on anadventure by Evan MacDonald.
Please support the show bysubscribing and rating us and if
you want to know more or growdeeper, check out our website at
our ancientfuturestorycom.
See you next time.
Bye.
Welcome to our ancient future story, navigating
Scripture Through the Eyes ofFamily, where I share with you
biblical stories like a familymember would share a story
around the dinner table.
As children of God, we are apart of God's family and His
family story has a lot ofhistory.
Each week we will take onestory and talk about it the
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cultural, historical,geographical and sociological
impacts.
We will be looking at thesestories from the perspective of
our ancestors, through the lensof ancient times, in hopes of
learning more about our family.
This is our ancient futurestory.
Welcome back to our ancientfuture story.
(01:02):
I'm Vic and I am so excited toshare with you another story
today.
When we left off last time,moses had settled in the
wilderness of Midian with hisnew wife Sappora and their son
Gershom.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, the peopleof Israel were groaning because
of their suffering, but Yahwehheard their cries and was
actively working to pull themout of Egypt.
(01:23):
And today we will see thebeginning of this plan come to
pass, as God meets Moses in thewilderness and invites him to
take the leap into this epicstory.
So grab your cup of coffee orsomething to drink and let's get
ready to dive into the story ofMoses.
(01:50):
Our story opens in thewilderness of Midian, where
Moses has been living with hiswife Sappora and his son Gershom
in his father-in-law Jethro'shouse, the Bet-Ov.
One day, while walking hisflock to the west side of the
wilderness, he came to MountHorib, also known as the
Mountain of God.
In here, god appeared to him ina burning bush.
(02:10):
Moses looked at the bush,clearly on fire, yet it was not
being consumed.
Perplexed, moses said I willturn aside to see this great
sight.
Why is the bush not beingburned?
When God saw him do this, hecalled out from the bush, saying
Moses, Moses, here I am.
Moses replied Do not come near,remove your sandals, for you
(02:32):
are standing on holy ground.
Historical fun fact removingsandals in this culture was a
very vulnerable thing because itput you in the mercy of the
person in front of you, unlikein the story of Ruth, where the
closerer demer had his sandalsremoved, which was a shameful
act because he refused tofulfill the Leverite Law.
This act was one of greatrespect and honor.
(02:55):
I am the God of your fathers,the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac and the God of Jacob.
Hearing this, moses hid hisface because he was afraid to
see God.
Then the Lord said to him Ihave seen the affliction of the
people of Israel.
I have heard their cries fromEgypt and I know their suffering
, and I have come down todeliver them out of Egypt into
(03:16):
the land flowing with milk andhoney, the land of currently
possessed by the Canaanites, theHittites, amorites, pesarites,
the Hivites and the Jebusites.
I have seen the suffering of mypeople.
Now come, moses, I will sendyou to Pharaoh to bring the
children of Israel out of Egypt.
But Moses responds the same waymany of us do.
(03:37):
Who am I that I should go toPharaoh and bring the children
of Israel out of Egypt?
Don responds this will be asign to you.
When you bring the children ofIsrael out of Egypt, you will
come back here, to this verymountain, to worship me.
Then Moses asked anotherquestion what if I tell the
children of Israel that the Godof their fathers sent me to
(03:58):
bring them out of Egypt?
But they asked me your name.
What am I to say to them?
And God says to Moses say tothem I am who I am.
Tell them I am sent you.
Yahweh is the God of yourfathers, abraham, isaac and
Jacob.
This is my name forever.
Thus I am to be remembered forall generations.
(04:18):
So go, gather the elders andtell them all I have told you,
and they will listen to yourvoice.
So then you and the elders areto go before the king of Egypt
and tell him the God of theHebrews has asked us to leave
Egypt and go into the wilderness.
That we may worship him, butPharaoh will not let you go
unless he is compelled by amighty hand.
(04:39):
So I will strike Egypt with anoutstretched hand.
Only then will he let you go,and when he does, I will give
you favor and you will plunderthe Egyptians.
Then Moses again challenges Godand says they will not believe
me or listen to me, for theywill say Yahweh did not meet
with you.
But I love God's response herebecause he didn't say how dare
(05:01):
you not believe me?
Instead he asked what is inyour hand?
And Moses replied A staff.
Yahweh said Throw it on theground.
And when Moses did, it became aserpent.
And Moses ran from it.
But Yahweh said Stretch outyour hand and pick it up.
Then they will believe thatYahweh, the God of your fathers,
of Abraham, isaac and Jacob,has appeared to you.
(05:22):
And when Moses did it, itbecame a staff.
Again and again God said toMoses Put your hand inside your
cloak.
