Hearty Helping

Exodus 18:13-27

This incident reveals a remarkable degree of social organization in the desert. Not only is Moses mediating in personal disputes, but also serves the function of prophet-preacher, informing the people of God’s decrees and laws (verse 16), and representing the people before God (verse 19). In other words, he is not just mediating between people, but also between God and the people.

Moses’ father-in-law notices and all this, and proposes a plan: Get some help! And Moses does it. The people are divided into military-like divisions, with judges responsible over those sections of people, with just the toughest matters still coming to Moses.

What is especially noteworthy is that the Scripture has no difficulty with this plan coming from a ‘foreign’ priest. The key thing seems to be that, whatever the source, the result reflect and promote the divine will and plan.

Some people have a knack for taking whatever is in the fridge and putting it together into a great meal, or at least an edible one. God seems to do this on a rather higher level: taking all the elements of our lives, if we will let him, and give us a new path. He can take all the disparate elements of a faith community, if we will let him, and make them a force to be reckoned with. He did, after all, form a whole creation out of formlessness and void. It’s nothing for him take the stuff of our lives and fashion our way through the desert.

Prayer:
God, you are indeed the Great Chef. What are you cooking up today? In Christ. Amen.

The In-Laws Visit

Exodus 18:1-12

I lose track of how many times the relationship of Jethro to Moses, as father-in-law, is mentioned here. It is no doubt a sign of the culture out of which this comes that this relationship is mentioned far more than that of Moses to his wife.

Anyway, this is clearly to be understood as a happy occasion, this ‘catching up’ from old times, from before the exodus, when Moses was enfolded within the family of Jethro (Exodus 2:15-22).

We are not told what kind of priest Jethro was; what god he served, or whether somehow he had been led to offer sacrifice to Yahweh. What matters is that he now acknowledges the Lord who has been very much active in the life of the people. He is poised, therefore, to offer with great credibility the sound advice is about to offer his son-in-law.

Prayer:
Lord, let us accept whatever witness to truth may come along. When we allow that insight to speak, we look back, and we see you at work in ways we never perceived at the time. Improve our discernment, Lord, so that we may better en-courage one another. Through Christ. Amen.

Gettin' By

Exodus 17:8-16

There was hunger. The people complained, seemingly forgetting all that God had just done for them. God could have been angry, but he just fed the people.

There was thirst. The people complained, seemingly forgetting all that God had just done for them, including feeding them when there was no food. God could have been angry, but he just gave the people water.

Now there is danger from enemies. This is no even match; on the face of it, Israel is no match for the forces of Amalek. What will happen?

Moses’ physical power is beginning to wane. Along with the lesson on teamwork that always gets pointed out here, that is the point of helpers needing to hold up Moses’ arms. Note that Joshua appears here for the first time. But the ‘bottom line’ message here is that if there is to be victory for Israel, it is up to the Lord. Once again for Israel, survival is at stake in the face of overwhelming odds. It could be argued that is the story of Israel. It is at least a major theme of Israel’s life through many ages. In the twentieth century there was a horrid attempt to do what Amalek couldn’t.

This is an aspect of Biblical witness those of us who teach and lead should not overlook. We speak, in Easter celebration, of victory and exaltation. A lot of people would consider it a miracle just to survive – the day, the kids fighting, paying the bills, dealing with work; just getting by. OK, that’s not exactly the Holocaust, but it’s what we deal with at the time. The Christ of ultimate victory spent a lot of time just being where people were at. In matters of communication and presence, that’s probably where Christ’s Body and Christ’s ambassadors need to start.

Prayer:
Lord, lead me to be with someone in the next while in such a way that just for them to have someone who will just really hear them will be a victory – and someday maybe life in abundance will be in view. Through Christ. Amen.

Signs of Presence

Exodus 17:1-7

Massah is said to mean ‘proof’, while Meribah translates as ‘contention.’ Both meanings come from what Moses says in the last part of verse 2.

