Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. – Exodus 13:22

Today's Scripture Reading (September 30, 2021): Exodus 13

If only I lived when Jesus was still ministering on the earth. If I could only have seen him walk on water or feed the five thousand. Maybe if I were able to be present when Elijah had his battle on the top of Mount Carmel. If I could have been there and seen that happen, then I wouldn't struggle with my faith today, and following Jesus would be so easy. Have you ever heard someone say that or maybe admitted that yourself? I think perhaps we all have. Faith would be so easy if only I could see the miracles. Then I would believe.

But that is not really true. Exodus said that God was always present with Israel. God would not be a vague presence that would be with them in spirit, but a physical promise that the presence of God would go before them, leading them visibly. During the day, he would be with them as a pillar or column of cloud moving ahead of them. At night, his presence would be seen as a column of fire. But the promise was that as long as the Israelites were in the wilderness, God would be there, never leaving his place, visibly leading at the front of the people.

Think of it, through every moment; God was there. Whenever Israel would set out during the day, a pillar of cloud would go in front of them. On that night, when Moses parted the water, and the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, it would be a pillar of fire that moved in front of them. And when they stayed camped in the wilderness for a time, the pillar would remain at the center of the community. But, when a nightmare woke you up in the middle of the night, if you left your tent and just looked over toward the center of the community, you would physically see the fire of God standing there, keeping watch over the Israelites by night.

With that reality, you would think that the Israelites would have had no problem with belief. But that wasn't true either. When Moses went up on Mount Sinai, the people lost faith and built a golden calf to represent God. Why? Wasn't a moving column of cloud and a pillar of fire enough to prove that God was walking with them. When Israel was given the opportunity to move into the Promised Land, the land that had been occupied by their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, before they moved into Egypt, the presence of God in a column of cloud or a pillar of fire was not enough to get the people to want to take the land God was giving to them. Even though the presence of God was visibly with them, the Israelites didn't have the faith to follow him.

Pastor David Guzik phrases it this way; "Israel could draw great assurance from this visible evidence of God's presence. Nevertheless, there were still many occasions after this when they seemed to doubt, to rebel, and to act as if God was distant." Their faith was no better than ours, even though they could see God. Singer/songwriter David Meece in the 1980s, tells the story this way.

                        Moses led the children out of Pharaoh's hand,

                        Across the Red Sea like God had planned,

                        Well, you'd think that when he opened up that mighty sea,

                        That all the people would surely believe

 

                        But you can heal the sick, Raise the dead

                        Turn the sky from a blue to red.

                        It don't matter what they hear or what they see.

                        Some people they never believe.

 

                                                                                    David Meece

                                                                                    Some People They Never Believe                        

Meece is right; regardless of what happens, "some people they never believe."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 14

 

This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. – Exodus 12:2

Today's Scripture Reading (September 29, 2021): Exodus 12

In "A Great and Terrible Beauty," American author Libba Bray argues that "In every end, there is also a beginning." Every time that something ends in our lives, something also begins. When one dream dies, or what might have been more of a nightmare, we are presented with the opportunity for another dream to start. It is an eternal cycle.

But sometimes, there is an event that shakes our calendars and forms a significant new beginning. The birth of a nation is one of those events. Almost every nation has a holiday that annually celebrates the nation's birth or some other significant event that has shaped the country that we know today. Britain is one of the exceptions. The United Kingdom has no National Day of Independence but instead often uses the Queen's birthday as a day of national significance. France celebrates Bastille Day on July 14, commemorating the Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, a significant event of the French Revolution. In Mexico, September 16 is a National Day of Celebration in remembrance of the start of the Mexican War of Independence in 1810. In the United States, Independence Day falls on July 4, commemorating the American Declaration of Independence, ratified on July 4, 1776. And in Canada, Canada Day, July 1 every year, celebrates the anniversary of the Canadian Confederation, which occurred on July 1, 1867. Each of these observances, and many others, celebrate a moment when something significant died and made room for a new reality in the process. 

As the slavery of the Israelites approaches its end, something new and wonderful is being born. And God instructs Israel that they are to remember this moment, not just with a celebration (although there would be a celebration), but as the beginning of everything. This was their birth, and everything that was before was suddenly ancient history. God was doing something new.

