What we have learned in Bible Study so far!

Exodus 1-4.

The birth and rescue of Moses.

• We spent some time talking about the circumstances of Moses' birth, and that he does not have a known father nor do we know when he was born (sometime between 1700 and 1550 BC).  Like many who serve God, the personal or family details are not known as they are not of real importance.  The story of Moses is a foreshadowing of our Lord's own life in many ways.  The threat to the lives of the unborn is not a recent problem in the world.

Moses Rebels.

• This section of Chapter 2 explains how Moses as a person of privilege is called to account by the suffering of those less fortunate than himself.  Suffering opens his eyes.
• The threat the Hebrew makes against Moses is surprising on one hand but maybe it demonstrates the serious bitterness that had developed among the Hebrews against the Egyptians due to the Hebrew's fall from a privileged life to one of being a slave.

The Burning Bush:  God Reveals Himself to Moses.

• The sacred Truth God reveals to Moses by means of His Name is that He has no past and no future.  God is both revelation (totally in the present) and being itself (all things rely on Him).
• God is giving Moses the ability to callupon Him, to seek Him and His power to accomplish his many tasks as a liberator.

The Human Person: the Image of God

The human person is created in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27).

1. In the human person Heaven and Earth touch one another.
2. In the human person God enters His creation; the human person is directly related to God.
3. Every person is called by Him. God's words in the Bible are valid and true for every human being.
4. Each person is known by God and loved by Him. Each person is willed by God, and each is God's holy image.

In these four statements are found the deeper and greater unity of all mankind.  Our faith explains that each of us, each individual person realizes God and has his or her origin.  The Bible says that whoever violates a human being violates God (Gen 9:5).

Human life stands under God's special protection, because each human being, however wretched or exalted he or she may be, however sick or suffering, however good-for-nothing or important, whether born of unborn, whether incurably ill or radiant with with health, each person bears God's breath in himself or herself, each one is God's image.

When a person is no longer seen being under God's protection and bearing His breath then the person begins to be viewed in utilitarian fashion.  It is then that human dignity is trampled upon.  By vice versa:  When human dignity is realized and protected under God, then a high degree of spirituality and morality is plainly evident.