WWMD ~ What Would Moses Do? ~ Reflections on The Exodus

I'll begin with the genesis of today's subject:

As I was preparing to worship the Lord this morning, a line came into my mind: "the devil is dogging me." Being a diligent songwriter, I wrote it down in my journal and tried to construct a quick verse around it. Got stuck. Downloaded a rhyming dictionary ap on my iphone, and while waiting for the ap to arrive, checked facebook  . . . wished a happy birthday (which incidentally rhymed) to my friend and dulcimer maker, Steve Wilke. And coming up empty with pursuing a lyric for the moment, turned back to my Bible for inspiration and worship-inducing thoughts. Ah, what better way to praise the Lord than to look at some of the most beautiful prayers ever. I'll look up Moses', Miriam's, King David's, his son Solomon's and Mary's prayers.

But before that, I peeked at my new birthday gift, and read about driftwood. It's a beach devotional, and this vignette talked about how we might drift from the Lord from time to time. The author mentioned the 'fate' of wood that drifts; it can get tumbled and return to the shore smooth and polished, "anchor the foundation of a sand dune, with its former life a thing of the past,"or unfortunately, some wood gets eaten by bacteria and disintegrates.

Back to the Bible . . . Exodus to be exact. I search for Moses and Miriams' post-Exodus song of praise. And if you guessed that I got distracted, you're absolutely right . . . never quite got to it, before becoming absorbed with the entire overarching story from the time Moses first visited Pharaoh, by God's command, and Pharaoh's cruel response to the demand that he 'let Israel go.'

I was thinking large, as in biblical 'types' now. Pharaoh is a type of the devil. By that I mean, think 'big picture' with me . . . God is doing something enormous, and the devil is not going to let it happen if he has anything to say about it! God's people, had now been resident aliens in Egypt for the past 400 years. Not only that, they are the slaves who are building pyramids in this foreign land and they're muliplying like rabbits. And while Pharaoh is enjoying all the benefits of slave labor, he is freaking out because with that burgeoning population, it may come to the point where 'if war breaks out, [they] will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.' Plus, if the Israelites were to up and leave, who was going to do all the work that was on the books? The Egyptian people were enjoying the easy life, and might rebel themselves if they had to work for a living!

So God hears the cries of the captive Israelites and is going to rescue them. He chooses Moses (with his own very interesting history) to lead them. They are about to be released from the cruel bondage of Egyptian captivity . . . This causes me to think about people whom God is wooing and calling right now; His people who are not yet saved. Could that be you? Still in bondage to the world (Egypt) the flesh (sin) and the devil (Pharaoh.) The captor is not going to just let God's people leave their posts where, doing what they have done all their lives, they are stacking bricks in another kingdom that is not God's realm. Like the devil, Pharaoh does everything in his power to retain his subjects. I find it interesting that the stress and pressure build exponentially when captives are on the verge of being freed.

Reflect on this if you are thinking about and moving toward God for the first time, or you are wobbling in your walk with Him. You will be tested. Are you sure you want to follow God even when the going gets rough? It's gonna get rough. The true, historical Exodus, with its cosmic struggles and the subsequent disaster-laden journey to the promised land is the story of, is a 'picture of' our salvation and sanctification; our journey with God on earth. Read all the Jewish scriptures and think about the previous sentence. (And if you don't believe me, read Ephesians 6:10-18, 1 Corinthians 10, Hebrews 3, 9-11, to begin with. And there's much more, as these are just off the top of my head.)

At the tail end of Exodus Chapter 5 and in Chapter 6, I noticed something significant. The people were on the verge of deliverance. They complain bitterly to Moses (their hand-picked-by-God guide out of there.) They basically curse him, saying "may the Lord look upon you and judge you!" Huh? . . . Well, I for one can sympathize with them if I look at the situation from their standpoint. Due to Moses' obedience to the Lord, confronting Pharaoh and demanding the release of the Hebrew slaves, there arose a most disastrous result. In a cruel new edict of Pharaoh, he demanded that the slaves be forced to make the same back-breaking number of bricks, only now they would not be supplied with the necessary straw. Now, they had to get their own straw. In other words, their odious and difficult labor just became crushingly harder, and they blamed the messenger, Moses, who was doing God's bidding.

