Your sandals on your feet ...

Hear the word of God:

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.

Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.

This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Exodus 12:1-13 – NRSV

Blessings,

Ron

Hard as a brick ...

Hear the word of God:

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, the hand of the Lord will strike with a deadly pestilence your livestock in the field: the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing shall die of all that belongs to the Israelites.'"

The Lord set a time, saying, "Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land." And on the next day the Lord did so; all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but of the livestock of the Israelites not one died. Pharaoh inquired and found that not one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the people go.
Exodus 9:1-7 – NRSV

This is the fifth of the ten mighty plagues sent as warnings to the Pharaoh. It may be that Pharaoh had come to see this as a contest between the gods: his gods and the God of Israel. It seemed that he was confident that his gods, being more numerous and native to the land, would surely win such a battle. Yet even though it seems that the domain of each of the Egyptian gods is assaulted one by one, plague by plague, Pharaoh hardens his heart. Is this because he perceives himself to be a god also, and he still feels alive and powerful? Does he perceive himself as having a right to power? Does he fail to see that using power requires him to be right? Or is he just hard-headed?

Pharaoh hardens his own heart. Until the sixth plague, that is. Then on the sixth, the eighth, and the ninth plague, the narrator tells us that God participates in the hardening. Does that mean that God tinkered with the internal workings of Pharaoh’s mind? It might be, but I don’t think so. I think it means that God continued to pursue his course in freeing the Israelites even though he knew that this would deepen the resistance that was building in the mind of Pharaoh. If Pharaoh is going to fire his will like a brick in a kiln, then God is going to continue the pressure until that will is shattered. If necessary, God will shatter that hardened will with the awareness that it is the God, the Creator of the Universe, that Pharaoh resists.

Surely we are never so stubborn. Surely we never continue in a course just to prove that we are right. Surely we never keep doing something just to prove that we have the power to do it. Surely we never harden our own heart in opposition to the will or the purposes of our great God.

Yet we do, don’t we? Even though our intentions may have been good, we sometimes make this mistake. I think that, whenever we find ourselves strengthening our resolve, especially whenever it involves an exercise of power, we have to ask ourselves, “Am I acting within the current movement of God within the world, or, am I acting according to my own perceptions of how things ought to be?” "Am I resolved, or resistant?" If we find ourselves continuing to hit a brick wall, then perhaps we need to try to figure out who put the bricks there.

Blessings,

Ron

I will be your God ...

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

Resisting God ...

Hear the word of God:

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.'" But Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go." …

That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, "You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, 'Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.' Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will labor at it and pay no attention to deceptive words." …

So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, "Complete your work, the same daily assignment as when you were given straw." And the supervisors of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, "Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before?"

Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, "Why do you treat your servants like this?...”

He said, "You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.' Go now, and work … “

The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble … As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron who were waiting to meet them. They said to them, "The Lord look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."

Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people."
Exodus 5 – NRSV

When we do the right thing, when we do that which we believe that God expects us to do, we expect good things to happen. Our tendency is to think that righteousness and reward are directly connected. Yet this story makes one thing perfectly clear – even for Moses the old saw is true: “Things tend to get worse before they get better.”

Why is that?

When we work to change a person or a community into one that is righteous, that brings about the stress of change. When circumstances force people to change, they frequently don’t behave very well. Pharaoh is about to have to deal with some change. He doesn’t like the change, and he doesn’t really think that he has to change, so he exercises his power to bring about a kind of change to his advantage that he believes will make the Israelites think twice before they ask for change again. Pharaoh acts out, before God, and before God’s people.

Still, God is patient; after all, he will give Pharaoh ten chances to change his mind. Yet Pharaoh will not be able to deny God his move to liberate his people. Pharaoh cannot stop God. Neither can anyone else. We humans can cost God time or resources. We can deny him ourselves by misusing our free will. Those decisions to resist God may cost the people of God pain and time, yet eventually those who frustrate God are the ones who find themselves frustrated, in pain, or worse. This pain does not necessarily come from the hands of God, but is sometimes a natural consequence of the misuse of that which God has given.

Every day we encounter parents and children who are trapped in unholy uses and abuses of power. Because they believe that they have the right to this power, or because they think that this is the only way that they can survive their situation, they will resist our redirecting their use of power to one that is holy and benevolent. Not only that, they may act out even more profoundly just so we understand just exactly who decides what.

Those are the times to endure the grief, pray for those resisting, and move patiently toward the future that God will establish.

May God bless us with such patience.

Ron

Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh ...