And when he took out his handit was leprous like snow.
And when he put his hand backin his cloak, his hand was
restored like the rest of hisflesh.
Then God said If they still donot believe you or listen to the
first sign, they may believethis one.
(05:44):
But even if they do not believeyou after these two signs, then
take some water from the Nileand pour it on the ground and
the water will become blood ondry ground.
But then Moses said to God I amnot eloquent because I cannot
speak well.
Then the Lord said to him whomade the mouth?
Who makes one mute or deaf, orseeing or blind?
(06:04):
Is it not I, the Lord?
Now go and I will be your mouthand help you speak and teach
you what to say.
But Moses was still hesitant.
He said oh, my Lord, pleasesend someone else.
Then the anger of Yahweh burnedagainst Moses and he said what
about your brother Aaron?
I know he speaks well.
Look, he is coming to see youand when you meet he will be
(06:27):
glad in his heart.
You will speak to him and I toyou and then I will teach you
both what to do.
So Moses took his staff andreturned to his father-in-law
Jethro's house and said to himPlease let me go back to my
brothers in Egypt to see if theyare still alive.
And Jethro blessed him andallowed him to return.
Yahweh spoke to Moses and saidReturn to Egypt, for those who
(06:50):
are seeking your life are dead.
So Moses packed up his wife andhis sons and headed back to
Egypt with his staff in his hand.
And Yahweh spoke to Moses again, saying when you get back to
Egypt, do all the signs I havegiven you before Pharaoh, but I
will harden his heart so that hewill not let the people go.
Then you shall say to PharaohThus says the Lord Israel is my
(07:11):
firstborn son.
And I say to you Let my son gothat he may serve me.
If you refuse to let him go,behold, I will kill your
firstborn son.
Historical fun fact thefirstborn son holds the
patriarch heat in their hands.
They are the legacy.
They carry on theresponsibility of their father
when they pass In Egypt.
(07:32):
That was for the son to takeover as Pharaoh.
In Israel, the oldest son wouldtake on the responsibilities of
caring for his mother, sistersand younger brothers.
So God is saying Let my peoplego or I will kill your legacy.
I think we talk about Godconfronting Pharaoh about this
in the 10th plague.
But here we see, god tellsMoses to tell Pharaoh up front
(07:53):
what will happen if he choosesto not let the people of Israel
go.
Then, while they were lodgingat the place, on the way back to
Egypt, the Lord met with Mosesand wanted to kill him.
Zipporah, seeing this, tookmatters into her own hands and
took the flint knife andcircumcised her son and threw
the foreskin at Moses and saidSurely you are a bridegroom of
blood to me.
(08:14):
Then the Lord left him alone.
Back in Egypt, the Lord said toAaron Go into the wilderness to
meet Moses.
So he went and met him at themountain of God and he kissed
him and Moses told him all thatYahweh had told him to say and
showed him the signs that he wascommanded to do.
Then Moses and Aaron went andgathered together all the elders
(08:34):
of Israel and Aaron spoke thewords that the Lord had given
Moses and did the signs on theside of the people.
And the people believed.
And when they heard that Yahwehhad visited the people of
Israel and that he had seentheir affliction.
They bowed their heads andworshiped.
And that is our story ends fortoday.
Moses is back in Egypt andYahweh proved to be faithful to
(08:57):
Moses.
The people of Israel believedhim, either by words or by signs
, and Aaron spoke to the peoplefor Moses and they believed and
worshiped Yahweh.
But the story is not over.
The people believed that Yahwehappeared to Moses and that he
had heard their cries, but theywill soon see his power in might
as Yahweh faces Pharaoh and theEgyptian gods in the ultimate
(09:20):
showdown of divine power.
If you grew up in church, youhave probably heard this story
many, many times.
It is basically the staple VBSstory.
But I think there are a fewthings for us to note to help
(09:42):
shape the context of the storyfor us.
First location Our story takesplace in Midian on Mount Horib,
the mountain of God.
Mount Horib is found at the tipof the Sinai Peninsula.
Most scholars agree that MountHorib is Mount Sinai.
God told Moses that this wouldbe a sign for him that once God
(10:03):
pulled the people of Israel outof Egypt, they would come back
to this exact mountain toworship.
And guess what?
When Israel was freed fromslavery, they did return to this
mountain.
This is where the TenCommandments were given.
This is where God gave Israelthe law.
They did indeed worship at thismountain.
In fact, it was this mountainthat they traveled around for 40
(10:26):
years in the wilderness.
So what about the burning bush?
When we think about the burningbush, usually our first
question in Western society iswhat did it look like?
