“Then Moses and Aaron went to the king of Egypt and said, ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, says, Let my people go, so that they can hold a festival in the desert to honor me.’

“Who is the LORD?’ the king demanded. ‘Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD; and I will not let Israel go...’

‘What do you mean by making the people neglect their work? Get those slaves back to work! You people have become more numerous than the Egyptians. And now you want to stop working!’” (Exodus 5:1,2,4,5 – GN)

“The foremen realized that they were in trouble when they were told that they had to make the same number of bricks every day as they had made before. As they were leaving, they met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them. They said to Moses and Aaron, ‘The LORD has seen what you have done and will punish you for making the king and his officers hate us. You have given them an excuse to kill us.’ Then Moses turned to the LORD again and said, ‘Lord, why do you mistreat your people? Why did you send me here? Ever since I went to the king to speak for you, he has treated them cruelly. And you have done nothing to help them!’” (Exodus 5:19-23 – GN)

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Now you will see what I will do to

Pharaoh. I will show him my power, and he will let my people go. I will show him my power, and he will throw them out of his country.’” (Exodus 6:1 – GODS WORD)

“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘When Pharaoh says to you, 'Give me a sign to prove that God has sent you,' tell Aaron, 'Take your shepherd's staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh,' and it will become a large snake.’ Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a large snake. Then Pharaoh sent for his wise men and sorcerers. These Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic spells. Each of them threw his staff down, and they all became large snakes. But Aaron’s staff swallowed theirs. Yet, Pharaoh continued to be stubborn and would not listen to them, as the LORD had predicted.” (Exodus 7:8-13 GW)

“Here is what the LORD says: ‘This is the way you will recognize that I am the LORD’: With this staff in my hand, I’m going to strike the Nile, and the water will turn into blood.” (Exodus 7:17 GW)

The plagues Blood Frogs Gnats Flies Death of the animals Boils Hail Locusts Darkness Passover

The plagues

Blood – Hapi, the god of the Nile who was thought to bring water and life to Egypt

Frogs – Heka, the ‘toad goddess’, a symbol of resurrection

Gnats – Geb, the god of earth and vegetation

Flies – Khepri, the god of insects Death of the animals – Apis, the god of cattle Boils – Thoth, the god of medicine and

wisdom. The Egyptians would sacrifice humans and burn them alive on high alters and then spread their ashes into the air as a blessing to heal people

“Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Take a handful of ashes from a furnace, and have Moses throw them up in the air as Pharaoh watches. They will become a fine dust throughout Egypt. The dust will cause boils to break into open sores on people and animals throughout Egypt.’” (Exodus 9:8-9 GW)

Hail – Nut, the ‘sky goddess’ of harvest

Locusts – Anubis, the god of the fields

Darkness – Ra, the ‘sun god’ believed to the physical father of all pharaohs

Passover – “On that night I will go through the land…punishing all the gods of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12 - GN)

“And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses. Now the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants…’” (Exodus 9:34-10:1 – NKJV)

Romans 1-8 “I am speaking the truth; I belong to

Christ and I do not lie. My conscience, ruled by the Holy Spirit, also assures me that I am not lying when I say how great is my sorrow, how endless the pain in my heart for my people, my own flesh and blood! For their sake I could wish that I myself were under God's curse and separated from Christ.” (Romans 9:1-3 GNB)

“For he said to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on anyone I wish; I will take pity on anyone I wish.’ So then, everything depends, not on what we humans want or do, but only on God’s mercy. For the scripture says to the king of Egypt, ‘I made you king in order to use you to show my power and to spread my fame over the whole world.’ So then, God has mercy on anyone he wishes, and he makes stubborn anyone he wishes.” (Romans 9:15-18 GNB)

“But one of you will say to me, ‘If this is so, how can God find fault with anyone? Who can resist God's will?’ But who are you, my friend, to talk back to God? A clay pot does not ask the man who made it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ After all, the man who makes the pots has the right to use the clay as he wishes, and to make two pots from the same lump of clay, one for special occasions and the other for ordinary use. And the same is true of what God has done.”(Romans 9:19-23 GNB)

“The LORD said to me, ‘Go down to the potter's house, where I will give you my message.’ So I went there and saw the potter working at his wheel. Whenever a piece of pottery turned out imperfect, he would take the clay and make it into something else. Then the LORD said to me, ‘Don’t I have the right to do with you people of Israel what the potter did with the clay? You are in my hands just like clay in the potter's hands. If at any time I say that I am going to uproot, break down, or destroy any nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns from its evil, I will not do what I said I would. On the other hand, if I say that I am going to plant or build up any nation or kingdom, but then that nation disobeys me and does evil, I will not do what I said I would.’” (Jeremiah 18:1-10 GNB)

“Turn from your evil ways, change your lives, and do good.’ But they will answer, ‘It’s useless! We’ll live the way we want to. We’ll go our own stubborn, evil ways.’” (Jeremiah 18:11-12 GW)

“…the point of the potter clay analogy is not God’s unilateral control, but God’s willingness and right to change his plans in response to changed hearts…the sovereign potter remains flexible. If the Jews abandon their unbelief – clearly God’s hardening is not determinative or irrevocable – the potter will once again refashion his plans. Conversely, if the Gentiles abandon their belief and become prideful – clearly God’s mercy is not determinative or irrevocable – the potter will once again refashion his plan for them…” Greg Boyd, Is God to Blame? (pg. 173,174)

“This is how the judgment works: the light has come into the world,

but people love the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil.” (John 3:19 GNB)

