Exodus 20:3 (Chabad) -- "You shall not have the gods of others in My presence."
There are two verses before we get to the first commandment. Those are what I am wrestling with in this blog post.
In the preceding verse, Exodus 20.2, God identifies Himself, but God does more than identify Himself, He qualifies himself: "I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
Additionally, God seems to imply that He belongs to these people! He tells them He is "your God."
Considering that God created the Universe, doesn't "Taking you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage," seem trivial? In the grand scheme of EVERYTHING, breaking the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt is minor compared to creating the solar system or the oceans.
It seems to me that the point God is making has to do with trust. God is identifying himself as a Force to be trusted. God is giving the Israelites a reason why they can have trust in Him. With the words "your God"... God is emphasizing that He is the One guiding their journey. There are 42 "Journey's" in Exodus. That fact and the number 42 is not lost on Jewish sages.
In Exodus 20, God is about to tell the people to follow His ways -- the Ten Commandments. It seems like God is saying "I got you this far, so keep your trust in Me."
In this weeks Parshah, Parashat Bo, (Exodus 10:1-13:16) is the story of the Jews hurried departure from Egypt, carrying their unleavened dough before it could even rise into bread. God commanded the Israelites, “This is the law of the Passover offering. You must remember this day as a covenant between Me and My people. Remember, this day you were freed from Egypt by God to go to the land of milk and honey. Remember, this day, for all generations and honor Me by not eating any leavened bread.”
In this section of the Torah, we read about the Plagues that God brought. Each of the Plagues has a meaning! As everyone knows, there are 10 Plagues. (10 Commandments too.) The Ten Plagues also add up in Gematria to ONE (Aleph) God.
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10=55If we reduce 55: 5+5=10 (The Ten Commandments.)If we reduce the Ten: 1+0=11=Aleph (First Letter in Hebrew)
In Exodus 10:1-2 of Parshat Bo, I found insight into Exodus 20 and receiving the Word at Sinai, 50 days after the Passover.
1 The Lord said to Moses: "Come (Bo) to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order that I may place these signs of Mine in his midst,
2 and in order that you tell into the ears of your son and your son's son how I made a mockery of the Egyptians, and [that you tell of] My signs that I placed in them, and you will know that I am the Lord."
There it is: You will know that I am the Lord.
These verses are pointing to the future, "your son's son" suggests some far-off time. This begs the question of when? Presumably a time when future generations will need to recognize God in their midst. A God who will come (Bo) to take us out of a land and out of a house of bondage. God also specifically said "you tell of My signs that I placed in them, and you will know that I am the Lord."
For over 3400 years, every year since that command was given when the Jews went out of Egypt, we have told the Passover story. We reenact it at the Passover Seder when we list every sign in "order."
The Exodus from Egypt is a pivotal event in Jewish collective memory, symbolizing redemption and the establishment of a covenant with God. Egypt also serves as a symbol of oppression from which God redeems His people, underscoring themes of deliverance and divine intervention.
Egypt is seen as a backdrop for highlighting Judaism's monotheism against Egyptian polytheism and its rejection of idolatry and bodily mutilation practices common in ancient Egypt.
Furthermore, from this story we form the anticipation of a future Devine Redeemer who will show signs and lead the people from bondage and a world filled with idolatry. Does this sound like anyone we should recognize from the history of the Jewish people? Is there another profit who tells "His chosen people," I AM? Is their a Devine Redeemer who pours out water from a Rock?
Matthew 16:13 -- When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
The miracles of Moses and Jesus share several parallels, highlighting their roles as divine agents:
- Demonstration of Power: Moses performed miracles like turning his rod into a snake and water into blood, while Jesus turned water into wine and fed thousands with a few loaves of bread.
- Healing and Salvation: Moses lifted a bronze serpent to heal snakebites, and Jesus was lifted on the cross to save humanity from sin.
- Provision and Redemption: Moses provided bread in the wilderness, and Jesus multiplied loaves to feed the hungry, symbolizing spiritual nourishment.
- Authority and Covenant: In their roles as intermediaries between God and humanity, both figures mediated covenants.
Exodus 20.1 reads, "God spoke all these words, to respond:"
What is God responding to? Since this is the first verse in chapter 20, I looked back to the prior chapter, Exodus 19 for that answer. This is an amazing chapter! Read it for yourself.
Exodus 19.9 (KJV)-- And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.
Exodus 19.9 (KJV) -- And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
Like Genesis which has so much meaning in the first word, Bereshit בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית, the first word of Exodus 20.2 in the "Ten Commandments" also possesses tremendous meaning. Exodus 20.2, begins with the Hebrew word אָֽנֹכִ֨י (Anochi) which translates to "I am." It is followed by the YHVH, which is considered to be the unspeakable name of God and is usually translated as "I Am Who (or that) I Am." In effect, you could read that beginning of Exodus 20.2 as "I am, I Am Who I Am."
God said "you tell of My signs that I placed in them, and you will know that I am the Lord."
Speak to the Rock
In the wilderness, Moses is told to "speak to the Rock," rather than striking it. God told Moses in Numbers 20:8 (NIV) -- "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."
I believe God was about to reveal Himself if Moses spoke to the Rock. If Moses spoke to the Rock, I believe the Rock would have responded with a Voice that the people heard, and they would have believed forever.
Instead, Moses struck the Rock. By doing so, Moses deprived the people. Because Moses didn't trust God, He was not allowed to enter the Promise Land. God was done with Moses.
The Jewish people would not have another prophet like Moses. We would have to wait for Messiah. once again, like in Exodus, the issue was whether we would recognize Him the next time. We were told how to recognize Him, but would we? Or have our hearts been hardened like Pharaoh's?
All through the Tanakh and the Gospels, God wants believers to know him. God is seeking a personal relationship, but it takes time to build a personal relationship. It takes time to build trust. It takes Supernatural signs to reveal a Supernatural God. It takes humility on our part. As we saw with Pharaoh, even great signs are not enough for stubborn people.
God speaks to us, if we have ears to hear. If we speak to the Rock and listen, we will hear His voice.
Matthew 7:24-27 -- 24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
One can search for Truth. Or one can wait and hope for it to be revealed. Either way, one needs ears to hear and eyes to see.
Epilogue:
Here's is a traditional Jewish teaching on Parashat Bo from a reliable source; My Jewish Learning.
Egypt is the template for all Jewish Exiles. Rabbi Hajioff does a very good teaching on this.
