In this study

Leviticus 21-22: Otherness of the priesthood and their familiesLessons for today from instructions for priests and common people on bringing ‘holy gifts’Leviticus 23: ‘Feasts to the Lord’ bear witness as we return‘I hate your feasts!’: A statement without context is pretextAppointments of God and their Messianic fulfillment‘Sabbath of complete rest’ (Lev. 23:3)Connection between Shavu’ot/Pentecost and Yobel/Jubilee?Don’t hoard the LORD

Leviticus 21-22: Otherness of the priesthood and their families

According to Torah, God places high moral and ethical standards on those who inherit the priesthood (those who are descendants of Aaron) because YHWH has separated them from the rest of Israel and elevated them to a high level for a particular purpose.

They were not elevated to their high station because they could do no wrong, but to serve a unique role in the community of Israel as the people who were allowed to accept the holy gifts from the children of Israel into the presence of the Lord.There are some special rules that apply to the priestly family that do not apply to the regular Israelite.

* Priests mustn’t defile himself for the dead (negative command 166, Lev. 21:1). * Priests must defile himself to take care of the corpse of a close relative (positive command 37, Lev. 21:2–3). * P’rushim (Pharisees) extended this to the body of the wife, because of the provision for a priest’s unmarried sister (Lev. 21:3).1 * Priests can’t serve in the Tabernacle while טְבוּל יוֹם tevul yom, or day of immersion for defilement, i.e., until sunset the day of mikvah (N76, Lev. 21:6). * Priests mustn’t marry a זֹנָה zonah, or an immoral woman (N158, Lev. 21:7). * Priests mustn’t marry a חֲלָלָה khalal woman, or one who is “wounded,” i.e., “defiled” (N159, Lev. 21:7). * Priests mustn’t marry a גְּרוּשָׁה g’rushah, or divorced woman (N160, Lev. 21:7).

The priest’s role is elevated and must be carried out with all seriousness. The priests are to bring the gifts that honor the Lord with extreme care but the Israelites are also called to bestow honor to the priests and their gifts to the priests are also to be of high quality. 

The apostle Paul gave us this example. In Acts 23:1–5, Paul was confronted by a group of Jewish leaders, lead by the high priest, and the High Priest was not conducting himself according to the rules God laid out in Torah. Although the high priest was not acting in accordance with his high station, Paul repented because he understood that the office of High Priest still deserves respect regardless of the carelessness that the current holder of that office brings to it. 

It’s also reasonable to note that Paul may have been confused about the High Priest’s identity because there were two high priests alive at the time, which is not the norm in the Torah but was not beyond the norm when Rome controlled the High Priest’s office. 

King David faced a similar dilemma in his relationship with King Saul,

There’s an old saying that is common among parents who are trying to teach their children to resist the temptation to follow their peers into making disastrous life-changing mistakes: “If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” 

God was preparing the children of Israel to enter the Promised Land, a land where the Canaanites who, by God’s account, lived immoral or amoral lives. Underlying the lessons in the Torah passages אחרי מות Acharei Mot and קדושים Kedoshim (“after (the) death” and “holiness,” Leviticus 16–20) on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and morality is that God did not want the Israelites to follow His laws on autopilot — not in apathy or indifference — but mindfully and purposefully. 

In this study

Don’t enter God’s house uninvited (Leviticus 16:1–2)Brief notes on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16:3–34)Without repentance and confession, animal sacrifices are just a BBQ (Leviticus 17)Think different, act different, be different (Leviticus 18–19)Fear the beard?Accidental vs. flagrant sinTime of the month for husband and wife to ‘take a break’

Don’t enter God’s house uninvited (Leviticus 16:1–2)

Two sons of Israel’s high priest Aharon (Aaron), Nadab and Abihu, seem to have committed three egregious affronts to the One they served:

* Offered profane (common) fire.* Offered incense at the wrong time.* Entered the holy place uninvited.

Anyone one of these could have been a death penalty offense, considering how far Nadab and Abihu deviated from their instructed tasks.

Their deaths was a stern warning to Aaron, Elizar and Itamar of the sacredness and the seriousness of their duties and that they were to perform them exactly as they were instructed, and when they were instructed.

