I’ll Just Do It Myself, Thanks

June 17, 2009, 7:48 am by dc-agape.

Image by gloriashealth via Flickr

Exodus Chapter 4:18-31

Moses leaves the Mount of Sinai (or Mount Horeb) with the goal of doing YHWH’s bidding.  A few interesting things happen in this section.  First we get a tidbit of the conversation on Horeb that were left out inserted as extra.  Then we get a new conversation between Moses and YHWH.  As Moses sets out for Egypt YHWH attempts to murder him.  Then we get a discontinuity.  Aaron somehow meets Moses on the mount of Horeb.  The end of the chapter is where Moses and Aaron meet with the elders of the Israelites.

As Moses sets out from Midian he says good-bye to his step-father Jethro.  Oddly, Moses lies to Jethro.  He tells him that he wants to go back to Egypt to see if anyone is still alive.  Moses just finished talking to an omnipotent supreme being and was told to return to Egypt to free the Israelites.  Maybe he lied to keep Jethro from worrying.  But it really doesn’t matter anyway since YHWH plans on killing the Midianites, including Jethro (Num 31:1-2).  Then we get a flash back to a previous conversation.  This flash back, YHWH tells Moses that all the people who wanted to kill him are dead.  So Moses packs his wife and sons up to return to Egypt. 

Then YHWH has a quick little conversation with Moses.  Two parts of this conversation are very important to understanding the mind of YHWH.  YHWH tells Moses to perform a few miracles in front of the Pharaoh.  But YHWH promises Moses that he will harden the Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 4:21)!  And because of this hardening, that YHWH does, YHWH will then murder the Pharaoh’s firstborn son!  Here again we get the image of YHWH punishing the innocent for the acts that YHWH himself creates.  There is no justice or love in these acts.  They are the brutal egotistical actions of a despot.  YHWH shows no signs of being a loving just supreme being in the following chapters.

In fact, in the very next paragraph, Moses is on his way to do YHWH bidding. But during a night lodging Moses is almost killed by YHWH.  We are told this is because Moses forgot to circumcise his youngest son.  So here we have Moses, a cold-blooded premeditated murder, a liar to his own family, a whiner to YHWH (five times), and someone who has disobeyed the strictest commandment from YHWH (Gen 17:14).  Even though either or both sons were supposed to be cut off from the people of Israel, their descendants became major leaders (1^st Ch 26:25, 27:16) and even priest of the tribe of Dan (Judges 18:30).  But Zipporah, Moses’ wife, saves his protects Moses from YHWH by performing the circumcision right there and then.  So a Midianite saves the life of the leader of the Israelites from YHWH’s attempt to murder Moses!  Yet still YHWH will destroy the entire Midianite nation within a few weeks.  YHWH gives Moses 10 second changes, but to the Midianites that have done nothing wrong even worship YHWH, and have saved Moses’ life twice, YHWH plans their destruction.

After that we come to the oddest mistake in the Word of God so far.  Previously, YHWH has told Moses that Aaron was on his way to meet him (Exodus 4:14).  Now we read YHWH command to Aaron to go meet Moses.  Moses has already left the Mount of Horeb, he has already packed up and headed to Egypt, and he has slept at least one additional night (when YHWH attempts to kill him).  So does this mean that YHWH lied to Moses, it certainly looks that way!  But what is even more odd is where the brothers meet.  They meet at the Mount of Horeb.  Now historical tradition puts Jethro home village about 44km from Mount Horeb.   Yet even with Moses having a couple days’ head start, Aaron escapes from Egypt (he is a slave, too) and travels all the way to Mt Horeb before Moses can travel the shorter distance to the same location.  I guess it is possible, but it seems that something is out of place here. 

The brothers get back to Egypt and sneak into the slave encampment.  They meet with the elders and show them the miracles that YHWH has given them to perform.  Then the elders and everyone else believes that YHWH has heard their century old cries for help.  Isn’t this just the most loving image of YHWH?  He nearly murders Moses and he has waited close to or more than a century to rescue his chosen people.  Talk about “mysterious ways” and “in his own time”!  It tells me, an Atheist, I better just do it myself.

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