Usually followed by how wouldyou have responded if you saw a
bush on fire but not beingconsumed?
And though these are not badquestions to ask, it is not the
(10:47):
most important question weshould be asking.
In fact, we should be askingwhat is the Middle Eastern
understanding of this scene?
And for that we have to ask notwhat does it look like, but why
would God do that?
And that is a differentquestion.
Why would God choose to revealhimself to Moses in this way?
And my initial response to thisis because it would have gotten
(11:10):
Moses' attention At this point.
Moses had been living in Midianas a pastoral shepherd for 40
years.
He has been all around thedesert following the pastoral
patterns of for food.
He has been to Mount Horridbefore.
These are not new territoriesfor him, but on this day.
God appeared to him for apurpose and Moses' immediate
(11:33):
response is one I think we allcan understand.
Moses first looks withcuriosity, but then, when God
speaks, he looks away because hewas afraid to look at God.
And I love that.
This is how his story started,because later, in Exodus 33, he
is the one who begs to see theglory of God, and I just love
(11:53):
the growth of Moses.
He starts off very timid andafraid and with all these
reasons why he can't do what Godis asking him to do, but by the
time he is leading theIsraelites in Exodus 33, he is
so confident in his relationshipwith God that he begs to see
(12:14):
the face of God, and I thinkthat is so cool.
The next thing I want to talkabout is ancient idioms.
The first in here we see is theland flowing with milk and
honey.
For the ancient, this was anidiom used to describe the
wealth of a place.
The milk refers to an abundanceof livestock, but specifically
(12:36):
goats, and for a pastoral nation, this was vital because
livestock was the key tosurvival.
Goats, especially, could beused for milk and meat.
Honey, on the other hand,referred to an abundance of
vegetation, but specificallyfigs, fig trees provided
nutrients and would last forlong periods of time.
(12:57):
The other idiom in here, inthis passage we see, is that
Yahweh uses a mighty hand.
He says that Pharaoh will notrelent unless persuaded by a
mighty hand.
In the ancient world, pharaohwas known by their mighty hand.
This was their authority andpower, and God is setting up
that he has the mightier handthan Pharaoh.
(13:18):
So anytime we see that theYahweh pulls you out with a
mighty hand, that is what he'stalking about Now.
The next thing I want to talkabout is the name of God.
I am who I am.
Moses asked God who am I?
To say that sent me.
When the people of Israel askand God says to him I am who I
(13:39):
am Now our first question isusually that's not a name, but I
am who I am.
In Hebrew is Ea, e'sher, ea.
Ea shares the same root asYahweh.
Prior to this moment, godrefers to himself as God
Almighty or El Shaddai, but nowhe is giving Moses, the people
(14:00):
of Israel and eventually Pharaohthe name in which God of Israel
was to be remembered by YahwehI am who I am.
I am who always has been andalways will be.
In our Bibles, this istypically depicted as Lord in
all caps.
So when you see Lord in allcaps, it is the name of Yahweh
(14:23):
in Hebrew.
The last thing I want to talkabout are the three signs that
God gives Moses.
God gives Moses these threesigns to convince the leaders of
Israel that Yahweh actuallyappeared to him.
One staff turns into a snake.
Two hand turns into leprosy.
Three water to blood.
(14:43):
Now I never noticed this before, that these three signs that
Moses and Aaron actually do atleast four times over the next
few chapters, as we will seenext time, moses will do these
signs for Aaron, for the leadersof Israel and before Pharaoh,
before the plagues really startand the Hebrew people will
believe Moses, but Pharaoh willharden his heart, just as Yahweh
(15:08):
had said.
But we can take a minute toappreciate each of these,
because I think Moses' reactionis 100% legit.
The first sign is a staff into asnake.
Moses threw the staff on theground and it became a snake and
he ran from it.
Um duh, I would have run too,but when God told him to pick it
(15:29):
up by the tail and it became astaff again, can you take a
minute to imagine what thiswould have felt like to have a
wiggly, silky, smooth, flexiblesnake in your hand.
And then it transformed in yourhand to a still wooden and
rigid staff.
What would that have been like?
(15:49):
But God doesn't stop there.
He tells Moses to put his handin his cloak and when he pulls
it out it's white as snow,taking on the disease of leprosy
.
So let's take a minute and putourselves in Moses' shoes.
Leprosy is the disease that eatsat the body, and the people who
had leprosy were shunned to theoutskirts of society because
(16:11):
they were considered unclean oreven cursed.
But here Moses is, a formerprince of the palace of Egypt,
now in a desert, talking toYahweh with a leperous hand.
What is he thinking in thismoment?
But before he could think toomuch, god tells him to put his
hand back in his cloak and itcomes out whole again.
