January 26, 2010
Exo 22-24: A Community of Justice
Justice — conformity to truth, fact, or reason. Correctness / Righteousness / Equity
How do you define Justice? We’re pretty good at know when something wrong has been done to us, but less so when we’ve been accused of doing something wrong. When we’re accused we usually have a string of excuses as long as your arm ready for why the action was unavoidable. “I was in a hurry and didn’t mean it.” “After all that has been done to me I didn’t think anyone would notice.” And many more.
IN these passages from Exodus what is striking is the punitive damages that God requires for a crime. They require restitution but then the matter is settled. These laws, while sometimes laborious to get through, tell of a God who is involved in the simplest of details of human life and recognizes that if we cannot find a way to forgive each other, to offer mercy, then our existence will become simply “hell on earth.”
The details of these crimes deal with slaves, animals, the poor, rulers, and every once in awhile, the holiness of God’s name. The topics cover social, religious, economic, and political life. Everything is included. It may seem a bit bizarre to cover all these topics, but for the Hebrews coming out of Egypt, this was radical stuff. They were used to living as tribes under Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and then Pharaoh. They were used to being ruled, now they would have to learn to live co-dependent and as one body.
Could they do it? Can we?
Exo 19-21: Freedom to Serve
19:6 “Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
>> Believe it or not this verse is considered by many to be the central theme of the Exodus. We often think of the Exodus narrative as God’s freeing the slaves to live out their joyful happy lives to do whatever they want in the Promised Land. God defeats Pharaoh’s earthly rule and commands these Hebrews to follow Him to the land He promised Abraham. But God has a greater purpose for the Hebrews, just as He does for us. They are to be a people of priests before the Lord.
What does this mean to be a priesthood and holy nation? They are to be an example of a people wholly dedicated to serving God, loving one another, and living in justice, mercy, and love [see Micah 6:8].
What doe this mean for us as Christians? God did not save us through the blood of Jesus so that we could do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. We are also called to be a Royal Priesthood [1 peter 2:5], Ambassadors [2 Corinthians 5:20], and the Body of Christ [1 Corinthians 12:27]. We are to live as Christ’s representatives that the world may know how good, loving, gracious, slow to anger, and merciful God really is.
So here’s the big question – how do you think you’re doing?
[19:16] “On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.”
>> Does this sound familiar to anyone? On the morning of the third day God comes to the mountain to give the Law. On the morning of the third day Jesus comes to give new life.
[21:1] “These are the laws you are to set before them: ‘If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years.’”
What should we make of this long list of laws from Exodus 21. What I noticed right away is their focus. Notice that the very first law laid down by God is for the proper care of slave. A SLAVE! The first thing God wants the Hebrews to be concerned about is how they care for one another and the slaves above all. In our culture the wealth are the ones we are most concerned about, but not God. God’s focus is on the poorest.
When we as a church try to decide who the church is suppose to serve, is it
(a) The poorest in our community
(b) The richest in our community
(c) The silent majority who do most of the work?
Look over the rest of the laws in Chpt 21. Where is God drawing out attention? What kind of people and issues are being addressed and why?
January 23, 2010
Exo 14-16: The Hard Hearted
When God intercedes in the affairs of men, He does so with a unique perspective of time and outcomes. When Exodus states that God
“hardened Pharaoh’s heart” the form of verb suggests a future orientation such that God is viewing a process that is occurring not necessarily a consequence God is causing to happen by divine force. There appears to be an interesting progression in the use of the verbs from one in which Pharaoh’s heart is strengthened and therefore becomes unyielding because of growing pride, to one of burdensome and weariness that reflects the problems associated with positions of power and authority.
The struggle between God’s foreknowledge and Pharaoh’s free will is ultimately at stake in understanding these passages. According to Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, God is long-suffering toward Pharaoh until he showed himself to be intransigent. While others in Egypt responded to the plagues as signs and wonders, Pharaoh remained obstinate and became more of what he already was.
In a larger sense the relationship between God and Pharaoh is best reflected in light of Romans 1:24-25 “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.”
The hardness of Pharaoh’s heart was the consequence of his choices and his stubborn attitude toward any authority other than his own given the life into which he was born. The problem with Pharaoh’s position of absolute power is that it doesn’t allow for a lot of wiggle room when things don’t work out the way they should. Pharaoh is boxed in and his hardness of heart becomes a burden rather than a strength. In the face of God’s authority and sovereignty, Pharaoh goes down the wrong path and each step make his life and heart harder and harder. It’s all about choices.
