2/22/15
RS-120-D
Christianity: Past & Present
Reflection Paper #1:
Chapters 1-15 of the Book of Exodus – the second book of the Torah and the Old Testament – chronicle the freeing of the Israelites from their slavery and subjugation at the hands of the Egyptians.
The text opens by framing the true nature of Israel’s fall from grace, as a new king arose over Egypt, wiping out their prosperity and forcing them all into hard labor. Later on, the king continued to demonstrate his harsh resolve by commanding that each and every one of the baby boys born to the Hebrews be thrown into the Nile, in an attempt to wipe them out indefinitely. The Pharaoh’s daughter, whilst bathing, eventually came to discover a baby boy by the river herself. …show more content…
Fearing a swift and terrible retribution from the ruling Pharaoh, Moses fled to the land of Midian, and journeyed “beyond the wilderness” to Horeb, the mountain of God. It was here that the face of God appeared before him in a burning bush, decreeing that Moses would deliver the Israelites from Egypt, and onward to the Promised Land. In order to quell his fears, God sent Aaron along with Moses to serve as his spokesperson as they brought signs of God’s power along with them, in order to better convince the people of the truth of their convictions. Despite their best attempts to sway the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, however, he refused to relent or give in to their pleas in the slightest. This prompted God to take matters into his own hands and unleash a multitude of plagues upon the Egyptian people – from turning water into blood, to a bringing about a persisting darkness falling over the land – but still, the Pharaoh would not change his mind. It was only after the final plague came to pass – the sudden demise of all the Egyptian firstborns – that the Israelites were allowed to “pass over” and go forward out of Egypt, guided by their Lord. In one final ambush, the