This week’s Audio, Video, and Teaching Notes are posted here. Honest to Moses – Blotting Out the Sons of Moses – Class Seven (The Mountain / Name of God; The Sons of Moses; Gershom – A Stranger There; Eliezer – El is My Help; Moses Returns to Egypt; Exodus – This Great Thing; Moses – Forgive Them or Wipe Me Out from Your Book; Unpacking Biblical Genealogies; Micah’s House of God; Jonathan the Young Levite from the Family of Judah – The Grandson of Moses; Attacks Against the Mosaic Priesthood; There Was No King in Israel; Everyone Did What was Right in His Own Eyes; The People Reject YHVH as King; Samuel Writes the Torah of the King; Listen to the Voice of YHVH Your God and Do What is Right in His Eyes) June 26, 2021 – Ross Nichols Honest to Moses – Blotting Out the Sons of Moses – Class Seven Audio/Video Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_EyJq-oUm0 https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/honest-to-moses-blotting-out-the-sons-of-moses- class-seven/ Teaching Notes Link: https://unitedisraelworldunion.com/wp- content/uploads/2021/06/2021.6.26-Honest-to-Moses-Blotting-Out-the-Sons-of- Moses-Class-Seven.pdf TODAY’S INTRODUCTION -Welcome to United Israel World Union, this is our Sabbath morning scripture study coming to you live from the United Israel Center in Saint Francisville, Louisiana. Many of you are in your own place today, alone, Shabbat Shalom and thank you for joining us this morning. We need one another to help us go through what the world is going through today. I pray that all of you and the ones that you care for remain healthy today and throughout the coronavirus. -We have currently moved into a new study called “Honest to Moses”, which began May 8, 2021. This will be a very lengthy, in-depth, seat of the chair teaching that will challenge you. Many of you who have followed these teachings for awhile are quite prepared and equipped for what’s to follow in the text because we are going to be “Honest to Moses”. This series builds upon things that we’ve covered in the past. What I’ve presented to this point has been purposely presented in the order in which it was and in the manner in which it was in order to prepare us for this series. Our previous series on Prophet – “The Servant” will weave together in the biblical text with our new series “Honest to Moses”, a Quest for the Historical Moses. -If you find things in our classes on the quest for the historical Moses are cause for alarm in your spiritual quest, please don’t let it be so. We are looking at the biblical text in a way that few people look at it. Most people follow their traditional views of the text, and they have answers to the questions that are built on their particular theological views. I’m looking at the texts and letting the text speak for itself. I will not apologize for the texts of the bible, but rather present the text as it’s presented. Only then can we get closer to the original intent of the authors. TEACHING NOTES -Today we continue our quest for the historical Moses, and we are on Class 7 in our series called, “Honest to Moses”. Today’s class is called “Blotting Out the Sons of Moses”. The past few weeks I’ve been developing a theme where we’re tracking along in the scriptures, those who are associated with the family of Moses. We began by talking about the Levitical genealogy that brings us Moses and how his father (Amram) and mother (Jochebed) are Levitical and how Moses is part of the Levitical line. Moses has a brother named Aaron and a sister named Mariam and how in birth order we have Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. All three of them are listed in the prophetic Book of Mica in Chapter 6:4 where they are linked together as being co-partners in the redemption that took place from the land of Egypt. -Mic 6: 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. -Today I want to begin to focus on the idea that when Moses is among this Midianite / Kenite group it’s through this group that he seeks refuge from Pharaoh and Egypt. During his sojourn with this priestly family of Jethro / Ruel / Hobab (One man – three names) that he learned about an incredibly special place, the mountain of God. Moses becomes aware of this particular place when he is within the western edge of Midianite grazing grounds shepherding his father-in-law’s flock and it’s here that he comes upon the mountain of God. This mountain of God is known as such, prior to the revelation at Sinai / Horeb where the law is given. Before the Ten Commandments are spoken, from the mountain, from the midst of the fire, on the day of assembly, this is a sacred place and has been for a long time. It’s known among these desert tribes as the mountain of God before it’s known to the Hebrews. However, the Hebrew revelation and the Hebrew revolution that comes from that revelation clearly put the mountain of God on the map, figuratively. -During his sojourn with the Midianite / Kenite people Moses also learns a new name for God. Prior to this, Moses and all the children of Israel did not know the name of God, yod-hey-vav-hey (YHVH), as revealed in Exodus 3 and Exodus 6. From among the Midianite / Kenite people group Moses marries a woman named Zipporah, the daughter of the priest of Midian. Known initially as Ruel (Exodus 2:18), as Jethro (Exodus 3:1), and as Hobab (Numbers 10:29+). In Numbers 10 Hobab is made to look like Moses’ brother-in-law but from Judges 1:16 and Judges 4:11 we learn that Hobab is yet another name of the priest on Midian, father-in-law of Moses. Today we’ll begin to take an in- depth look concerning the family of Moses, focusing particularly on the sons of Moses. The title of today’s class is called, “Blotting Out the Sons of Moses”. Why would anyone want to minimize the importance of the sons of Moses? -Exo 2: 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, "How is it that you have come home so soon today?" 19 They said, "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock." 20 He said to his daughters, "Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread." 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land." -The name of this son Gershom will be sort of an overriding theme that I’ll build upon today. I’ll talk about the sons of Moses. We’ll look at Gershom and about some of the details of the life of Gershom and at the significance of “Ger” – “Shom”. What does it mean to be a stranger there? Ger means stranger or sojourner and Shom means there. -Moses remains among the family of this Midianite priest up until he learns of the death of the Pharaoh who had sought his life. This particular Pharaoh had learned that Moses had killed a person in Egypt and when the matter became known, Moses fled and seeks refuge among the Midianite / Kenites and is given a woman. I believe that Zipporah is also the one known in Numbers 12 as the Cushite woman, which was covered last week. Once Moses learns of the death of this Pharaoh, he goes to Horeb and receives his mission. -Exo 4: 18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace." 19 And YHVH said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead." 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand. -Last week we talked a little bit about the geography and how these trips back and forth seem to indicate a fairly close proximity between the land of Midian and the land of Egypt. You load your wife and kids on a donkey, and you go. It could have been a long donkey ride, but we have other indications which suggest it was fairly accessible / close to the land of Egypt. -Exo 4: 27 YHVH said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. -Somehow Aaron knows where the mountain of God is in the wilderness, and he goes to meet Moses.