The Fallibility of Man Exposed in The Bible Essay

While Moses is up at the Mountain of Sinai receiving the 10 Commandments from God, the people began to become worried. They urged Aaron, their temporary leader, to make an idol because they believed that Moses had either died or left them. As a result, Aaron melted their gold earrings and created a golden calf, which the people began to worship. The Lord of the Flies by George Orwell alludes to the story of the Golden Calf, where the pig’s head served as the “golden-calf”. The pig’s head symbolizes the root of evil and corruption in humanity; sin.

I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation. “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to

To begin with, one reason I would follow Moses out of Egypt is because the Hebrews were slaves. For instance, the Hebrews were oppressed. According to Document 2, it tells us that Moses saw a Hebrew slave being mistreated. This means that the slaves were mistreated while being in Egypt. Document 2 supports my reason because it tells us that an innocent slave was being wronged.

“Quick, go down, for your people that I brought up from Egypt has acted ruinously… My wrath may flare against them, and I will put an end to them and I will make you a great nation.” (Exodus 32:6) God is quick to say that he will destroy all of them, and build his chosen people back up anew, like he has done before. It’s interesting that God uses the phrase ‘your people’, seemingly distancing himself from his own creation, before he destroys it. Moses is quick to come to the aid of the Israelites and explain why they should be spared. Moses explains that to smite down his people, so soon after liberating them from Egypt would just confirm the thoughts of the Egyptians; that the Israelites are not in fact chosen by God, and that their god is a false one. This liberation of his people is what signified to humanity all over that their god is the most powerful. God used an enslaved people to take on the Egyptians, who were an incredibly powerful people; showing how awe inspiring their god is. Moses then goes on to bring up the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, “You swore by Yourself… ‘I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I said, I will give to your seed, and they will hold it in estate forever.’” (Exodus 32:13). To destroy their progeny would be to renege on the promise made to them. Moses seems to cater to some

First: to suggest that the Bible is true is to advocate that what it means is true; moreover, what it means is fashioned by the genres in which the Bible is spoken, the outlooks and its disposition it takes regarding history and the techniques by which cultural contexts were shaped and the meanings of the words that it uses.

“Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27) is one of the most fundamental questions that Jesus asked his disciples. It is a question, from my personal viewpoint, that has a simple answer. Jesus is Lord! Needless to say, there is more to the identity of Jesus, but it is my belief that Jesus is the Messiah, the second person of the Holy Trinity. He is the promised Savior foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets. There is an endless list that gives Jesus titles such as Ruler and King, Master and Teacher, Savior and Christ, but in Acts 2:36 Luke writes, “God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Jesus is the one who went to the Cross to bring humankind forgiveness, redemption, and salvation.

As Moses grows he becomes aware of his lineage and takes notice to how oppressed his people are in Egypt. While leading a flock out on the side of a mountain the angel of Jehovah appears in a flame and a bush begins to burn. The bush does not erupt into ash and Moses is awestruck. God calls to Moses and begins to relay him his destiny. God says “I have surely seen the affliction of my people that are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows, and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians… and unto a land flowing with milk and honey”

This is important because, yet again, we see God continuing to keep his covenant with Abraham by providing his presence for Moses. In the verse before this we see Moses began to question God and fight the calling that God had placed on him. God is also telling Moses that he will not deliver the Israelites by himself, or on his own accord. He will do it by God’s encouragement and strength. This is God telling Moses to have faith in him.

To escape persecution from Pharaoh, Moses flees to Midian. By leaving his familiar surroundings, Moses finds himself crossing a threshold into a foreign land. To get to Midian, Moses must cross the Desert of Sin. The crossing of the threshold is the first step into the sacred zone of the universal source (Campbell 81). In Midian, he befriends and then marries the daughter of Jethro, priest of Midian. Moses becomes a shepherd as he adjusts to his new life. There is an enormous contrast between Moses' life as an Egyptian prince and his life as a Midianite shepherd. As a prince he had everything done for him. As a shepherd he had to do everything for himself; he was holding the very job that he had been taught to despise, and he lived as an unknown foreigner. This was a humbling experience for Moses. Living the life of a shepherd and nomad, Moses learned about the ways of the people he would be leading and also about life in the desert. Campbell would say that Moses was swallowed into the belly of the whale (Campbell 90). Moses couldn't appreciate these lessons, but they were preparing him to free Israel from Pharaoh's