British Bible Teacher, G. Morgan Campbell (1863-1945), said that "God is ever the God of new beginnings in the history of failure. The ultimate statement is found in the Apocalypse in the words: 'Behold, I make all things new.'" It is something that he is still doing, turning our failures and our nightmares into something new. And if we listen really closely, we can still hear him saying, "for you, this is the first month of the rest of your life. Your history starts now, and everything that came before is ancient history and has no influence on who you are now or on your future. Behold, I am still making all things new."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 13

So Moses said, "This is what the LORD says: 'About midnight I will go throughout Egypt.' – Exodus 11:4

Today's Scripture Reading (September 28, 2021): Exodus 11

Life coach Sharon Alder says that "All great beginnings start in the dark, when the moon greets you to a new day at midnight." I agree with her, but probably for an opposite reason. Midnight as the start of a new day is recent historical development. For the Hebrew people, the day ended with the setting of the sun, which is probably not a surprising image. The day ends as the sun dives beneath the horizon, but that also means that the new day begins as the darkness starts its reign over the land. By the time we reach midnight, the day is already a few hours old. But midnight also brings with it the promise that the next period of sunlight is now closer than the light that has set at the end of the last day. Dawn is coming, and soon, it will greet us with the comfort and understanding that seems to always accompany the rising of the sun.

But midnight, rather than being Alder's optimistic time when "the moon greets you to a new day," often seems to be the moment when the monsters of life seem to be at their largest, and life seems to be at its most fragile. And for that reason, we need to know that the light, and maybe the solution to all of our problematic monsters, is only a short time away.

But midnight can also be a time of change. It can be that moment when we are at our lowest, and we realize that we cannot go on the way we are any longer. At midnight, we are vulnerable and tired, and sometimes the change that we need to discover can find a pathway into our lives that it would not be able to see in the light of the day. Midnight gives us a chance for a new beginning not because hope reigns but because of the depth of our despair. Midnight sometimes brings with it a great beginning that starts with the moon and the night.

Following on the heels of the plague of darkness comes the final plague, and the worst plague of them all, the plague on the firstborn. And, maybe most appropriately, the plague of the firstborn begins at midnight, when the monsters are at their biggest. But it was also at midnight that both Egypt and Israel received a chance for a great beginning. Yes, it would come at a very high cost, but Egypt would have an opportunity to honor the descendants of Joseph in a way deserving of the one who had served the Egyptians so well. And Israel would find their beginning as a foundational nation of the Middle East. These new beginnings all found their start at midnight, after the darkest night that the Egyptians and the world had ever known.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 12

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt." – Exodus 10:21

Today's Scripture Reading (September 27, 2021): Exodus 10

He was a god, but in a culture that seemed to have many gods, he was one of the more important ones. He was identified by the image of the noon-day sun. Noon, historically, is not necessarily tied to 12:00 p.m. on our clocks, as it is in our contemporary cultures. Noon was when the sun was at its zenith; its highest point. It is a moment when, often, the presence of the sun can be felt; it is hot, beating down on us from above. It is also the point where light is at its maximum level. This god's name was Ra, and he was believed to be god at the maximum. Ra was the god of the sun, but he was also the god of stability, kings, and everything that lives in the sky. He was often portrayed as a falcon, a bird that also tended to rule the sky.

For the ninth plague, God chose to drive Egypt into deep darkness. But this was not just any kind of darkness, and it was not just darkness at its nadir or lowest point. It was complete darkness; God was going to extinguish the lights. For three days, the people would suffer under darkness. But this darkness was not just an absence of light which is the darkness that we experience; it was a darkness that could be felt just as the sun at its zenith could be felt.

This was a plague that tore at the very nature of Ra, one of the most powerful gods reigning over the Egyptians. Instead of the sun at its zenith, it was emptiness at something worse than its nadir. Instead of stability, this dense darkness ushered in a time of chaos. It was a time that weakened the strength of kings, and it was a moment when the darkness was so complete that the sky could not be found.

The darkness was also the plagues at its highest point. The God of Israel had picked off a number of the lesser gods with the earlier plagues, but now he intruded on the realm of one of the premier gods of Egypt. Not even Ra could stand in the presence of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ra might have been identified with the sun at its most vital point, but the God of Israel had created the sun and the moon and all other light sources. Any light that Ra might have shed onto the earth was given to him by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And when God took the light away, not even Ra could penetrate the darkness of that resulted. Egypt might be the realm of Ra, but the God of Israel ruled over the entire world.    

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 11

But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.'" – Exodus 9:4

Today's Scripture Reading (September 26, 2021): Exodus 9

Melanie Joy in "Why We Love Dog, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows" makes this observation; "We love dogs and eat cows not because dogs and cows are fundamentally different--cows, like dogs, have feelings, preferences, and consciousness--but because our perception of them is different." She is probably right, although I have to admit that I have never eaten a dog, so I have no idea whether they taste as good as either a pig or a cow. But I know that other cultures do eat canine flesh, considering it a delicacy, but the practice just seems so wrong to a society that has made the canine their best friends.

