Chapter 5

Lesson 1

Moses

Egypt

For 400 years the Israelites lived in Egypt.By then the Pharaoh had forgotten the Israelites

special relationship with the Egyptians and he enslaved them. The Israelites were great in number, for they were blessed by God and they had the best land. This troubled Pharaoh, for he thought if there was war, the Israelites could over-throw the Egyptians. As a solution, Pharaoh decided to kill all the male Hebrew babies. This would decrease their numbers, and as the Egyptians could then marry the Israelite women, they would regain the best land.

Turn to page 35 in your textbook.

• Moses being drawn from the Nile. (Ex 2:1-10)

• Moses fleeing Egypt to Midian (Ex 2:11-25)

• God addresses Moses from the Burning bush (Ex 3:1-22)

God’s providence in the life of Moses.

• How was God able to save Moses?

• How did God inspire Moses’ mother to care for him?

• How did God prepare Moses for his great mission?

God revealed his name to be Yahweh, which means “I AM.”

This points to the eternal nature of our God who was, is, and always will be. This mystery is expressed in the prayer of the Glory Be.

The Call of Moses

Why did God answer the prayers of the enslaved Hebrew?

Why was Moses attracted to the burning bush?

What did God say to Moses?

Why did God reveal his name?

Why did God have Moses remove his shoes?

Moses removed his shoes because he was in the presence of God. God deserves adoration. How can we “take off our shoes” before the Lord?

Moses and the CarmeliteThe beginning of the Carmelite Order

dates back to the eleventh century, or perhaps even earlier. A community of hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land took their inspiration from the prophet Elijah and strove to live in deep union with God. Due to the increased European presence in the Holy Land during the Crusades, some of the Carmelites traveled to Europe around the thirteenth century. Carmelites dedicate their lives to contemplation and union with God, and some Carmelites do not wear shoes because of God’s command to Moses to remove his shoes.