The verbs that are most commonly used in Exodus to describe the state and or action of Pharaoh’s inner being as growing sense of strength, pride and arrogance that builds in Pharaoh over time bringing about certain events. The debate over whether God interferes with Pharaoh’s ability to freely choose is somewhat alleviated by looking at the form of the verbs, the process of development, and the context in which they are found.
tae: the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite.
ble n.m. inner man, mind, will, heart
qzx [to strengthen, strong, to grow firm]
Exodus 4:21 – action God takes on Pharaoh’s inner being [verb piel imperfect 1st person] future oriented. It suggests what is foreshadowed based on Pharaoh’s past history.
7:13 – describing the state of Pharaoh’s heart
7:22 – remained in its current state
8:19 – Pharaoh’s hardness of heart was resolute and established
9:12 – Action God takes toward Pharaoh [piel waw consec imperfect 3rd person]
9:35 – the state of Pharaoh’s heart such that he took action and would not let the people go.
10:20 — verb piel waw consec imperfect 3rd, seems to be concerned less with the causation of the event than the final state of being
11:10 — verb piel waw consec imperfect 3rd person, “the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart” Consequential action, the logical outcome of the preceeding events
14:4 — piel waw consec perfect 1st person, Consequential, because of the nature of God and the nature of Pharaoh, hardness and stubbornness is the logical result.
14:8 — piel waw consec imperfect, consequential action, because the Israelites were out of Pharaoh’s hand, his heart became stubborn and he pursued them.
To be hard, severe, fierce, make hard, stiff, stubborn, fig. of obstinacy.
Exodus 7:23 – action God takes toward Pharaoh’s heart
To refuse, refusing to obey commands;
Exodus 7:14 – describing the state of Pharaoh’s heart (perfect tense, is unyielding, or stubborn)
dbeK’ vb. be heavy, weighty, burdensome, honored,
Exodus 8:11 – Pharaoh’s heart became burdened and weighted down
8:32 – the action of Pharaoh toward his own situation
9:7 – in response to the death of the animals, pharaoh remains unyielding
9:34 – because of Pharaoh’s sin, his heart is burdened even more and therefore unyielding
10:1 — verb hiphil perfect 1st person, the subject brings about a state of being, in this case heaviness of heart brought about by God.
John Goldingay in Old Testament Theology: Israel’s Gospel provides a helpful discussion of this:
“To soften or harden something impersonal such as butter or jelly, we use physical manipulation, heating or cooling it, but to soften or harden a person, we present them with facts or images or stories so that they can do their work in generating a response on the part of the person. Similarly, Yhwh’s softening or hardening need not involve some equivalent to physical manipulation, as if God reaches into the brain and directly changes the way it works. To judge from other aspects of God’s working with human beings, more likely God softens and hardens in the same personal way that human beings adopt in personal relations. God makes things happen by influencing people. To soften people, God presents them with facts or images or stories of divine love or power, or of human possibilities of action or achievement. These do not force them to a positive response, but give them, for example, extra stimulus and opportunity to trust or love or worship. To toughen people, God presents them with other facts or images or stories – for instance, perhaps, reminding the Pharaoh of the loss he will incur through letting the Israelites go. That, too, does not force or manipulate Pharaoh to decide to hold on to Israel. What happens depends on how Pharaoh responds to the facts or images or stories—on whether he himself toughens his resolve. (353).”
January 21, 2010
Exo 4-6: What if?
Moses is scared and who could blame him? Whenever God asks us to follow Him, it
will always cause what Henry Blackaby calls “a crisis of belief.” Faith in God is not worth much if we already have all the answers, all the strength, and all the confidence to complete the task on our own. Faith comes when we are stretched beyond our limits to the point where only God can accomplish what lies before us.
What crisis are you facing today? None?
How’s your faith today? Is it growing or is it stagnant? You already know the answer!
Paul says, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’” 1 Corinthians 1:27-31 (NIV)
How does God help Moses grow and give him confidence? Through a simple staff, but it was a physical representation of God’s presence and Grace. Do you ever wish you had a staff to touch the Nile River and turn into blood? [Remember the Nile was Egypt’s source of power, prosperity, and confidence of divine blessing. To touch the river was to touch their source of confidence? If you could touch the oppressive forces in your life, where would you touch?]
