Introduction

[8:23 pm, 27/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: But now the theme of Exodus is “Exodus”: passing from darkness into light. At the Transfiguration, it says “Suddenly two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with Jesus. 31They appeared in glory and spoke about His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9;31). This word “departure” is in the original Greek “Exodus” ἔξοδος, this is the actual word which Luke wrote down. That Passover in the Hebrew is “Pesach”, in the Greek, they use the word for “departure from”- exodus. So the book of Exodus could easily be called the Passover book.
[8:24 pm, 27/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: From now on the theme of the Bible will be this: Sin and Redemption, passing from darkness into light, obedience to God’s commands, the Atoning Sacrifice and how we ourselves join in that Sacrifice when we worship in the Holy Place…all this in the first 5 books, the “Torah”.
[8:25 pm, 27/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: in 2 Cor. 6 St Paul says that God tells us “…16What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” 17“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”…”
[8:27 pm, 27/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Again we see this here: Isaiah 52:11
Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord”… here: “Revelation 18:4
Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;”, …….here “Jeremiah 51:6
“Flee from the midst of Babylon; let every one save his life! Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her.”
[8:31 pm, 27/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: indeed God tells the Israelites that they will plunder the Egyptians. As we will see when they do come out of Egypt, the Egyptians themselves supply them with precious things and provisions. This is highly symbolic of how the Lord treats his chosen ones. They will enjoy every pleasure in eternity, they will inherit everything, and those that go to Hell will be left with nothing. You know the verse from the parable of the talents: “even what they have will be taken from them”.
[8:32 pm, 27/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: So that sets the tone for the coming Exodus nicely. Sorry all the texts, I need to start writing now.

Chapter 3

We have a wonderful reflection here

“I know, however, that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.[c] 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will perform in it; after that he will let you go. “

Just as in the case of Joseph, God uses the difficult situations that his faithful servants find themselves in to “display all his wonders”.

Allow God to “display his wonders” in your life, when faced with your personal “Pharaohs”. Even when that wonder be no more than the witness of a good Christian life.

Chapter 4

notice all the parallels to the Gospels here- the killing of the infants, but baby Moses, like Jesus is saved. Then when he returns as Saviour, he receives the word “return to Egypt, for those who were seeking your life are dead” (v.1

Exodus 5

[8:55 am, 23/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Some of us may have noticed that when we turn to the Lord, our troubles may actually increased. This is a sign that the Devil senses the good work that God is about to do for us in our soul and tries to oppose it, by increasing our troubles hoping that we will lose faith in God, like the Israelites. God, on the other hand allows this, but for the opposite reason- so that these trials might bear rich fruit in our souls.
[8:57 am, 23/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: and as we have already said, that God may “display his wonders” in your soul. “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8) and
[8:57 am, 23/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: 1 Peter 1:7 “so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Exodus 7

[5:30 pm, 24/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: We can see here that God is saying to Moses that he was not known by his Name Yahweh to Abraham, Isaac or Jacob, rather as El-Shaddai (which we translate as God Almighty), we also see El- Elyon being used (which we translate as God Most High). We can presume that since Moses is writing these books, according to our belief, he uses Yahweh from the beginning, since the Name is known to him.
[5:34 pm, 24/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Second, see how Pharaoh’s mind is turned by minor miracles done by his own magicians. This is reminiscent of how today we see persons turned away from God due to “miracles” performed by scientists and the ignore the real Glory of God in Nature and in our own lives. We remember St Paul’s words in the letter to the Romans, and also Jesus’ “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.” (Matthew 24:24)

Exodus 11

[4:45 pm, 27/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Let us be conscious that at this point in the Biblical narrative, we have begun to use Salvation language, whereas in Genesis it was the Fall and the subsequent Nohaic covenant. What do the people desire? – to worship God, this is the specific request of Moses that they be allowed to worship in complete freedom without restriction. Is this not Zechariah’s prayer in Luke 1 “to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.”
[4:49 pm, 27/03/2022] Sean Rodrigues: What does God promise? “7 But not a dog shall growl at any of the Israelites—not at people, not at animals—so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.” God makes a DISTINCTION between those who are to enjoy eternal Life in Paradise and those that are to be eternally separated from His Glory. These will be eternally tormented by the demons in Hell, whereas at the elect “not a dog will growl, not even at their animals”. Already in his Plan of Salvation, God is clear that there are real consequences of rejecting him, and those consequences are not pleasant

Chapter 12

 ²³ For the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down.”

