Shemot “names”
It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.
As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.
Torah Portion Name and Readings-
Shemot is the Hebrew word for “names”, this is the name for the weekly Torah Portion reading for the Exodus starting in chapter 1 verse 1 and going through chapter 6 and verse 1.
Prophets and New Testament-
It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of Isaiah in chapter 27 verse 6 through chapter 28 verse 13, and chapter 29 verse 22 through verse 23.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Matthew in chapter 2 with verses 1 through 12.
Torah Portion Overview-
Upon first inspection it may appear that the main character of these chapters is Moses. And in a sense, he is. However, when reading them it becomes clear that the focus of the story, the passion driving the narrative is not Moses, but Israel. Yahweh has seen His people suffering and wants to save them. And so he raises up a hero, someone who will serve Him and represent Him. Someone who will be faithful in what he does. And so we begin with the story of Israel as Moses is brought up. The children of Israel, although only starting with seventy, grew and became strong enough to threaten Egypt. And so the Egyptians feared the Israelites, which led to Egypt enslaving Israel and oppressing them. Fearing their numbers, the Pharaoh decided to decrease their numbers. He ordered that the male babies be thrown into the river. But Moses’ mother loved her child and desired to save him. Risking their lives, they hid moses for as long as they could. Then, when he couldn’t be hidden any more, they crafted a basket and water proofed it and put Moses into it and put it into the river. Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses, and Miram who had been watching Moses, came forward and asked her if she needed a Hebrew to nurse the child. She did and Moses’ own mother was able to come and take the child and nurse him until he was weaned. The princess then took the toddler and named him and adopted him and raised him. Moses grew up and was out walking one day when he witnessed the brutal mistreatment of an Israelite. He responded by murdering the Egyptian in defense of the slave and hiding his body in the sand. The word must have spread quickly through the Israelites, because the next day when Moses tried to bring peace between two fighting Israelites one Israelite responded by asking,
“Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”
Exodus 2:14 (NRSVue)
Moses realized that his secret sin was found out and when the Pharaoh heard he wanted to execute Moses. So Moses fled to Midian which was a country or region southeast of Canaan. Moses helped some shepherdesses water their sheep and then their father Jethro (who was the priest of Midian) invited Moses to stay with him. He gave Moses his daughter Zipporah as a wife and they had a son, Gershom.
Then the Israelites cried out to Yahweh because of their harsh treatment and He heard them. Moses was traveling in the wilderness as a shepherd and saw a burning bush. But when he noticed that it did not burn up he drew curious and came close to it. This is how Moses was introduced to Yahweh, as a flame that burns but does not destroy. As one who is on Holy Ground but will allow people who are willing to come to Him to approach Him. God introduced Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and commissioned Moses to go and bring the Israelites out of bondage. God explained that He was (and is) “I AM”. Moses was given 3 signs; the staff of Yahweh turning into a serpent, his hand becoming leprous and being restored, and water turning into blood. Then Moses, perhaps feeling overwhelmed asked The Lord to have someone else speak for him. He did not believe that he was good enough. God became angry with Moses but relented and appointed Aaron to speak for Moses as a “prophet”. Moses returned to Egypt and on the way he is attacked by an Elohim. It is not clear from the text if this is the Yahweh, Yahweh Elohim or an elohim, another spirit or god. Whatever the case, he was saved by his wife when she performed a ritual and circumcised their son and touched the blood to his feet. Aaron met Moses on the mountain of God and they performed the signs that He had given Moses for the people. The people responded with belief. After this Moses asked the King of Egypt to let the people go to perform a sacrifice in the wilderness. Pharaoh responded by punishing the people by not providing the straw for them to make bricks. Now they had to gather straw and make bricks. When they failed to meet their quotas they beet the leaders. The leaders became angry with Moses and Moses cried out to Yahweh. Yahweh heard their cry and promised that He would deliver them with a Mighty Hand.
