Obstacles in the Life of Moses and Joshua
Though obstacles are a common part of life’s dynamics, they are not always easy to overcome. Moses and Joshua both prophets of God faced many obstacles in their lives. “God would be their God by His presence as well as by His word.”(Clowney, 2013, p. 113) Moses story was presented in the Old Testament of the book of exodus begins with the obstacle of him escaping death as an infant. Exodus 2:3 says, But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. (New American Standard Bible)
When Moses became a man he faced a heart wrenching obstacle of watching the Egyptians hurt his own peoples, in a rage of anger Moses commits murder to an Egyptian who was beating up an Israelite. This obstacle was not over, Moses spent 40 years in the desert hiding from the Egyptians. A new obstacle begin when God called upon him to save the children of Israel in Exodus 14:13. His obstacle in
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”Even during periods of moral crises, God is looking for faithful servants to bless.”(Arnold & Beyer, 2008, p. 187) God desires for us to be loyal and self-sacrificing, we can encounter His faithfulness if we work within his will. If we do not allow ourselves to be feed by the Lords will, it will cause wreckage to our lives. Which then brings in the formation of broken promises. We must be willing to reflect in faithfulness for God with our presents, words and actions. ”The book is first and foremost about God and his faithful dealings in the lives of his people.”(Arnold & Beyer, 2008, p. 192) The relevance of Ruth’s manuscripts gives a validation to what true loyalty through God looks like. We have the ability to break the curse of unfaithfulness and show others within our culture the dynamics of true
No one may have understood Ruth’s actions and her motives for doing what she did, but Ruth knew what she was getting herself into. She wanted a better life for herself and her twelve children, which she accomplished. Although many may not agree with her process of achieving her goals, she still managed to raise twelve successful men and women. Through all the miseries and tragedies, Ruth picked herself up and moved on. I am proud of her.
To begin with, the dual narratives of the text here present a unique mixture of chronology and perspective. Moreover, noteworthy is also McBride’s usage of the rhetorical strategy of alternate chapters and parallelism. This can be seen when McBride remarkably places related chapters together to juxtapose the life of his mother and that of himself. This allows one to observe the parallelism in the two lives; and perhaps more importantly, understand the significance Ruth’s life has had on McBride. For example, McBride places the chapters “Shul” and “School” next to each other. Here, both Ruth and James are struggling and are trying to fit in but are rejected due to racial and social conflicts. Another example is, “The New Testament” and “The Old Testament.” Both of these chapters revolve around the embarrassment Ruth and James feel for their circumstances. In “The Ne...
To begin with, the dual narratives of the text here present a unique mixture of chronology and perspective. Moreover, noteworthy is also McBride’s usage of the rhetorical strategy of alternate chapters and parallelism. This can be seen when McBride remarkably places related chapters together to juxtapose the life of his mother and that of himself. This allows one to observe the parallelism in the two lives and to understand the significance Rachel's life had on McBride. For example, McBride places the chapter titled “Shul” and “School” next to each other with each giving a view of the problems they faced in school. Here both Ruth and James are struggling and are trying to fit in but are rejected due to racial and social conflicts. Another example is “The New Testament” and “The Old Testament.” Both of these chapters revolve around the embarrassm...
When God first approaches Moses in the form of a burning bush, God says “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land,” (Exodus 3:7). Moses however, questioned God’s judgement, saying, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). Moses continues to question God throughout the rest of the chapter, but eventually begins his journey to rescue his
Ostriker A. (2002). The book of ruth and the love of the land. Biblical Interpretation, 10 (4),
God’s people found themselves in captivity in Egypt after the death of Joseph and the Pharaoh that had knowledge of the good done by children of Israel (Ex. 1:8-14). God saw the oppression of His people and sent Moses and Aaron to deliver His people from slavery (Ex. 3:10, 4:14-16).
Long ago, in the desert of Egypt, Hebrew slaves known as Israelites escaped from the tyranny of the pharaoh. This story has a common theme that an unlikely hero leads people out of a wasteland and into a place of new life. The Israelites heroes' name was Moses. There are several attributes that his quest shares with Joseph Campbell's theme of the journey of the spiritual hero, found in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Departure, initiation, and return are all part of the journey. Moses' journey will take him away from his familiar surroundings, separating him from all that he knows, so that he can return to perform the tasks God commanded him to complete.
