Scriptures

Exodus 6:2-9:35

Haftorah Reading
Ezekiel 28:25–29:21

B’rit Chadashah
Stephen on Israel in Egypt: Acts 7:7, 17–35
The Faith of Moses: Hebrews 11:23–27
Yeshua on Moses at the burning bush: Mark 12:26–27; Luke 20:37–38
Yeshua, the “I am” of the Burning Bush: John 8:58
The Sovereignty of Elohim With Regard to Pharaoh: Romans 9:14–17
On trials and tribulations: Romans 5:3; 12:12; 1 Corinthians 3:11–15
On leaving the wickedness of this world: 2?Corinthians 6:14–7:1; Revelation 18:1–8

Outline of This Week’s Parashah (Torah Portion):

• 6:2 Elohim Reassures Moses
• 6:6 The Four Steps of Redemption
• 6:12 Moses Expresses Doubts and Qualms About Accepting His Mission
• 6:13 Moses Recommissioned
• 6:30 Moses Expresses Doubts Again
• 7:1 The Redemption Begins
• 7:14 The First Plague: Water Turns to Blood
• 7:26 (8:1) The Second Plague: Frogs Cover the Land
• 8:16 (12) The Third Plague: Lice Throughout the Land of Egypt
• 8:20 (16) The Fourth Plague: Swarm of Insects
• 9:1 The Fifth Plague: Disease Epidemic
• 9:8 The Sixth Plague: Boils
• 9:13 The Seventh Plague: Hail and Lightning

Study Questions For This Week’s Midrash (Torah Discussion):

1. 6:6 Before us we have the story of redemption: a people being redeemed from slavery and bondage to Egypt. What is Egypt a metaphor for in the life of the redeemed believer? Before you were “saved,” what were you in bondage to (i.e., what aspects of the world, flesh and the devil had a hold on your life)? While still a slave in spiritual Egypt how did the strong arm of YHVH reach into your life, get your attention, make you aware of your lost and dead spiritual condition (i.e., did you realize that you were lost, empty, defeated, broken, a mess, etc.), and how did YHVH set you free? Reflect on this and then offer up a prayer of thanksgiving to him. Do this regularly.
2. What is redemption? Start with the literal dictionary definition of the word and apply it spiritually. What are the various aspects (steps) of redemption (i.e., what realizations and heart attitudes must one come to before redemption can become a reality in one’s life)? Redemption is deliverance by payment of a price, and a redeemer is one who frees or delivers another from difficulty, danger, or bondage, usually by the payment of a ransom price. Can one redeem oneself? Why not? Could the Israelites redeem themselves out of the bondage of Egypt through their own effort? What did YHVH have to do to the Egyptian slave masters before Israel was set free? Apply these concepts to your life spiritually and discuss how redemption relates to salvation. Are they the same thing? (Note: in Hebrew thought they are interchangeable concepts.) The words redeem, redeemed or redemption are found some 20 times in the Apostolic Scriptures (NT) (e.g. Eph 1:7,14; Col 1:14; Heb 9:12; 1?Pet 1:18).
3. 6:6–8 YHVH was redeeming Israel so that he could then marry her. (An overview of his spiritual courtship, redemption and marriage to Israel is found in Ezek 16:1–14. Read it.) What are the espousal overtones in Exodus 6:6–8 and how does this relate to the Passover Seder and the four cups of wine that are drunk during the Seder? In our modern marriage ceremony there is often wording like: “Do you take this man/woman to be your lawfully wedded husband/wife ...” What similar language do we find in Exodus 6:7?
4. 6:6–7 The four cups of the Passover Seder are: the Cups of Sanctification, Deliverance, Redemption and Praise. These cups derive from the four “I will” promises of Exodus 6:6–7. Discuss these steps of redemption/salvation and how Yeshua is at the center of it all.
5. 7:1 From chapter seven onward, Moses ceases to be discouraged and timid, but becomes a changed man. He is now emboldened as the battle between Egypt (a type of the world and Satan), the world power of that day (Satan is the god of this world, see Matt 4:9), and YHVH gears up. What caused this change in Moses? Discuss how Moses was operating by the arm of the flesh prior to this point. Did he have to come to the “end of himself” before YHVH could fully step in? Who would get the glory then—man or Elohim? Moses’ first visit to Pharaoh ended in disaster (5:22–23). In Exodus 6:1–13, we see that YHVH is clearly in charge now that Moses has realized that he cannot deliver the Israelites through his own human efforts. What are some examples in your life of you coming “to the end of yourself” (or “letting go and letting God,” as the saying goes) with YHVH stepping in and fighting your battles for you?
6. What are the end-time prophetic implications of YHVH’s judgment on Egypt? Are there any parallels with the plagues of Revelation? Look at the ten plagues in their order of occurrence. Was there a progression in their intensity? Was YHVH judging or attacking the gods of Egypt? (Num 33:4) Will this occur during the great tribulation and wrath of Elohim periods in the Book of Revelation when YHVH attacks and destroys Babylon the Great and the whore religious system?
7. Did Israel have to endure some of the plagues? Were they spared from any? What are the prophetic implications of this? What happens to the Saints during the tribulation period versus the wrath of Elohim period? (Note Matt 24:29–31; 1?Thess 1:10; 5:9; Rev 11:14–18; 12:13–17.) The Children of Israel endured the first few plagues, and then YHVH made a difference between them and the Egyptians. Are there other biblical examples of YHVH’s people enduring “tribulation” but then being spared once tribulation intensifies into major judgment? How about Noah going through tribulation for 120 years before the flood (a picture of the wrath of Elohim)? What about the vexation of Lot (2?Pet 2:7) in Sodom before the final judgment of fire and brimstone? Next read Matthew 24 where the saints are on earth during the great tribulation and are resurrected “after the tribulation” (verses 29–31 compared with 40–41). Compare this with the seven seals and seven trumpets of Revelation 6–11 followed by the resurrection of the saints at the seventh trumpet (last trumpet) in Revelation 11:18 just prior to the wrath of Elohim period or the seven last plagues of Revelation 15 and 16. Do we see a pattern here between what Israel went through in Egypt and what the saints will go through in the end times? Why does Elohim allow his people to go through tribulation, yet separates them from the world when he pours out his wrath? What is the difference between tribulation and wrath as discussed here?
8. Here is a list of the plagues through chapter nine:
   • Nile River and all water turned to blood—death to the chief deity of Egypt.
   • Frogs—represent pride and ego since they inflate to croak.
   • Lice—uncleanness and filth, especially to the clean-shaven Egyptian priests, who prided themselves on their god-like cleanliness.
   • Swarms of insects—a picture of Satan.
   • Animals die—judgment against man’s commerce, which was their means of transportation and livelihood.
   • Boils—disease and putrefaction against hedonism and worship of sensuality and pleasure judged.
   • Hail and lightening—the wrath of Elohim being poured out on everything. The result was total destruction.