Brief notes on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16:3–34)

The sacrifice of the bull on Yom Kippur addressed the priests sin, the two goats were brought to deal with the sins of the community.

This shows us that the Day of Atonement is designed to take sins away from the people. The priest, the ark and the tabernacle are not the source of the sin that had to be cleaned, but the people. Yeshua, our perfect High Priest, is not the source of sin, we are.

Without repentance and confession, animal sacrifices are just a BBQ (Leviticus 17)

Atonement is through blood, it removes sins, but it is not the only thing that removes sin. Confession of one’s sins is also required for atonement. Without confession of sin, killing an animal is just a barbecue. We have to admit guilt for our sins.

If you can’t admit your sin, you can’t repent and any sacrifice for sin is useless if there’s no confession and repentance.

If the children of Israel committed a sin and paid the “fine” without repentance and confession, that apathy to their sin, the death of the animal, this indifference added to the sin and contamination of the Tabernacle that had to be cleansed at Yom Kippur.

On the surface, it seems like this week’s Torah reading (צו Tzav “command,” Lev. 6:8–8:36) is a repeat of last week’s lesson but there is a key difference. The reading Vayiqra was written as an instruction to Israel to know what kinds of offerings to bring from different scenarios.

This week’s reading covers the same offerings, but it’s from the point of view of the cohenim (priests) who need to understand how to offer the different kinds of offerings the people of Israel will bring.

One of the key jobs in the Tabernacle is the maintenance of the “eternal fire” on which the burnt offerings were presented. The priest had to clean the ashes out without allowing the fire itself to go out, which would need careful attention for the safety of the priest. The ashes that have been collected must be buried in a holy place, they can’t simply be tossed with common garbage.

With all these offerings, there were many priests to take then and process them.

God is a multitasker. He doesn’t need a retinue of priests to help Him keep track of all our needs. Nothing slips past His notice. The prayers, sacrifices and petitions of His people never get lost in translation, unnoticed or unacknowledged.

Grain offering, sin offerings and penalty offerings cannot be made common, which means if those offerings are touched by common things, the common thing is now holy. The common item doesn’t demote the sanctity of those offerings. These three offerings can only be eating within the tabernacle.

The grain offering that is brought to be burned on the altar must be made of unleavened grain. It can never be leavened, regardless of the time of year.

There are a few caution to take note of regarding the sin offering. If any of the blood of the sin offering gets on the priest’s garments, the garments must be washed on site. It must be washed separately from other clothing. Any metal bowls that makes contact with the blood have to be “purged” which means they have to be heated to a blistering hot temperature and then rinsed off.

Except for the sin offerings, the offerings that were performed in the tabernacle before Yeshua’s death and resurrection were perfectly appropriate to perform after His ascension, particularly the shalom or peace offerings.

Three kinds of shalemim (peace) offerings:

* Thank you to God for something great, such as a miraculous healing.* A thank-you offering must be offered and consumed within the same day. They are offered for a moment in time. They are offered separate from the altar.* An offering for fulfillment of a vow.* Dedicating something to God.

Here are two important things to note:

* No one is required to make a vow, but if you make a vow, you have this process of acknowledging its completion.* Whether you have dedicated an item to God or a person to God, an offering is required to acknowledge that dedication.

These are the most dangerous offerings because there are more rules. If you offer unleavened bread, the bread itself is sufficient. If you offer leavened bread, it must accompany an animal. The most obvious example is at Shavuot, when two leavened loaves are offered to God with an animal. The animal is sacrificed on the altar, the bread is not. The bread is eaten, not burned.

Unclean things, unclean people are not allowed to make contact with these offerings. It is very important that anyone who is making contact with the sacrifices is in a state of ritual purity.

When the New Testament talks about shadows and patterns, they are representations of the original in heaven. What have here on earth are a foretaste of what is coming in the Messianic Age. This is why Christians continued to go to the Temple and make offerings even after Yeshua’s resurrection and return to heaven (e.g., Acts 21).

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!”1Kings 8:27 NASB

Although the Tabernacle and later the Temple, which He commissioned, cannot contain God but He deigned to dwell there. He is also wants to dwell in our hearts, and when we invite Him to dwell within us, we become walking tabernacles of the Holy Spirit.

