Problem: The sorcerers of Pharaoh were able to perform supernatural signs, but they were clearly opposed to God. How can this be?
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04
Feb
2023
03
Feb
2023
Exodus 6:26-27 – Why are these verses written in the third person, if Moses wrote them?
Problem: If Moses is the author of these passages, then why does he write about himself in the third person, rather than the first?
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02
Feb
2023
Exodus 6:2-3 – Has anyone seen God or not?
Problem: In some verses of Scripture, people see God. But, in other verses, it says they cannot see God? Is this a contradiction? It is not if you understand the Trinity and the context of those verses.
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01
Feb
2023
Exodus 6:3 – How can this be the first time God revealed his name “Yahweh,” when this name is used often before this time?
Problem: In this passage, God tells Moses that he had not revealed his name (Yahweh) to Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. But, throughout the book of Genesis, the name of Yahweh is used 162 times, and 34 of these uses are on the lips of the speakers.[1] Critics argue that this is a clear error. In fact, many argue that this is evidence for the JEDP theory of the OT (i.e. mixed sources of the Pentateuch).
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31
Jan
2023
Exodus 5:3 – Why would God kill his own people with pestilence or a sword?
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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30
Jan
2023
Exodus 4:24 – Why did God want to kill Moses?
Problem: Why would God want to kill Moses, if he selected him to lead his people out of slavery?
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29
Jan
2023
Exodus 4:21 – How could God harden Pharaoh’s heart?
Problem: God says that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart four times (Ex. 4:21; 7:3; 14:4, 17), and six verses claim that he does harden his heart (Ex. 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:8). Even though God hardens his heart, he then holds Pharaoh responsible for his actions. Critics argue that this is not fair or just.
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28
Jan
2023
Exodus 3:22 – Why would God command the Hebrews to steal from the Egyptians?
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)
27
Jan
2023
Exodus 3:18 – Why does God tell Moses that it would only be a three day trip, if he planned on rescuing them permanently from the Egyptians?
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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26
Jan
2023
Exodus 3:14 – What does “Yahweh” mean?
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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