   Are there any other spiritual implications of these particular plagues and why YHVH chose these methods and means to punish the Egyptians? Again, what are the prophetic implications of these plagues, especially in light of the plagues that will fall on this earth as part of YHVH’s end-time judgments as prophesied in the Book of Revelation?

9. As Moses and Aaron took on Pharaoh, the world leader of their day, so will the two witnesses of Revelation 11. What other similarities can you see between the workings of Moses and Aaron and the two witnesses?

When We Come to the End of Ourselves,
YHVH Delivers on His Covenant Promises

An Example From the Life of Moses

Let Go of Self to Find YHVH’s Way

The stage is set.

And Moses returned unto YHVH, and said, “Adonai, wherefore have you treated this people so terribly? Why is it that you have sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he has done evil to this people; neither have you delivered your people at all” (Exod 5:22–23).

Moses’ first venture to Pharaoh was a disaster. The plight of the Children of Israel regressed instead of progressed. Discouraged, Moses almost takes on an accusative tone toward YHVH.

Then YHVH said unto Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land” (Exod 6:1).

YHVH doesn’t rebuke Moses, but as a loving Father encourages him to refocus on his word and the veracity and surety of his promises.

And Elohim spoke unto Moses, and said unto him, “I am YHVH, and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of El Shaddai [the Almighty], but by my name YHVH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant” (Exod 6:2–5).