Thirst would have been a constant issue in the wilderness, and we rightly be reluctant to judge the people for their reaction, even though the same observation applies here as with the complaint about food when the manna was given: What more does God have to do than what he has done to show he can be counted on?

Still, immediate circumstances have a way of crowding out our nobler thoughts, and it is a problem of faith to feel certain that God is with us in time of crisis. The need for comfort and assurance cannot be underestimated. Still, as far as I can see, the only promise we have of permanent healing and comfort is in final glory. Jesus actually cautioned against insistence on signs of God’s presence (Mark 8:12). What he did promise was his presence. That should be enough.

But there is more. We are free (that is, free to respond to Jesus’ commandment in this) to remind one another of that promise in real-life ways, in meeting and living with one another in love.

Prayer:
O God, thank you for your gracious withholding of signs, so that we will be drawn to one another in our need for help and encouragement. Through Christ. Amen.

Manna

Exodus 16:13-36

There is little attention given to the gift of quail. The manna was thought of as falling from heaven, just as the dew was thought to come down on the ground. The name probably comes from what the people asked: “What is it?”

Each person who gathers for his tent is told to collect what each person could eat in a day. When anyone tried to keep it for another day, it went foul. There was one exception, with two days’ worth coming on the sixth day. The next day’s portion could be preserved. The manna could be baked or boiled. It had a look like coriander seed, and tasted like wafers made with honey.

God commands Moses to preserve one day’s worth of it in a jar in order to bear witness to the future generations. This underlines the message of mercy and provision on God’s part, and trust – in God’s provision for each day - from the human side.

The manna is a great miracle, but it does not in itself sustain life that is an eternal gift. There is bread from heaven that is yet to come (John 6:32-33).

Prayer:
Each day brings disturbing events in this world, Lord; some too great to comprehend in the scope of the hatred they embody. Give us each this day the sustenance of nourishment and love we need to live and offer what you intend. Through Christ. Amen.

Gracious Overlooking

Exodus 16:1-12

The motif of the people grumbling is a major theme of the wilderness journey. This incident had to do with a lack of food. I wouldn’t be happy either. And in times of adversity it is understandable to regret the direction that took you to the trouble; but there’s probably more here than just a natural response to hard circumstances. The passage itself doesn't seem very sympathetic to the people. Why not?

We’ve just been through some very powerful passages in which God has displayed his power and purpose on behalf of the people in a big way. The grumbling would suggest that those things never happened. That is a lack of trust and affront to the Lord, especially when they cynically cry out that they would rather go back. What does God do? He just responds to their expressed need.

Next time: What’s manna?

Prayer:
Great God, thank you that you do not hold our lack of trust against us, but just persist in showing us your care. You surely do not take our lack of trust lightly; that just makes your grace all the more amazing. Through Christ. Amen.

Sweet Water

Exodus 15:22-27

The disappointment and frustration of the people is understandable. You travel three days with no water. When you find water you can’t drink it. So the people complain to Moses. Moses passes on the complaint to God. God shows Moses a piece of wood, also translated “a tree.” He throws the wood into the water and the bitter water is made sweet.

The Cross of Christ would not consciously be in mind here, but, with the advantage of looking back from the Cross, we can see what will prove to be a persistent concern of God. It is God’s desire to use humans under his direction (Moses/Church) to be the agents of immersing the means of his redemption (piece of wood/Cross) into the sea of bitterness that washes over much of the world and seeps into too much of our experience.

Do you have something you are bitter about? There is healing available, if you want it. You do? Sweet.

Prayer:
Lord, help us truly to desire and accept the healing you offer in every way. Through Christ. Amen.

The ongoing great I AM

Exodus 15:1-21

The first 13 verses of this psalm may not raise any great question for you. They do bring out more of the obviously and directly miraculous, supernatural way of understanding the deliverance of the Israelites through the sea. Then, starting in verse 14, the song celebrates events that will yet occur, from the perspective of the time of the sea crossing, and that did occur, from the perspective of later history. So what’s that about?