Moses was a major character in the fact that he was the reason his son, Adam, became the man that he had become. “If just once in all my born days you’d say a good thing to me” (Fast 3), Moses stated. Moses wanted Adam to be raised the way that Moses was raised and respect it. Adam did not like how strict his father was to him and did not want to be raised like he was. “Maybe it’s time I just went and did something without my father”
Following the creation story of the book of Genesis is the book of Exodus. In Genesis, God promised Abraham a “great nation from which all nations of the earth will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3)” and in Exodus God completes this promise through the creation of the holy nation, Israel. Exodus tells the story of the God who rescued his people out of Egypt because of the promise he had made to Abraham. God calls to Moses to complete his promise. God’s call to Moses is not only important because he liberates the Israelites but also because God reveals His name(s) along with His true Nature. God calls upon Moses and tells him that He’s back to help the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and that Moses is to lead them. God then gives him full instructions on what to tell the Pharaoh and, more importantly, the Israelites, who are promised, land “flowing with milk and honey”.
This quote that was said by Ruth had a significant meaning and also a purpose for it being put in the book.
One highlight from Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: Ruth, by Judy Fentress-Williams is loyalty. In the book of Ruth, Ruth states, “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:14). Ruth says this to Naomi after Naomi tried to push her away. The commentary states that Ruth said this to Naomi as they were moving from Ruth’s homeland to Naomi’s homeland (Williams, chapter 1). I think this is significant because it shows that Ruth is actually following Naomi and not leaving her behind or abandoning her. This verse is a pivotal event in the first chapter which makes it even more significant (Williams, chapter 1). This is when the setting begins to change. It starts off in Moab and then they both travel to the land of Judah. It also
Before relationships begin to develop, each of the protagonists are in different positions. Moses is born a Hebrew, but growing up he is considered an Egyptian. When Moses flees to Midian and saves the
“And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.” (Exodus 19:17-20, Macarthur, 1997) In the Sinai wilderness, there lies a holy, sacred mountain, Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa), “the mountain of Moses.” This sacred mountain, once made the Israelites tremble with fear at the site of thick smoke and the loud sound of trumpets at the descending of the Lord. The Lord spoke with Moses at the top of Mount Sinai while this thick smoke created by the hand of the Lord covered the mountain, prevailing the Israelites from gazing upon the holiness of the Lord and anyone who touched the base of the mountain would die. Apart from the graveness of what would happen to the Israelites if they were to disobey the Lord, Mount Sinai became this “sacred” place, a holy ground, where Moses (who was the son of a Hebrew slave, born in Egypt and called by the name of the Lord to deliver the Israelites out of exile to the promised land) was once in the presence of the Almighty, Jealous, Holy and All-Powerful Yahweh. Standing in the presence of the Lord, Moses received the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were two stone tablets, breathed to life by the spoken word of the Lord, a symbolic covenant to the Israelites from the Lord. From a biblical, theological perspective, Mo...
When Moses was born, the Israelites were oppressed by the Egyptian Pharaoh and bound to a harsh life of labor, taking part in building some of the great public works of Egypt such as the pyramids, fortresses, and installations to regulate the flow of the Nile River. For fear that the Israelite population would continue to increase, the Pharaoh insisted that every male Hebrew child would be killed at birth. Ironically, during this oppressive period, Moses, the “future deliverer of Israel”, was born. To protect his life, his mother sent him down the Nile in a specially woven ark. He was found by the Pharaoh’s daughter who took him in and, to add to the irony, she hired his mother to be his foster nurse.
However, there are few differences in the accounts of his life between the Quran and the Bible. One is the adoption of Moses into the palace. In the biblical account, pharaoh’s daughter adopted Moses but in the Quran, the wife of the pharaoh adopted him. Similarly, the order of plagues and the nature of plagues that afflicted the people of pharaoh in the Quran and the Bible differ. In conclusion, despite these minor differences, the Quran and biblical accounts of the role, life, purpose, and figure of Moses are similar with several lessons, which can help us become better people in our society.