Here’s some key vocabulary we will be using in today’s lesson:

* קֹדֶשׁ qodesh or kodesh (Strong’s lexicon No. H6944) means “apartness or sacredness.” We commonly translate this as “sanctified” (See Ex. 31:13 & Lev. 20:8).* קָרְבָּן qorban, qarban or korban (H7133a) means “that which approaches.” In this context, it is about approaching God. It doesn’t remove sin but it is allowed to enter God’s presence because it’s tahor.* טָהוֹר tahor (H2889) is often translated as “clean” but is better understood as “fit to move into God’s presence.”* טָמֵא tamé/tamei (H2931) is often translated as “unclean” but is better understood as “unfit to enter God’s presence.”

The realm of God is all about live, while the realm outside of God’s presence is about death. We approach God on His terms, not our own.

The Courtyard: Offerings

* עוֹלָה ’olah (Lev. 1:1–17; 6:8–13): Burnt offering of bulls, sheep, goats, doves, or pigeons* מִנְחָה minkhah (Lev. 2:1–16: 6:14–23): Grain offering of cakes or wafers of fine flour* שְׁלָמִים shelamim (Lev. 3:1–17; 7:11–36): Peace offering of a goat or lamb, consumed that day* חַטָּאת khattat (Lev. 4:1–5:13; 6:24–30; Num. 15:1–24): Sin offering of a bull or lamb* אָשָׁם ’asham (Lev. 5:1–6; 7:1–17): Guilt/trespass offering

Topic in the recorded discussionTime in the recordingIs the description of the Tabernacle a non sequitur between Moses on the mountain and the golden calf?0:01:46Two names for the Tabernacle0:04:55Holy Place and Most Holy Place0:13:55Israel’s Tabernacle is quite unlike the temples of the pagans0:17:23Bread of the Face (Presence of Heaven)0:22:45God Who makes science possible0:27:50Fear of the LORD = Faith0:30:12Rev. 9:20-21: Turning away from the Unseen One toward idols0:35:26Q: Does “sorcery” in Rev. 9:20-21 refer to illicit drugs?0:38:01John 6:30: Respond to the LORD’s call better than the nations do0:53:47Matt. 5:14-16: Light up the world with the LORD’s change in us0:55:29Ark of the Testimony: Protect the precious Word of God0:59:23Psalm 119:10-12: Your Word I have treasured in my heart1:05:59

The Tabernacle was not a very large building, but it was the focal point of the community from its inauguration to the time they entered the Promised Land.

According to Exodus 26:1–14, there were four different kinds of cloth coverings over the Tabernacle:

* Fine needlework of blue, purple, scarlet (red), fine linen (white) with gold angels.* Goat hair (white).* Ram leather dyed red.* Badger (sea cow?) leather (brown).

“You shall make a screen for the doorway of the tent of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver. You shall make five pillars of acacia for the screen and overlay them with gold, their hooks also being of gold; and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them.”Exodus 26:36–37 NASB

The outer court made use of a lot of copper/bronze metals but inner courts were mostly silver or gold. Copper, bronze and silver can patina or tarnish, but gold never tarnishes, rusts or develops a patina. This is why gold was used for items in the Holy Place and Most Holy Place.

The Tabernacle was the most unique Temple on the Earth as it was the only worship center in the Ancient Near East that did not have a physical representation of the deity housed inside.

הַקֹּדֶשׁ haQodesh (Holy Place)

“You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies. You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies. You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side.”Exodus 26:33–35 NASB

* Dimensions: 10 cubits wide by 20 cubits long (15 ft. x 30 ft., or 4.6 m x 9.2 m)* Described: Exodus 26:33, 35; Hebrews 9:2, 6* Every day, the priests entered into the haQodesh to serve the LORD.* Inside were:* הַשֻּׁלְחָן לֶחֶם פָּנִים Ha-Shulkhan Lekhem Panim (Table of Bread of the Presence/Face)* מְּנֹרָה Menorah (seven-branched golden lampstand)* מִקְטַר קְטֹרֶת Miqtar Q’toret (Altar of Incense; Exodus 30)* פָּרֹכֶת Parokhet (veil) that separated the haQodesh from the קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים Qodesh haQadashim (Holy of Holies, Most Holy Place)

There’s a fun story in the Bible when the Philistines stole the Ark of the Covenant and they stored it in the temple of Dagon (1Samuel 4–5). Every day the Ark was in the Dagon temple, the Dagon idol was knocked to the ground and laid low before the Ark. The Philistines quickly got the message and returned the Ark to the Israelites.