YHVH encouraged Moses upward and onward despite his discouraging first attempt at gaining the release of the Children of Israel. Is it possible that YHVH allowed immediate success to elude Moses at his first encounter with Pharaoh to bring Moses “to the end of himself” with regard to any tendency he might have had to rely primarily on himself and on his own wisdom? After all, Moses, as Pharaoh’s adopted son, had an “in” with the monarch that could have been exploited for the benefit of securing the release of Israel. As YHVH wanted Moses to rely on him alone for Israel’s deliverance, so YHVH wants us to rely on him alone to accomplish his purposes in our lives and not any human abilities or prowess we may have. We have to be totally emptied of ourselves before we’re ready for the Master’s use. This doesn’t mean he won’t use our natural abilities or what we have learned or gained in life, but we must learn to submit them to his sovereign will. In this way, YHVH, not man, gets the glory when success occurs.

Additionally, YHVH reaffirmed his covenant promises to Moses using his covenant name: YHVH. Here are some other examples of how Scripture uses YHVH’s covenant name along with modifying adjectives to describe his meeting all human needs:

• YHVH Elohim (Gen 2:4–7)
• YHVH El Elohim: YHVH El of gods (Josh 22:22)
• YHVH Elohaykha: YHVH Your Elohim (Exod 20:2)
• YHVH Elohay Avotaynu: YHVH Elohim of our fathers (Ezra 7:27)
• YHVH Elohay HaShamaiyim: YHVH, Elohim of heaven (Gen 24:7)
• YHVH Elohay Yisrael: YHVH Elohim of Israel (Josh 24:2)
• YHVH Elohaynu: YHVH Our Elohim (Ps 99:5)
• YHVH Elohi: YHVH My Elohim (Zech 14:5)
• YHVH Asaynu: YHVH Our Maker (Ps 95:6)
• YHVH Echad U-Shmo Echad: YHVH Is One and His Name Is One (Zech 14:9)
• YHVH M’Kadishkhem: YHVH Who Sanctifies You (Exod 31:13)
• YHVH Nisi: YHVH Is My Banner (Exod 17:15)
• YHVH Ro-ee: YHVH Is My Shepherd (Ps 23:1)
• YHVH Rophekha: YHVH Who Heals You (Exod 15:26)
• YHVH Shamah: YHVH Is There (Ezek 48:35)
• YHVH Tzidkenu: YHVH Is Our Righteousness (Jer 23:6)
• YHVH Tzuree: YHVH My Rock (or Strength) (Ps 144:1) 
• YHVH Tzvaot: YHVH of Hosts/Armies (Isa 6:3)
• YHVH Yireh: YHVH Will Provide (Gen 22:14)

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, “I am YHVH, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem [Strong’s H1350, ga’al meaning “to buy back, ransom for money”] you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments, and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you an Elohim, and you shall know that I am YHVH your Elohim, which brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am YHVH” (Exod 6:6–8, emphasis added).

Here we find listed the seven steps of redemption YHVH lays out for Israel. YHVH uses his covenant name three times during the seven promises: at the beginning, middle and end. He wraps his covenant promises in his covenant name for emphasis.

YHVH is telling Moses (and us, too!!) to just believe him! Believe his Word; trust that he is who he says he is (which is what his covenant name implies: I am who I am, or I will be what I will be; i.e., I will be your All Sufficient One and will meet your every need ... So just trust and believe!)

Redemption involves three things. First, the exchange of one thing (money or blood) for something else (the sins of Israel) must occur. This is expressed in the phrase, “I will redeem you.” Through the shed blood of the Passover lamb, which pointed to Yeshua’s death on the cross, YHVH redeemed Israel from the power and penalty of sin, which is death (Ezek 18:4; Rom 6:23). Second, redemption involves the use of power to extricate that which is being redeemed (in this case, Israel) from that which is holding it captive or enslaved (i.e., the world, sin and the devil as pictured by Pharaoh and Egypt). This is expressed in the phrase, “with an outstretched arm.” And finally, the third step of redemption involves judgment upon and or destruction of the captor. This is expressed in the phrase, “and with great judgments.” Israel was redeemed from the enemy (sin and Egypt) by the atoning blood of the sacrificed Lamb and by the outstretched arm of YHVH at the dividing of the Red Sea and the deliverance of Israel, and Egypt was judged through the ten plagues and the destruction of her army.