One possibility is that Moses and the Israelites (verse 1) were given a special vision of the future. The other thought that is put forward is that a song of praise from a later time is inserted here in the final form of the Scripture. Most of us would judge this according to our already existing assumptions about the nature of Scripture, and I think that’s OK because the essential meaning is the same. That is, either understanding enhances the witness to the reality of the God who is the ongoing I AM in history, the God who has been made known in powerful ways both to the Israelites and to the Egyptians. The song now celebrates that in times to come after this epochal event, he will similarly be known. The question of which side of the historical events the telling of them comes from does not strike me as critical, as long as we allow for the possibility that the events could have been revealed in advance. That would be a small thing for the God with the power to do what he has done, and to bring about our own deliverances from various forms of captivity.

Prayer:
God, you can do all things. It is by your power that you held back the waters. That itself was a small thing for you who brought beauty and order from the watery chaos at creation. Surely you can meet our needs of this day. Give us this day our daily bread. Through Christ. Amen.

Miraculous sea crossing

Exodus 14:19-31

The essential elements here are the initiative and hand of God, the impact of natural elements, and assigned human agency (Moses stretching out his hand).

Scholars comment on a blending of two traditions in the telling of the sea crossing: one which emphasized ‘natural’ events, and another which emphasizes what is more obviously miraculous. I say ‘obviously’ because it is miraculous either way. It seems to me, moreover, that the climax of the story is not the physical action itself, but the acknowledgement by the Egyptians of the Hebrew God – they even say the Name (verse 25). Recall from yesterday that this was the point of rearranging the itinerary, so that the Lord could bring about a series of events that would compel the Egyptians to see who is the real power, and that he is who he is, and will be who he will be (Exodus 3:14). This event is the equivalent of the burning bush for the Egyptians.

By the way, the NIV follows traditional rendering in calling the water the Red Sea (13:18). The Hebrew is actually translated “sea of reeds” but nobody can agree on what water this refers to. All that really matters is that it refers to a significant body of water that was in the way.

Prayer:
You initiative and power, human agency, and present conditions and circumstances: all part of what we do in your name, Lord. Help us give due consideration to each, with your initiative and power over it all. Through Christ. Amen.

The Lord will fight for you

Exodus 14:1-18

The order to change route (verse 2) brings about the change which was signaled in 13:17-18. Verse 3 indicates that the change in route is to have an intended effect on Pharaoh. He will be led to think the Israelites are lost and confused. Then the Lord’s plan in this is revealed; that “the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord” (verse 4).

Pharaoh regrets letting the Israelites go. He deploys what we would call special forces to pursue them. But Pharaoh’s plan to pursue falls within the Lord’s plan. As the Egyptians bear down on the Israelites, the perspective shifts to them and In their terror they cry out.

There are now two speeches. The people unload on Moses (11-12), and Moses responds (13-14). The people see only Pharaoh’s plan. Moses does the only thing he can do. He says they must respond to God’s plan, not what they see before them (This is a basic test of faith that many present day faith communities fail). The people saw only the Egyptians approaching, but the battle will be fought by the Lord for them (verse 14). Then Moses gets his own orders (verse 16). What results from that is next.

Prayer:
Lord, we know we must take seriously the circumstances around us. We would not avoid responsibilities and problems that must be addressed. Let us do so in confidence that you have a plan for us through it all. Through Christ who cares. Amen.

Fear Factor

Exodus 13:17-22

A lot of things fear tells us not to do, we shouldn’t do. There’s courage, and then there’s stupidity. That’s just a qualifier for what follows.

Verse 18 notes that Israel set out “armed for battle.” The reason the Lord led them in a round about way is not stated to be that they were not well enough armed; it was that they might turn back if faced with a fight. What follows, however, indicates they have a lot going for them beyond their own strength. Taking the bones of Joseph would be a clue that what is happening is part of a divine plan, since Joseph foresaw this happening (Genesis 50:24-25). And I kind of think if we were going somewhere and a column of smoke and of fire was going ahead of us, we might think something unusual and special was going on. We’d video it and put it on YouTube.
Still, fear has a mind of its own. I get scared in simulation type rides, even though I know I’m not going anywhere. Even when the angels spoke to the shepherds and said not to be afraid, they probably didn’t stop having the feeling. What it means when we get messages from God not to be afraid is that we don’t let our fear stop us.

