Month: January 2023

Problem: Moses tells Pharaoh that God “will fall upon [the Hebrews] with pestilence or with the sword” (v.3). Why would God kill his own people?
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Problem: Why would God want to kill Moses, if he selected him to lead his people out of slavery?
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Problem: God said, “Thus you will plunder the Egyptians” (Ex. 3:22). This seems like a cruel command for God to give.

Solution: Actually, the text says that the women should “ask” the Egyptians for supplies before they leave. The Hebrews had been enslaved by the Egyptians for hundreds of years. These small gifts were hardly compensation for their years of unpaid service. In modern terms, we might call this getting your back wages –not stealing.

“But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. (Ex 3:22)

Problem: God cannot lie (Heb. 6:18; Titus 1:2), and yet, this statement seems to be deceiving. God wasn’t planning on taking them for “three days,” as this passage claims. Instead, he was planning on taking them permanently from the Egyptians.
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Problem: Scholars are conflicted over the meaning of God’s name. Whatever the meaning, Charles Gianotti explains, “To understand the meaning of the divine name is to understand the character of God revealed by that name.”[1] Kaiser comments, “His “name” was his person, his character, his authority, his power, and his reputation.”[2] Therefore, if we understand the meaning of God’s name, we understand something about who he is. There are multiple views regarding the meaning of “Yahweh.”[3]
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Problem: Many wonder why the OT is filled with arbitrary commands like these.
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Problem: Critics argue that ancient people believed in myths like the burning bush, but this was before scientific progress.
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Problem: Critics claim that the God of the Bible isn’t truly omniscient, because passages like these show him with human features.
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Problem: Sunday schools typically teach that Moses’ mother was “letting go and letting God.” She put a baby in a basket and sailed it down the river, trusting that God would rescue the baby. For instance, in Charlton Heston’s movie The Ten Commandments, Moses’ mother says, “Follow it, Miriam. Watch it from the reeds. See where the Lord will lead him.” Does this mean that believers should make irrational actions like these, as well?
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Problem: The Bible teaches that we should submit to the government, because they are given as an authority of God (Rom. 13:1; Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13). It also speaks against lying (Prov. 12:22). And yet, when the midwives lied to Pharaoh and disobeyed him (Ex. 1:17), God blessed them (Ex. 1:20-21).
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Problem: Christian apologists often claim that this passage predicts the coming of the Messiah through the line of Jacob. However, critics claim that the language is too unclear. Which is true?
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Problem: Did Jacob worship at the head of the bed or leaning on a staff? Genesis says that Israel bowed to worship God “at the head of the bed.” The Book of Hebrews, however, while citing the same story, says that he did so “leaning on the top of his staff.”
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Problem: Why did God kill a man, Onan, for spilling his seed on the ground as recorded in Genesis 38:9? Is that really worthy of death? The answer lies in the legal custom of the time. He refused to carry out his familial obligations of producing offspring for his brother. As odd as that may sound to the modern ear, in that culture, relatives needed to produce seed for a deceased relative under certain circumstances.  Onan didn’t, and God killed him.
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Problem:`There are a number of parallels between Joseph and Jesus. Joseph’s job was to preserve the messianic line –even though he wasn’t in this line (Gen. 45:5-7). Because of his crucial role in the messianic line, we notice a number of similarities between Joseph and Jesus.
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