Exodus 4 - 6

Moses really didn't want to go back to Egypt to face his past and embrace what God was asking him to do. He was arguing with God about it, so God started showing him the power available to him from above. Moses throws down his walking stick and it becomes a snake in an instant, scaring Moses so badly, he runs from it. Then God tells him to grab hold of it, which Moses does, and it turns back to a stick. God gives Moses two other examples of miracles God has enabled him to perform in order to make the people know he has been sent by God to lead them.
Then he starts in saying he is not an eloquent talker and he thinks that will disqualify him from the task, but God reminds him who gave him speech in the first place. Moses still resists and God becomes angry, but His anger is tempered with grace, as it always is, and He tells Moses to take his brother, Aaron, who is well spoken. In fact, God has already spoken to Aaron, and Aaron is on his way out to the desert to meet Moses. Moses is still tentative about going to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, but he goes back to his father-in-law to ask his leave to go "visit" his family. No mention is made of what God had commissioned him to do. Jethro gave his blessing, so Moses loaded up his wife and sons on a donkey and set out.
Apparently, God had spoken with Moses about circumcising his sons but Moses had never done it. It had to be done before they joined the Israelite tribes, or they would not be accepted, so God got very angry with Moses and was about to kill him. Also apparent from the text, Moses' wife, Zipporah, didn't agree with the circumcision ritual, but to save her husband’s life, she quickly took a knife and did the surgeries, but she was mad about it, calling Moses a “bloody husband,” while throwing the foreskins at his feet.
Aaron and Moses meet along the trail at the very same mountain where Moses saw the burning bush, Mt. Horeb, which they now called The Mountain of God. (My son has been to this mountain!) Here Moses told Aaron what their task was to be and they both returned to Egypt, where Moses, indeed, had Aaron do the talking to the elders while he performed all the miracles God had given him to cause them to believe them. The Hebrews were very touched when they learned that God knew of their misery and was concerned for them after all, so they worshipped Him.
Chapter 5 begins the saga of Moses and Aaron speaking to Pharaoh and asking permission for the Israelis to leave Egypt and Pharaoh refusing. Pharaoh did not know the God of whom they spoke, so he had no regard for Him. He gave orders for the Hebrews to be oppressed even more. The leaders of the Hebrews appeal personally to Pharaoh, and are rebuffed. They blame Moses and Aaron for getting them in trouble with Pharaoh. Therefore, Moses goes back to God and complains of the treatment they received.
God reminds Moses of the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give them the land of Canaan, and of his intention to keep that covenant. He tells Moses to get back to Pharaoh and demand the release of the Hebrews. Moses again argues with God, reminding Him of his speech impairment. So God calls Aaron to meet with them and commissions them both to go lead the people out of slavery in Egypt.
There follows a short genealogy of Moses and Aaron’s family to show they were from the tribe of Levi, and chosen by God to be priests and leaders of Israel.

Exodus 1 - 3

Finally, I'm leaving Genesis and I feel like I'm moving away from an old friend. Don't worry, old friend, God willing, I'll be back.
Now begins the story of how the Israelites came to leave Egypt to return to the Promised Land. First, Moses, the author, gives an accounting of his ancestors, who came to Egypt with Jacob during the famine to live. He states there were seventy in all, including Joseph.
Joseph, his father and all his brothers die while living in Egypt, but not before producing many, many offspring. In fact, Exodus 1:7 says they soon filled the land. An ominous statement next says a new king came to the throne of Egypt who didn't know of Joseph or how he had saved his nation from starvation. He was frightened by the size and strength of the Israelite clan living among them, so he gave orders for their oppression and the Hebrews became slaves. However, God was for the Israelites and multiplied them even more, so Pharaoh gave bloody orders for the midwives to kill all the Hebrew boy babies as soon as they were born. The midwives had more regard for God than they did for Pharaoh, though, and disregarded his orders.
Fearing the king a little, they gave a slight misrepresentation when he asked them why they did not obey his orders and told him the Hebrew women had their babies so quickly, they could not be killed as they were born. Then Pharaoh gave orders that all the newborn Israelite boys must be drowned in the Nile.
In chapter 2, Moses gives an account of his own birth and early childhood. He tells us his parents were from the tribe of Levi, the tribe that would later become the priests in Israel. His mother kept him hidden for three months, then made a special waterproof ark for him when he could no longer be hidden. Her heart must have been in torment thinking what would happen to her baby, but she knew she must place him into the river. His sister, also, must have been distressed, because she watched and followed the basket to see what would happen to it.
It just so happened (remember, there are no accidents with God) that Pharaoh's daughter was bathing in the river nearby. Seeing the special little basket in the reeds, she asked that it be brought to her. Moses' helpless cries got to her, and she deducted he must be a Hebrew baby, but she had pity on him. Again, it just so happened, the baby's sister was standing nearby and offered to find a Hebrew nursemaid for him and she just happened to know a mother whose breasts were full--Moses' own mother. Imagine that.
So Pharaoh's daughter paid Moses’ mother to nurse her own baby, how great is that? In addition, she gets to keep him until he is weaned, at which time he was given back to Pharaoh's daughter to be raised as her own son. This early training in the palace of the king would serve Moses well later, when he would be called upon to go before the king to ask for the people's release from slavery.
Pharaoh's daughter must have told Moses of his Hebrew heritage, or his own family inculcated that in him in the two to three years they kept him, because Exodus 2:11 says, when he was grown up he went to visit his people, the Israelites. Upon seeing an Israeli mistreated by his Egyptian taskmaster, Moses takes action and kills the Egyptian, burying him in the sand so no one would find out.
However, as the Bible says later, "you can be sure your sins will find you out." The next day Moses tried to stop two Hebrews who were fighting with each other, however, the culprit brought up Moses' guilt in the murder of the Egyptian. Verse 14 says Moses became frightened, and with good cause, because Pharaoh ordered Moses arrested and killed when he heard of it, so Moses fled to the desert. Here he was in for another forty years of preparation for leading the Israelites out of Egypt.
Moses was just a noble character from the start, it seems. Verse 26 says the daughters of the priest of Midian came every day to draw water from a well for their father's animals, but other shepherds were in the habit of driving them away from the life-giving water. Moses stopped by the well to rest and refresh himself and put a stop to this monkey business when the girls came for water, even helping them draw water.
When the priest of Midian heard what Moses had done, he sent for him to come to his home for a meal. Like the homeless bum who might "camp out on your couch and never leave," Moses had found his home in the wilderness, later marrying one of the priest's daughters. Her name was Zipporah.
Meanwhile, back in Egypt, the Israelites were still under a heavy burden... Their cries went up to God, who remembered his promise to their ancestors. Actually, God had never forgotten it; he was working on a solution, preparing Moses to lead his people by teaching him to herd a bunch of sheep (rather the same).
In Chapter 3, we have the burning bush incident. Moses is strolling along in the Sinai Desert behind the flocks when a bush bursts into flames before his eyes, however, it was not consumed by the fire, it just continued to burn. This caught Moses' attention and he went closer to investigate. As he nears, God speaks to Moses from the bush and told him not to come any closer. Moses is instructed to remove his sandals because he is in holy territory before God.
Then God introduces Himself to Moses, and Moses hides his face in fear. God tells him of His plan to rescue the Israelites from Egypt and send them back to Canaan, the Promised Land. When God breaks the news to Moses that he is to lead them, Moses actually begins arguing with God. This seems silly as we read Exodus, but if you think about it, you and I have likely argued with God many times; I know I have.
God reassures the frightened Moses that He would be with him, but Moses is still not done arguing. He asks God who he should say sent him to lead them when they question his authority, as they had done after the murder incident. Moreover, God tells him simply to say I AM sent him. Then he goes on to say, "Tell them...the God of Abraham...Isaac...and Jacob--has sent me to you." Then God tells Moses of the opposition he will face from the king of Egypt. He tells him there will be heavy pressure and many miracles, but that his mission will be very successful, with the Egyptians sending Israel away with great wealth at the end of the struggle.
God knows the end from the beginning. If you will just go through the battle with Him and be obedient to Him, he will give you a great blessing when it is finally over.
　

