EXODUS 10:1-13:16

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BenAvraham

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2015
820
247
43
#1
PARASHA: “BO” (enter)


EXODUS 10:1-13:16...........JEREMIAH 46:13-28.......MATT 25:1-46


The Parasha starts out; “And the LORD said unto Moshe; ‘Go in unto Pharaoh’…” Strange, the word “Go” in Hebrew is “Sh’lach”, but the Hebrew scriptures read “Bo” (enter) so, in reality, the Word of God is saying; “Enter, or Come in unto Pharaoh” But why? One way of looking at this is that Adonai is already there in the palace of pharaoh, and HE is inviting Moshe to come where He is to do business with pharaoh! And what a business deal! Let’s make him an offer he can’t refuse! Freedom for Israel…or the plagues! So, it is “God against Pharaoh and his gods” guess who wins?

The plagues against the Egyptian gods continue, it is our “Creator God YHVH” against Pharaoh and his false deities. Guess who is winning, yes, you know it. However, I need to point out that many of us peg Pharaoh and the Egyptians as the “bad guys” and the Israelites as the “good guys”.

But we need to take note of something that many believers have in common with pharaoh, After the plague of locusts, pharaoh said;

“I have sinned against the LORD your God, (notice that he said “YOUR” ) and against you, Now, therefore, forgive I pray thee my sin only this once and entreat the LORD your God that he may take away this death only”(Ex 10:17) and even before that, pharaoh spoke saying;



“I have sinned this time, the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked, entreat the LORD that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail, and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer (EX 9:27,28)

All of these plagues were directed against the false gods of Egypt. The Nile had a goddess, the cattle god was “Apis” in the form of a bull. The sun-god “Ra” was directly attacked by the plague of darkness; In chap 10; 22-23 Moshe speaks of a “darkness which could be felt” per instructions of YHVH, Moshe stretched out his hand towards the heavens, and “darkness” descended over Egypt. We ask ourselves; “How can a person ‘feel’ darkness, it isn’t ‘physical’ yet it could be felt by the Egyptians.

I would think that the “darkness” that the Egyptians felt was more spiritual and emotional than physical. It was a darkness so “thick” that one person could not see another. Perhaps a sort of supernatural darkness came from YHVH, perhaps a “moist and humid” darkness, so that when the Egyptians went to light their lamps, they would not light.


I experienced such a darkness when I was living in Mexico in 1973. A “campesino” showed me a cave which was in the middle of a forest. No one could find the exit, for it extended for miles. “Cuidado” (careful he told me) “People have gone crazy inside there.” Well, I just had to go in to find out myself. After going in about thirty-feet, the cave turned to the right. I went to the right about 10 feet and all of a sudden, there was pitch darkness, so dark that I could not see my hand in front of my face. I felt instant fear, so much that I turned and left the way I came in. As soon as I saw the light of the outside, I breathed a sigh of relief. I did not go back inside. (Well, that day I did not have a lantern with me, nor a flashlight).

Perhaps the darkness which was felt was that of “fear”. There is a spiritual darkness in which many people dwell, without the light of the Torah, of Yeshua, we live in darkness, yet the scripture tells us that in the dwellings of the Israelites, there was light. Their lamps were lit and they could see each other, the three days of darkness were like three regular evenings for the Israelites, they had lights, and they had the light of YHVH, the promise of redemption, the coming of the first Passover, freedom was just around the corner, just a few days ahead.


Pharaoh seems to be repentant yet it is just “lip service” in Spanish it would be “de diente a labio” or from “tooth to lip” he continues to rebel against YHVH, and refuses to let Israel go. How many believers claim to love God and admit that they are sinners and wicked, and we all are because of our “yetzer hara” (evil inclination) or in simple words, “sin nature” yet we ignore the Torah, we disobey HIS commandments…or…we promise that we will obey, yet we go back on our promise. I think this is true for ALL of us from time to time, for some more often than others.

Even the Israelites, once they got out of Egypt, began to complain, and gripe, grumble and groan, and break G-d’s commandment making an idol calf of gold. Are we any better? Do we not grumble and complain too? For this and for that? We break YHVH’s commandments, and we say, “sorry” and seem repentant, but continue in the same sins, I think we are like Pharaoh as much as like the Israelites.

Sometimes, we want to compromise, not follow ALL of Adonai’s instructions, perhaps not follow the whole Torah. Adonai’s instructions to Moshe, as he revealed to pharaoh, were to leave Egypt, the whole people, with all their properties (herds and flocks), go to the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD, yet pharaoh said he would comply…but…not all the way;

“go sacrifice to your God in the land” (just stay in Egypt) “go to the wilderness, but not so far away”
(yes, so we can keep an eye on you that you don’t run away!) “Go serve the LORD, the men only” (yet Adonai wants “all the people”) “go serve the LORD, but your herds and flocks stay here” (so, how are they going to sacrifice without the flocks and the herds?)

Do we follow wholeheartedly? Or do we pick and choose? Do we follow Torah only when convenient? Or parts that won’t interrupt our lifestyles? Do we follow some commandments and not follow others saying “these aren’t for us, only for Israel” if we are picking and choosing, then we are like pharaoh, trying to “bargain” or make “Compromise” with the LORD through his chosen servant?
 

Blik

Senior Member
Dec 6, 2016
7,312
2,424
113
#2
Included in the Torah are commands given to that unruly and mixed group of people led by Moses to freedom from slavery. Some of those acted as schoolmasters, as we are told in Galatians rather than the true law. These laws lead us to Christ, or to the law of the Lord.

If we follow scripture, we follow the command to use the Holy Spirit, and the spirit of Christ, to lead us, now. We are not told exactly which commands the Lord means for us to accept as schoolmasters so we are exempt from following them, and which commands are from the Lord for us to obey when we accept Christ within. We are told fleshly circumcision is one.

All commands that are for us to express love are not part of these commands given in the Torah that we are not required to follow. The Lord is love, and we do not do what is against love like stealing from others.