So too with the saint. As he promised the Children of Israel, so he likewise promises us. He states in Exodus 6:6, “I will redeem you ...”  and likewise in the Apostolic Scriptures we read:

Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1?Pet 1:18–19).

For you are bought with a price; therefore, glorify Elohim in your body, and in your spirit, which are Elohim’s (1?Cor 6:20).

YHVH promises to redeem his people “with an outstretched arm” (Exod 6:6),

And what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power (Eph 1:19).

YHVH promises to redeem his people with an outstretched arm, “and with great judgments” (Exod 6:6; see also Rev 20:10,14 where YHVH judges sin, death and Satan).

Let’s gain a deeper understanding of the concept of redemption. Redemption is deliverance by payment of a price. In the Apostolic Scriptures, redemption refers to loosing or ransoming something (Luke 2:38; Heb 9:12) and loosing away, delivering or releasing (Luke 21:28; Rom 3:24; Eph 1:14), and to salvation from sin, death, and the wrath of Elohim by Messiah’s sacrifice. In the Tanakh (OT), the word redemption can refer to redemption by a kinsman (Lev 25:24, 48–52; Ruth 4:6; Jer 32:7–8), a rescue or deliverance (Num 3:49), and spiritual ransom (Pss 111:9; 130:7).

The NT emphasizes the tremendous cost of redemption:

The precious blood of [Messiah] (1?Pet 1:18; Eph 1:7), which is also called an atoning sacrifice, "a propitiation by His blood" (Rom 3:25). Believers are exhorted to remember the "price" of their redemption as motivation to personal holiness (1?Cor 6:19–20; 1?Pet 1:13–19). The Bible also emphasizes the result of redemption: freedom from sin and freedom to serve [Elohim] through [Yeshua the Messiah our Master]. (Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, p. 904-5)

Let’s explore the concept of Redeemer:

A redeemer is one who frees or delivers another from difficulty, danger, or bondage, usually by the payment of a ransom price. In the OT, the redeemer could function in several ways. He could buy back property (and even enslaved people) sold under duress (Lev 25:23–32). He (usually as owner, not as a relative) often redeemed from [YHVH] dedicated property and firstborn livestock (Lev 27:1–33; also Exod 21:28–30).

Boaz’s function as redeemer for Ruth (Ruth 3:13–4:10) is well known, as is Job’s resurrection hope in [YHVH], his Redeemer (Job 19:25). [YHVH] himself is the Redeemer of Israel, a fact mentioned 18 times—especially by the prophet Isaiah (Ps 78:35; Isa 41:14).

In the NT, [Messiah] is viewed as the ultimate Redeemer, although the Greek word for redeemer is not used. [Yeshua] gave his life "as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). Thus, the apostle Paul speaks of believers as having "redemption through his blood" (Eph 1:7) (Ibid.).

We see once again, as Moses could do nothing through his own prowess and ability to redeem Israel out of the Egyptians’ hands, so too we are powerless to affect our own deliverance and redemption from what binds us. We, as did Moses, must come to the end of ourselves and trust and believe in the covenant promises of YHVH.

And Moses spoke so unto the children of Israel, but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage. (Exod 6:9)

Here we see the heart response of unregenerate man: first he complains (groans, verse 5) about his bondage and then rejects the grace and deliverance available from the Redeemer (verse 9).

But finally in Exodus 6:10–13,?28–30; 7:1–10 armed with YHVH’s covenant promises, Moses goes forth to fulfill his commission. Moses responds with excuses and reluctance, yet finally, after encouragement and coaxing from YHVH he obeys. The patience of YHVH with his children. How long does he have to lovingly lead, coax and encourage us to do his will? To fulfill his destiny and plan for our lives?

Redemption and the Four Cups of the Passover Seder

The first four “I wills” of Exodus 6:6–7 are central to the Passover (Pesach) Seder. The four cups in the Passover Seder represent the four I wills that YHVH declares over Israel:

1. “I will bring you out” is represented in the Cup of Sanctification
2. “I will rid you out of their bondage” is represented in the Cup of Deliverance
3. “I will redeem you” is represented in the Cup of Redemption
4. “I will take you to me” is represented in the Cup of Praise or Completion. This last cup is marriage language. He is taking Israel to be his bride. We still use this type of language in our marriage ceremony today: “Will you take this woman/man to be your lawfully wedded wife/husband ...

