Chase Underwood
Sarah Pawlak
ENG 231
March 15, 2014
The Word of God
The book of Exodus, the second book of the Bible, or otherwise known as a piece of the Old Testament has been in circulation for thousands of years. It can be said, with all factual evidence, that this is the most influential book on the face of the Earth. It has been recited countless times as well as reworked just as numerously. It is the foundation for the most prominent religions of mankind and was the singular law for many men for a majority of recorded history. These laws that were arranged in the book of Exodus were passed down for many hundreds of generations as the basis for people to live their lives by. Even when great civilizations began to sprawl across the Earth their laws were either entirely or greatly based upon the decrees set forth in the book of Exodus. These texts are still read today, thousands of years after they were transcribed and have an enormous role in the ways we live our lives today. With the majority of the world being spiritual and the majority of that majority being religions based on the Old Testament the laws that govern most people today are generally similar to those that have governed them since the Bible was created. These laws that have been established have many fallacies and can seem to originate from nowhere and while there are many discrepancies about them they are still the source of many things we have today. The themes of law and justice are immensely present in the book of Exodus.
In Exodus, Moses leads the enslaved Jew’s out of Egypt. All throughout Exodus Moses is speaking with God and fulfilling God’s commands. Even in God commanding Moses to transfer his words to the Israelites one can perceive that the word ...
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...ws of man and those of God create a very delicate push and pull of power in the modern world.
The themes of law and justice have been undoubtedly established by man many thousands of years ago. This is readily evident in the Book of Exodus, where God provides mankind rules to live their lives by. These rules are better recognized as the Ten Commandments. But individuals have disputes about if the decrees of God are just in the modern world. This has caused man to manufacture his own guidelines of society. But even these rules have some similarity to those of God. It can be said that the rules of modern day governments can be traced back to the instructions set back in ancient times, including those that were provided in the book of Exodus. Even if the rules of man are not just or fair, they have obviously provided a platform for new righteous laws to be founded on.
The book Exodus starts with two long-lost friends reuniting at Cyprus of 1946. These two friends are Mark Parker and Kitty Fremont. Kitty Fremont is a nurse, and Mark Parker is a foreign correspondent. Ari is creates a plan to breakout three hundred Jewish children from a concentration camp called Caraolos. He intends to put them on a ship called the Exodus in order to help the two hundred thousand desperate people in Europe. The stories of the refugees surviving the holocaust affect Kitty in a way. Kitty decides to be a part of Ari’s plan when she meets a girl named Karen that she instantly cares for very deeply. When Ari and the children escape, they board Exodus. The exodus was wired with explosives, so if the British attack the boat they will blow it up. The British and Exodus have a long standoff eventually ending in which the Exodus is allowed to sail to Palestine where Jews are welcomed. A job opportunity is given to Kitty and she accepts having a plan of bringing Karen to America. Karen’s father, Johann Clement, if found after being separated from her for many years. He is insane from Survivor guilt. Ari’s uncle and one of the children are
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
Notably, Bultmann’s approach is less as a debunker and more as an interpreter: his idea of the NT is a kind of pure theology written in the poetry of narrative. Therefore, the narrative elements are not important they are means of expressing a theological insight born of an encounter with God. Particularly, Jesus’ the death and resurrection are not two separate events, or two halves of one event. Christ simultaneously is crucified and God resurrects him to conquer death, is a singular event. As a result, the act of proclaiming Christ transcendence of the fallen world results in the person experiencing an encounter and relationship with Christ. Therefore, faith is an act of trust in this encounter and Christ's resurrection is an ongoing activity within the kerygma, and historical "facts" become irrelevant. Bultmann is criticized of denying the actual resurrection; perhaps it may be more accurate to say he redefines it.
...nnel for the message to the Israelites. This serves God's ultimately purpose of setting his chosen people free. Although Moses does not seem like a worthy candidate for the task, God gives him the power to overcome his flaws. Moses was successful in communicating and obeying God's word throughout his journey, because he never sought to control or possess the land or the people, unlike Pharaoh. In the end, the journey of the spiritual hero can finish in either one of these two paths. It is up to the individual whether or not they will succumb to temptation and be led down into hell and remain there forever.
The laws in Exodus were given to the Israelites in order for them to function as a society. Slavery along with the Lex Talionis protected the person’s right and provided some form of human dignity and justice. As society changed, the initial purpose for slavery and the Lex Talionis changed and became distorted. Although slavery and justice have differed from the meaning of ancient times, one can still observed some relationship between these customs and issues.
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”.
In the Book of Exodus the relationship between god and man was similar to relation between a master and servant or in other words a king and a subject respectively. God says “you shall speak all that I command you”(Exodus,7:2), it is very clear through this vision that Moses had that God wanted to have dominion and control over peo...
