Special Sub-Topic: The Biblical Story of Moses Click Here To Play: The Biblical Story of Moses

Moses' mother was brave in sending her child, encased in a basket, into the unknown waters of the Nile. Who found and claimed the baby?

Pharaoh's daughter. 'Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said.' (Exodus 2:5-6)

Moses grew up in a royal household despite his humble Hebrew birth. But when he was older, he did something that made Pharaoh so angry that the king tried to kill Moses! What did Moses do?

He killed an Egyptian. 'The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known." When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.' (Exodus 2:14-15)

Moses stayed in the land of Midian after he ran away from Pharaoh. He ended up getting along with a priest of Midian whose name was Jethro. In fact, they got along so well that Jethro let Moses marry one of his daughters. What was her name?

Zipporah. 'Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.' (Exodus 2:21)

Once he married, Moses began a family right away, as was customary in Biblical times. What was his first son's name?

Gershom. 'Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom.' (Exodus 2:22)

While Moses' family affairs are interesting, let's move on to some more enlightening aspects of his life. At what mountain did he encounter the burning bush, where the Lord spoke to him?

Horeb. 'Now Moses was tending the flocks of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire, it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight - why the bush does not burn up." When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."' (Exodus 3:1-4)

Why did God send Moses back into Egypt?

To demand that Pharaoh release the Hebrews into the desert. "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.'" (Exodus 3:18)

Which of the following was NOT a plague sent into Egypt by the Lord?

Plague of snakes. The plagues of blood (Exodus 7:14-24), frogs (Exodus 8:1-15), gnats (8:16-19), flies (Exodus 8:20-32), livestock (Exodus 9:1-7), boils (Exodus 9:8-12), hail (Exodus 9:13-35), locusts (Exodus 10:1-20), darkness (10:21-29), and the firstborn (11:1-12:33) STILL weren't enough to soften Pharaoh's heart!

What did the Lord tell Moses to do in order for the Israelites to flee from Pharaoh?

'Raise his staff and stretch his hand over the sea'. This event is directly quoted from Exodus 14:16.

After they crossed the Red Sea, the Israelites' thoughts turned to their hunger, and all the wonderful food they had left behind in Egypt. With what did the Lord provide them?

Manna and quail. 'That evening, quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat...' (Exodus 16:13-15)

Moses went up the the mountain more than once to get the Ten Commandments, because he broke the first set.

t. 'The Lord said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke."' (Exodus 34: 1)

Moses' sister, Miriam, was a prophetess as well as a singer.

t. 'Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister [since Aaron was Moses' brother, that means Moses was Miriam's brother as well], took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the Lord for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea!"' (Exodus 15:20-21)

One tribe of the original twelve of Israel the Lord chose to carry out priestly duties. Which tribe was it?

The Tribe of Levi. Several times in the Old Testament, the Lord mentions the Levites carrying things to and from the Tabernacle, making offerings and such. Examples include Numbers 3, which list the individual duties of certain tribesmen, and Leviticus 8-10, which tells of the first high priests who died because they did not obey the Lord, and Numbers 16:8-10, which directly quotes Moses as saying that the Levites were set apart by the Lord to be priests.

Why did the Lord prevent Moses from entering the Promised Land?

Moses had sinned by not having faith in the Lord (by striking the rock, and not speaking to it, as commanded by God). '"...Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink." So Moses took the staff from the Lord's presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and the livestock drank. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."' (Numbers, 20:8-12)

The Lord gave many rules to the Israelites regarding clean and unclean food. Which of the following was NOT considered unclean? (Unclean does not, in this case, mean sinful, but it does mean that the Israelites should not eat it.)

Gazelle. These instructions are made clear in Deuteronomy 14. Many believe the Lord was looking out for his people by helping them to decide which animals were safe to eat and which may have made them sick. Obviously, the ancient Hebrews could not take the kind of sanitary measures we can take today in dealing with the preparation of food!

Who was Moses' successor?

Joshua. 'The Lord said to Moses, "Now the day of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, where I will commission him."' (Deuteronomy 31:14)