Hmmm. Interesting concept. There are all these differing points of view by which to look at this story. Pharaoh's (keep those slaves building!) Moses' (I'm between a rock ~ God ~ and a hard place ~ God's people, whom He wants to draw to Himself into freedom out of the hands of another kingdom) the Israelites (everything was fine, well not really . . . we cried out to God for deliverance . . . but look where God's answer to our prayers got us! Now we have this Ya-hoo who thinks he's God's gift, who confronted Pharaoh, and look what happened! Our lives are even MORE MISERABLE than BEFORE, as if THAT were possible!) Then there is the point of view of the invisible REAL God Almighty, who for His glory and because of His mercy, is calling His people out of bondage to a foreign ruler, to bring them into the land He promised on oath to the Patriarch Abraham.

Back to our lesson:) So, like obedient Moses, servant of YHWH, are you discouraged as you invite unbelievers and pre-believers (among whom we cannot distinguish) on a journey from 'Egypt' to 'The Promised Land?' Have people with whom you have shared the good news ('Gospel' in Greek) spurned you and cursed you? Should you give up, move on, pray? WWMD, or What Did Moses Do? Look at Moses' prayer in Exodus 5:22. After getting chewed up and practically spat out, he actually complained to God about it! Wow!!! "Oh Lord" Moses lamented, "why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me?" . . . saying in effect 'to make their already unbearable life IMPOSSIBLE to the point that we are suffering even MORE than when you first heard our cry for deliverance?' He goes on to accuse the Lord "you have not rescued your people at all."

I must say, I love that God cared enough to give us his word straight. Even the 'embarrassing parts' where even His very own people fall into temptation, sin and doubt. Moses (like us) was human and could not 'see around the bend,' the amazing, miraculous victory to come. And while he had signed on  been schooled for 40 years as a shephard to prepare him as God's chosen leader . . . at this particular moment in time, he didn't GET it. He could not see the big picture of God's comprehensive, merciful plan. He was "in the trenches" getting shot at and the battle plan seemed to be failing, BIG TIME!

The Exodus is HUGE in terms of helping us mere mortals understand the nature and character of God. I remember a few years ago, having one of those "ah hah moment" epiphanies. In one moment, all-of-a-sudden, I realized the stunning magnificence, brilliance and significance of the biblical, historic Exodus of Israel out of Egypt.

I spent an entire year studying the life of Moses. At one point I began to see a pattern of repetition, calling me to really SEE how foundational that event was. The bombshell occured to me as time and time again, God IDENTIFIED Himself as the God who DID THAT!!! The God who faithfully DELIVERED, PROTECTED and PROVIDED EVERYTHING FOR His people.

For starters, read Exodus chapter 12 verse 31 through chapter 14, verse 31. Especially take note of chapter 13, verses 18-16. In that passage you will find a command to pass down to future generations the AWESOME significance of what God did, bringing Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Look at verse 9, 14 and 16. Note the repetition. The Exodus, by God's command, was to be celebrated, commemorated and its meaning passed down to future generations of descendants. Why? So they would understand the meaning of what God did for them and their ancestors, and thereby serve Him as that liberator. God gave them an unforgettable 'picture' of his mercy, as if to say 'don't forget what I did for you. It is for your own good, and protection from destruction that you are to remember.'

I could go on and on (as you know by now after the preceding posts.) But perhaps my epiphany will help you to think about how the ancient Israelites' experience relates to us. Maybe you are in the midst of some horrible trial and need to remember God's character; His promises, His faithfulness, and His unfailing love and provision. There are numerous references in the Christian Scriptures 'looking back' on the Exodus. What happened to 'those people of God' serves as both a witness to God's faithfulness and a warning, that we might never forget about God and fall into idolatry like most of them actually did. But alas, That's the subject of a whole other blog, and some!

In closing, I encourage you to reflect on the Exodus. Ask God to give you a glimpse of what it means to Him. Think back to the driftwood I mentioned earlier. If you are are drifting, will you return, beautifully polished and smooth, become the anchor of a sand dune, "your former life a thing of the past," or will you disintegrate, eaten up by the trials of life? That middle one, about the sand dune, could be a good thing, if interpreted to mean, losing myself in God, His purposes, His thoughts, His plan. It is when we become entirely His that we most become ourselves; the person He created us to be.