What physical representation of God’s power and grace have we been given?
Holy Communion – the body and blood of Christ
Baptism – washed into the community of faith through water in the Spirit of Christ
The Cross – a constant reminder that “God so love the world that He gave His only Son…” [John 3:16]
Worship – the community of faith that represents the Body of Christ to the world.
>> Can you think of others?
Aaron – Moses doesn’t go alone. God partners Moses with Aaron to speak to Pharaoh. Moses is the visionary, but Aaron has credibility with the people. This is a strategic move by God based on Moses’ fear and anxiety.
Burning Bush – I have often wanted a burning bush in my life to know FOR SURE what God’s will was that I may walk in it. When things don’t work out as I thought they should, I’m big at second guessing myself. The downside of a burning bush is that it belittles the relationship. God command – we do. God grace comes in Christ that we might know His heart. Now the question is simply “What Would Jesus Do?”
New Testament Parallel
LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.” 4:19
“Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” Matthew 2:20
Prayer
Father I pray that as we read your word together we will grow in grace, gratitude and faith. Continue to guide us and when we feel we cannot accomplish what lies before us, remind us that You are with us always in Christ Jesus. Amen
January 18, 2010
Gen 48-50:The End of the Beginning
Have we come to the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end?
Since Genesis 1, just think how far we’ve come. Here’s a short list of what we’ve learned, experienced and marveled at as its unfolded. We will have to contend with this list and its meaning for the rest of the year.
- God’s Sovereignty and purposeful design
- Man’s propensity for self-delusion and self-aggrandizement
- Sin’s consequences
- God’s Covenant
- Abraham’s faith
- Human frailty, and
- God Providence
If you have other’s I’d love to hear what they are. Please add to this growing list.
Christ is revealed in the following blessings of Jacob’s son Judah.
“The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” [Gen 49:10]
The father blesses his sons, but the “blessing” is less of a look to the future as it is a reflection of the past. I can’t imagine Reuben being particularly thrilled when Jacob reads the family will and Reuben’s behavior is revealed.
What legacy or blessing have you received from your parents and what blessing are you creating for your children?
Faith is a tough for Jacob’s family. As soon as he dies the brother’s fear Joseph’s vengeance. Don’t they know him yet? Hasn’t his heart been revealed, or has their distrust said more about their hearts and than his?
Father God, You have blessed us when we were in rebellion. Through the example of your son Jesus Christ, we learn that we can trust Your heart. I pray for all those who still doubt, still wonder, and still wait. May we be your voice of hope. In Jesus’ Name we Pray, Amen.
Gen 46-47: The World is Not My Home
Jacob, the father of the Promise, meets Pharaoh the lord of the Empire. Through the work of Joseph, Pharaoh has
become very rich indeed owning all the cattle, people and land in Egypt. The genealogy of the sons of Jacob is recorded so that the reader may know the size of the tribe entering Egypt. This genealogy will become important later when we see how many leave Egypt.
Pharaoh is gracious to Jacob because of Joseph and gives them the best land of Goshen to live in. But even now, at the end of his life and living in the best land in Egypt, Jacob makes Joseph swear to take his bones from Egypt and rest in land of the promise.
I think we all live in the land of Egypt from time to time, but this world is not my home. I have a tie my kids gave me years ago for Easter, appropriate timing, that has a sort of ancient map on it and the words “this world is not my home.” We are the children of the promise and we know that when that time comes our bones too will be taken to the Promised Land where they will be restored.
Thank you God for the legacy of Jacob, a man of passion and one in whom the covenant was lived out in a very human way. Through him we have all been blessed to know that Your love and compassion knows no bounds. We thank you for Joseph and pray that we can be a type of Joseph for those we love and in our own way, save lives through our integrity, honesty, and unfailing faith.
Amen
Miscellaneous Comment
I feel that when God calls out “Jacob, Jacob” He is calling out to the patriarch of the family and settling the covenant that God made with one family, Abraham. “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. [46:3]
This draws this family covenant into a wider national covenant through the blessings of the sons, the twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob). You can see the change in identity happening through the language which does a lot of flip-flops. “Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob…” [46:5]
“We will be in bondage to Pharaoh.” 47:25
I often hear people complain that giving God a tithe or 10% is unreasonable and even impractical. Pharaoh does not save his people, but buys them and owns everything. Pharaoh is not a “living god” but a shrewd business man who cornered the market on grain in a famine. He owns his own people and demands 20% payment for the rest of their lives in order to live. Contrast that with God who generously gives us everything and asks that we return 10% to be used to feed the poor and those facing tragedy, like the recent earthquake in Haiti or the poverty in Honduras. Are you surprised we take God’s grace and generosity for granted and often begrudgingly give as little as 1%.