³⁵ The Israelites had done as Moses told them; they had asked the Egyptians for jewelry of silver and gold, and for clothing, ³⁶ and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And so they plundered the Egyptians.

A foreigner who gets circumcised shall then be regarded as a native and be allowed to eat the Passover. Thus a foreigner or slave is allowed to convert into the Judaic faith.

Last but not least, the bones of the animal must not be broken. We know the significance of that, and it is also repeated in Psalm 22 “…I can count all my bones”

I just did a small word-study of “Passover” because its such an interesting word:

The word for Passover is פֶּ֥סַח (Pesah) while when God says in the same verse as which this word is used (v.11) “I will pass through”, a different word is used עָבַר (Abar). Then in v.13, Pesah itself is used as a verb וּפָסַחְתִּ֖י (I will pass- upasachti)

Then in v.21 “pasach” is used for the Passover Lamb “you will kill the pasach”. Then in 23 both “pasach” and “abar” are used for passing over as verbs, and again in 27 “pasach” is used to “pass”.

The Brown Driver-Briggs commentary mentions a parallel to the Assyrian word: pašâ—u, soothe, placate [deity], be soothed,

The term passover was coined by William Tynsdale (c. 1494–1536), the first translator of the Bible into modern English as a literal translation of the Hebrew pesach

Exodus 13

This is the reason that we celebrate festivals- to remember always and at every moment what the Lord has done for us “as a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead”, and to hand it on to our Children so that they might also know: ———————————————————————–” 8 You shall tell your child on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 It shall serve for you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the teaching of the Lord may be on your lips; for with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall keep this ordinance at its proper time from year to year.”

Chapter 14

Verse 14:14 is obviously one of the most beloved verses in the Bible: ” 13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.””

“Stillness” here of course, refers to a mental stillness. In the spiritual life if one proceeds in a prayerful attitude with discernment and the wisdom which comes from God and in communion with him, one needs suffer no mental disturbance. God will work the outcome of all your struggles, we have only to trust in his Will.

Further, we notice how God is able and willing to come down as a “Pillar of Fire and Cloud”. This is not a mere messenger from God rather it is said to be the Presence of God himself. We see how right from the earliest moments of the Biblical narrative story, the infinite God is able and willing for our sakes to be Present for us in a finite manner, that we may perceive him, as a Mercy to us, and out of Love, in order to reassure us and to fill us with Faith. All this is prefiguring that ultimate condescension of God which is to take place in the Incarnation. many would say that it is impossible for the infinite and supremely transcendent God to be perceived in this finite manner and it is certainly true that except through a miracle of the Power of that supreme Being itself, this should never be possible for our physical senses to circumscribe God, “locating” his omnipresence, so that we might become convinced of his existence and care for us. And indeed God through his omnipotence, the limits of which we cannot comprehend, has the power also to perform such an act for us. Sorry, that’s a slightly long sentence 🙂 the crux is this: We have always had a God whose desire has been to be Present to his people, not distant from them. We will see time and again how God expresses this desire “I will be with you and I will dwell with you, and I will be your God and you will be my people”

We saw both here and in the previous chapter, that it is indeed, the Lord in the Fire and Cloud “The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.”

Exodus 15

We can see Miriam prophesying here about the Presence of the Lord in his Temple, and also prefiguring our Salvation to the heavenly Temple:

“You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession,
the place, O Lord, that you made your abode,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

The Song of Miriam

And well, we can see here, for the first time, singing 🎼 , musical instruments 🎹 and dancing 🕺 in worship:

“20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. 21 And Miriam sang…”

I hadn’t realised that in the beginning of the Chapter 15 its actually “Moses and the Israelites” who are singing. We never see Moses sing in any of the movies!

Second, v.3 in Hebrew is “Yahweh is a man of war, Yahweh is his name” (YHWH ish michamah YHWH shemow”). The word “man- ish” is actually there in reference to YHWH. We’re noting all the references and foreshadowing of the Incarnation, that’s why I bring this up.

