Questions

Questions Workshop #1 Activity # 1 Individual Assignments Shawn Gustin Indiana Wesleyan University June 27, 2011

I have read and understand the plagiarism policy as outlined in the syllabus and the sections in the Student Bulletin relating to the IWU Honesty/Cheating Policy. By affixing this statement to the title page of my paper, I certify that I have not cheated or plagiarized in the process of completing this assignment. If it is found that cheating and/or plagiarism did take place in the writing of this paper, I understand the possible consequences of the act/s, which could include expulsion from Indiana Wesleyan University

Questions Exodus 3 Moses and the Burning Bush 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the

angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, I will go over and see this strange sightwhy the bush does not burn up. 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, Moses! Moses! And Moses said, Here I am. 5 Do not come any closer, God said. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 6 Then he said, I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The LORD said, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honeythe home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. 11 But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? 12 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 Egypt, you[b] will worship God on this mountain. 13 Moses said to God, Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? Then what shall I tell them? 14 God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.

Questions 15 God also said to Moses, Say to the Israelites, The LORD,[d] the God of your fathersthe God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacobhas sent me to you. This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.

16 Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, The LORD, the God of your fathersthe God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacobappeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusitesa land flowing with milk and honey. 18 The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God. 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. 21 And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.

Questions 2. Identify and list 10 or more meaningful observations from your selected text. Note

chapter and verse(s) with each observation. These observations may relate to questions of who, what, when, where, how, etc., rational, definitional, or implicational questions, historical context, cultural observations, etc. Text Exodus 3:1-20 Observation Gods conversation with Moses over the release of the people of Israel. Questions Definitional: Rational: Why after 400 years of Silence does God decide to talk to the Israelites? Definitional: How does the bush symbolize more? Rational: Why did the Lord come as burning bush? Definitional: Rational: Why is God stating he is God of Moses father, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Definitional: Rational:? Why now and why Moses? Definitional: How could Moses just walk back into the Pharaohs chambers? Rational: Why would Moses question Gods Choice What is the purpose of this and what does is mean I am Who I Am. Definitional: Rational: Why is Canaan described this way? Why would three days in the wilderness have been a problem? Could this have been to show I united front?

Verse 1-3

The burning bush has to be more than just a simple bush on fire. God has to direct Moses how to come into a holy place? God explains his plans and instructs Moses to go to Pharaoh. Moses questions Gods choice

Verse 5-6

Verses 7-10 Verse 11

Verse 13-15 Verses 16-17

Verse 18 Verse 18 Verse 19

Moses asks for the name of God and is instructed to respond I am Who I am. God once again describes the inhabitants of Canaan and describes it as the land of milk and honey. Three days in the wilderness. The elders and Moses Go the King of Egypt? God fulfills his promise that they will not leave Egypt empty handed?

Questions

3. Identify and list 5 questions including a few regarding the passages context. These may relate to questions seeking to test or clarify your observations, testing your observations on structural observations. Note chapter and verses with each question. Why after 400 years of Silence does God decide to talk to the Israelites? In the first part of the text we find very little indication why God, has remained silent for 400 years. The only explanation for this that we are given is that God has not abandon his people, because we see his hand working in the background to build them up in numbers. The only thing that can be drawn is that this the fulfillment of the occupation that God talked about with Abraham and now after 400 year it is over and Israel is ready to be a nation. Why did the Lord come as burning bush? Fire is a common symbol for God. There are other times in the text where God has chooses to appear this way. The first being in Genesis 15 when the Lord appeared as a flaming pot and pass through the animals, and two later in the texts in 13:21 and appears as a pillar of flames to protect Israel. The idea of fire would be a metaphor for God, because fire can either comfort and protect someone, or can do harm and consume someone. The other thing is to appear to not damage or incinerate the bush could have sign that God is the God of life and not death. Why is God stating he is God of Moses father, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? If we look back at the early text of exodus 1 and 2 we are given no indication of Moses religious background. What we are told is that he was born a Hebrew, but grew up from a young child into young man in the house of Pharaoh. It would have made more sense that Moses was well versed in who the Gods of Egypt where than of that of the nation of Israel. This would explain why God would have had to introduce the idea that he was he God of Moses father, etc. Why Moses? Because Moses had been groomed from birth for this. God had been grooming Moses for this position from the time of this birth. God protected him in the basket and even directed the path of the basket so that it would end up in the hands of the Pharaohs daughter. This would have given Moses an up bring that was both educated and versed in the ways of the Egyptian royalty. Also the part where Moses flees to Midian is God directed, because if Moses had not fled there is a chance being that he could have been the heir to the throne. So in order to severe this tie God has him flee to a foreign land, where now he is a stranger. Does Moses feel a prepared for the task? Moses does not feel up the task that God is Calling him too. The first instance in the passage that gives indication to this is when Moses says to God Who is I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. The next instance is where Moses asks for the name of God. Moses feels that the people will not listen to him, without some type of proof that God spoke to him. The other conformation of this is when God explains to Moses that the Elders will listen to him, and that God already know what is going to happen

Questions with Pharaoh. Identify and list 2-3 implications of materials you have observed in your selected text. Note chapter and verses or structures with each implication.