Genesis 49 - 50

So this is getting more like the monthly dose! I had to return to work full-time, plus putting on about 3,000 miles a month for my job, so it's hard to find the time. On the positive, I'm almost through Genesis, so here goes. I will persevere.
Israel knows he is near death, so he gathers his twelve sons to pronounce a blessing over each one. Over his firstborn, Reuben, however, he more or less pronounces a curse. Seems Reuben had been caught having relations with one of Israel's concubines. Cowardly Jacob neither did nor said anything about it at the time, but he lets Reuben know he did not get away with sin while he is on his deathbed. Simeon and Levi also garnered a curse from their father. He still had not forgotten when they made his name an anathema in Sechem.
Judah, who was evil in his youth, but who had totally repented, gains his father's blessing. Israel pronounces that Judah will be the father of a perpetual king over Israel, referring to Christ, who would come from the lineage of Judah. Israel uses poetry in his blessing ritual with his sons and he referrs to Judah as a lion. This same poetic language would later be used to refer to the coming Messiah.
Zebulun gets a mild blessing as Israel pronounces that he will live by the sea, which history says he did. Issachar gets an ominous message that says his descendants will become slaves. Dan is likened to a snake.
Gad's future is said by Israel to hold much war, Asher is said to behold riches and dine sumptously, and Naphtali is likened to a graceful deer.
Not surprisingly, Israel dwells on Joseph as he pronounces his blessing, and calls him a prince among his brothers. He acknowledges that God has been with Joseph and will continue to be.
Benjamin is last and gets only a short pronouncement which seems to say he will be a successful warrior.
Then Jacob gives his last request and that is that he be buried beside Leah, his first wife, in the family burial plot back in Canaan where Abraham, Sarah and Isaac are buried. It strikes me as a little out of character for Jacob to want to be buried beside Leah instead of Rachael, whom he loved so dearly. Again, he stresses that Abraham bought the field and burial plot from the Hittites. When he was all done with these prounouncements and requests, he breathed his last.
Jacob's death caused Joseph to become very emotional. He called for the Egyptian embalmers to embalm his father so he could be carried back to Canaan for burial without his body decomposing. There was a 70 day mourning period, after which Joseph approached Pharaoh to ask permission to leave to return his father's body to Mamre. Although Joseph was Prime Minister of Egypt, he still considered himself a servant to Pharaoh and submitted himself to him.
Pharaoh thought highly of Joseph and sent a large contingent of important people with him for the funeral.
Following the burial of their father, Joseph's brothers again become fearful of what he might do to them now that their father was gone. They sent a message to him saying their father requested their forgiveness before his death, and they also asked meekly for forgiveness. This grieved Joseph, I think, because he had already spoke and demonstrated his forgiveness over them. But in complete fulfillment of the dream God had sent Joseph when he was a boy, his brothers came and prostrated themselves in front of him and pronounced themselves his slaves. Joseph reminds them that, even though they meant to do him harm, God meant the whole episode for their good, and he promised to provide for them and their families.
They remained in Egypt where Joseph lived to the age of 110 and was a great-grandfather. Before he died, he expressed his faith that God would return the twelve tribes to The Promised Land and made his brothers promise to take his body with them when they returned to be buried in the cave at Mamre with his ancestors. His body was also embalmed and placed in a coffin there in Egypt, where it stayed for a long time until the Exodus, which is where we will go next.