Exodus 16

[11:14 am, 01/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: ” “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not” (v.4). ———–See how the Lord provides for us and at the same time we have our time of testing.
[11:15 am, 01/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: 9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’” 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
[11:27 am, 01/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: the glory of God (כְּב֣וֹד- kebowd Yahweh) appeared to them. (v.10)
[11:31 am, 01/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: שַׁבָּת֧וֹן שַׁבַּת־ a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord- Shebatown Shabbat
[11:33 am, 01/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: the word for Shabbath and “rest” is the same in Hebrew. Also there is a derivation from the number “seven”, which also sounds the same, for the Lord rested from his work of creating
[11:35 am, 01/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: So in v.30 when it is said that the people “rested”, the root word is the same שָׁבַת
[11:39 am, 01/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: So Genesis 2:2 when it says “on the seventh day he (the LORD) rested”, the Hebrew goes Wayishboth bayyom hashbithi – he rested on the day the seventh- both the first and the last words are Sh-b-th root, ie the same root
[11:40 am, 01/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Sorry for the slightly technical word study, its the first time that Sabbath has been introduced, so it was useful to do that. Thanks be to God, have a great day.

Exodus 17

[8:48 am, 02/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: v.17: he called that place “the LORD is my banner” – Yahweh Nissi. “נֵס” (nes) is the word for banner.
[8:49 am, 02/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: if we examine this passage: “” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He called the place Massah[a] and Meribah,[b] because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
[8:50 am, 02/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: the obvious fault of the people is that they complain rather than pray. At this point even the reader has forgotten that Moses still carries in his hand the staff with which he has just parted a sea! Why should there be a problem of water supply except that the people do not pray?
[8:57 am, 02/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: But there is a strong prefiguring of the Crucifixion here. The people in their indignance have become hostile and are likely to stone Moses to death. The LORD says “I will be standing in front of you on the rock…strike the rock, and water will come out of it”. It seems that there is no way to strike the rock without striking God himself. Here is God “standing”, i.e. in a human form, “in front of” Moses, i.e. ready to to take on the attacks upon Moses on his own Person. And when indeed the Rock is struck, water flows out of it and we are immediately reminded of the Blood and Water that flowed from the Rock of our Salvation Jesus when he was struck in his side upon the Cross.
[9:00 am, 02/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Of course, St. Paul has observed this in 1 Cor.10 “They all ate the same spiritual food 4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. “
[9:04 am, 02/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Finally, we see an example of intercessory prayer of a righteous person “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” James 5:16. When Moses lifts up his hand to God in prayer “the Israelites prevail”. So also let us associate with righteous and prayerful persons in our lives that we ay be uplifted along with them. As Psalm 1:1 states:============== “Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers”
[9:04 am, 02/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Thanks be to God
[9:15 am, 02/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: עֹמֵד֩ לְפָנֶ֨יךָ- I will stand before you, literally I will stand before your face. Omed lepanekha
[9:16 am, 02/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: The God who sustains all of Creation in existence, who encompasses all the Universe, is now encompassed himself at the same time in this “standing”. This is how it prefigures the Incarnation.

Exodus 19

[9:20 am, 04/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Today we have this wonderful passage “you are my treasured possession ( סְגֻלָּה֙ מִכָּל־ הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים- segulah mikal ha’amim- my special treasure among all the peoples)… a kingdom of priests ( מַמְלֶ֥כֶת כֹּהֲנִ֖ים- mamlekhet kohanim), and a holy nation (וְג֣וֹי קָד֑וֹשׁ- wa-gow kadosh)”.===================================================== My Dad would always remind me how we are each at Baptism anointed as “priest, prophet and king”: priest that we may now offer the sacrifice of our own lives in righteousness to God, prophet in that we speak God’s true words to others, and king, for Jesus says himself ” “Fear not little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
[9:24 am, 04/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Here we get a pre-figuring of Easter, of the Resurrection:==========================”10 the Lord said to Moses: “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.”=======================================================The LORD will come on the 3rd day, and until then the people are to consecrate themselves and prepare in holiness and purity, just as we are doing this Lent, by fasting, confessing our sins, repenting, resolving not to sin again.
[9:25 am, 04/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Finally, we have this awesome manifestation of God to all the Israelites: “6 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder. “

Exodus 20

[9:43 am, 05/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: I will highlight once again, the manisfestation of God to the Israelites: ================” When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid[d] and trembled and stood at a distance, 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.” 21 Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. 22 The Lord said to Moses: Thus you shall say to the Israelites: “You have seen for yourselves that I spoke with you from heaven….”
[9:45 am, 05/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Much is made of the “graven images” commandment and that Christians have statues and icons, but a close reading of the text shows that God is concerned that we do not make these as “gods” for worship:
[9:45 am, 05/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous …23 You shall not make gods of silver alongside me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.
[9:46 am, 05/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Thanks be to God. Rest on the Lord’s Day, and give your family rest, only do works of charity.