In John 1:1–14, we meet the Tabernacle of God in the flesh, Yeshua the Messiah. The physical Tabernacle and later the Temple were created to show us the Messiah.

Topic discussed in the recorded discussionStart time on therecordingQ: Don’t we do a lot of these laws in modern society already?1:20Q: Do the laws on lying cover “white lies”?3:52Q: What is the curse of parents in Ex. 21:17?14:53How cursing is similar to allowing sorcerers to live amongst the people of God23:06How sorcery is akin to murder25:13Q: Was a killing of someone later found out to be a sorcerer classified as murder?27:11How the Torah’s instructions on slavery led to its abolition29:45What’s the penalty for murder?50:32Prohibitions against mistreating slaves and recapturing them53:01American slaves who believed in the God of Israel became brothers to their masters56:51How dogs trained to kill can make the owner a murderer58:56Punishments for theft1:00:06Prohibition on loan interest doesn’t include commerce1:01:39God will get angry if He hears about oppression1:03:28Who is the Angel of the LORD?1:08:22When are offerings of Israel an abomination to the LORD?1:17:01

How important is the Law today?

Despite what some Christian churches teach, there are more laws in the Torah than just the Ten Commandments. A significant majority of the book of Deuteronomy elaborates on how to put the Ten Commandments into practice in our natural interactions with our neighbors.

What about ‘white lies’?

Look at the commandment “thou shalt not lie.” This doesn’t just mean that we should not tell lies. It includes not listening to or repeating the lies of others.We also must be consistent in our treatment of others. We should treat our enemies with the same sense of justice that we treat our friends. If we are not consistent in our treatment of our fellows, we defame God’s name.

What it means to curse your parents

We are also called to not curse our leaders, just as we are prohibited by the Torah from cursing our parents. We cannot use God’s words as a hatchet to cause harm to others. In the book of Jude, we are told that the Archangel Michael did not dare to curse HaSatan when they were arguing over the body of Moses. Michael simply said that God would rebuke HaSatan in the way that He saw fit. Human beings, who are not as righteous as Michael, but who are also not as evil as HaSatan, should be even more careful about cursing our fellow human beings. We should follow the Archangel Michael’s holy example and leave it up to God to rebuke any leader who is leading others into sin.

Does the Bible condone slavery?

How many of you have slaves? No one! The topic of slavery pops us several times in the Torah. Many think that because slavery has been illegal in America since 1865 that the laws of the Torah addressing slavery are irrelevant to us. This is not true. In many areas of the world, slavery is still legal, or at least tacitly tolerated.If you live in a nation where slavery is legal or tacitly legal, these rules are still important to consider. How the Torah teaches people to treat slaves is often a much higher and more just standard than the laws of most nations.

There are three groups of slaves in Torah: male Israelite slaves, female Israelite slaves and Gentile slaves. This section mostly address how to treat male Israelite slaves. There are two common ways in which a male Israelite might become a slave. The first way is if he convicted of theft in a court of law. The convicted thief was sentenced to slavery to repay his theft. Whether he stole a modest amount of money or an exorbitant amount of money, the thief is only required to serve for seven years.

The second type of male slavery is of a poor person who voluntarily gave himself over someone to work to save himself from destitution.

The Ten Commandments give us our identity (Who am I?), purpose (Why am I here?) and goals (Where am I going? How do I get there?) that are necessary for our spiritual development.

Rather than the Law and the Spirit of God being in opposition to each other and the latter usurping the former, as some teach, we will see in this study of the Torah passage יִתְרוֹ Yitro (“Jethro,” Exodus 18:1–20:22) that we receive the “new birth” in Mashiakh Yeshua1 via both Sinai and Spirit. This is the “new covenant” that Yeshua sealed with His blood. We need both Law and Spirit for God to create the new heart — new desires — within us.

