Fr. Dave's Thoughts - April 4, 2025

Dear friends,

I want to begin where I left off with my last blog on the subject of the Bible, and that is with the outline of the Pentateuch.

·      The beginning of humanity (Genesis 1-11)

·      Abraham’s story (Genesis 12-25)

·      Jacob’s story (Genesis 26-36)

·      Joseph’s story (Genesis 37-50)

·      Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 1-12)

·      Israelites delivered from Egypt (Exodus 12-15)

·      Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 15-18)

·      Israelites at Mount Saini (Exodus 19-40; all of Leviticus, Numbers 1-10)

·      Wilderness wanderings (Numbers 11-21)

·      Encampment on the Plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho (Numbers 22-36; and the whole book of Deuteronomy)[i]

In Genesis, there are four basic themes: the beginning of humanity, the Abraham cycle or the story of Abraham, the Jacob cycle, or the story of Jacob, and the Joseph cycle, the story of Joseph. This book covers a lot of ground, from Adam and Eve, all the way to the death of Joseph. Following Joseph’s death, the Israelites became slaves in the land of Egypt which is where the book of Exodus begins. In Genesis, we find the stories of creation, the flood and the story of Noah and his ark, the Tower of Babel, and the covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is the book where circumcision became the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and his offspring, and where the twelve children of Jacob are first recognized in the twelve tribes of Israel.

That’s’ Genesis from 10,000 feet. After the book of Genesis, we find the book of Exodus.

Here we have the story of Moses. As an infant, Moses is hidden by his mother in a basket among the reeds that line the river. She does this to protect him from Pharoah’s order to have all the male children of the Hebrew people drowned in the Nile. He was rescued by the daughter of the Pharoah and Moses’ mother, through a series of events, was chosen to nurse Moses.

As a young man, Moses kills an Egyptian out of anger and he flees to Midian. God finds Moses and appears to him in the burning bush. God calls on Moses to lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. Moses and his brother Aaron confront Pharoah, but Pharoah refuses to let the Israelites go. So, we read about a series of plagues that occur within Egypt. The first plague is when the Nile is turned into blood. The second plague is frogs, the third is gnats, the fourth is flies, the fifth is disease brought upon the livestock in Egypt, the sixth is boils, the seventh plague is hail, the eighth is locusts, the ninth is three days of darkness and the tenth and final plague is the death of the firstborn in Egypt. This of course is where the Passover is instituted. Following this is the story of the flight of the Israelites and their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. The rest of Exodus concerns the Israelites journey through the wilderness including their stint at Mount Sinai where Moses is given the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments appear in Exodus chapter 20. It is at Sinai where the golden calf is constructed as the idol that the Israelites look to when they are afraid that something had happened to Moses, as he was delayed from coming back down Mount Sinai. It is in Exodus that we read about the manna which God rained down from heaven to feed the Israelites and the water that gushed out of the rock to make sure that they had water to drink. Exodus ends when the tabernacle is set up and finished and God’s glory fills the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a mobile sanctuary that held the Ark of the Covenant which contained the Ten Commandments.

I think that Genesis and Exodus are books that are pretty familiar to us. Next week, I will continue with Leviticus and maybe Numbers. We will have to see how far we can get.  

Peace,

Dave.