Exodus 21

But in effect, there were different social and financial structures in that day, which we do not have in ours. For example, there is a position for a woman which is “concubinage”, which seems to be a second-class wife perhaps. So when a man “sells his daughter as a slave”, it is like giving her away as a wife with a dowry in a sort of polygamous society, and under that financial system. It’s really hard to extrapolate that to our own notions of marriage today, remember that our notion of monogamy is essentially a Christian institution and a grace from God, which we see stated by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew (17?)

Exodus 24

[2:27 pm, 10/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: These are two beautiful chapters, perhaps especially 24 (since I’m partial to the verses of visions of God!). We something like a Mass service here, or the elements of it being prefigured. The blood of the sacrifice being dashed against the altar signifies the blood being offered, just as Christ offered his own Blood as atonement for our sins, and said “do this in remembrance of me”, which is why we offer Christ’s Blood at the altar of the Holy Mass.
[2:33 pm, 10/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: next, the Covenant is read out to the people, just as the Word is read at Mass. Then we note that the Law is placed in the Ark (Ch.25), and is “covered” (the Hebrew word for “mercy seat” is merely “cover”- kippuret, note ki-pu-r, co-ve-r). Upon this the blood of the sacrifice is sprinkled (we haven’t reached there yet). So the blood covers over the punishment of the Law, from which we receive Mercy. God himself is present to the Israelits and “meets with them” above the kippuret of the Ark in between the cerubim, thus administering his Mercy. We offer the Blood of Jesus to the Father at Mass similarly.
[2:33 pm, 10/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Protestants, some of this might not be your interpretation, thanks for your patience with my explanation for Catholics here, God bless
[2:37 pm, 10/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Finally there is the wonderful vision of God in 24 and Moses and the elders being in God’s Presence. This is wonderful contemplation of the Presence of God, something like what a Catholic experiences in the Eucharistic Adoration where we have a “visible Presence” of God. The contemplation lasts for 6 days for the elders and then a further 40 days for Moses who is drawn into an even closer contemplation than all the rest. The elders, it is said “ate and drank”, which once more is prefiguring the Eucharistic Meal. Else it would be a random thing to mention at this point if it was not prefiguring the Lord’s Supper.

[2:42 pm, 10/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: That explains everything to do with the Atoning Sacrifice. This will be useful since it is the continuing theme in the upcoming chapters
[3:02 pm, 10/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: I think even non-Catholics can draw some powerful elements of their own observance of the Lord’s Supper here.

By the way you do realise that the Lord has given us this very passage of Scripture as we get into Holy Week and Palm Sunday.

His hand is upon us to bless us in this our effort at reading and reflecting, I have no doubt.

Praise the Lord!
[3:19 pm, 10/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: we call it “the Lord’s Supper”, right? That’s exactly what we have in 24:11 when it is said “they beheld the God, and they ate and drank”. It’s not like they were carrying packed lunches, the Lord provided the food and drink.
[4:53 pm, 10/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: 24:8 “8 Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, “See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”==================================Again we see the sign of the “blood of the covenant” being poured out upon the people, much like Jesus’ words “this is my blood of the covenant this poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 28:28)==========================================================Let us, in our own personal prayer lives be like the elders atop that mountain, and like Moses, in that secret and most intimate conteplation lasting 40 days upon the mountain, when he ate and drank nothing but the Goodness of God. Let that be our 40 day Lenten contemplation, this time and the next.

Exodus 32

[8:43 am, 13/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: This is one of the blackest days in the history of the Israelites. Not only are they worshipping a random idol, they are “revelling”. The anger of the Lord burns against them and many are literally put to the sword and to plague. Moses is able to intercede, so that the destruction is not complete, however God gives them a clear indication of his displeasure and puts and end to the disobedience through a mighty hand.
[8:43 am, 13/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: “When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold,[a] and cast an image of a calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!””
[8:47 am, 13/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: That’s the first few verses of the chapter. Moses is in the company of God in prayer for 40 days and nights, fasting. Skeptics will always doubt the usefulness and efficacy of quiet prayer and adoration, and try to find quick fixes in their lives, thus leading them down ways of error. This can be spiritualists, psychics, but also false gospels and pseudo-spirituality. Prayer is not about being answered, rather prayer is communion- the prayer of Moses, not the prayer to the Calf.
[8:51 am, 13/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Finally we see clearly the power of the intercessory prayer of Moses: “14 And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.” He tells the people: “30 On the next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” “

Exodus 33

[8:33 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: God spoke to Moses “face to face” פָּנִ֣ים אֶל־ פָּנִ֔ים panim el panim (v.11). This seeminly is almost immediately contradicted in v.20 “no one shall see my face and live”. Again, few would realise this a very strong prefiguring of the Incarnation and Catholics would go further and say also the Holy Eucharist (same with the Burning Bush). Critics of Christianity will state that the notion of God being both “transcendent” and “immanent”, meaning he is infinitely beyond our perception and at the same time really present to us and with us in a tangible form, like Jesus, is a contradiction, and that it is an innovation that came with the Christian religion that was not previously present in Orthodox Judaism. Well, its right here between verses 11 and 20 of the 33rd chapter of Exodus.
[8:36 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: also the Mass is prefigured here and the Sunday obligation. You see, when Moses went in the Presence of God, “each man” stood at the entrance of his tent. “When Moses entered the tent the Pillar of Cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent and the Lord would speak to Moses” (v.9) AND “When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down, all of them, at the entrance of their tent.” (v.11)
[8:39 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: When the priest consecrates the Holy Eucharist, we all rise up/ kneel down, the Lord makes himself really Present in a substantial manner, although he is in another sense already omnipresent. This is a liturgy, the ritual of the Mass and the assembly of the ekklesia, the people of God, the Church, strongly prefigured. “All of them” – Sunday Mass is an obligation, there was no option to go watch the game instead.
[8:43 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: When God says “my Presence will go with you” (v.14) its the same word for “face” פָּנַ֥י Panay- my Presence
[8:57 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: In v.18 Moses asks God “show me your glory” (kabod). God replies “I will make all my goodness (tov) go before you”. God is Goodness itself, is this not wonderful? We cannot stand before his Glory for it is too radiant and infinite for our wretched sinful selves. But God makes it possible that we can yet experience him through his Goodness. Through the Holy Spirit in our soul, his Presence in prayer, and the Holy Eucharist.
[8:58 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Thanks be to God.
[8:59 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Non-Catholics I hope you appreciate that I clearly mark out the Catholics, so that we all can derive spiritual fruit from these wonderful words
[9:02 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: sorry, I meant I clearly mark out the Catholic references 🙂
[9:06 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Let us then be conscious that we will, this Easter Mass, be “face to face” with God. Panim el panim, the Burning Bush itself, the “consuming fire” that is the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 12:29). Praise be to God
[11:51 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to be sharing all of this with you on Holy Week, as we prepare for the Feast’s of our Lord’s Passover and really, the Institution of the New Covenant in Christ’s Blood.
[11:52 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: If you just get this, its so simple, and you will always carry in your heart how the Old and the New are one, praise the Lord. I’ve put this together, with added points, copied from my larger article. Also I thank the group which has inspired me to improve on and edit my writings, and I pray for you, do pray for me too that the Lord will guide me. Here it is:
[11:52 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Moses Spoke “Face to Face”, “Bread of the Face” at the Altar
The summary of the Entire Old Testament is the Passover sacrifice, the passing over of the Israelites from slavery into freedom. God commanded three items in the tent of meeting: the Ark of the Covenant itself, the golden lampstand, and third, the golden table of the “Bread of the Presence”. The table itself was set with for the flagons and bowls which held bread and wine for the offerings. “Presence” in Hebrew is the same word as for “face” (panim) and thus we could say “Bread of the Face”, which signifies God himself, “Face to face”, as he spoke to Moses, and “as a friend speaks to a friend”. This bread, God says, is to be for us a sign of the “everlasting covenant”. Of course Jesus calls his Sacrifice the “new Covenant (or New Testament) in my Blood) Luke 22:20 or just “my Blood of the New Covenant” (Matthew 26:28).

“Every sabbath day Aaron shall set them in order before the Lord regularly as a commitment of the people of Israel, as a covenant forever. They shall be for Aaron and his descendants, who shall eat them in a holy place, for they are most holy portions for him from the offerings by fire to the Lord, a perpetual due (Lev 24:8-10, also Ex. 25:30).

All of this is built and arranged based upon the pattern of the Temple seen by Moses and the elders on the Mountain when they saw God, and ate a meal in his Presence. This same pattern in preserved in our churches today, with the tabernacle, the flagons and bowls holding the wine and the bread, and the lamp stands. The lamp stand was meant to be kept continually burning, as is the sanctuary lamp in the Catholic Churches. Thus Brant Pitre can say: “by means of his words and actions Jesus was indicating (…) the institution of the new bread and wine of the Presence, the Bread of Jesus’s own Presence. Thus we can see the Eucharistic layout of the holiest place in the Temple and the manner of the Festival itself (JJE 143).

Thus it is that at Eucharistic Adoration Catholics are worshipping by gazing upon the Face of God. Indeed in the 33rd Chapter of Exodus, God spoke to Moses “face to face” פָּנִ֣ים אֶל־ פָּנִ֔ים panim el panim (v.11). This seemingly is almost immediately contradicted in v.20 itself “no one shall see my face and live”. Again, this is a very strong prefiguring of the Incarnation and the Holy Eucharist (same with the Burning Bush). How is this? Well, critics of Christianity will state that the notion of God being both “transcendent” and “immanent”, meaning he is infinitely beyond our perception and at the same time really present to us and with us in a tangible form, like Jesus, is a contradiction, and that it is an innovation that came with the Christian religion that was not previously present in Orthodox Judaism. Well, that supposed contradiction is right here between verses 11 and 20 of the 33rd chapter of Exodus- God as both simultaneously immanent and transcendent, the very claim of the Incarnation and the Eucharist “this is my Body”.

Summary- Bread of the Presence, Bread of Life
What are we saying here? Just this, that the layout of the altar in the Judaic Temple, which is quite like what is preserved in Catholic and Orthodox Eucharistic services already had “Bread of the Face of God”, that same “Bread which is Jesus”, the same he gave his apostles at the Last Supper “This is my Body/Presence”, and we meet the same God of Moses “Face to face” as he did “panim el panim”, and “as one speaks to a friend” (v.11), as Jesus said “I do not call you servants, but I call you friends” (Jn.15:15). That Bread of the Presence of the Old Covenant sat there in the Temple all those years in desert and in the Temple, prefigured the New Covenant, in Christ’s own Body and Blood, and his Own Presence. It is hard to see what else it could be for.

How the Eucharist Prefigures Heaven
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

(Isaiah 25:6-9)

“Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.”

(Isaiah 55:1-3)

Here we see “listen” and “eat”, the Table of the Word, and the Table of the Eucharist, a free meal, a covenant meal, just as was prophesied, just as we see at the Holy Mass.

“I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat (ἀνακλιθήσονται- will recline- ἀνακλίνω, 6 occ.) with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 8:11, Luke 13:29)

[11:54 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: The “Bread of the Face”. Praise the Lord. Non-Catholics, thank you for you patience with me 🙂 I love you and pray for you
[11:57 am, 14/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: I’m just stunned. Today is Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Lord’s Supper. The Lord brought us to Exodus 33 today. Thanks be to God. God has given me these miracles a few times now in my Bible studies, I can tell you that.

Exodus 34

[9:06 am, 15/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: God’s “steadfast love and faithfulness”- חֶ֥סֶד Hesed, one of the most important words in the OT
[9:10 am, 15/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: God’s visits the iniquity of the parents upon the children to the 3rd and 4rth generation. I always take this as being played out in the history of Israel itself, when the people apostasize, the nation is taken into slavery and the children suffer, and these cycles happen multiple times. Further when parents fall into evil, the whole family set up is disrupted and the children can pay the price for generations, we can see this occurring around us. When parents get into drugs or even atheism and are outwardly successful, the children get messed up, the devil and his demons get a foothold in that family and oppress it for generations, because there is not defence against the dark side. That’s how I see it anyway.
[9:26 am, 15/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Here you get probably the first time “fornication” is used, or “play the harlot”/ “prostitute”- זָנָה the verb is zanah. God says ” if you fornicate/ prostitute yourselves/play the harlot with their gods (elohe-hen)…”
[9:31 am, 15/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: God looks at idolatory in the same light as prostitution. And let us not fool ourselves, this does not mean just building an actual idol of clay and jumping around in front of it; we have many idols of materialism to whom the world has “Prostituted” itself. You are, after all, giving your body to it, and paying money for it, that’s prostitution. Covenant is berit בְּרִ֖ית (v.16). Do not make a covenant with those idols, because your God is a jealous God קַנָּ֖א- qanah (v.14)
[9:32 am, 15/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Thanks be to God. I’m off to the Good Friday All Churches walk. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ for his great Mercy and his Covenant Love for us.
[9:40 am, 15/04/2022] Sean Rodrigues: Jesus gave us his Body today on Good Friday. We do not need to give our bodies to anyone else “you body is not you own, for you were bought at a price..”

Exodus 35