Pharaoh owns people and demands a 20% tribute.
God give people life and commands we return 10% to help others. Which we then ignore.
Looking back on it, I wonder who is really in bondage here!
Gen 43-45: The Hidden Call of God
One of the first things I noticed about this passage was that the writer now almost exclusively refers to Jacob as Israel.
The change has been made from just a family problem to a national identity.
The fact that Joseph is overcome with emotion and looks for a place to weep lets the reader know that Joseph is not just playing games but his heart is sincere. People may say many things and do things that on the outside look one way or another, but tears reveal what’s really in the heart.
The main point of the Joseph Story: Our Perspective is limited when God’s Grace is
“it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” 45:5
Joseph finally shares with his brothers that Joseph’s life in Egypt, their evil [notice Joseph doesn’t hide this fact], and the sorrow they have experienced has had a divine purpose which none of them could have foreseen. Joseph’s dream has finally been realized but in way he could never have imagined.
Have you ever asked God for a blessing? Did you ever want to be in a position of power, authority, and prestige? Be careful, for the road to success, in God’s plans, is usually paved with sorrow and a new understanding of what it means to be great!
“The greatest among you must the be servant of all” Matthew 23:11
Father God, when we are troubled, anxious about tomorrow, or doubt whether You grace is sufficient to save us, help us to remember Joseph and that even in the midst of storms in our lives, You have never abandoned us, but have placed us where we can do the most good. Help to gain a new perspective, to serve where we can serve, to give what we can give, and wait for the revelation of Your plan in our lives. This in pray, humbly, in Jesus’ name. Amen
January 11, 2010
Gen 32-34:Jacob Struggles
Every Warrior of the Light has felt afraid of going into battle.
Every Warrior of the Light has, at some time in the past, lied or betrayed someone.
Every Warrior of the Light has trodden a path that was not his.
Every Warrior of the Light has suffered for the most trivial of reasons.
Every Warrior of the Light has, at least once, believed he was not a Warrior of the Light.
Every Warrior of the Light has failed in his spiritual duties.
Every Warrior of the Light has said ‘yes’ when he wanted to say ‘no.’
Every Warrior of the Light has hurt someone he loved.
That is why he is a Warrior of the Light, because he has been through all this and yet has never lost hope of being better than he is. ~ Paulo Coelho
Jacob has schemed and manipulated his whole life, but facing his own brother who he betrayed to obtain his birthright he cannot manipulate the past. He tries to appease his brother by sending a series of gifts, but still he cannot find peace. His destiny is set and Esau is coming with over 400 men. A rather ominous sign. What should Jacob do?
In one of the most talked about passages in scripture, Jacob wrestles with God. The exact meaning of this passage is still the subject of much debate, but clearly by morning Jacob is a new man, with a limp. Israel is born in the night of struggles and resolution. Yet Jacob will not let go of God and demands a blessings. Please don’t let me go through all this and not be changed.
I think we’ve all gone through dark nights of the soul when we wrestle with God. Things don’t always turn out like we thought they would and we blame God and try to manipulate events to our advantage. But in the end, God is God and we’re totally dependent upon grace.
Jacob expects the worst when he see Esau, but Esau is not out for vengeance, but to see his brother. Imagine the relief in Jacob heart. He deserves retribution but receive grace. Here is how Jacob responds, “For to see your face is like seeing the face of God.”33:10 Israel’s first experience is Grace.
The encounter with Dinah and Shechem has a rather interesting twist. Dinah’s brothers convince Shechem and his clan to be circumcised in order to “purchase” Dinah as a wife. But circumcision was created to establish a covenant between God and His people. Shechem’s father, Hamor, entices Jacob’s family to overlook the indiscretion in order to live in the land and be prosperous. Have you ever been tempted to compromise your values and personal integrity in order to get a raise, a promotion or to look better in the eyes of others?
“You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.” 34:10
This section ends with a question for the reader to ponder. Note that no answer is given which leaves room for the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. How should we respond given the sin of Shechem, the deceit of false circumcision, and the slaughter of the cities by Simeon and Levi?
“Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?” 34:31
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