God does not know yet again…

Exodus 4:8 says, “And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

4:9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.”  Why doesn’t god know if the Hebrews will believe Moses?  I thought that he was omniscient?

He uses a snake?

Exodus 4:1 says, “And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

4:2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

4:3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

4:4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:”  Why would god choose a snake for this act.  I thought snakes were cursed?   Exodus 3:14 says, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”  Maybe he should have chosen something the Israelites could have identified with better.  Like the sheep that magically appeared in the herds of Jacob.  Like the sheep that magically appeared in the herds of Jacob, that would have been good for them.

God will give the Hebrews favor

Exodus 3:21 says, “And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty.”  When have god not given these people favor?  Oh yeah, when god let them become slaves.

Why would Pharaoh listen to god?

Exodus 3:18 says, “And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.

3:19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.”  Why would Pharaoh, a god, listen to a bunch of Hebrews, let alone let them go out and worship in the wilderness.  Letting them leave defeats the idea that they were slaves, let alone the fact that he probably wouldn’t understand why they wouldn’t want to worship him?  He is a god and right there in front of them, after all.

I AM THAT I AM

Exodus 3:13 says, “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”  Moses has a legitimate question and god yells at him with a childish answer.  If someone told me “I AM THAT I AM sent me,” I’d think he was nuts. 

Move them where?

Exodus 3:8 says, “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”  So god is going to move them out of the land of their oppressors and give them the good land of other people.  Didn’t he create them also?  Why would he take their land and give it to the Israelites?  Did he ask the other tribes their permission?  

Slavery is bad if you are not god’s favorites

Exodus 3:7 says, “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;”

 Didn’t I read a while ago that the Hebrews had slaves?  I guess god doesn’t hear their cry.  Maybe the Israelites were nice taskmasters, but isn’t slavery wrong to any slave?  I wish we could just ask Bilhah and Zilpah, who were Jacob’s servants (slaves,) and ask them how they felt as they were impregnated by their taskmaster.