The Bible by David Alley

by David Alley

Season 1

Exodus 10 - The Sixth and Seventh Plagues | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Exodus 10 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Exodus 10 God said he would show He was Yahweh through his signs. This chapter now outlines up to the ninth plague, the plague of darkness, and every plague is both showing God’s wonders, and the weakness of the so called Egyptian deities. Here is a list of the false gods challenged in the plagues. Hapi, nile god... Plague of Blood. Heket, frog goddess... Plague of Frogs. Geb, earth god... Plague of Lice Khepri, fly-headed god... Plague of Flies. Hathor, cow-headed goddess... Plague of the Cattle Dying. Isis, goddess of health... Plague of Boils. Nut, sky goddess... Plague of Hail. Seth, also a sky god... Plague of Locusts. Ra, sun god... Plague of Darkness. Pharaoh, son of Ra... Final Plague, death of the firstborn, a challenge to the supreme authority of Egypt, the Pharaoh himself. In this chapter Pharaoh now starts being told by his own people to listen to Moses. Most people have a hard time taking advice, but in this case it would have been harder for Pharaoh. It would have required something of a change of identity for him, admitting he wasn’t infallible, and wasn’t the son of the gods. Then Pharaoh seems to admit he has sinned, but in reality this isn’t what we think. He isn’t admitting that there is a moral good, and a moral bad, and that he is in the wrong. No rather, he is simply admitting he has done something that God doesn’t like and wants to fix the problem. Many people see morality in this light, thinking that it is simply a list of God’s wishes, rather than genuine right and wrong. Finally in this chapter Pharaoh declares he never wants to see Moses again. Pharaoh has come from Atheism, not acknowledging that Yahweh was a God at all, through rebellion and fighting against God, and now to ignoring, hoping the problem will go away. These are three very common positions against God by people.

S1 · E60

May 2, 2022

14:02

Exodus 9 - The Fourth and Fifth Plagues | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Exodus 9 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Exodus 9 we see the 5th and 6th plagues against Egypt, that of the cattle dying, and of the hail. Reading this you get the impression that every single cow died in the 5th plague, but a mistranslation of the word ‘kol’ for all, should have been better translate as ‘everywhere.’ Rather than saying all the cattle died, it should have said that cattle died all over the place. Each of the major gods of the Egyptians is demonstrated to be false through the plagues, but the Pharaoh is also seen by Egyptians as a god. And now the real God starts to target him also by hardening his heart. Pharaoh has been hardening his own heart before and after this point, but in this plague, God turns the screws. God is now going to demonstrate through the entire plague process that Pharaoh is not a god at all. Along with those who are refusing to acknowledge Yahweh, there is a growing group of Egyptians who now fear God. When the plague of hail is announced, they rush to bring in their servants and cattle. This proves that there were cattle that survived. But it also shows there are many Egyptians now inclined differently. When the Hebrews do leave Egypt, many go with them, explaining why we get millions of people. Those who are attached to their false gods refuse to listen and they suffer the consequences of their choices. This is no different then to now, because all people must choose who they love and worship. God is patient with all demonstrating his grace towards those who choose him and warning of what happens to those who don’t.

S1 · E59

May 1, 2022

10:55

Exodus 8 - The Second and Third Plagues | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Exodus 8 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Exodus 8 we now encounter the second, third and fourth plagues. Were the 10 plagues supernatural or natural? This video explains that this point isn’t important, because as they were induced by God through Moses, whether God used natural or supernatural means, they were supernatural either way. This chapter is also the first time Pharaoh acknowledges that God is a God. But he also thought of himself as a god, and they believed that gods were gods of certain things. So his acknowledgement isn’t giving God a really significant place as creator, or God almighty. Then Pharaoh’s magicians cannot repeat what Moses does and declare it to be the ‘Finger of God.’ This phrase is only found in the Bible three times. Once here, next int he writing of the ten commandments, and third when Jesus casts out a demon and says the finger of God did it. Essentially the finger of God is an example of the Holy Spirit defeating demons. And by implication, the Bible is saying that the false gods of Egypt are demons, defeated by God’s power. Finally, Pharaoh keeps hardening his own heart. It makes things worse and worse, and gives us a terrible example of what not to do with God’s dealings in our own lives.