Prayer:
Lord, be especially present with kids who struggle with ‘dares’ and knowing what’s brave and what’s just stupid. Let us all not shrink from what you want us to do, knowing that feeling fear is not weakness. Through Christ. Amen.

In the Moment

Exodus 13:1-16

The feast of unleavened bread and consecration of the first-born are both related to entrance into the Promised Land (verses 5 and 11). They both also look back to what God has already done, in answer to anticipated questions from the young. Great faith is anchored in past experience of the Lord and in certainty of future fulfillment. Each present experience in which we know the Lord’s presence becomes in some way a new expression of of what God has done in the past, and points also to what he will yet do. Roots in the past and hope for the future give us our sense of place in the present. Ironically, those who try to live only for the moment miss it all. In faith, we have the security to live more fully in the moment, and not just for it.

Prayer:
Lord, thank you that, as the hymn says, “’tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” Through Christ. Amen.

Passover Plus

Exodus 12:21-51

I don’t know any Christians who celebrate Passover. Why not; it’s in our Bible? I guess the reason is that there is a new Passover of greater scope that has subsumed the original Passover: The blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God has brought freedom from captivity to sin and judgment.

Yet we should not ‘spiritualize’ this over much. By that I mean we would not want to lose what is subsumed in the greater meaning. There was physical deliverance from physical hardship. There is something incomplete in our spiritual liberation if it is not accompanied by compassion for those in very down-to-earth situations of captivity.

We would want, I think, to avoid either the liberal or conservative extremes: identifying salvation with social action on the one hand, or a sole concern with getting souls into heaven on the other. Becoming more like Jesus means we are concerned for the whole person, including balance in our own life and discipleship.

Prayer:
Thank you, Jesus, that in your earthly ministry we see your compassion for people in their immediate circumstances, and not as a means toward something else, but just because you were filled with love for them. Infuse me with your Spirit. Amen.

Agnus Dei

Exodus 12:1-20

The instruction to Moses and Aaron that starts the chapter signals that the new life for Israel is to be marked by a new calendar. The calendar begins with present event of deliverance.

There are then detailed instructions for the preparation and consumption of the meal on that night: a perfect animal, roasted whole, eaten in haste in an attitude of readiness for departure.

I get a sense of that one night before the plague being kind of melded together with subsequent memory and the ongoing observance of Passover. Verses 14-20 actually pass, in the middle of this action-packed narrative, from that ‘first’ Passover night to the remembrance observance of later years. The setting of instruction for remembrance alongside instruction for present action could be a bit confusing. I find it just underscores the importance of memory of the acts of God for a spiritual community. Passover, and the deliverance it led to, became the basic reference point for all other experience of Israel.

On this day in Christian memory, the disciples had a ‘that night’ experience with Jesus. There were preparations for that meal – their Passover meal, which took on a whole new meaning for the church. Our remembrance of that event is brought together with ways of remembering it. In so doing, we are brought to our knees at the realization of the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God (agnus dei), and that we partake of him in such a manner as to be ready to flee – not from anything – but into our Egypt, the world in which we bear witness to the God who offers deliverance not just for a people, but for all.

Prayer:
Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, bearer of our sins, have mercy on us.
Jesus, redeemer of the world, grant us peace.
- An ancient prayer

Tipping His Hand

Exodus 11:1-10

We will yet have opportunity to explore the theme of the killing of the first-born that comes with this plague. What has been of most contention in this chapter is the reference to the taking of Egyptian treasure. A lot hinges on whether the translation says the Israelites asked for the treasures or borrowed them. The Hebrew word could mean either.

In subsequent generations down to our own, this reference has been used to give fuel to a certain stereotype about Jews. One wonders if the stereotype leads to an imbalance in interpretation. Maybe the emphasis should be less on the manner of acquisition, and more on the willingness of the Egyptians to provide the treasures.