Maybe, in our own way, we worship dogs the way other cultures have worshipped cows, although I know that is not quite right either. However, it is common in my culture to admire how a dog looks using complementary words that would not never be used to describe a cow. But, in my culture, neither a dog nor a cow would be appropriate comparisons for a person, man, or woman.

Why this journey into the status of dogs, pigs, cows, and people. Because other cultures do worship these animals. In ancient Egypt, Hathor, the Egyptian God of sexuality and reproduction, was often depicted as a woman with a cow's head. It is not an image that we would equate with sexuality in our culture. But for the ancient Egyptians, the comparison made sense.

And it was at this concept at which the fifth plague was directed. The idea of fertility and sexuality was tied in with the life cycle of the livestock, especially the cattle. And as the livestock got sick and died, the plague struck a symbolic blow to the sexuality and reproduction cycle of the nation. Except that it was not all of the cattle that died; only the animals belonging to the Egyptians. The animals of the Israelites were unaffected by the plague.

Symbolically, the message would be clear. The fertility of Egypt was now at risk. Hathor, with her bovine face, had gone up against the God of Israel and had lost. If Hathor could no longer protect the nation, providing the fertility needed to bring forth the next generation of Egyptians, then Egypt was finished as a nation. It wouldn't take a defeat at the hands of their enemies to end Egypt; without Hathor, the country would simply fade away with no one left to continue the battle. This would be the last generation of Egyptians, which was not true for the Israelites. Their legacy and fertility would carry on, thanks to their God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 10

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,' and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats." – Exodus 8:16

Today's Scripture Reading (September 25, 2021): Exodus 8

Nineteenth-century German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, remarked that "Any foolish boy can stamp on a beetle, but all the professors in the world cannot make a beetle." A little more than two hundred years later, and living in an age when we possess much more knowledge about such things, the philosopher is still correct. We can stomp on a beetle and even manipulate the beetle's genetic code, but we cannot create a beetle out of nothing or out of dust. We can do more than Schopenhauer ever dreamed that we could do, but that act of creation is still beyond our ability.

We struggle to get our heads around the miracles of the Bible, such as the creation of gnats in this passage. God tells Moses to have Aaron stretch out his staff and strike the ground, and the dust will become gnats. For some, the gnats are already there when Aaron hits the ground. They are simply so numerous that they cover the earth, appearing to be dust. It is only when Aaron strikes the ground that the onlookers realize that the dust is alive and that a layer of gnats is covering the soil, only appearing to be a layer of dust. The very ground is teeming with them.

Others take a look at the passage and see something very different. Exodus says specifically that "the dust will become gnats." A literal reading of the text argues that there is an act of creation here, which is beyond a magician's ability. The dust became gnats. The magicians, like little children, can step on the tiny bugs, but they can't create them. Only a God could do that, and, in this case, a God working through the staff of Aaron.

But we shouldn't miss the point of this event arguing over how the bugs got there. This plaque attacks at the heart of religious purity. Gnats were considered to be ceremonially unclean by the Egyptian priests. The priests went to great extremes to remain ceremoniously pure; they shaved the hair on their bodies, they wore beautiful robes, and, unlike the rest of the population, they washed frequently. But now, these same priests were literally covered with bugs.

Today, we might grab an insecticide and get to work killing the annoying insects, but none of that was available in ancient Egypt. The only way the priests knew to get rid of gnats was to cover themselves with fish eggs. It isn't hard to imagine the severe hit to the pride of the well-washed priests when they realize that they could either be defiled by the gnats or defiled by the fish eggs. But either way, they would no longer be ceremonially clean and, therefore, unable to carry out the demands of their gods. And their defilement was a direct result of the God of Israel bringing a plague of gnats into being.