(16:32):
God tells him to do one moretask.
If they do not believe thefirst two signs, he says go down
to the Nile and get some waterand pour it on the dry ground
and it will become blood.
This sign should be familiar toyou, as it is the first plague.
I think it is interesting thatGod had already set up a sign to
tell his people that he is theGod of their ancestors and that
(16:55):
this would be the sign that hewould use to kick off the series
of plagues, to convince Pharaoh, on a much larger scale, that
he is the supreme God.
So now Moses knows that Yahwehhas the power over animals,
power over disease and over thehuman body, and now the Nile is
(17:15):
the source of all of life inEgypt, and God has power over
even the Nile.
So each time we get together,we'll talk about how this story
points us to Yahweh.
In today's story, we obviouslyknow that Yahweh is the one in
the fire.
He is the one who calls out toMoses, who tells of Moses what
he needs to do and how he willbe a part of what God is doing.
(17:36):
But what I love most is thepatience of God.
Here Moses has questions, legitones, and God doesn't roll his
eyes and say come on, man, getit together.
No, instead, yahweh asks whatis in your hand?
God gives him the tools to goand do what he is asking him to
do.
See, moses was so focused onwhat he could do.
He lacked speech and the factthat the Hebrew people didn't
(17:59):
want to hear from him, insteadof focusing on what God wanted
to do, which was tell Pharaohand the Israel.
It's about Yahweh and hismighty power, and I think we
find ourselves in similarsituations.
We forget that Yahweh is theone doing the work, and it
doesn't matter so much about ourskill set or our lack of
resources, because God's powerdoesn't depend on us.
(18:21):
So I want to end our timetogether, as we always do, by
reading the scripture, fromwhich our story comes from today
, in Exodus, chapter 3.
I hope that as we read thisstory and we reflect on all that
we have learned, that thisstory will be illuminated for us
and we will see it in a newlight.
Let's read Now.
(18:42):
Moses was keeping flock of hisfather-in-law, jethro, the
priest of Midian, and he led hisflock to the west side of the
wilderness and came to Horib,the mountain of God, and the
angel of the Lord appeared tohim in a flame of fire out of
the midst of the bush.
He looked and behold the bushwas burning, yet it was not
consumed, and Moses said I willturn aside to see this great
(19:05):
sight, why the bush is notburned.
When the Lord saw that he hadturned aside to see, god called
out to him from the bush andsaid Moses, moses.
And he said here I am.
Then he said do not come near,take your sandals off your feet,
for the place you are standingis holy ground.
And he said I am the God ofyour father, the God of Abraham,
(19:28):
the God of Isaac, the God ofJacob.
And Moses hid his face, for hewas afraid to look at God.
But then the Lord said I havesurely seen the affliction of my
people who are in Egypt, andI've heard the cry because of
the taskmasters.
I know they're suffering andI've come down to deliver them
out of the hand of the Egyptiansand to bring them up out of the
(19:49):
land to the good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and
honey, to the place of theCanaanites, the Hittites, the
Amorites, the Pesarites, theHivites and the Jebusites.
And now, behold the cry of thepeople of Israel.
Have come to me, and I havealso seen the oppression with
which the Egyptians oppressedthem.
(20:09):
Come, I will send you toPharaoh that you may bring my
people, the children of Israel,out of Egypt.
But Moses said to God, who am I?
That I should go to Pharaoh andbring the children of Israel
out of Egypt.
And he said but I will be withyou and this shall be a sign for
you that I have sent you.
When you have brought thepeople out of Egypt, you shall
serve God on this mountain.
(20:30):
Then Moses said to God if Icome to the people of Israel and
say to them the God of yourfathers have sent me to you and
they asked me what is his name,what then shall I say to them?
God said to Moses I am who I am.
And he said say this to thepeople of Israel I am has sent
me to you.
God also said to Moses say thisto the people of Israel the
(20:53):
Lord, the God of your fathers,the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, the God of Jacob, hassent me to you.
This is my name forever, andthus I am to be remembered
throughout all generations.
Go and gather the elders ofIsrael together and say to them
the Lord, the God of yourfathers, of the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac and Jacob haveappeared to me saying I have
(21:16):
observed you and what has beendone to you in Egypt, and I
promise that I will bring you upout of this affliction of Egypt
to the land of the Canaanites,the Hittites, the Amorites, the
Pesarites and the Jebusites, aland flowing with milk and honey
.
And they will listen to yourvoice and you and the elders of
Israel shall go to the king ofEgypt and say to him the Lord,
(21:38):
the God of the Hebrews, has metwith us and now, please, let us
go three days journey into thewilderness that we may sacrifice
to the Lord, our God.