Hear the word of God:

Moshe said to God, “Look, when I appear before the people of Isra’el and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”

God said to Moshe, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be],” and added, “Here is what to say to the people of Isra’el: ‘Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.’” God said further to Moshe, “Say this to the people of Isra’el: ‘Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [Adonai], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.

Go, gather the leaders of Isra’el together, and say to them, ‘Adonai, the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, has appeared to me and said, “I have been paying close attention to you and have seen what is being done to you in Egypt; and I have said that I will lead you up out of the misery of Egypt to the land of the Kena‘ani, Hitti, Emori, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ They will heed what you say. Then you will come, you and the leaders of Isra’el, before the king of Egypt; and you will tell him, ‘Adonai, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert; so that we can sacrifice to Adonai our God.’ I know that the king of Egypt will not let you leave unless he is forced to do so. But I will reach out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do there. After that, he will let you go. Moreover, I will make the Egyptians so well-disposed toward this people that when you go, you won’t go empty-handed. Rather, all the women will ask their neighbors and house guests for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, with which you will dress your own sons and daughters. In this way you will plunder the Egyptians.”
Ex 3:13-22 - CJB

People worshiped many gods in the time of Moses. Was Moses (Moshe) really confused about which god he was speaking to, or was he just imagining the struggle of telling other people that he has been conversing with God? I think the latter. So God gives his name, YHWH, or I am/will be. He then connects his identity with the ancestors of the Israelites who have worshiped him: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

At this time, many people believed that to have the name of a person was to potentially have power over that person. God did not fear this. But such was the respect of the people of God for the holiness and otherness of their God that when they encountered these four characters that they would not pronounce them, but instead would say, “Adonai,” which is Hebrew for Lord.

May we practice a reverence for the name of God, and teach our children a respect for the name of God, that is commensurate with the holiness, the otherness, and the mystery of our mighty God. Language is powerful, and although the language we use about our God cannot change who he is, it can change the way that we understand or relate to that God. Let us be holy people before our holy God.

Grace and peace,

Ron

The humidity of fleeces ...

Hear the word of God:

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,
the priest of Midian;
he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb,
the mountain of God.
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
flame of fire out of a bush;
he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.
Then Moses said,
"I must turn aside and look at this great sight,
and see why the bush is not burned up."

When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see,
God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!"

And he said, "Here I am."

Then he said, "Come no closer!
Remove the sandals from your feet,
for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."
He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, "I have observed the misery of
my people who are in Egypt;
I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters.
Indeed, I know their sufferings,
and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians,
and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land,
a land flowing with milk and honey,
to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites,
the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
The cry of the Israelites has now come to me;
I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.
So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people,
the Israelites, out of Egypt."

But Moses said to God,
"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh,
and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"

He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign
for you that it is I who sent you:
when you have brought the people out of Egypt,
you shall worship God on this mountain."
Exodus 3:1-12 – NRSV

This story is famous as God’s calling of Moses as the leader of the Israelites. Unlike most callings (even most biblical callings), God speaks directly to Moses. Is it any wonder in this case? After all, Moses barely believes the calling, even when God confronts him with it personally. For Moses, even the personal invitation is not enough, he wants evidence of success before he even starts: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh … ?”

Should we be surprised that this mysterious God, revealing himself in this mysterious way, gives an answer that is a little disconcerting? “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.” You will know that you were supposed to do this thing when you have done this thing. So was this reply more about God, or more about Moses? I think it shows God’s insight into the heart of Moses. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” “The proof is in the pudding.” Moses is going to believe a little and doubt a lot until he returns to the foot of this mount to worship with a people.

Are we any different? Most of us can’t say that we have seen a burning bush. Although some of us may have been called to serve God in some interesting ways, few can claim such a clear call as Moses can. Nor should we expect our calling to be so clear, because Moses is the exception. So we feel called, yet struggle with doubt. Did God call? Did God really call me to do this? Did God really call me to do this here? Did God really call me to do this here now? You get the drift.

When our life’s experience and preparation line up with our passions and expectations for a different world, we can know what we hope to do. When opportunity opens in front of this hope, then we can feel called to act. But if we’re waiting for proof, it’s not going to come until the job is done. Gideon could check the humidity of fleeces every day for an eternity, but until he believed enough to act, it didn’t really matter.

At this place, our experience and preparation have met our passion and expectation for God’s kingdom. God has filled our little world with opportunity for these things to work together as our calling. Let’s act today on that calling. Let’s realize that this is going to take some time (Moses didn’t have Israel at Sinai in a couple of months, after all). Let’s realize that some people will reject our vision of a better world, because they have free will, after all. But let’s act!

Blessings on our callings,

Ron