sister was lurking nearby, to see what would happen, and to intervene if necessary.
Thus, God continued His perfect plan to rescue the people of Israel. The Pharaoh’s
daughter, who came down to the Nile to bathe, heard the baby crying. The girls who
accompanied her saw that he was beautiful, born of the people of Israel. They
needed a nurse to breastfeed him. Was his sister (who was nearby) called by
accident? In turn, did she call the child’s mother incidentally? Definitely not! The
child was brought to the Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son.
Thus, Moses, besides the special education that he received at the Pharaoh’s court,
grew up in the tradition and faith of the Hebrew people. The Pharaoh’s daughter
named him Moses, which means “taken out” of water. However, in reality he was
God’s messenger (The Bible, The Old Testament, Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrew,
ch. 11, verse 23–27).
Moses is the most prominent man of the pre-Christian period. An entire life lived
in different environments opened him new horizons. He spent 40 years at the
Pharaoh’s palace, as the adopted son of the famous queen Hatseput, with real
chances to become the heir to the throne. The formation of his strong personality
continued by another 40 years spent in the wilderness, in solitude; the harshness of
his life as a pastor developed in Moses the traits of a consistent warrior and
familiarized him with the harsh conditions of the desert, where he would lead the
Hebrew people for another 40 years. Although he was commissioned directly by
God to deliver the people of Israel, at the age of 80, we notice that He oscillated
invoking all sorts of reasons. However, being assured of divine help, and being
granted the power to work miracles, in the end, he left the desert and went to Egypt,
where he met with his brother Aron and they went together to the Pharaoh.
Insisting in front of the Pharaoh, telling him that the God of the Jewish showed
Himself and asked them to obey His voice, they asked: “Now let us take a three-day
journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God” (The Bible, The
Old Testament, The Book Exodus, ch. 5, verse 3). The perky and ruthless Pharaoh
commanded the supervisors at the Israelites’ workplace to worsen their working
conditions, requiring them to produce the same number of bricks, without providing
them the necessary straw. Moreover, he banished the officers of the people of Israel
who went to complain, insulting them: “You are lazy!” Moses was disappointed; he
turned to the Lord and asked: “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this
people? Is this why you sent me?” (The Bible, The Old Testament, The Book
Exodus, ch. 5, verse 15, 17 and 22). Even nowadays, we behave like Moses.
When God tests us, in order to prepare us for a work, we get discouraged at the
first hurdle. In our opinion, in such moments, it would be a good idea to remember
King David’s famous “song”: “Even though I walk/through the darkest valley,/I
will fear no evil,/for you are with me;/your rod and your staff,/they comfort me”
(Psalm 23, verse 3 and 4).
From that moment on, God began to carry out the liberation process of the
people of Israel from the Egyptian slavery that had lasted 400 years, as He had
decided in advance. The Pharaoh’s disobedience and the hardness of his heart
triggered ten plagues known and confirmed by human history, mostly by archaeological discoveries. The ten plagues were aimed against the gods of Egypt, in order
14
C. Jurca ˘ and A. Buzarna-Tihenea (Ga ˘lbeaza ˘)
Thus, God continued His perfect plan to rescue the people of Israel. The Pharaoh’s
daughter, who came down to the Nile to bathe, heard the baby crying. The girls who
accompanied her saw that he was beautiful, born of the people of Israel. They
needed a nurse to breastfeed him. Was his sister (who was nearby) called by
accident? In turn, did she call the child’s mother incidentally? Definitely not! The
child was brought to the Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son.
Thus, Moses, besides the special education that he received at the Pharaoh’s court,
grew up in the tradition and faith of the Hebrew people. The Pharaoh’s daughter
named him Moses, which means “taken out” of water. However, in reality he was
God’s messenger (The Bible, The Old Testament, Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrew,
ch. 11, verse 23–27).
Moses is the most prominent man of the pre-Christian period. An entire life lived
in different environments opened him new horizons. He spent 40 years at the
Pharaoh’s palace, as the adopted son of the famous queen Hatseput, with real
chances to become the heir to the throne. The formation of his strong personality
continued by another 40 years spent in the wilderness, in solitude; the harshness of
his life as a pastor developed in Moses the traits of a consistent warrior and
familiarized him with the harsh conditions of the desert, where he would lead the
Hebrew people for another 40 years. Although he was commissioned directly by
God to deliver the people of Israel, at the age of 80, we notice that He oscillated
invoking all sorts of reasons. However, being assured of divine help, and being
granted the power to work miracles, in the end, he left the desert and went to Egypt,
where he met with his brother Aron and they went together to the Pharaoh.
Insisting in front of the Pharaoh, telling him that the God of the Jewish showed
Himself and asked them to obey His voice, they asked: “Now let us take a three-day
journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God” (The Bible, The
Old Testament, The Book Exodus, ch. 5, verse 3). The perky and ruthless Pharaoh
commanded the supervisors at the Israelites’ workplace to worsen their working
conditions, requiring them to produce the same number of bricks, without providing
them the necessary straw. Moreover, he banished the officers of the people of Israel
who went to complain, insulting them: “You are lazy!” Moses was disappointed; he
turned to the Lord and asked: “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this
people? Is this why you sent me?” (The Bible, The Old Testament, The Book
Exodus, ch. 5, verse 15, 17 and 22). Even nowadays, we behave like Moses.
When God tests us, in order to prepare us for a work, we get discouraged at the
first hurdle. In our opinion, in such moments, it would be a good idea to remember
King David’s famous “song”: “Even though I walk/through the darkest valley,/I
will fear no evil,/for you are with me;/your rod and your staff,/they comfort me”
(Psalm 23, verse 3 and 4).
From that moment on, God began to carry out the liberation process of the
people of Israel from the Egyptian slavery that had lasted 400 years, as He had
decided in advance. The Pharaoh’s disobedience and the hardness of his heart
triggered ten plagues known and confirmed by human history, mostly by archaeological discoveries. The ten plagues were aimed against the gods of Egypt, in order
14
C. Jurca ˘ and A. Buzarna-Tihenea (Ga ˘lbeaza ˘)