But I know that the king ofEgypt will not let you go unless
compelled by a mighty hand.
So I will stretch out my handand strike Egypt with all the
wonders that I will do in it.
After that he will let you goand I will give this people
(22:02):
favor in sight of the Egyptians.
And when you go you shall notgo empty.
But each woman shall ask of herneighbor and any woman who
lives in her house for silverand gold and jewelry, for
clothing.
You shall put them on your sonsand on your daughters, so you
shall plunder the Egyptians.
Then Moses answered.
But behold, they will notbelieve me or listen to my voice
(22:23):
, for they will say the Lord didnot appear to you.
The Lord said to him what isthat in your hand?
And he said a staff.
And he said throw it on theground.
So he threw it on the groundand it became a serpent and
Moses ran from it.
But the Lord said to Moses putout your hand and catch it by
the tail.
So he put out the hands handand caught it and it became a
(22:45):
staff in his hands.
That they may believe that theLord, the God of their fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God ofIsaac and the God of Jacob, has
appeared to you Again.
The Lord said to him put yourhand inside your cloak.
And he put his hand inside hiscloak and when he took it out,
behold, his hand was leprouslike snow.
Then God said put your handback inside your cloak.
(23:06):
So he put his hand back insidehis cloak and when he took it
out, behold, it was restoredlike the rest of his flesh.
If they will not believe you,god said or listen to the first
sign, they may believe thelatter sign.
If they will not believe eventhese two signs, or listen to
your voice, you shall take somewater from the Nile and pour it
(23:26):
on the dry ground, and the waterthat you shall take from the
Nile will become blood on thedry ground.
But Moses said to the Lord O, myLord, I am not eloquent, either
in the past or since you havespoken to your servant, but I am
slow of speech and of tongue.
Then the Lord said to him whohas made the mouth?
Who makes him mute or deaf, orseeing or blind?
(23:50):
Is it not I, the Lord?
Now, therefore, go and I willbe your mouth and teach you what
to say.
But he said O, my Lord, pleasesend someone else.
Then the anger of the Lord waskindled against Moses and he
said Is there not Aaron, yourbrother, the Levite?
Now I know that he can speak.
Well, behold, he is coming outto meet you and when he sees you
(24:13):
, he will be glad.
You shall speak to him and putthe words in his mouth, and I
will be with your mouth and withhis mouth and will teach you
both what to do.
He shall speak for you to thepeople and he shall be your
mouth and you shall be as God tohim and taking your hand, this
staff with which you shall dothese signs.
Moses went back to Jethro, hisfather-in-law, and said to him
(24:35):
Please, let me go back to mybrothers in Egypt to see whether
they are still alive.
And Jethro said to Moses Go inpeace.
And the Lord said to Moses andMidian Go back to Egypt, for all
the men who were seeking yourlife are dead.
So Moses took his wife and hissons and had them on a donkey
and went back to the land ofEgypt.
(24:55):
And Moses took his staff of Godin his hands.
And the Lord said to Moses whenyou go back to Egypt, see that
you do before Pharaoh all thesigns I have put in your power,
but I will harden his heart sothat he will not let the people
go.
Then you shall say to Pharaoh.
Thus says the Lord Israel is myfirstborn son.
And I say to you Let my son gothat he may serve me.
(25:18):
If you refuse to let him go,behold, I will kill your
firstborn son At a lodging place.
On the way the Lord met him andsought to put him to death.
Then Zipporah took the flintand cut off her son's foreskin
and touched Moses' feet with itand said Surely you are a
bread-groom of blood to me.
So he let him alone.
(25:39):
It was then that she said Abread-groom of blood because of
the circumcision.
The Lord said to Aaron Go intothe wilderness to meet Moses.
So he went to meet him at themountain of God and kissed him.
And Moses told Aaron all thewords of the Lord with which he
had sent him to speak and allthe signs that he had commanded
him to do.
The Moses and Aaron went andgathered all together, all the
(26:02):
elders of the people of Israel.
Aaron spoke all the words thatthe Lord had spoken to Moses and
did the signs in the sight ofthe people.
And the people believed.
And when they heard the Lordhad visited the people of Israel
, that they had seen theirreflection, they bound their
heads and worshipped.
Thank you for listening totoday's episode of our Ancient
(26:27):
Future Story.
I hope that you really enjoyedit.
This episode was written by me,vic Harman.
Music is embarking on anadventure by Evan MacDonald.
Please support the show bysubscribing and rating us and if
you want to know more or growdeeper, check out our website at
our ancientfuturestorycom.
See you next time.
Bye.
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