“Jesus answered, ‘The light will be among you a little longer. Continue on your way while you have the light, so that the darkness will not come upon you; for the one who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Believe in the light, then, while you have it, so that you will be the people of the light.’ After Jesus said this, he went off and hid himself from them. Even though he had performed all these miracles in their presence, they did not believe in him…as the prophet Isaiah said, ‘God has blinded their eyes and closed their minds, so that their eyes would not see, and their minds would not understand, and they would not turn to me, says God, for me to heal them.’” (John 12:35-40 GNB)

Romans 9

“This is what he says in the book of Hosea: ‘The people who were not mine I will call 'My People.' The nation that I did not love I will call 'My Beloved.' And in the very place where they were told, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called the children of the living God.’” (Romans 9:25-26 GNB)

“Who are you to talk back to God” (GNB)

“Weren’t there any graves in Egypt? Did you have to bring us out here in the desert to die? Look at what you have done by bringing us out of Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11 GNB)

“We wish that the LORD had killed us in Egypt. There we could at least sit down and eat meat…you have brought us into this desert to starve us all to death.” (Exodus 16:3 GNB)

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will believe you from now on…Go to the people and tell them to spend today and tomorrow purifying themselves for worship. They must wash their clothes and be ready the day after tomorrow. On that day I will come down on Mount Sinai, where all the people can see me. Mark a boundary around the mountain that the people must not cross, and tell them not to go up the mountain or even get near it. If any of you set foot on it, you are to be put to death; you must either be stoned or shot with arrows, without anyone touching you. This applies to both people and animals; they must be put to death. But when the trumpet is blown, then the people are to go up to the mountain.’ Then Moses came down the mountain and told the people to get ready for worship. So they washed their clothes, and Moses told them, ‘Be ready by the day after tomorrow and don't have sexual intercourse in the meantime.’”

“On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud appeared on the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast was heard. All the people in the camp trembled with fear. Moses led them out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD had come down on it in fire. The smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and all the people trembled violently. The sound of the trumpet became louder and louder. Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder. The LORD came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain.”

“So Moses climbed the mountain. Then the LORD told Moses, ‘Go back down and warn the people not to break through the boundaries to see the LORD, or they will die. Even the priests who regularly come near to the LORD must purify themselves so that the LORD does not break out and destroy them.’ ‘But LORD,’ Moses protested, ‘the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. You already warned us. You told me, 'Mark off a boundary all around the mountain to set it apart as holy.' But the LORD said, ‘Go down and bring Aaron back up with you. In the meantime, do not let the priests or the people break through to approach the LORD, or He will break out and destroy them.’ So Moses went down to the people and told them what the LORD had said.” (Exodus 19:9-25)

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will believe you from now on.’”

“When the people heard the thunder and the trumpet blast and saw the lightning and the smoking mountain, they trembled with fear and stood a long way off. They said to Moses, ‘If you speak to us, we will listen; but we are afraid that if God speaks to us, we will die.’ Moses replied, ‘Don’t be afraid; God has only come to test you and make you keep on obeying him, so that you will not sin.’” (Exodus 20:18-20)

“When the whole mountain was on fire and you heard the voice from the darkness, your leaders and the chiefs of your tribes came to me and said, ‘The LORD our God showed us his greatness and his glory when we heard him speak from the fire! Today we have seen that it is possible for people to continue to live, even though God has spoken to them. But why should we risk death again? That terrible fire will destroy us. We are sure to die if we hear the LORD our God speak again. Has any human being ever lived after hearing the living God speak from a fire? Go back, Moses, and listen to everything that the LORD our God says. Then return and tell us what he said to you. We will listen and obey.’”

“When the LORD heard this, he said to me, ‘I have heard what these people said, and they are right. If only they would always feel this way! If only they would always honor me and obey all my commands, so that everything would go well with them and their descendants forever. Go and tell them to return to their tents. But you, Moses, stay here with me, and I will give you all my laws and commands. Teach them to the people, so that they will obey them in the land that I am giving them.’” (Deuteronomy 5:23-31)

“There on the mountain the Lord spoke to you face-to-face from the fire. I stood between you and the Lord at that time to tell you what he said, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain” (Deuteronomy 5:4,5)

“I stood as an intermediary between you and the LORD.” (NLT)

“I was the mediator and stood between the Lord and you at that time” (Douay-Rheims Bible).

Intercession

Did someone need to intercede between Moses and God?“He sees me face to face, and everything I say to him is perfectly clear.” (Numbers 12:8 – CEV)

“The LORD would speak with Moses face-to-face, just as someone speaks with a friend.” (Exodus 33:11 – GN)

Intercession

“Forgive then, Father! They don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34 – GN)

“If you have seen me, you have seen the Father”; “The Father and I are one”; “He reflects the brightness of God’s glory and is the exact likeness of God’s own being” (John 14:26; John 10:30; Hebrews 1:3).

Intercession“That is why he is always able to save

those who come to God through him. He can do this because he always lives and intercedes for them.” (Hebrews 7:25 – GW)

“At the same time the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we don’t know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit intercedes along with our groans that cannot be expressed in words.” (Romans 8:26 – GW)

“I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone who pleads (intercedes) with the Father on our behalf—Jesus Christ, the righteous one” (1 John 2:1)

“I have told you these things in parables (veiled language, allegories, dark sayings); the hour is now coming when I shall no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but I shall tell you about the Father in plain words and openly (without reserve).” (John 16:25 - Amplified)

“I have been speaking to you in parables - but the time is coming to give up parables and tell you plainly about the Father. When that time comes, you will make your requests to him in my own name, for I need make no promise to plead to the Father for you…

for the Father himself loves you…” (John 16:25-30, JB Phillips).

“…and I do not promise to intercede with the Father for you, for the Father loves you himself…” (Goodspeed)

“There on the mountain the Lord spoke to you face-to-face from the fire. I stood between you and the Lord at that time to tell you what he said, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain” (Deuteronomy 5:4,5)

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace…” (Hebrews 4:16, NLT).