The Passover: A Torah Study

A Child Hidden by Faith

In the midst of Pharaoh's decree to drown every Hebrew son, a woman from the tribe of Levi — Jochebed (Yocheved) — gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a beautiful child, and she hid him for three months.

"And when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank." — Shamwath (Exodus) 2:3

His sister Miriam (Miryam) stood at a distance to watch what would happen. Pharaoh's own daughter came to bathe, found the child, and had compassion on him. Through Miryam's quick thinking, Yocheved was hired to nurse her own son. And when he was old enough, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and named him Moses (Moshe) — "because I drew him out of the water."

Yah preserved the very one through whom He would deliver His people — hidden in plain sight, raised in the house of the oppressor.

Moshe's Flight and Forty Years in Midian

As Moshe grew, he saw the suffering of his people. One day he struck down an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew. When Pharaoh learned of it, Moshe fled to the land of Midian. There he married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro (Yithro), and became a shepherd.

For forty years, Moshe tended flocks in the wilderness. He did not know what Yah was preparing him for. But Yah had not forgotten His people.

The Burning Bush

"Now Moshe was tending the flock of Yithro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of Alahim. And the Messenger of Yah appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed." — Shamwath (Exodus) 3:1-2

When Moshe turned aside to look, Yah called to him from within the bush: "Moshe, Moshe!" And he said, "Here I am."

Yah told him:

"I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey." — Shamwath (Exodus) 3:7-8

And then the mission: "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Yasharal, out of Matsarim."

The Sacred Name Revealed

Moshe asked a critical question: "When I come to the children of Yasharal and say to them, 'The Alahim of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' — what shall I say to them?"

"And Alahim said to Moshe, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Yasharal: I AM has sent me to you.' Moreover Alahim said to Moshe, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Yasharal: Yah, Alahim of your fathers, the Alahim of Abraham, the Alahim of Isaac, and the Alahim of Ya'aqob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.'" — Shamwath (Exodus) 3:14-15

Yah gave His name. Not a title. Not a description. His actual name — for all generations. This is the name we honor in this study.

Moshe's Reluctance and Yah's Patience

Moshe protested. He said he was not eloquent. He said they would not listen. He asked Yah to send someone else. Each time, Yah answered him:

• "Who has made man's mouth? Have not I, Yah?" (Shamwath 4:11)
• He gave Moshe signs: the rod that became a serpent, the hand that became leprous and was healed.
• He appointed Aaron (Aharon), Moshe's brother, to speak on his behalf.

Yah does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

Discussion Questions:

1. Yah preserved Moshe through Pharaoh's own household. What does this tell us about how Yah works even through the plans of those who oppose Him?

2. Moshe spent forty years as a shepherd before his calling. Why might Yah have waited so long? What was He preparing in Moshe?

3. Yah revealed His name at the burning bush — "This is My name forever." Why do you think it matters to use His actual name rather than titles?

4. Moshe gave many excuses. How did Yah respond to each one? What does this teach us about how Yah deals with our doubts?