Catholic Doctrine Bible Study

3:24  God is serious about the Sacraments!(Circumcision, which in OT  prefigures baptism.)   Ignore them at your peril!  (Moses would have been killed!) Sacraments are not merely symbolic, they impart needed grace, and they “mark” us as being members of the family of God. Moses had to realize that he couldn’t do ANYTHING without God. The plagues correspond to the defeat of Egyptian “gods.”  (See handout.)  They show there is only one omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. God is in control of the natural and the supernatural, however the plagues came to be. “The same sun that softens wax also hardens clay.”  (The same thing can affect different material in different ways.)  So it was with Pharaoh’s heart. In several places, it says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and in others it says Pharaoh hardened his own heart.  There is not a contradiction here between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will.  Pharaoh was obstinate and rejected God, and God allowed that rejection, thus “hardening” Pharaoh’s heart.  God even USES Pharaoh’s rejection to “soften” (for a while, at least!) the Israelites’ hearts. Handout - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mnK9febKPuxIQwJDVvG0rlO0xk2q9tWl/view?usp=sharing

3:5 -“holy ground.”  Respect God! (Mass attendance, punctuality, attire, attentiveness.)  Respect  God OUTSIDE of Mass!  ALL of creation is holy ground-God created it! 3:8 -10 God didn’t NEED Moses or anyone else to save the Israelites, but he likes to work through people.  (Like you!) 3:13 Catechise your children and grandchildren, or they won’t know who God is, which can have eternal consequences for them! Though God guaranteed the victory in 3:19-20, Moses thought he was too limited in his abilities.  God doesn’t always choose the most talented person for a project; he chooses the willing and the devoted. 4:13-17 God’s plan “A” was for Moses to be the spokesman.  Moses was reluctant, so God went with plan “B.”  (Aaron.) Of course, God makes all of his plans work out, but there was a disastrous side-track. (See Chapter 32!) Don’t waste God’s plan “A” for your life!

1:15-22  The practice of killing babies was LEGAL in Egypt, but certainly against a culture of life.  We may have to be “Shiphrahs” and “Puahs” today...If we must choose between obeying the civil law or God’s law, we must choose God’s way. 2:23-25  God’s plan to save the Israelites was not because they were good or they deserved it, but because God keeps his promises...to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  And, because he loves us.  We can trust God for Eternity! 3:1-3  Moses had an encounter with God (“burning bush”).  He wasn’t looking for God, but God appeared to him.  And so it is with us!  Allow God to appear to you.  He does, every day! (Though, many times we’re too preoccupied to notice.)  What is your latest “burning bush?

Though Abraham was not perfect, (He lied to Pharaoh, Abimelech) he put his faith in action, cooperated with God’s grace through his actions.  Not “faith alone”, at least not in the classical Protestant understanding of the phrase. Jacob started his relationship with God poorly, was a terrible father, and was a work-in-progress throughout his life, as are we.  (Never think you are beyond God’s forgiveness and redemption!) Genesis 50:19-20 Joseph saw God working through the tragedies of his life, and would have agreed with Romans 8:28 that ALL things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to HIS purpose.

Joseph is arguably the most Christ-like character of the Old Testament: Faithful to his father Exiled to Egypt Rejected/ betrayed by his own people Sold for silver Stripped of his tunic Sent into a pit Faced with temptation but virtuous Goes thru tribulations Weeps Punished along with 2 other convicts Saves those who rejected him Forgives those who rejected him Becomes a blessing to all the nations Is ultimately acknowledged as a savior Speaks more of God than anyone in Genesis- sees the “big picture.” Joseph is a great example to all of us; virtuous living,  trusting God’s way vs. our own way, forgiving others, caring for others— even those who have persecuted us.

Ch. 37 and 38-God is not mentioned in these chapters.  The Bible tells the stories “warts and all.”  These brothers of Joseph’s were awful....yet they were the founders of the 12 tribes of Israel! God can work his plan even through bad people and bad circumstances.  (As we shall see later in Joseph’s life, next session.) 38:10 “Onanism” = contraception.  Fatal to Onan!  (Serious matter!) See paragraph 2370 of CCC. Read also “Humanae Vitae”. Pope predicted contraception would lead to the breakdown of families.  (Marital infidelity, selfishness ,loss of respect for women, divorce, promiscuity, and, ironically, an INCREASE in unwanted pregnancies.)  He was right!!  The Catholic Church stood virtually alone against contraception among Christian faith communities after 1930.  (Before 1930, virtually all Christian faith communities condemned contraception as evil.)

Jacob was too lax of a father: 34:13 The kids made the major family decisions, not Jacob. 34:15-26 Jacob taught them (by his previous example!) to be deceitful. 34:15-30 Jacob didn’t teach them right from wrong, didn’t even punish his sons for the murders they committed.  He was only interested in their physical safety. (34:30) 35:2 Until this point, Jacob was aware of, and did nothing about, his sons possessing foreign idols and symbols of paganism.  He wasn’t teaching them his faith. 35:10 One of only 3X in the Bible where God changes someone’s name.  (The final time was with Peter in Mt:16.)  Each time the person becomes the leader of God’s people!

We needed the authority of the Catholic Church to pronounce on issues like polygamy (and slavery, abortion, the Trinity, etc.) since “Scripture Alone” is not EXPLICIT on these issues. We are all a “work in progress!” Jacob did not start well morally or spiritually, but eventually realized he was blessed more than he deserved, evangelized (31:42), started trusting God and praying (32:10).  Every day is a chance for us to trust God more than we have! God doesn’t give up on us, even we give up on ourselves, or God!

27:41-45  Though Jacob and Rebekah seemed at first to profit from their deceit, look what happened: -The family broke up -Jacob had to become a fugitive -Rebekah never saw her favorite son again -Jacob had to live in fear of his own brother for years. -In an ironic twist of fate, Jacob is himself deceived.(Chapter 29) What you sew, you shall reap!!

25:23(b) God’s plan is not always in line with man’s plan. (“The older shall serve the younger.”)  We frequently see God choose a less likely leader...here, OT Joseph, David, etc.) 25:28 Parents, don’t favor one child over the other: it will cause problems for all involved, and the family as a whole 25:31-34 Don’t sacrifice long-term results (including your eternal life!) for immediate gratification! (Esau) 26 Your children are far more likely to follow your actions than your words! (Isaac’s lie, learned from Abraham.) 26:34 Esau married outside the faith; this is a problem! (See v.46)  Also, Esau didn’t care about his birthright (25:34) Perhaps these are reasons why God chose Jacob? 27 Jacob and Rebekah didn’t NEED to deceive Isaac; God had already decreed Jacob’s future in 25:23.  None of the 4 characters prayed before the deception. 27:28 Jacob’s blessing had a Eucharistic parallel, as did Abraham’s before him 14:18. The OT frequently points to the Eucharist. (A point I failed to make on the recording!)