Moses was a humble man, but God sees that he is mightier than Moses sees himself. When God tells him that he must lead the Jews out of Egypt, he grows fearful and unworthy of such a task. Moses humility toward God is what makes him capable of such a tremendous mission. Although, he would have much rather not lead the Jews out of Egypt because he is afraid and does not have faith in himself, however, he is able to do it because God has told him to and God would not ask him to do so if it was impossible. Moses successfully leads the Hebrews out of Egypt. Moses was capable of freeing the Jews of slavery with a quality of humility (No Title, 1986).

The Old Testament depicts sin and unintended consequences with stories, like The Tower of Bible and the Golden Calf. Neither story illustrates direct sin or disobedience, however, they do show God’s way of punishment for sin and disobedience, with a touch of irony. The Old Testament utilizes these stories as teachings that can be seen as rise and fall, or sin before punishment through the “law of unintended consequences.” The Tower of Babel, a story in Genesis 11, is centered on a community that want to become more unified and create a good name for themselves.

Horeb. While he on the mountain, he saw a burning bush. Through this bush, God spoke to him. Moses was to go and command the Hebrew people to be released of their bondage. However, Moses didn’t believe he was adequately equipped to fulfill this call that God had for him. The Bible tells us that Moses was slow to speak and this was a reason that Moses felt unequipped. God gave Moses the courage to do what he desired him to do because God told Moses that He was the one that created him so He could use him however necessary. Moses was then to go to Pharaoh and command that the people be let go. This was a huge and daring undertaking for Moses. He went to Pharaoh and said what God told him to say. Of course, Pharaoh refused to let them go. Since the Israelites were a huge economic asset to Egypt, Pharaoh did not want to lose all his slaves. Also, the Israelites lived a hard life and therefore did not possess the courage they needed in this time to leave and live a life outside of Egypt. Pharaoh not only refused the request of Moses, he also made the people work harder and increased their work. This led to God sending ten plagues on Egypt because of Pharaoh’s denial. The plagues that God sent on Egypt affected all the Egyptian people, but it did not affect the Hebrew people in Egypt. These ten plagues were: water turned into blood, frogs, lice, flies, murrain, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and

In The Book of Genesis, readers are informed that “the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his household with mighty plagues on account of Sarai, the wife of Abram” (12.17). This primary text clearly signifies the “measure for measure” interpretive tool because it involves punishment and/or reward corresponding to its antecedent. Abram is worried about protecting himself, but the Lord’s reaction was mainly focused upon the safety and protection of both himself and mostly his wife. It is clearly stated that the plague was because of Sarai, or “on account of Sarai”, which can be literally interpreted as it is for the sake of Sarai. Even though there is no evidence of adultery, one speculates the

The story of creation and the fall of man are the mainly studied and more diligently and critically analyzed in the Bible. They are contained in the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis. The creation story is highly criticized in light of scientists and other non believers due the controversy that exist between science and religion. While science is subjective, Religion is objective and thus based on opinion. Nevertheless, the Bible appears more correct and truthful compared the evolution theories. There are more questions than answers in the revolution theory, for instance, how can a monkey turn into human being? And if that’s the case why aren’t the modern monkey turn into human beings? In that case, the Bible stands to be the better version in regard to the beginning of human race. I am a Christian, a fully devoted one, and my analysis of the creation story is based on the Bible, and more specifically, on the first three chapters of the book of Genesis as contained in the New International Version (NIV).

Who is man? Yet what is man? That one can think so highly of himself to be the oracle of God’s word. To justify or to exempt the truths of the Word that manifested Him in the flesh to dwell among all men of the earth. (1 Tim. 3:16, John 1:1-14 KJV) It is true that God’s way of thinking is not the way a man thinks. For His thoughts are above His own creation, not to be misconstrued as a King without mercy however, it is within the mercy and grace of The King to grant such wisdom to be penned for the human population as guidance and instruction to obtain wisdom from His Son.(2 Tim. 3:16 ,Isaiah 40:8, Psalms 119:105 KJV)