As we get to know the Holy One, we receive a “new life,” without the guilt of sin, transgression or iniquity. He shows us how to walk in His way in righteousness; we yearn to walk as Yeshua walked. Yeshua did not sacrifice Himself for us so that we would not have to walk as He walked. And the appointed times of Heaven (“feasts of the LORD”) are memorials of what Heaven has done for us, where Heaven is leading us, and reminders of how to walk that Way.

Table Of Contents

Who am I?

We are Israel, grafted in as wild branches into the cultivated olive tree. Israel is:

* “a kingdom of priests”; “a royal priesthood” (Exodus 19:3–8; 1Peter 2:9–10) * “My son, My first-born” (Ex. 4:22–23; Hos. 11:1) * “sons [and daughters] of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua” (Gal. 3:26) * “children of God” (1John 2:28–3:5)

Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.Ex. 19:3-8 NASB

The Tabernacle was the place where the people gather to meet with God. The task of the priests who worked in the Tabernacle were there to help the people come closer to God. Each priest had a task to do within the tabernacle complex and there were different levels of the priesthood with the High Priest at the top.

Each person in Israel plays a part in bringing the people closer to God.

“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”1Peter 2:9–10 NASB

The Creator of Heaven and Earth is above what is on earth. Those who go astray from Him receive correction or if they are truly rebellious, those who go astray are hardened in their rebellion, but regardless, God uses both kinds of people to teach others about Himself and to move the course of history according to His plan.

“Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in...

Table Of Contents

Is God anti-war? 

Struggle is a part of maturity, but sometimes there are individuals, groups or nations that don’t want to live at peace with those around them. Other times, toxic influences can destroy without lifting a finger in anger.

Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt.Exodus 13:17–18 NASB

God was not moving them so they would avoid war altogether. After all, the text says they were armed “in martial array.” God only wanted to make sure that the way they would end up facing, was one they had no choice but to actually fight. 

Regardless of which route the children of Israel would take out of Egypt, they would face war-like people. The northern way would have them confront the Philistines, which they could simply run back to Egypt to avoid, while on the route God sent them on, they would have to face the people of Amalek, who they could not avoid as running back to Egypt would no longer be an option. 

An oath within an oath

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.”Exodus 13:19 NASB

Joseph gave his brothers a prophetic word, in faith, that they would leave Egypt one day and when that day comes. Joseph then places an oath on them and asked them to take his bodily remains with them to return to the Promised Land. We see here that Moses made sure this promise was fulfilled. 

Salvation is a gift of God

In the Passover, it was an act of God’s salvation, not the people. The children of Israel did absolutely nothing. They did not use their spears or throw rocks at the Egyptian Army. God did all the work. Their salvation was a gift from God to His people. 

You can’t lose a gift of God. You can lose an item but you can never lose the heart behind the gift. God doesn’t take it back. We can put it away or throw it in the trash. People change their minds, but God doesn’t change His mind. 

When we face with external difficulties, such a threat to our physical life, we are limited in what we can do about that. However, the internal difficulties that we have, we must address those issues. 

God didn’t change His mind about giving the land to the descendants of Abraham. God gave them the promised land, the first generation out of Egypt rejected it so it was given to the second generation instead. 

The children of Israel had to understand that they would experience many things that were outside their direct control, such as war, thirst, famine, etc. These external struggles are given to us by God to make us better. 

Be thankful for the chance to retake the test

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.But if any of you lacks wisdom,

Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.1Corinthians 10:11 NASB

The gavel falls, and the sentence is prison. The citizen turned felon doesn’t want to go, but the behavior is so heinous that the public is at risk. So, a peaceful society must take the extraordinary step of using violence — taking hold of the prisoner, putting on shackles, even lifting the perpetrator off the ground at times. Peace can return when the violent one is safely secured.

Now, imagine the challenge when the fate of the world is at stake. The Creator created Israel long ago to be a society of intercessors for the entire world (Ex. 19:5–6; 1Pet. 2:9–10; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6), to help mankind reconnect with the Source of life and existence. So, Israel’s freedom meant the world’s freedom, and Israel’s release from the hold of empire and false sources of life was necessary for the world. And to do that took breaking the ancient empire that thought it controlled Israel’s bodies, hearts and minds.

Likewise, the Holy One of Israel has shown us through messengers that on “that day,” aka the Day of the LORD, that it will again take the force of Heaven to break the powers holding captive all nations.