S1 · E58

Apr 30, 2022

14:18

Exodus 7 - The First Plague: Water to Blood | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Exodus 7 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Exodus 7 God tells Moses that Pharaoh will not listen to him. This is because God is eternal, that is outside of time, and omnitemporal, that is everywhere in time. But God also knows Pharaoh so well he knows what we will do. This is like parents who generally know what their children will do. If God knows what we will do, does this mean we have no choice? Not at all, but we should cry out to Him to change us and help us follow Him according to His will. Next, the really supernatural part of the Exodus story begins, with rod turning into a snake, and the Egyptian magicians doing the same, thus hardening Pharaoh’s heart. Many people in western society think that something like this is mythical, and yet they are not aware that for billions of people, the supernatural is a daily part of life around the world. In the west the devil has a covert strategy, but many other places he has an overt strategy. Moses then is told by God to use his rod to strike the Nile and it will turn to blood. Presumably this was only in the land of Egypt, as the Nile is a very long river running through other nations. This is the first of the ten plagues. One wonders why all the people had to suffer for the sin of the Pharaoh, and yet if we paid careful attention to the story from the beginning we realize that all of Egypt had participated in his command to kill Hebrew boys. This is collective sin, guilt and judgement. And additionally, there are a number of other perspectives on why the plagues were collective which you can find out by watching the video. The plagues were God’s mercy, and this video will explain that.

S1 · E57

Apr 29, 2022

16:35

Exodus 6 - God Promises to Deliver Israel | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Exodus 6 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Exodus 6 God repeats his promise to the whole nation, but this time they know his name. Back in Genesis 32:29, Jacob asked God what his name was, but God wouldn’t say. So this is quite a thing. But now Moses finds that not only won’t Pharaoh listen to him, but the Israelites won’t either. It's terrible when a pastor knows he is saying what God wants but people won’t listen. Moses takes it personally in verse 12 telling God his lips are uncircumcised, that is not suitable or acceptable to God for his purpose. Up to verse twenty we see a list of four generations from Levi through to Moses. If the Israelites were slaves for 430 years this would be odd, but from Joseph’s death to Moses birth is only about 65 years, so this works. For a correct chronology of how long the Israelites were in Egypt see the TOBI Talk - How long were the Israelites Slaves in Egypt? If the four generations and the timing isn’t a problem, how on earth did the Israelites grow from 70ish people to millions? This also isn’t a problem, but needs a better explanation, which will be forthcoming in a later video. Finally Moses repeats his problem about how he feels about his speaking ability… it is becoming a theme now. He really feels incapable, and has no choice but to rely on God. This should put us in a whole new light concerning Moses. He saw himself as completely not suitable for the task, and the great outcomes are all due to the Lord.

S1 · E56

Apr 28, 2022

12:51

Exodus 5 - Pharaoh Oppresses Israel | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Exodus 5 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Exodus 5 Pharaoh’s real name is deliberately left out by Moses. Moses clearly knew it, and being trained and educated in Egypt did this on purpose. God either instructed him to do so, or there was a cultural reason. Dr David Downs thinks that this Pharaoh is Khasekemre-Neferhotep. Other archaeologists think it is Rameses II. Pharaohs thought they were the incarnation of God, and all of Egypt thought it too. So as Moses approached Pharaoh with God’s request a battle of divine wills begins. And this is one possible reason why Pharaoh is not named, so as not to give him unwarranted significance. Pharaoh asks who is Yahweh? When he finds out that Yahweh is the God of the Hebrews, he must have felt great disrespect, for a god of slaves cannot be any god at all. He has not regard or desire to listen. So he makes things worse for the slaves. So we see that the first response to prayer of the Israelites for deliverance is that things get worse for them. Sometimes when we pray this is exactly what happens. The opposite is the first result. We must trust God because he has a process so as to bring about an even better outcome than we can imagine. But the Israelites don’t trust, and don’t understand, so they begin by blaming their leaders, Moses and Aaron. Yet Moses was just obeying God. How sad for pastors when their people blame them because of misunderstanding. Hebrews 13:17 says “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.” Hebrews 13:17

S1 · E55

Apr 27, 2022

12:11

Exodus 4 - Moses' Signs and Return to Egypt | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Exodus 4 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Exodus 4 Moses makes more excuses for not wanting to go. His initial excuse in Exodus 3 was “Who am I?” Now he says “they won’t believe me.” And, “I’m not a good speaker,” and finally, “Please pick someone else.” God is not impressed Contrast this with Mary the mother of Jesus who cheerfully trusted and was willing. No wonder she was highly favoured. God asks Moses “what is in your hand?” It was his rod. Through the rod that Moses already owned God worked wonders. And God will use us, with what we already have and are. We need our eyes opened to see. Then Moses second son was left uncircumcised, most likely just after his birth. Moses became sick and was to die. But Zipporah realised that God was angry because the circumcision had not happened. So she did what should have been Moses’ responsibility. Moses then recovered. This highlights how being called doesn’t spare us from having to obey. In fact the requirements are not lower, but higher. Moses seems stubborn and maybe lazy in this chapter, but nobody else could have performed the tasks he did later. God knew. God has also called you to do certain things. Are you being stubborn and lazy?

