Exodus – Book 2 (40 chapters) In this book, Moses is the key figure. (Exod 3.7-8) the Lord said to Moses: “I have seen the misery of my people… I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them to a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the home of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites…” Yahweh reaffirmed his covenant with the people through Moses, saying (Exod 6.2-4) “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… I established my covenant to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens.” The good Lord has his favourites (Exod, chap 7-12): “The Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.” He unleashes a series of calamities on the Egyptians – plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, boils, locusts and finally (Exodus 12:29): At midnight the Lord struck down all the first born in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon and the firstborn of all livestock as well.  The Lord then lays down the Ten Commandments, the familiar version (Exod 20.2-17) and in addition a number of laws and rules. Examples: (Exod 21.15-23): - anyone who attacks or curses his father or mother must be put to death; - if a man beats his slave and the slave dies as a result, the man must be punished but if the slave recovers, he is not to be punished since the slave is his property; - if there is serious injury, you must take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, burn with burn, wound for wound. Having slaved in Egypt for 430 years, the Israelites journeyed, about 600,000 of them on foot, besides children. After crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, eating manna until they came to the border of Canaan. The Lord issues contradictory instructions: (Exod 23.9): “Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.” He then orders the Israelites to make war on other groups and dispossess them.  (Exod 23.23-24) “My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites and I will wipe them out. Dol not bow down to their gods or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones into pieces.” (Exod 23.27-33) “I will send my terror ahead of you and confuse every nation you encounter. I will send the pestilence tol drive out the Canaanites, Hittites …Little by little, I will drive them out until you have increased enough to possess the land. I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. I will hand you over the inhabitants of the land and you shall drive them out. Do not make a covenant with them or their gods… for if you worship their gods, you will be ensnared.” (Exod 34.13-15) “Break down their altars, smash their pillars and cut down their sacred poles. Do not worship any other god, for Yahweh is a jealous god…” (Exod 34.24) “I will cast out nations and enlarge your borders…”