Come and Go
- Posted on FebpmThu, 02 Feb 2017 17:04:56 -06002017-02-02T17:04:56-06:0005 17, 2016
- in Bible, Bo, God, Hebrew, Messiah, Pesach, Study, Torah, Yeshua
- by Hallelujah Girl
It’s time to dive in to the final three plagues of the Exodus! Redemption is coming! Egypt is getting ready to give birth to a new nation. Just as a woman in labor must be dilated to 10 centimeters, so must Egypt go through 10 plagues. Enter Parashah Bo. Bo is often translated in our English Bibles as “Go”, however in the Hebrew text Bo means “Come”.
“HASHEM said to Moses, “Come (Go) to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart and the heart of his servants stubborn so that I can put these signs of Mine in his midst.” ~Exodus 10:1
Why the difference? Good question! The Hebrew word “Bo”(בא) means to come in, come, go in, go, or change position. The first time bo is used in scripture is Genesis 2:19, “Adonai Elohim had formed from the ground every animal of the field and every flying creature of the sky, so He brought them to the man to see what he would call them..” . Bo consists of two Hebrew letters, beit-alef. The letter beit is a picture of a tent or a floorplan of a house. The alef symbolizes a leader, a chief, or strength. In other words, the Holy One, in Exodus 10:1 is saying to Moses, “Come with Me, I have the plan.”
Moses is about to enter Pharaoh’s domain, the very palace where the Pharoah is king and master, one might call it his “Sanctuary”. Pharaoh considered himself a god, and this was his house. What the Holy One is showing Moses is that evil has no power here, “Come”. Franklin D Roosevelt, in his inaugural address, said “There is nothing to fear but fear itself“. FDR must have read the portion “Bo” because that is exactly what the Holy One is showing Moses.
Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh to see if he could see the truth and bow to the Divine will of The Holy One. Unfortunately repentance was not going to happen, so Moses warns that HASHEM is going to send in the locusts. Pharaoh’s servants pleaded with him, “Egypt is lost, how long are you going to keep this up? Be sensible, set them free!” Pharaoh drove Moses and Aaron out of the palace and the Holy One blew in the locusts.
According to the Midrash these were no ordinary locusts. They were an army of wonder-insects, miraculously equipped with special organs to wound and kill the Egyptians. They possessed teeth like iron, horns resembling those of oxen, claws like lions, wings like eagles, and writhing backs like snakes. Their saliva was like deadly poison. They ate everything, they were insatiable. There were so many locust that they darkened the sky, covered the surface of the earth, and stopped up all the wells. Everything that the hail hadn’t destroyed, the locusts devoured. The Holy One changed the direction of the wind to send in the locusts, for they came from the east. After begging for forgiveness, Moses prayed and the Holy One brought a strong west wind to carry the insects away.
Pharaoh might have asked for forgiveness, but he still wasn’t ready for any kind of true repentance. So the Holy One told Moses to stretch his hand toward heaven and bring “Darkness” over the land. This darkness was no ordinary darkness. The Hebrew word used here is choshek, חשך, meaning darkness or obscurity. If you know about the “law of firsts”, to fully understand the word choshek you can go to the first time it is used in scripture. This darkness was the darkness that was before G~d said, “Let there be light!”
“Now the earth was chaos and waste, darkness (coshek) was on the surface of the deep, and and the Ruach (Spirit) Elohim was hovering upon the surface of the water.” ~Genesis 1:2
This was a thick compact mass that enveloped the land of Egypt. A man who might be standing had to remain in that position, unable to sit. The man who was sitting could no longer get up. The Egyptians were immobile in the dense darkness. Pharaoh summoned Moses once again and tells him to “Go” but this time commands the Children of Israel must leave their animals behind. After Moses refuses this deal, Pharaoh orders Moses to leave and he never wanted to see his face again or Moses would face death.
Vowing to Pharaoh that he would never see Moses’ face again, the Holy One tells Moses about the final plague. This time Pharaoh will allow Moses and the Children to leave, not only allow, but drive them out of Egypt. The Holy One Himself would slay all the first-born of Egypt.
The Holy One marks the beginning of months in this portion, the first month of the year for the Children of Israel. It was the “Birth-day” of the Nation of Israel. This is the concept of being born-again. Nicodemus ask Yeshua in John chapter 3, “How can a man be born when he is old? …He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” Yeshua replied, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of G~d. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Living in the land of Goshen (meaning “drawing near”), a region of Egypt, the Children of Israel have been multiplying. Egypt or Mitsrayim (mits-rah-yim) in Hebrew comes from the root matsowr (mah-tsor) meaning besieged places or fortress. Matsowr comes from the root verb tsuwr (tsur) meaning confined, cramped, or enclosed. As the Children of Israel prepare to leave they begin the “Passover” requirements. They are preparing to be “born” out of darkness and into the light. Betrothing themselves to the Holy One Himself.
What matters here my friends is that we have specific instructions in this portion (Exodus 10:1-2) that these signs are supposed to be told to our children. How else do we make a change in this world, but to teach the things of Torah. The events that take place here demonstrate the Holy One’s mastery. The signs are to teach all generations that the Holy One can toy with the most powerful kingdoms because He Was, He Is, and He Will Be! The key to repentance and righteousness is submissiveness before the Holy One. After 10 plagues you cannot miss Who has control. Redemption comes after letting go of our stubbornness and seeing truth. Once you’ve been redeemed, “Go and sin no more”!
Shalom, Happy Day 🙂
Hallelujah Girl
Bo (Come/Go)
Torah: Exodus 10:1-13:16
Haftarah: Jeremiah 46:13-28
Gospel: Mark 3:7-19
Tags: #ReadYourBible #ItsAllAboutYeshua #TorahIsTruth, Hebrew, Jesus, Passover, Yeshua