Moses
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his fears by saying to him: “Return into Egypt; for all the men are
dead which sought thy life.”
“And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into
Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have
put in thine hand; but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the
people go.” That is, the display of almighty power before Pharaoh,
being rejected by him, would make him harder and more firm in
his rebellion. His hardness of heart would increase by a continual
resistance of the power of God. But he would overrule the hardness of
Pharaoh’s heart, so that his refusing to let Israel go, would magnify
his name before the Egyptians and before his people also.
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The Lord directed Moses to say unto Pharaoh, “Thus saith the
Lord, Israel is my son, even my first-born. And I say unto thee, Let
my son go, that he may serve me. And if thou refuse to let him go,
behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born.” The Lord called Israel
his first-born, because he had singled them out from all people to be
the depositaries of his law, the obedience of which would preserve
them pure amidst idolatrous nations. He conferred upon them special
privileges, such as were generally conferred upon the first-born son.
As Moses journeyed to Egypt, the angel of the Lord met him and
assumed a threatening posture, as though he would slay him. He was
fearful of his life. He had yielded to the refusal of his wife to have their
son circumcised, and, in compliance with her wishes, had neglected to
obey God. His wife, fearful that her husband might be slain, overcame
her feelings of undue affection for her son, and performed the act
herself. After this, the angel let Moses go. In his mission to Pharaoh,
he was to be placed in a perilous position, where his life would be
exposed to the will of the king, if God did not by his power, through
the presence of his angels, preserve him. While Moses was living
in neglect of one of God’s positive commands, his life would not be
secure, for God’s angels could not protect him while in disobedience.
Therefore, the angel met him in the way and threatened his life. He did
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not explain to Moses why he assumed that threatening aspect. Moses
knew that there was a cause. He was going to Egypt according to
God’s express command, therefore the journey was right. He at once
remembered that he had not obeyed God in performing the ordinance
of circumcision upon his youngest son, and had yielded to his wife’s
entreaties to postpone the ceremony. After he had obeyed the command