{"id":40861,"date":"2018-09-25T16:23:46","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T13:23:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=40861"},"modified":"2022-04-19T09:31:18","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T06:31:18","slug":"chapter-summary-exodus-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/chapter-summary-exodus-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Summary – Exodus 4"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"40861","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":false,"related_cahpter":"54","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Exodus Chapter 4-Summary: The Mission Begins\r\n","content":"

The revelation at the Burning Bush which began in the previous chapter continues. And as in the previous chapter, God is still determined to appoint Moses as His emissary to take the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses is still reluctant.<\/span><\/p>\n

In response to Moses’ concern that “they won’t believe me and they won’t listen to me” (4:1), God equips him with three miraculous signs to prove that he’s truly God’s emissary: a staff that turns into a snake and back again (4:2-4), an arm that becomes leprous and then is healed again (4:6-7), and water that turns into blood (4:9).<\/span><\/p>\n

Moses remains reluctant: “I am not a man of words, nor was I yesterday nor the day before, nor since You first spoke to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and heavy of tongue” (4:10). God encourages him, saying: “Go, and I will be with your mouth” (4:12), until Moses finally gives up – sort of (and even angers God with his refusal): “Send whomever You will send” (4:13) and then is granted his brother Aaron as a reinforcement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moses takes his wife and sons and they set out for Egypt. At night, on the road, a frightening and mysterious incident takes place at an inn which nearly ends in death. Luckily, once again there’s a resourceful woman around who does the right thing and saves a life: “And Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and cast it at his feet, saying: ‘You are a bloody bridegroom to me'” (4:25).<\/span><\/p>\n

The mission begins successfully (4:27-31) in terms of the Israelites – the magical signs do the trick: “And the people believed that the Lord had remembered the Israelites” (4:31).<\/span><\/p>\n

Points to Ponder:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Magical signs<\/b>. In the culture of Egypt, where our story takes place, practical magic was highly respected. The signs seem to speak the same language. How will the Egyptians believe that this is God’s doing, not just a magic trick? The answer is revealed in the next chapters…<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. The third sign<\/b>. “And the water which you take from the Nile will turn to blood on land” (4:9). Sort of like the plague of blood, isn’t it?<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Signs and symbols<\/b>. Signs can be meaningful, not just impressive. The staff symbolizes leadership. In the Bible, leprosy often afflicts the proud. And the Nile turning to blood symbolizes death in Egypt’s lifeline.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Slow of speech<\/b>. Moses calls himself slow of speech. Is this a speech impediment? A difficulty in putting things into words? Stage fright? The commentators have a variety of answers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    5. <\/span>Bloody bridegroom<\/b>. This story poses more questions than answers: Why does God want to kill Moses? Why is circumcision the key to saving his life? How does Zipporah know that that’s what needs to be done?<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":86314,"id":86314,"title":"Points to ponder","filename":"Points-to-ponder.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/points-to-ponder-psalm-84\/points-to-ponder\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"points-to-ponder","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":86166,"date":"2021-01-09 20:56:58","modified":"2023-12-28 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