This is consistent with the theme of call, blessing and promise that carries on from Genesis. There we found things consistently skewed in favour of those who were bearers of promise and blessing; those through whom God’s purposes would be fulfilled. This had nothing to do with merit, or fairness, it was just God’s choice. I would suggest we should see this aspect of the story, the passing of treasure from Egyptians into the hands of Israelites, in the same vein, and not read anything into it.

Prayer:
God, you make your choices and at times, well OK often, we struggle with those choices. Help us remember the one who suffered the most unfairness anyone has ever suffered, and look for the answers you will provide as we go forward in faith. Through Christ. Amen.

Shifting Balance

Exodus, Chapters 8 - 10 (link goes to chapter 8, then click single arrow for next chapter)

As you read through plagues 2 to 9 in chapters 8-10 you can notice an weakening of Pharaoh’s resistance and increasing resolve and insistence from Moses.

The balance is seen to be tilting with the plague of gnats when Pharaoh’s magicians cannot duplicate the phenomenon (8:18). With the plague of flies there is a new separateness put in place that works to the advantage of the Israelites (8:22), a development that builds with the plague on the livestock (9:7). With the plague of boils, the fall of power of the Egyptian magicians is pretty much complete because they are themselves incapacitated by the boils (9:11).

The announcement of the plague of hail brings another new development: there is an opportunity for protection before the onslaught (9:19). We move further to actual negotiations with the plague of locusts, which is described extensively. The negotiations turn on who is to be included in the journey, and the dangerous vacillation of Pharaoh’s heart increases (10:20).

Through all this Moses concedes nothing. Pharaoh says he doesn’t want to see his face again. Moses could well respond that that’s kind of the point (10:28-29).

Now we’re set to head into the origin of the celebration of Passover. I just want to observe that this topic for Open Journal at this time in the calendar is the Lord’s timing; not mine. I didn’t plan it this way.

Prayer:
Thanks and praise to you, great God; that your ways and plans and thoughts are so far above ours. Increase our wonder in your mysteries, all the more because you give us glimpses of your purposes in everyday life. Through Christ. Amen.

What Did It First Mean?

Exodus 7:14-25

I don’t think there will be a lot to be gained from examining the plagues in great detail. So I’ll just let you know that the next OJ post will take in chapters 8-10 (no, I won’t copy all that into the email version!).

The present passage includes the message that will be the main refrain through the plague story: “Let my people go.” The purpose of the events is to let Pharaoh know who Yahweh is by his powerful effects. Some aspects of this first plague are a bit puzzling, like what water was left for the magicians to turn into blood?

Much of the imagery found here comes back in an even more powerful way in the Book of Revelation. It is used there to depict a more cosmic struggle. The Exodus story would be retold first by children of Israel, and would encourage them in their contemporary struggles. The Book of Revelation first encouraged early Christians suffering for their faith in a resistant and hostile world. Neither the Exodus plague story nor the Revelation to John, however, is easy reading. Access to both begins with the question I’ve just addressed: Who were the first readers and what did it mean to them? This is a useful question to ask in allowing any Scripture to address us. The answer will usually come only with the help of some resources – such as those found in the notes of a good study Bible. You might wonder why God wouldn’t make his Word more readily accessible, but the benefit of having to do a little digging is that we get to know more of the humanity through whom God has spoken, and we get to share these questions together and grow in connection with others as well as in our understanding and discipleship.

This week I will launch Open Source, which will be a bi-weekly (Tuesdays and Fridays) email (by opt-in*) and online offering in which I will share my own study and reflection in the Word, in preparation for messages at Knox Church. My hope also is that you will have a part in that process of preparation, and the messages will actually become the product of a community.

*I will send out the first couple of entries to my Open Journal list. But I will continue to send it after that only to those who indicate they want to receive it.

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for your Word: your eternal Word of creation, your living Word in Jesus Christ, and your written Word bearing witness to both. In Him. Amen.