God fully intend to fulfill his promise to Abraham when the time was right. The first implication is that even in silence for 400 years God was still watching over his people waiting and preparing the right time to fulfill his promise to Abraham and the nation of Israel. This can be seen in the Guiding hand through Moses life in Exodus 1 and 2. The again in Exodus 3:7-10. God is always with those who He sends. In the passage Moses questions Gods choice in picking him to go to Pharaoh. In all honest a very good question considering how Moses left Egypt, that Moses had been gone for over forty years, and the fact that Moses grew up a free Egyptian, not a Hebrew slave. Yet God reassures him is not going alone in verse 12. God says I will be with you and that this will be the sign that I am with you. There is also more reassurance when God foreshowed the events to come later in Exodus with verses 18-22

Discuss in 2 paragraphs how this passage relates to its historical or literary context (identify which one) and how it affects its interpretation. Incorporate 1-2 insights from the Expositors Bible Commentary and Dictionary of Old Testament Theology: Pentateuch. These passages appear near the beginning of the book of Exodus, which is the second book in the Pentateuch. In the book of Genesis we are told that God created a world that had gone astray and that God choose Abraham to be a part of the plan to bringing the world back on track, blessing him and promising blessing to come to him in order for him to be a blessing. There was a promise of many descendants and that of land in Canaan, and even though we see in exodus 1 and 2 that despite the best effort of the Egyptians the Hebrews have been able to multiply in numbers. So it is with this second promise that Exodus 3 comes to fulfill. The Dictionary of Old Testament Pentateuch state that Gods purpose in Exodus is to move Israel from slavery to salvation and from a bonding with Pharaoh to bonding with their ancestral God. That cannot be done with it out first freeing them and then second fulfill the second promise of land and nation. That the burning bush was not just a show, but he commissioning of Moses for this task, similar the use of fire in the covenant with Abraham. That Moses would be Gods emissary to the people of Israel.

Now utilize the above information to write a 2 page, double-spaced exegetical summary

Questions interpretation of the texts meaning and implications from your selected text and new insights that you have discovered in your study I have always loved the story found in Exodus 3, not so much for the calling of Moses,

but for the idea that a bush could be set on fire and never be consumed but the fire. The thoughts of a child and the then this last week as I studied this passage I began to see so much more. For one thing the idea that God had been silent for 400 year working between the time of Jacob and Joseph to the bondage of the Hebrew people in Egypt. Yet even though Gods voice was silent God was working to fulfill the promise made to Abraham and through the guidance of Moses life which would lead up the passage in Exodus 3. What we see in Exodus is God using the simplest of thing a burning bush to bring Moses to a place of divine revelation and calling. Most of our text has told us that burning bushes were not that uncommon the desert the dryness combined with the heat, or a lighting strike could have easily have set it on fire. Yet what catches Moses curiosity is not the fire but the fact that the bush is not being consumed. The Expositors Bible Commentary states that could have been a test from God to see how sensitive to Moses was to insignificant and small things of life, before investing him with larger task. Another school of thought is that God is the God of the living and it is because of this that the fire that represent God could and did not burn the bush there by causing it to die. To me it just proved that God can us the simplest most commonly things in the life to speak to them and that we have to be open and curious enough to see them. The other parts of this a passage that really intrigued I was the dialogue between Moses and God. When you read this passage and begin to dig under the surface you really get the idea that Moses is not as self-assured or confident as he might have been 40 years ago when he left

Questions Egypt. There are several indictors in the passage that point to this. The first one being the fact that Moses in verse 11 ask the question of who am I to go before the Pharaoh, and who am I to lead the people of Israel? The text gives no other indication as to why Moses felt inadequate of the task. Moses never concentrated on the fact that the Pharaoh has an army, that moving

thousand if not millions of people through the desert was a logistical nightmare, or any other area of concern. The one thing He focus one is the fact that he is unworthy for the task, that God has called him too. This to me explains why God picked Moses to be his representative to the

people of Israel, more than any other trait. Moses knew with God, there is now way he would have been able to pull of this task, and God knowing this answer I will be with you, and this will be a sign to you that I have sent. The when in verse 13 we get the next great dialogue between Moses and God over the question of what Gods name is. Moses asks God how to respond as I am who I am and I am has sent to you. This conversation was never really about a specific name , we know in Genesis the name of God was already known to the Hebrews. The idea is found in the way the word what is translated in Hebrew, it was more about character, quality, and interpretation (Longman and Garland, 2008). What they would have been more worried about is what does that name mean or signify in the circumstance we are in now. And in the next passage by stating that LORD would be Gods name forever from generation to generation, God is assuring them that they have been watched over and will be watched over and that God has sent Moses to set them free. This is what the context of exodus is all about. The preparation of man, Moses, who feels unworthy to accomplish great things in the name of the Lord to fulfill a promise made to the Hebrews that they would be a great nation. References

Questions

Alexander, D. T., & Baker, D. W. (Eds.). (2003). Dictionary of the Old Testament Pentateuch. Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press Longman III, T. & Garland, D.E. (EDS.) (2008). The Expostiors Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan