Sorry it's a bit late. What with all the fun things I'm doing this week (Netflix) and the mandatory existential crisis (which I have every break), I didn't really get around to it (I procrastinated and then was too lazy).
Anyways, apologies out of the way! Here are some interesting points about the Passover Story!
First, why did the Pharaoh let a little boy (who was pretty obviously a Jew) stay on in the palace? Wouldn't a little boy be sort of a threat to a moderately power-hungry king?
The story goes that when Moses was little (say, four-ish) he was offered two bowls. One was filled with jewels, and one with hot coals. Like many small children, he started to reach for the shiny jewels, but then God guided his hand away, so that the Pharaoh wouldn't kill him, and he grabbed one of the hot coals and popped it in his mouth. This is also, incidentally, why Moses has a stutter.
Next; Moses killed that one servant for beating a Jew. That's not really okay, at all. Two wrongs don't make a right. So he fled. It's just important to keep in mind that Moses is sort of a flawed human person. Sort of. That's how I interprert it, anyways.
Also; When God speaks to Moses out of the burning bush, and is like "Go tell Pharaoh to let my people go!" Moses isn't too keen.
First, because Moses has sort of killed a man and exiled himself. Second, he's getting old. (Well, not by Methuselah's standards, but still.)Third, he's got a stutter, and he just doesn't really think himself a good public speaker. But still, God decides that he is, in fact, important, and sends him off to go stand up to Pharaoh for the good of the Jewish people. But no pressure. To help out, God sends out Moses' brother Aaron to help out.
I imagine it went down somewhat like 2:06 of this video. Well, the whole thing, really, if you stretch it a bit.
Sorry, but that did apply. Well, sort of. Anyways.
Then there's the whole Pharaoh's heart was hardened thing. That phrasing is a bit weird, don't you think? That Pharaoh's heart was hardened, instead of it hardened. It sort of implies that someone hardened it for him. Like an outside power, i.e. God.
Some people think that God is the one that hardened Pharaoh's heart. If so, why would he do that? That's like playing both sides in a game of chess. Why would God inflict so much suffering on both sides, on Egypt with the plagues and the Jews with the continued inslavement? Probably because he wanted to emphasize his power. Maybe the Egyptians weren't scared of him enough, or maybe the Jews lost faith, but for some reason God had to reassert himself as all-powerful.
The other explanation, maybe more likely, is that the Pharaoh, in Egyptian mythology, is considered an incarnation of a god. If the Pharaoh is a god, he doesn't want to acknowledge that there's another, more powerful god out there, so maybe he was just trying to maintain his image for the poeople of Egypt.
Or, the third explanation, is that he was just a meanie-pants. Either way.
Lastly, the parting of the red sea. A miracle. Probably. Or just a myth. But actually, it could really have happened, naturally. According to this article, it could have been a really powerful wind creating two walls of water. Which is still, you know, a miracle.
Anyways, those are some interesting things to think about relating to Passover. I hope you like them.
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