The Abrahamic Covenant and the “I Wills” of YHVH

The Abrahamic Covenant has seven “I wills” from YHVH, as well:

"And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” And Abram fell on his face, and Elohim talked with him, saying, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations [Strong’s H14871, goyim]. Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made you. And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations [goyim, or “a nation, people, a confluence, a body politic”] of you, and kings shall come out of you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be an Elohim unto you, and to your seed after you. And I will give unto you, and to your seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their Elohim (Gen 17:2–8, emphasis added).

The Renewed Covenant and the “I Wills” of YHVH

The Brit Chadashah/Renewed Covenant has seven “I wills” from YHVH as well:

“Behold, the days come,” says YHVH, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant they break, although I was an husband unto them,” says YHVH, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the House of Israel after those days,” says YHVH, “I will put my law [or Torah] in their inward parts, and [I will] write it in their hearts; and will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know YHVH,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, says YHVH, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer 31:31–34, emphasis added).

Please note that each successive covenant YHVH makes with his people is based on and is an expansion of the previous covenant/s.

Parallel Between Moses/Moshe and Messiah/Mashiach

(Thanks to Dr. Frank Morgan, of Greeley, Colorado, and friends for their contributions to this teaching!)

Moses’ early life seems to foreshadow some details of Yeshua’s life and ministry. This really should not surprise us when we consider the words of the book of Hebrews (10:7 from Ps 40:7), which attributed to YHVH-Yeshua, who said, “The volume of the scroll was written of me.” Yeshua himself, when confronting the Pharisees in John 5:46, said “For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me, for he wrote of me.”

This of course begs the question, when did Moses write about Yeshua? Of course there are many places in the Torah that speak of the Messiah in types and shadows. We believe this section of Scripture to be one of those places. Here are some examples:

• There are similarities between the names Moshe (mem-shin-hey meaning “drawn from/to draw”) and Messiah (mem-shin-yud-chet from mem-shin-chet meaning “to smear” [i.e., oil]). Etymologically there is no connection between the two, and the former terminates in the Hebrew letter hey and the latter in a chet, but the similarities in the two names are striking never the less. 
• Moses was the only man in Scripture beside Yeshua who was a prophet (Deut 34:10), a priest and a king (Deut 33:5). While there may not be any place that specifically refers to Moses as a priest, he nevertheless was a Levite and held a priestly role as being in a higher office than even the high priest, for he communicated directly with YHVH and acted as an intermediary between YHVH and man, even as Yeshua acts as a high priest between YHVH and man (Heb 4:14). David was a king and a prophet, but not a priest. Samuel acted as a priest and was a prophet, but not a king. Only Yeshua and Moses acted as all three.
• Both Moses and Yeshua were born under the tragic circumstance of the murder of innocent boys. Pharaoh tried to kill all the baby boys including Moses, and Herod tried to do the same when Yeshua was a child.
• Moses grew up to become the “savior” of Israel in that he led the people out of Egypt. Yeshua, of course, is the greater and spiritual Savior of Israel in that he has delivered his people from sin and the spiritual Egypt of the world, the flesh and devil.
• Both Moses and Yeshua spent all or part of their childhood in Egypt (Matt 2:13–19) and both left Egypt for the Promised Land.
• Moses, after growing up into manhood, was rejected by his brethren who were afraid of his judgment. Yeshua, of course, was also rejected by his brethren, though more due to the fear of the of religious leadership that they would lose power. Perhaps they feared that they would be judged unworthy.
• Moses began his ministry after 40 years in the wilderness; the Messiah spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness.
• Then Moses has the burning bush experience. There is much symbolism in this section of the story. The word “bush” in the Hebrew is the word ceneh, which is from an unused root meaning “to prick.” This indicates that the bush was most likely a thorn bush. Since the earth was cursed at the fall of man and now brings forth thorns, and since fire speaks of judgment, a burning thorn bush that isn’t burnt speaks of YHVH’s mercy. It also speaks of our Messiah, who became sin, and was judged, yet by his resurrection wasn’t consumed! That Yeshua wore a crown of thorns points us to the burning bush. Of course, the voice that spoke out of the burning bush was YHVH, or Yeshua in his preincarnate state.
• At the burning bush, Moses learns the name of YHVH. He will later use this name and make it known among the people. Yeshua did this also in his prayer to the Father in John 17:6, “I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me.”
• Moses, being a man, felt insecure about his charge to lead the Hebrew people out of bondage. He tried to get out of it by saying that he was no speaker. YHVH answered saying, “Who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind?” Isn’t it interesting, and a testimony to the deity of Yeshua, that Yeshua was able to make a man who was blind from birth to be able to see? (John 9:1, see also Luke 7:22) Furthermore, Yeshua at Gethsemane asked the Father to be released from his mission when he asked that the cup of his suffering might pass from him (Matt 26:39).
• Notice that before Moses goes back to his brethren, they must experience the “great tribulation” of the bondage of severe slavery. In the same way, we can infer that the end-time great tribulation period will precede the return of the Messiah (Matt 24:21 and 29–30).
• Isn’t it fascinating, in light of this whole word picture, to consider the story of the circumcision of Moses’ sons. Surprisingly, the sons of Moses, the “strangers in a foreign land,” had been living all these years and NOT keeping the Torah–instruction of Elohim. Then, just as Moses was preparing to “return,” there is recognition that they are out of covenant with YHVH and have been disobedient to his Torah, including the command to circumcise all male children. Zipporah, possibly depicting the “church,” was offended by this fact. Yet, in this story, Moses is the one who was threatened with death because Gershom, his first born son, wasn’t circumcised (and Yeshua really did die because of the sins of the world).
• Twice, Zipporah calls Moses a “bloody husband” (Exod 4:25–26). Is YHVH being redundant here, or is he drawing our attention to this event? Then blood is literally cast upon Moses’ feet (the Hebrew implies this). Surely our Savior had his own blood upon his feet, which he shed for our transgressions. Gershom (literally, “foreigner” or “sojourner”), one of Moses’ two sons, could be viewed allegorically as believers in their pre-converted, unsaved and uncircumcised (of heart) state. It was the blood of Yeshua shed on the cross, in our place, that saved us from the wrath of Elohim and paid the death penalty price for our sins. Likewise, Moses’ sons were “guilty” before YHVH until blood was shed. In an abstract allegorical way, Moses’ action toward his sons may point to Yeshua work’s on the cross.
• It is only after all of these events that we see all Israel gathered together (Exod 4:29) and we see that the people of Israel “believed” (4:31).
• Moses may have had some kind of physical inability to speak well (Exod 4:10). In our comparison between Moses and Yeshua, what are the deeper implications of this? Rabbinic Jewish commentary holds that Moses was tongue-tied. For the reason of being better able to communicate with Israel, after YHVH had become angry with Moses, Aaron was given to Moses to be his spokesman. In the same way, until he returns to reign in the age to come, Yeshua is physically unable to explain his Word to us in person. In the flesh, he is not present with us. For that reason, he has sent us a Helper or a Comforter or the Spirit of Elohim who shines spiritual light upon the Word of Elohim/Yeshua the Messiah (John 15 and 16), the Word of Elohim in flesh form (John 1:1–14).

Haftorah Reading—Ezekiel 28:25-29:21

Short Range Versus Long Range Bible Prophecies

The link between the Parashah and the Haftorah portions is that both prophesy the destruction of the arrogant and powerful nation of Egypt, a chief opponent of Israel. The Talmud (Sotah 9a), based on its interpretation of Genesis 40:9 (where three cups are mentioned), tells of three cups of punishment Egypt would be destined to drink during its long history (ArtScroll Tanach Series Ezekiel, p. 476). The first occurred at the time of Moses, the second in Ezekiel’s time by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and the third is to occur in the Messianic Era.

1. What lessons are to be learned from the Haftorah passage? Ezekiel condemns Israel for placing its confidence in Egypt as a deliverer from its larger foe: Babylon. Israel was but a sliver of a nation strategically positioned between two feuding, empire-building giants: Egypt and Babylon. “Nebuchadnezzar’s seemingly invincible might had now been clearly demonstrated. He would crush all the countries with which Israel came into contact. What would become of Israel? Would this sadly splintered and exiled people be lost in the turmoil of a world history dominated by military giants such as Babylon, with whom they could no longer compete?” (Ibid., p. 475). Ezekiel gives the answers to these terrifying questions. “Fired in the crucible of exile, Israel will once more become receptive to God’s holiness, which will find a welcome place within them. Having discovered their essential being, they will once more, as true descendants of their forefather Jacob, be settled in their land. They will live in their land securely, no longer fearing that the land would vomit them forth (Lev 18:25) as it did in the past. In the end they will know that [YHVH] is their [Elohim]” (Ibid., p. 476). What is the current state of the nation of Israel? Is she trusting YHVH and his Word, or leaning on other nations and world governing bodies as its source of peace and security?
2. 28:25 This Haftorah portion opens speaking about the “House of Israel.” To whom is the prophet Ezekiel referring: only to Ephraim and his companions (Ezek 37:16) also known as the Northern Kingdom, or to greater Israel, namely, the whole House of Israel, which includes both Ephraim and Judah? Context has to define the meaning of the term House of Israel. Here it is referring to the Southern Kingdom of Judah since the prophet is specifically addressing those Jews who, after the fall of Jerusalem, sought refuge in the land of Egypt. But is there a lesson in this that reaches beyond historical Judah and can apply to all Israel upon whom the ends of the earth are come (1?Cor 10:11)? Is a time coming at the end of the age just prior to the coming of Messiah when YHVH will use Babylon (the Great) to punish all the nations of the world and YHVH’s people will once again be caught in the middle having to choose between seeking refuge in Egypt (metaphorically, that part of the world that is not controlled by Babylon the Great), or trusting in YHVH’s promised deliverance in some supernatural manner? In the very end of the last days, which Yeshua calls the great tribulation (Matt 24:21 cp. Rev 7:14), and before the wrath of Elohim is poured out upon the earth (Rev 15:1), what will become of the saints of the Most High Elohim? (Read Revelation 7:3–4, 9, 14; 9:4; 12:15–17.)
3. Both the prophets Jeremiah (Jer 46:13–25) and Ezekiel prophesy the downfall of the great nation of Egypt at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The Ezekiel 29 prophecy pertaining to Egypt and Babylon is incredibly accurate as to the exact details of this historical event. Ezekiel foretells many of the specifics concerning Egypt’s devastations by the Babylonians including that many of its people would be carried into captivity, that it would again become a kingdom, but that it would never regain its ancient political importance, and that from that point onward it would remain the basest of nations (28:13–16). Furthermore, the prophet foretells Nebuchadnezzar’s long siege of Tyre (twelve years) including the fact that the soldiers’ heads would become bald from constantly wearing their helmets, that the skin of their shoulders would wear off by carrying burdens to raise fortifications, and that they would be disappointed by the lack of spoils they expected to gain from Tyre. After defeating Tyre, Ezekiel then prophesies that Nebuchadnezzar would conquer Egypt and plunder her of her wealth. In 588 B.C., Ezekiel prophesied Tyre’s defeat (573 B.C.) fifteen years before it happened and Egypt’s downfall nearly twenty years beforehand (567 B.C.). History tells us that after these events of some 2600 years ago, Egypt became a servile nation being ruled continuously by others including the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Saracens, the Mameluke slaves, and the Ottoman Turks, whom the Allies defeated in World War I.

   To this day, Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning the status of Egypt remains accurate when he predicted that Nebuchadnezzar’s defeat would leave Egypt a “base/low kingdom ... the basest of kingdoms” (Ezek 28:14 and 15). Egypt is a third world nation. What do these facts tell us about the accuracy and trustworthiness of Bible prophecy? A wise individual would do well to spend more time studying the Bible than the news to understand future world events!

   Furthermore, what do these passages in Ezekiel imply about our ability to understand biblical prophecies before they happen? Which aspects of these prophecies would have been more likely to be understood before they were fulfilled, and which aspects after they were fulfilled? What does this teach us as we seek to interpret end-time events in light of Bible prophecy?

   The Bible contains both long and short range prophecies. Some short range prophecies were fulfilled immediately, or within a few years. Some long range prophecies were fulfilled hundreds of years later (such as those pertaining to the first coming of Yeshua the Messiah), and some are yet to be fulfilled (such as those pertaining to the second coming of Yeshua). Sometimes, short range prophecies being fulfilled helps to validate long range prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled. If people can see that the short range prophecies came to pass, then they may be more likely to take the long range prophecies seriously.