Moses, the Mediator of the Covenant

moses riverNumber of Israelites, who came with Jacob to Egypt, it has grown a lot over time. However, their life in Egypt was getting more and more difficult. Pharaoh is dead, to whom Joseph had rendered such great services, and his successors no longer remembered the blessings Joseph had given to the Egyptians. Another pharaoh wanted to get rid of this large tribe, So he gave the order, that. all newborn Hebrew boys should be thrown into the river " (Wj 1, 22). Could God have forgotten the covenant he made with Abraham?, Isaac, James, Joseph ?…
Here is a married couple, a son was born. His mother hid him for three months, and being no longer able to do so, she put the baby in the papyrus basket. She covered the basket with resin and tar and left it on the river bank. The basket was found by an Egyptian princess. The child got into Pharaoh's court. Thanks to this, Moses - such a name was given to the boy taken out of the water - was brought up and educated "in all Egyptian wisdom" (Dz 7, 22). And he owed his faith in One God to his own family, Israeli, with whom he was dating (Wj 2, 7-9).
God, who looked after Moses from the beginning, he was preparing him to be the savior of his nation. One day, Moses saw an Egyptian abusing the Hebrews. Angered by the scene, he killed the Egyptian. To avoid punishment, fled from Egypt. He ran down to the Sinai Peninsula. Here he took refuge among the nomadic tribe of Midianites. He became a shepherd. He had a lot of time now, so he pondered a lot and prayed. He became a man of prayer. He became deeply and cordially attached to God. In new living conditions, started a family. His wife Sephora, daughter of a tribal chief, whose name was Jethro, she bore him two sons. But a quiet family life was not meant to last long. After all, the Lord chose and prepared Moses for other things ! Their foreshadowing was seeing at the fire bush (Wj 3, 1-4). God spoke to Moses with these words : "I have decided to bring you out of the tribulation in Egypt and lead you to the land of the Canaanite" (3, 17) and told him to go back to Egypt.
As a messenger of God, obey his command, Moses and his family went to Egypt. Here - with Brother Aaron as an intermediary - he soon found a hearing among his countrymen. Pharaoh asked, that the Israelites could leave Egypt. However, Pharaoh did not want to let the people go, which was an almost free labor. Then there was the "Egyptian plagues" (Wj 7, 14-10, 27). They were some kind of natural disaster, like a plague, rinderpest, locusts and darkness. The uniqueness of the Egyptian plagues, according to the story of the Book of Exodus, it mainly consisted of this, that their arrival and departure depended on the prayer of Moses, and the severity exceeded all expectations.
Pharaoh's resistance was broken only by the death of the firstborn sons in the homes of the Egyptians, which also affected his eldest son. Only the Israelites were bypassed by the defeat, who, at the command of their leader, killed and ate the lamb, and with his blood they anointed the doorposts of their houses. It was the first Passover in history (Wj 12, 1-18. 27). It probably happened in the 13th century. before Christ. This is how God, through Moses, led the people out of Egyptian bondage, he led him across the Red Sea and the desert to Mount Sinai. The most important event took place here : Through Moses, God made a Covenant with the Israelites.
The people believed deeply, that God entered his life, he watched over its safety and guided its fate. He was therefore ready to obey all God's commands. In return, God promised the people, that she would continue to look after him and bring him into the Promised Land. God, who revealed himself to Abraham and guided the destinies of the patriarchs, he became even more closely associated with the chosen people. Although he still used people as his intermediaries - Moses, Joshua, and then judges and kings - but he will always be the sole Ruler and King of Israel. It was a solemn moment, when Moses offered a burnt offering on a stone altar, and then he sprinkled the blood on the people as he spoke the words: “Here is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has concluded with you " (Wj 24, 8).
The author of the Book of Exodus writes, that Moses also built the Holy Tabernacle (The Ark of the Covenant) and appointed to operate it : Levites, priests and high priests. He also established "holy times" : Passover, Feast of the Harvest and Feast of Tabernacles. He divided the victims into bloodless and bloodless, established, how to fold them. Lots of sacred items (seven-branched candlestick, incense altar, the showbread table) noble metals were made by craftsmen thanks to the skill of Egypt. Many Bible readers are sure to be surprised by debts, because the 40-year stay of the Israelites in the desert (by. Lb 10-14). After all, their destination was Palestine, so they should get there as soon as possible. it is true, but the procession is about 100 thousands of people, who were not properly organized, it wasn't easy. But God was watching over their needs, by giving them water through Moses, sending manna and quails, but he did not relieve him of personal work. By enduring inconveniences, he prepared them to embrace the Promised Land.
In the event with the golden calf, whom the Israelites killed against God's command, their weakness appeared (by. Wj 32, 1-35). Moses as a leader, judge, a prophet interceding to God for and on behalf of the people, as the keeper of a covenant, he rebuked him for his lack of trust, for the murmuring, and when it did not help, he announced God's punishments. One of them was such a long stay in the desert. It had some good sides, because living away from other nations was conducive to maintaining faith in the One God. Only a new generation, hardened in the hardships of life and ready to fulfill God's commandments - entered the Promised Land. Moses, however, led the Israelites only to the banks of the Jordan. Here he renewed the covenant made with God in Sinai and pronounced his last will - like a will. He still looked from a high mountain to the Promised Land beyond the Jordan, and died shortly thereafter.

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