Parashah Shemos
Exodus 1:1—6:1
Notes by Chris O’Quin
© 2007
“…And G-d called out to him from amid the bush and
said, ‘Moses, Moses,’ and he replied, ‘Here I am!’” (Exodus 3:4)
“He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute me?’”
(Acts 9:4)
“And I have revealed Myself to
thee this day, that by My Word they may be delivered…Therefore My Word shall be
for thy help.” And now go, and I by My Word will be with the speaking of thy
mouth, and will teach thee what thou shalt say. (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Shemos)
I.
Introduction
A.
In our Torah portion this week we come to the call of
Moses.
B.
Although his calling and mission were unique in many
ways, we find from studying Scripture that the calling of G-d often fits a
pattern.
C.
We can observe parallels and similarities between the Moses
narrative and the accounts of other great Biblical figures such as Gideon and
the Apostle Paul.
D. We are all leaders to one extent or another since we all have a sphere of influence. As influencers we are also leaders. And since we are told in Scripture that we have all been called according to G-d’s purposes, it is therefore true that we have all been called, to one extent or another, to be leaders. Therefore, this week’s study should be of immense practical value to us.
E. In this week’s lesson we will look at the call of Moses, Gideon and Paul to see what it can teach us about how G-d often calls his people to leadership and what we may expect to find in our own experience.
II.
Sources
A. The Torah
B. Midrash
C. Targum
Pseudo-Jonathan on Shemos
D. The letters of Paul
E. The Book of Acts
III.
Moses
A. Preparation
1.
Lived in the Court of the Pharaoh
2.
Lived as a shepherd for 40 years in the desert where he would lead
“I
will turn aside now and look.” (Exodus 3:3) The Midrash teaches that as
soon as Moses approached the burning bush, HaShem
exclaimed, “He is worthy of leading
3.
Maturity: Munk writes in his commentary on Shemos
that, “Just as our Patriarch Abraham had reached advanced age (seventy-five)
when HaShem first appeared to him, so
it was that Moses received his first revelation at the age of eighty. The
prophetic experience is predicated on many years of righteousness and absolute
devotion to HaShem; in addition, the
prophetic experience depends upon many years of wandering and unstable
existence such as these two great men had experienced.”
B. Humility
1. “Who
am I” was Moses’ reply to HaShem’s
calling. Despite Moses being raised in the Court of Pharaoh, he felt himself to
be an ordinary man and unworthy to speak with kings (Rashi). Throughout his
dialog with HaShem Moses showed
humility and modesty—qualities necessary for a prophet of
2.
He suffered from some kind of speech impediment which added to his own sense of
inadequacy for the mission. After seven full days of discussion Moses said, “I
am not a man of words.” HaShem
replied, “I will be with your mouth.” That is, when the times came, HaShem would put His words in Moses’
mouth and the Ruach would speak through Moses. As the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
on Shemos recounts, HaShem
responded to Moses by saying, “And now go,
and I by My Word will be with the speaking of thy mouth, and will teach thee
what thou shalt say.” That is, this aspect of HaShem which is expressed as “the Word” would teach him what to
say.
3. This is paralleled in the Gospels when Yeshua
told his disciples that they would be brought before kings and rulers on his
account but that they should not worry about what to say since HaShem would put His Ruach in
them. “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how
to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you
speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. (Matthew
C. Messianic Type
1.
Moses delivered the Torah to
2.
He interpreted the Torah for
3. He was a shepherd to his people
4. He interceded for his people
5.
He “atoned” for
6.
He led
7. Acted as supreme earthly judge over the Elders of Israel
D. Endured
Testing
1. Moses was tested for 40 years in the wilderness by those he led
2. He only failed one test—when he hit the rock rather than speaking to it
3. He was tested over and over again by the ingratitude of those he served and even risked his live for. More than once there were those who challenged his leadership and sought to usurp him or out-right stone him.
E. To Go Before Him
And God said, "I
will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent
you: When you have brought the people out of
And
Moshe said before the Lord, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring
forth the sons of
IV.
Gideon
A.
Preparation
1. He prepared Gideon in a way which was opposite to what we might expect
2. He was from a small and obscure clan
3. He was the baby of the family—the youngest of his brothers
4. It didn’t look as though he was being “groomed” for much of anything.
5. He lived amidst idolatry
6. He seemed to be on the fast track to nowhere
B.
Humility
1. As noted, he was from a very humble background
2. He seems to have a great deal of fear
3. He was threshing wheat in a wine vat—not at all the proper place to be threshing
C.
Messianic Type
1. He
led
2. He shepherded his people, acting as military chief and Torah judge for 40 years
D.
Endured Testing
1. He started out with 35,000 men. HaShem continued to whittle down the size of his army until it reached 300.
2. The purpose of the testing, in large part, was to show that Gideon was only the instrument—that the victory was because of HaShem. HaShem asked him to do something that defied all rational human explanation.
3. He
was refused bread for his men by the Elders of the town of
Gideon and his
three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the
E.
HaShem’s
Promise to be With Gideon
1.
And the LORD said
to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all
V.
Paul
A.
Preparation
1. Studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3)
2. Groomed for elite leadership—perhaps even the Sanhedrin since Gamaliel had been president of the Sanhedrin.
3. He was a Roman citizen
4. He would have had the Torah—Oral and Written, memorized
5. Prepared
himself after his calling by going into
B.
Humility
1.
Didn’t feel worthy to be called an apostle since
he had persecuted Yeshua’s followers. “For I am the least of the apostles and
do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the
2. Compare what might have been with Paul’s own description of how things turned-out.
What anyone else dares
to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. Are they
Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants?
So am
C.
Messianic Type
1. Brought
the Good News to
D.
Endured Testing
1.
But the Lord said
to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before
the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of
2. The
ingratitude of those he served. See II Corinthians 11.
3. In
every town he went to he faced threats of persecutions and hardships
E.
The Lord Went
Before Him
1.
During the night
Paul had a vision of a man of
2.
“One night the
Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do
not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you,
because I have many people in this city." (Acts 18:9 & 10)
VI. Conclusion: Our
Role in Messiah
A.
Preparation
1. We were chosen in Him before the creation of the world. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…. (Ephesians 1:11)
2. Works
of Torah were prepared for us to do. “For we are
God's workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
B.
Humility
1.
We are to walk in humility: If you have any encouragement from being united with Messiah,
if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any
tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded,
having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of
selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than
yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to
the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1—4)
2. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly
loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians
C.
We do the Work of
Messiah
D.
We are
Continually Tested
1. The evil inclination
2.
Those who do not understand
E.
We are preceded
by a could of Witnesses
1.
Therefore, since
we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything
that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Yeshua, the
author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the
cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not
grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1—3)
2.
"Do not let
your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house
are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1—3)