Chapter 5: God Reveals His Plan to Moses
Exodus 3:11-22
Q1 - Why do some versions of the Bible use “Yahweh” for the name of God in these passages while others use LORD in capital letters? When is “Jehovah” used? Discuss these names and how Bible translators have influenced the names by which we call God. These articles provide further insight:
“Is Jehovah the true name of God?" (https://www.gotquestions.org/Jehovah.html)
“Ex 3:15” (https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/reformation-study-bible/Exod.3.15).
A1 - It would be interesting to be able to go back in time and hear Moses speak the name of God and the words of the Law, even if we couldn’t understand what he said. Because vowels were not recorded in ancient Hebrew writing, it’s not clear how the name of God should be pronounced.
The writer of the article, “Is Jehovah the true name of God?” referenced above at GotQuestions.org provides a good overview of the topic and ends the discussion with this statement: “In conclusion, it is highly unlikely that ‘Jehovah’ is the correct pronunciation of YHWH. Further, it is far more important to know God through faith in Jesus Christ, than it is to know the correct pronunciation of His name in Hebrew.”
Q2 - God instructed Moses to tell the elders that He would bring the Israelites out of Egypt to the land of Canaan. He lists all the various groups currently living there. Who were these people? Whenever God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham, why did he not immediately give the land to him? How did God use the Israelites’ time in Egypt to set them up for their future life in Canaan?
A2 - When God made His covenant with Abram in Genesis 15, He listed ten different nations or peoples who inhabited the land of Canaan at the time (see verses 18–21). Some can be identified as descendants of Canaan, who was a son of Ham, one of Noah’s three sons who survived the great flood on the ark. (Ham’s lineage can be found in Genesis 10:6–20.) The origins of the other nations on the list are not so easily identified.
God also told Abram in Genesis 15:13–16 that it would take four generations before His promise would be fulfilled. In the meantime, Abram’s descendants would be strangers in a foreign country. They would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years before they would leave there and enter Canaan with great possessions.
God also told Abram that the sin of the Amorites, some of the current inhabitants of Canaan, had not yet reached its full measure. In essence, He was saying that He was not yet ready to take the land from the Amorites. In the New Living Translation, Genesis 15:16b reads like this: “…for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”
God will endure with nations up to a point, possibly because there are still some good people within them. But when sin fully engrosses them, they become ripe for destruction. Consider Sodom and Gomorrah, how Abraham pleaded with God to spare these cities if righteous people were still there. Finally God went as low as ten people (Genesis 18:32). In the end, only Lot, his wife and their two daughters were saved, and then only because the angels grabbed them by their hands and led them out (the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is given in Genesis 18:16–19:29).
Also consider that Abraham was not yet ready to possess the land of Canaan. He may have had servants or hired hands, but Ishmael was his only son. Isaac, through whose lineage God’s promise was to be fulfilled, was not yet born. Time was needed for the number of his descendants to grow to numbers that would be sufficient to take over and inhabit the land.
By the time of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, they had grown to became a massive group of people. Their great number terrified the people of Moab, who were filled with dread when they saw the Israelites heading their way. When King Balak of Moab sent for Balaam the soothsayer to curse the Israelites, he described them in Numbers 22:5b (NIV): “‘A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.’”
Not only did Abraham’s descendants need time to multiply in number, but they also needed to gain wealth. Just as God had promised, they left Egypt with great possessions. The Egyptians readily gave them clothing and items of silver and gold. This help set them up financially for their future life. (See the account of the Israelites leaving Egypt in Exodus 12:31–42.) God used the 430 years the Israelites spent in Egypt to prepare them for when they would occupy Canaan.
Q3 - Consider the debt of gratitude Christians owe Moses and the many people of faith who lived before us. They helped lay the foundation on which Christianity has been built, with Christ Himself serving as the chief cornerstone. Read Hebrews 11 and discuss the faith exhibited by these people and how their lives still impact us today.
A3 - Read Hebrews 11 and give your thoughts on how these people of faith inspire you.