S1 · E54

Apr 26, 2022

14:48

Exodus 3 - God Calls Moses to Deliver Israel | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Exodus 3 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Exodus 3 God is speaking again after what seems like silence for 145 years. He is saying the same things to Moses that he said to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Amazingly we see that God was working to answer the prayers of the Israelites long before they prayed. He started preparing Moses 80 years earlier, by putting him into the Egyptian palace to receive their education. Then when the Israelites cried out, God had a deliverer he was already working on. Moses then doesn't think he is capable for the task. This is an astoundingly different position to that which he would have had as a prince of Egypt. God needed 40 years of desert humility to get the 40 years of Egyptian pride out of him. And he was indeed humble. Humility is being dependent on God. And we cannot serve God without depending on him. Then God reveals his name for the first time in the Bible as “I AM.” It doesn’t seem like a satisfying name, but it reveals that God is the self-existent one. Without something self-existent nothing could exist. So we find out that God is this eternal all-knowing God. In this chapter we learn God’s name, that God is self-existent, and that there is only 1 God. We also see God working to answer prayer, which is remarkable in itself, that God should consider people. But we also see him anticipating the prayer and working in advance. And we see that God is holy and deserves our reverence.

S1 · E53

Apr 25, 2022

14:34

Exodus 2 - The Birth and Early Life of Moses | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Exodus 2 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Exodus 2 the birth of Moses is described. Moses is no ordinary child, there is obviously something special about him which prompts his mother to risk her life to save him. He goes into the water in a basket and is drawn out of the water, in a very early picture of baptism. Bithiah is most likely the Egyptian princess here who rescues Moses, a name given to her later when she married Mered from the tribe of Judah and left Egypt in the Exodus. Her Egyptian name was probably Meri, according to Maclaren’s Expositions. Bithiah was God’s enemy, an Egyptian. It’s incredible how God uses his enemies for his purposes, and in this case, the enemy became a friend. In Christ at the cross, God attempts to turn all of his enemies into his friends, and you and I are those. Finally and remarkably, at the end of Exodus 2 the Israelites cry out to God for deliverance, but God has been preparing Moses for 40 years at least already for this. God hears our prayers before we pray them, and even though there is a timetable to it all, and it can take longer than we want, God is at work even when we don’t see it.

S1 · E52

Apr 24, 2022

15:34

Exodus 1 - The Israelites Multiply in Egypt | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Exodus 1 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Exodus 1 a new king arises in Egypt. The kings were called Pharaohs. Egyptian chronology is very confusing and the world’s leading Egyptologists even among themselves have differing chronologies. There are possibly 30 dynasties, some which overlap. See this for a sense of the complexity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasties_of_ancient_Egypt#:~:text=In%20ancient%20Egyptian%20history%2C%20dynasties,%22%20and%20%22intermediate%20periods%22 The Bible doesn’t say which Pharaoh we are talking of here. The National Geographic and some other non-biblically-leaning experts think Rameses II was Pharaoh during the actual Exodus, which would mean that Seti was Pharaoh when Moses was born. Some Christian Egyptologists disagree with these names and place it in another dynasty altogether. For example Dr David Downs thinks the Pharaoh at the time of the Exodus was Khasekemre-Neferhotep. No one is entirely certain, but the Bible is itself an incredibly old document and is the provision of huge evidence for Moses and these events to follow. More importantly, Jesus believed in Moses and made many comments about the law of Moses. Indeed Christ is in the law himself, and he said he had come to fulfil the law and the prophets. The chapter then talks about the midwives who lied to save the lives of Hebrew boys. Boys were drowned in the Nile, but girls were saved. The Bible says they feared God, indicating there are a few limited occasions when being sneaky is allowed because we fear God. The hiding of Jews in World War 2 by the Ten Boom family is a modern day example of this.

S1 · E51

Apr 23, 2022

13:11

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