You have
not rescued your people at all.
(Exodus 5:23)
We are
continuing our discussion from yesterday. One benefit of reading the Bible
through like we're doing is seeing connections that span several chapters.
Let's recap what we've been talking about the past few days. On Day 14 Jacob
was singing, Gloom, Despair
and Agony on Me. On Day 15 he exclaimed, My son Joseph is still alive! On
Day 16 Jacob looked back over his life and saw the beautiful work of art God
had made from all its seemingly disjointed pieces. Leave Genesis behind
and open Exodus on Day 17: The
Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out to God. And
today, with things apparently taking a turn for the worse, Moses accuses God: You have not rescued your people at
all.
In The Clowns of God, the middle book from Morris
West's papal trilogy, deposed Pope Gregory XVII, birth
name Jean Marie Barette, cries out to God in desperation: Why do you ask me to make so many
bricks with so little straw?
Time after
time, story after story, God's people give up before God does. Perhaps because
they cannot see the endgame, they think God has forfeited, not realizing they
just don't understand his strategy. We would do well to remember that allowing
things to get worse before they get better might just be a very necessary
component of God's plan for our deliverance.
God is always working through us, in pain and in joy. Pain can sometimes be looked at our the tool to sharpen our personal swords so we can take on the purpose that God has set for each of us as he did for the Israelite's.
ReplyDeletecan you translate the meaning of Exodus 4:26 where the Lord was going kill Moses?
Connie, are you really going to make me address this?
DeleteI'll tell you what makes sense to me. In Genesis 17:9-14 God gives Abraham the covenant of circumcision saying any who remain uncircumcised will be cut off from his people. Then Moses heads off to confront Pharaoh about important God business, and he's neglected his crucial responsibility to circumcise his own son. This results in God's anger.
His quick thinking wife circumcises Gershom and touches Moses with the severed foreskin (I've actually never said that on my blog before) calling him her husband of blood. The verse says she touched the foreskin to his feet, but feet was a euphemism for a man's private parts. So she may have touched the son's severed foreskin to Moses' privates as a graphic reminder that she shouldn't have to take care of his fatherly responsibilities. Can you picture the look on her face as she pierces Moses with her eyes for making her do that? Can you imagine the look on Moses' face at the thought of his angry wife wielding that flint knife?
Of course, sometimes feet are feet.
(I'm indebted to Andrew Harnack at Anthrakia - www.anthrakia.blogspot.com - for his analysis of this passage.)
Ditto Good question Connie
ReplyDeleteCoward! :)
Delete