According to his characterization in Exodus, what kind of leader is Moses? What are his admirable qualities, and what are his faults? What does it imply about God that he chooses this kind of man to lead his people?
Moses's story is unique, where anyone can draw inspiring lessons as a leader because he is characterized with admirable traits and principles. However, as a human, some faults were inevitable. Moses stands out as one of the most remarkable leaders in the Old Testament. According to Exodus's story, Moses is characterized as a transformational leader in terms of morals and levels of motivation ( Kent, 2019) . Moses is seen as a resilient leader who never gave up on the Israelites' people despite the Israelites' shortcomings and disobedience. Moses was determined to follow the rules from God as he pleaded with Him to guide the Israelites through Exodus.
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One of the most admirable qualities as a leader was his unwavering obedience to God. Moses was instructed to appear before Pharaoh to request for the release of the Israelites. Also, Moses used his rod to separate the Red Sea for the Israelites to pass through. Besides, God asked Moses to raise his hands throughout the battle for them to defeat their enemies. These remarkable actions illustrate that Moses was utterly obedient to God without any self-assertion towards the instructions' effectiveness ( Kent, 2019) . By obeying all the instructions, Moses demonstrated his stand towards Israelites' expected morals about obeying their God. Another remarkable quality was his patience. Moses was dealing with impatient and anxious Israelites (Ex. 16: 2-3 NIV). As a good leader he was, Moses had to put up with grumbling Israelites. Moses portrayed patience as a good leader when dealing with Israelites problems ( Kent, 2019) .
However, Moses had his faults, which can be used as a learning example. His human faults are illustrated as being passionate and impulsive when he descended Mount Sinai. The Israelites angered Moses because they were not patient enough to wait upon their God. His impulsive anger made him break the Ten Commandments after realizing they had made a god of their own (Ex. 32: 7). When a person reads through Moses's story, God's character is revealed as to why God would choose Moses as His hero. First, God values passionate people who are dedicated to their cause ( Kent, 2019) . God values a human being who is obedient and orderly to carry all the instructions without wavering from the cause of motivation. Also, God would want to choose Moses's character, who is human enough to purpose on the transformation of morals and obedience.
2. Scholars familiar with ancient Egyptians' beliefs routinely interpret the ten plagues as actions intended to mock Egypt's gods. Why? Which Egyptian gods are mocked? Explain this idea simply, based on your research.
God intended to use the ten plagues in Exodus's book to mock the gods of Egyptians and to ascertain that the God of Israel was the paramount God. As studied by the scholars, the Egyptians had ancient gods who protected them and provided them with fertility and existence. The Egyptians' most feared god was Sobek, the god of the Nile who was the core of the Egyptians existence and was characterized by the Pharaoh deity ( Wilkinson, 2003) . When God ordered Moses to drop the rod in front of Pharaoh, it resembled Sobek, and it ate all other mini-gods presented by the Egyptian sorcerers.
The first Egyptian god to be mocked and belittled was the Nile's god- Hapi (Ex.7). The Egyptians accorded the god of the Nile for providing them with fertile Nile banks for farming. When Moses dipped his rod on the river Nile, all waters turned to blood, and the fish died as the river smelled a clear indication that the Egyptian god- Hapi was mocked ( Wilkinson, 2003) . God meant the second plague to mock the goddess of life and fertility after death, represented by the plague of frogs. Their god of fertility had ahead of frog and was called Heket, and when Moses was instructed to dip his rod on water, frogs come up from the river and filled everywhere. Another god of the Egyptians mocked was Geb- the god of earth (Ex 8:16-19 NIV). Geb was in charge of the soil and allowed the crops to grow. When God instructed Moses to smite his rod on the soil, gnats and fleas came up and attacked all the Egyptians. The Egyptians' gods could not resist the God of Israelites, so Pharaoh had to beg Moses to stop the calamity.
Besides, the Egyptians were subjected to the plague of flies. The plague was against the god of creation known as Khepri ( Wilkinson, 2003) . Khepri had ahead of the fly and was respected for his power to move the solar system. God used the plague of flies to mock their god, who was not powerful as the God of Israelites. One of the plagues that affected the Egyptians' economic activities was livestock death ( Wilkinson, 2003) . The Israelites used the plague to mock the goddess of Hathor, who was respected for feminine and motherhood. For a very long time, the goddess was popular in Egypt's history, and the Egyptians worshiped her royally. The plagues of bores and sores mocked the goddess of medicine known as Isis (Ex. 9:8-12 NIV). The goddess of the sky, whom the Egyptians referred to as Nut, was mocked in the plague of hail, while the plague of locusts was used by Israelites' God to mock Seth, the god of Seth who protected the Egyptians from storms.
Also, the God of Israelite wanted to show His significance in mocking the god of the sun, who was known as Ra ( Wilkinson, 2003) , in the plague of darkness which swept across the land of Egyptians. The sun represented warmth, growth, and light, a significant factor for growth. The last devastating plague, which killed all the firstborn sons in all Egyptian household, was meant to mock the greatest deity in Egypt's land, the Pharaoh (Ex.11:1-10 NIV). When his firstborn male died, it is shown that his existence and continuation had ceased.
3.When used in biblical studies, what is a “type” or a “typological interpretation”? What typological interpretations have Christians found in the story of the Passover (Exodus 11-13)?
Christians have used the typological interpretation approach to interpret historical events in the Bible because they have been fulfilled in the New Testament events. The icon of Christianity, Jesus, was using the Old Testament typologically to emphasize Passover's importance ( O’Keefe et al. 2005) . The Christians have interpreted Passover as a means of passage from the bondage of sins to freedom through believing in Christ, their savior. According to the Christians, the slaughtered lamb during the Passover symbolizes Christ, who was crucified. His blood used to sign those who will be forgiven when God will punish the unbelievers, just like the Exodus time. Jesus is also regarded as the new Moses who will lead the people to eternal paradise (Mat. 5:17). Jesus was chosen as a sacrifice to atone the Christians in the bondage of sins, and as in the Passover, the chosen lamb was to be with no blemish and was to be pure in the breed (Jon. 1:2-9).
Also, when Jesus was crucified, it is written that the soldiers broke no bone, and that scene symbolized how the Israelites prepared the lamb in Passover without breaking any bones. Besides, the Israelites were asked to slaughter the firstborn lamb, signifying God's firstborn, Christ, and was sacrificed. More so, Christ died on a Passover many years later to mark the day their God rescued the Israelites from Egypt's bondage. To date, Christians have been celebrating the Passover each year to commemorate the importance of Christ as the sacrificial lamb to atone their sins.
References
Kent, H. (2019). How Moses’ Intercession Changed the Trajectory of Israel (Exodus 33: 12-23). https://repository.elmont.edu/burs/4 .
O’Keefe, J. J., Reno, R. R., & Reno, R. R. (2005). Sanctified vision: an introduction to early Christian interpretation of the Bible . JHU Press.
Wilkinson, R. H. (2003). The complete gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt (pp. 103-11). New York: Thames & Hudson.
