Moses comes to lead Israel from Egypt, but Pharaoh has another plan: to make secure his slave labor base. Pharaoh tightens his grip on Israel, makes their work harder, and they groan at Moses for the burdens their attempts at liberation have brought. Moses cries out to God on their behalf, and God replies:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: Indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go; by a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land."
God also spoke to Moses and said to him: "I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name 'The Lord' I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens. I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites whom the Egyptians are holding as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
Say therefore to the Israelites, 'I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.'"
Exodus 6:1-9 – NRSV
How does the Lord respond to the complaints of this troubled people? He answers in the same two ways that he will throughout the years to come: these are the people who have worshiped me, and these are the works that I have done.
“I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” If you are going to have a faith like they have, if you are going to know the blessings that they know, if you are going to experience the saving power of their God, then you must believe and follow their God.
That God is not removed and uninterested in history, or even worse, capriciously involved in it. Instead this God moves with a mighty purpose: to call a people who will live in relationship with him, blessed by him and blessing him. In this case, God looks forward to the defining event that he will refer back to many times in the centuries to come: “I am the God who frees Israel.”
This God is the liberator God. This God is the God of Justice. This God is the saving God. He goes by many names, none of which is adequate, for he will always be beyond our understanding. He has befriended many, but each uniquely. He has acted many times, though not necessarily in ways we can understand in the moment, for he is a mysterious God. Although C. S. Lewis has reminded us that he is not a “tame God”, we can be sure of this: his steadfast love for us never ceases.
May we never cease to call out to the God who is beyond all names. May we never cease to befriend this God who has so many friends. May we never cease to worship our God, who has acted in so many surprising ways to save us. May we never cease to trust him, even when we have yet to understand the ways that he is acting, day by day, in our personal history.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