Thus the stage is set for the beginning of the greatest rescue story, the delivery of Israel from slavery at the hand of the Egyptians by the hand of the Almighty! The rescue started with a cry. Israel suffering under bondage cried out to the Lord.
“Their cry for help rose up to God from their slavery. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.”
Exodus 2:23-25 (NRSVue) (also see Deuteronomy 26:7)
The Lord heard them and He remembered His covenant with Abraham.
“Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying:
“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates - the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Genesis 15:12-21 (NKJV)
This what God had promised would happen. The people would live in Egypt for some time and live in bondage. But God would bring them out and deliver them. However, the story of their deliverance started when they cried out.
What does it mean that Yahweh remembered? For He does not forget! I believe it is a reference to Him calling to mind the covenant and bringing it up before Himself. This memory, this redemption started when Israel called out to the Lord.
How often do we remember the promises of the Lord that He has made to us and not call out? How often do we believe that He has not kept His word, but we have not called out. Perhaps He delays, not because He does not “remember”, but because He wants us to bring it to Him. Perhaps He wants us to remind Him.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:7-11 (ESV)
Why would He want us to remind Him? Why would He want us to come to Him in prayer? Perhaps it is because we don’t come to Him in prayer like we do when we are crying out to Him. How often do we spend time in prayer? How much time do we spend in prayer before Him. Perhaps He wants us to come to Him to remind Him, not because He needs to remember, but because He wants to hear from us.
This is the importance of prayer. Prayer is relational, it is us talking to God. George Muller prayed and had over 50,000 prayers answered! He would say “I have so much to do today, I must spend 3 hours in prayer first”. This is deeply convicting to me! God wants us to cry out to Him, to seek Him, and if we do, we will find Him!
“In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his stemple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.”
Psalm 18:6 (ESV)
He is the God who hears our cries!
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Exodus 1:1 Israel grows and is fruitful until the Egyptians enslave them out of fear and oppresses them.
Exodus 1:15 The King of Egypt commands the male babies to be murdered.
Exodus 2:1 Moses is born and saved by his parents and put into the river in a basket.
Exodus 2:5 Pharaoh’s daughter finds Moses and has his mother nurse him, then when he is weaned she names him and adopts him and raises him.
Exodus 2:11 Moses defends an oppressed Israelite and kills an Egyptian and then flees from Pharaoh who wants to execute him.
Exodus 2:16 Moses meets Jethro’s daughters and helps them water their sheep. He is given Jethro’s daughter Zipporah as a wife and they had a son.
Exodus 2:23 The Israelites cry out to God and He hears them.
Exodus 3:1 Moses meets Yahweh (I AM) in a burning bush and he is commissioned to bring Israel out of bondage.
Exodus 4:1 Moses is given 3 signs to prove that Yahweh has sent him.
Exodus 4:10 Moses asks for another to speak for him and Yahweh provides his brother Aaron to function as “prophet” for Moses.
Exodus 4:18 Moses returns to Egypt and on the way Elohim (or possibly an elohim) met Moses to kill him and he is saved by his wife through a ritual.
Exodus 4:27 Aaron meets Moses on the mountain of God and they perform the signs for the people and they believe.
Exodus 5:1 Moses asks the King of Egypt to let the people go to perform a sacrifice in the wilderness and he punishes the people with harder work.
Exodus 6:1 Yahweh will deliver the people with a Mighty Hand.
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Isaiah 27:6 Israel will bear fruit and should remove idolatry.
Isaiah 27:12 Isarel will return when the great trumpet is blown.
Isaiah 28:1 The priests and prophets are drunk
Isaiah 29:22 Israel will not be ashamed.
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
Matthew 2:1 The Magi come visit Yeshua as a young child (toddler?) and bring Him gifts.
Bibliography
John D. Barry et al., eds., “Midian,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
Eugene Carpenter, Exodus, vol. 1 of Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), 177–181.
To Watch an overview of this week’s Torah Portion CLICK HERE