The spreading of belief allows the prophet to gain followers and eventually establish traditions which surround religion, whether it be holidays, ceremonies, or even the manner of death in some extreme cases. Based off the traditions established by these religions, societies soon formed and grew while strictly following the word of god, which, in modern days, has been collected into a single collective book. Three books exist between the religions. The Torah for Judaism, the Bible for Christianity, and the Qur’an for Islam. These books detail a certain creed or code through the use of anecdotes and parables, but are generally boiled down to a list which can vary in size from Christianity’s Ten Commandments to Judaism’s 613 laws, regardless of the rhetoric displayed in the enormous amount of pages written throughout the three texts. These laws are generally simplistic and followable without much thought, unless of course if one is a philosopher, in which case there is always room for questioning. However, Judaism in particular, having 613 separate laws, becomes very specific in their laws which range from what to eat when all the way up to what kind of punishment a man should receive if he has been caught committing a crime. Some of the harsher laws have been repealed or amended, but ascetic courts still exist in closed Jewish society, with some places still following Jewish law to a T (however this practice is rare outside of middle eastern communities where Judaism rules.) And since the topic of Judaism is fresh on the mind, it shall be the first detailed separately from the others.
There are many themes running through the Old Testament myth of Exodus – slavery, rescue and redemption, guidance, commandments on how to live, the creation of a nation, and God’s power over other gods. In this paper I will explore what appears to be the chief reasoning behind the creation of the Exodus myth – the explanation of the creation of a monotheistic religion and the similarities of the Exodus myth to the ancient myths, as well as how one should approach the reading of the myth.
Around 1400 B.C. Exodus was written in Hebrew. The Exodus, which is one of the books in the Old Testament, are rules, similar to Hammurabi Code placed by God for the descendants of Abram. This literature gives insight into the structure of the Jewish community, which includes the hierarchy of their community as well as the roles important in this community. Scholars can further understand the Hebrew community by reading Genesis. Genesis consists of religious stories that talks about how farming, slavery, and the world came into being. But overall, scholars can see a society very much center on religion.
In Judaism, God is seen as having a contractual relationship with the Jewish people where they must obey his holy laws in return for their status of the chosen people. God rewards or punishes Jewish people based on whether they obey or disobey his will. In parts of the Old Testament, however, God does show mercy or forgiveness, and in later interpretations God’s laws such as the Ten Commandments are followed not only out of loyalty to God but also because of their high moral character.
The Mosaic Covenant from exodus is a promise made between God and the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. To begin with, the pattern of the covenant is very similar to other ancient covenants of that time because it is between God and his people. In the textbook, it explains how the Hebrews have struggled with the pharaoh around 1250 B.C.E. Moses, who was a prince that grew up in the household of the pharaoh, ran away. After returning he led the Hebrew slaves at the bottom of Mount Sinai. God spoke to the Hebrews who he freed them and explained the Ten Commandments. In addition, a quote form the readings “ I am the lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” (Judaism, pg. 397) This quote is the first commandment stating that he,
Ten Commandments shows them how to express their love for Him. Exodus 20 Talks about how the commandments are given as guidelines of worshipping Yahweh. In addition, the Ten Commandments is known as a contract that God gave the Israelites.
Religious texts have been one of the main sources for laws and social customs since the conception of organized religion. Each religious text provides its followers with a code of conduct they are expected to apply to themselves, their actions, and their institutions. This code of conduct applies to the individual, as well as to the government and society to within which the people exist, and ultimately defines what a "just society" is in the context of that religion. Using stories and proverbs this code of conduct, and thus "just society", is not only set, but also shown in examples. In The Bible, the essence of a "just society" is laid out within passages that serve as "the laws", including Deuteronomy, and the Psalms, and in the stories, such as the stories of Job, David, Samuel, and the Family of Adam. The actions and nature of God in these stories are meant to be an example of the values and personality favored by God. In these passages, a structure for a just society is presented, and the values and examples, which are to be referred to and followed in the creation of this "just society", are discussed. However, even within these passages, there are discrepancies between the structure of the ideal "just society" and its values, and the following of these examples by the stories presented in The Bible. One of the most noticeable of these is the difference between the presentation of the ideal "just society" and values that are supposed to be implemented by the people, and the actual justice and values presented in the stories. This is particularly pertaining to the stories of the rulers appointed by God, and the vengeful nature of God himself presented in these stories.
... people. It also shows the dependence of people on God. Moses was a man of courage who sought to see the face of the God. He received the laws of the lord and made sacrifices for them when they sinned. Moses acted as a mediator between Yahweh and his people (Woolfe).