This is the pattern of the first Exodus and the last Exodus: Turn back to the Creator, follow the Liberator, trust the Redeemer and submit to the Healer, Who gives us a new name, a new identity.

Table Of Contents

In the Torah reading בא Bo (“come,” Exodus 10:1–13:16), Pharaoh still had to be convinced that God was the one with the overwhelming power, not himself. Unfortunately because of Pharaoh’s pride and hardness of heart — partly a product of pride and partly of Heaven — God had to literally destroy Egypt’s economic and military superpower status to do so.

This had to happen to show not only Egypt, but the entire world, Who is truly in charge. And it wasn’t an emperor or a so-called deity (Ex. 12:12). It was only after the death of the first-born of Egypt, including his own son and heir, that Pharaoh was finally convinced that it was in his best interest to let Israel go.

Major cities of the world sprout out along river ways, the living water that flows in and out attracts settlement and commerce. This is true of the Nile, the Mississippi, the Danube, etc. The children of Israel had settled in the land of Goshen, which is where the Nile empties into the Mediterranean, which was a land full of life, but it because a lander of suffering and death for the children of Israel.

God turned the tables and made Egypt a land of suffering and death for the Egyptians until they relented and set the Israelite slaves free.

Exodus and Revelation plague parallels

We talked recently about how the Day of the LORD is compared to the first Exodus but is foretold to be much more significant. When we look at the plagues in Egypt, as recorded in Exodus 7–13, there are very interesting parallels in Revelation 8–11; 15–16:

Trumpet plagues (Rev. 8–11)Plagues in Exodus 7–12Trumpet 1: 1/3 earthPlague 7: HailTrumpet 2: 1/3 sea (source of food)Plague 5: Livestock killedTrumpet 3: 1/3 rivers (drinking and irrigation)Plague 1: Blood in the NileTrumpet 4: 1/3 heavensPlague 9: DarknessTrumpet 5: Locust demon...

Table Of Contents

“‘Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, “I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.”‘”Exodus 6:6–8 NASB

This verse is the source of the tradition of sharing the four cups (or sips) of wine during the Pesakh (Passover) seder. When God does great things for us, God expects to respond with recognition of His goodness to us. We are expected to acknowledge how He defines Himself and accept Him as our God. God responds to this acknowledgement by bring us closer to Him, to His land. If we want the land God promises to us, we have to recognize Him and Him alone as our God.

“So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.”Exodus 6:9 NASB

When Yeshua came, did the majority of the people respond positively to Him and His mission? No. The same thing happened to Moses before Him.

The reason that the people did not readily believe Moses is because of the oppression and bondage they were experiencing. Even though they were miserable, it was still very hard for the children of Israel to leave what little they had in Egypt, which they had gained with very hard work and toil to go somewhere else.

Moses is concerned that if the children of Israel, who believe in God, won’t listen to him, how will he persuade Pharaoh, who doesn’t believe in God, to listen to him?

Moses sees this as a shortcoming in himself. Yeshua said something similar:

“‘no prophet is welcome in his hometown.’”Luke 4:24 NASB

We should expect to see what happened to Moses to be repeated or foreshadowed in the life of Yeshua. In the days of Moses, Egypt received supernatural chastisement, while in the days of Messiah Yeshua, the Jewish people and their leadership were the ones who experienced supernatural chastisement.

God reassures Moses that Pharaoh will fear him as a god by the time God is done with him. Pharaoh will treat Moses as his master. God made sure that Pharaoh feared Moses too much to kill him. This similar to the fear that God put into the animal kingdom after Adam’s sin. The clean animals do not have a fear of humans that the unclean animals do.

The Egyptians had a natural fear of Moses, which wore off towards the end of the plagues to the point that the Pharaoh and the army chased after them to try to forcibly capture them and return Israel to slavery.

Both Moses and Yeshua’s earliest miracles were for small, private audiences and later made more public demonstration of their miracle power.

It’s hard to say that exactly what point in time did Pharaoh realized that he was losing control of the situation but it seems to have been after Israel were on their way out the door. He realized he had lost his authority and reacted violently to his loss of power and authority by sending an army out to try to capture the children of Israel with a show of force.