One last comment on the creation or already existing argument for the gnats. The word that is translated as "become" in this passage is "haya." It is a common word, but more importantly, it is a word God uses to describe himself. When Moses asks God for his name, God's answer is "haya haya," which most translations interpret as "I AM WHO I AM" or maybe "I Will Be Who I Will Be." It is a word of creation. God's message for Moses is simple. I am the God who exists, don't discard me for one who doesn't. Here in the plague of the gnats, it is a similar message. Regardless of how the gnats got here, they exist, and you, especially the priests who serve the Egyptian gods, cannot go on with your duties as if they aren't covering everything. Whether you acknowledge it or not, religious life has been interrupted because the God of Israel created out of the dust a tiny bug. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 9

Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts. – Exodus 7:11

Today's Scripture Reading (September 24, 2021): Exodus 7

Every magician has their skills and secrets. The magician's skills allow him to figure out how to do something and complete the trick. The secret of how it's done, especially for a trick that a magician has developed for himself, is usually carefully guarded. And if it is really good, even other magicians won't be able to figure out how the magician does the trick. But the real secret is this; magic doesn't exist, not really. All magic is really just an illusion performed by a skilled practitioner. And, at least in theory, if you could learn the secret, you could learn to do the trick. At least, that is usually the truth.

Egypt was well known for its magic. The magicians of the nation worked hard at their craft, and they were so good that they made the people believe in the reality of magic. For the magicians, they possessed the secret of the trick. As far as the people were concerned, the trick was a gift from the gods, proof that the gods were with Egypt.

But Moses wasn't a magician. He was a shepherd. And before he was a shepherd, he lived as part of the privileged class in Egypt. But Moses was not a magician. He hadn't learned either the secrets or the skills that the magicians of Egypt possessed. All of this meant that there was no trick when Moses stood up to do a magic trick. His magic was the exception; it was real and performed by God. But that didn't mean that the men who practiced their magic couldn't approximate the trick. As Moses turned his staff into a snake, that happened to be a trick the magicians of Egypt had also perfected. So, they echoed the actions of the Prophet. That does not mean that they did the trick the way Moses did. All the magicians could do was imitate the movement of God through Moses.

But it also stresses another truth. Whatever God does in this world, Satan will try to imitate. When Moses turned his staff into a snake, there was an actual change in matter; dead wood became a living reptile. When the magicians did it, it was a trick that they had repeatedly practiced, and no change of nature was involved. But that is the nature of Satan. Satan always tries to make it look like he is God, always pressing to imitate what God is doing. He will never come into our lives and announce that he is evil incarnate and invite us to follow. Satan's ways are much more subtle, and his message, and his lie, is that whatever God can do, he can do better. But in the end, whatever Satan does is nothing more than a cheap imitation of a genuine move of God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 8

Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. – Exodus 6:9

Today's Scripture Reading (September 23, 2021): Exodus 6

It is not a lack of hope that brings discouragement. It is also not a lack of courage. Discouragement is the result of the interaction that occurs when we lose both hope and courage. Hope is the candle that keeps courage alive, but even if hope dies, courage has the power to relight hope's candle. But if we lose both, then all that is left is an emptiness that we call discouragement, and when discouragement enters our lives, it reigns over all aspects of life.

From the beginning of the story, Moses was afraid that no one would listen, and at this moment, his worst fear seems to have come true. The plan of the Egyptians appeared to be working. If there was any hope in the Israelites when Moses appeared on the scene, the harsh conditions had extinguished that hope. Possibly, more importantly, it had also removed any courage that had existed within the people to stand against the Egyptians. All that was left to reign in the lives of the Israelites was discouragement.

As a result of that discouragement, the Israelites could not hear the message that Moses was bringing to them. Discouragement had blocked up their ears and left them deaf to any of the chords of hope that Moses might try to strike. All that they could see was a life of harsh labor followed by death. They were living tragic existences from which, they believed, no one could save them. What the people believed was a lie, but that is often the result of discouragement. Discouragement usually leaves us living on fertile ground for the lies that anyone might want to sew in us.  Once sewn, the lie threatens to overwhelm our lives.

We often think that God used the signs and plagues of Moses to convince the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. And they were, but there was also a secondary purpose. The miracles that Moses was about to perform were directed, not just at Egypt but also at Israel. It was God's way of restoring courage and hope into his people, of lighting the candle one more time. For Israel to escape their lives of slavery, Pharaoh had to let them go, but Israel also needed to possess the courage to get up and leave. And at this point, even if Pharaoh had been willing to free his slaves, the discouraged Israelites would not have had the courage and hope that was required to move beyond the Red Sea and Pharaoh's control. Discouragement was robbing Israel of everything that it needed. And somehow, hope and courage needed to be restored to the descendants of Jacob.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 7

Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any more straw. Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.'" – Exodus 5:10-11

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 22, 2021): Exodus 5

According to the saying, corn grows downward before it can grow upward. I admit that I am not much a farmer. During the summer months, I enjoy eating the corn on the cob that graces the dinner table without thinking much about how it got there. But I have seen corn fields standing tall beside the highway. And I have enjoyed the adventure of trying to find my way through a corn maze. And the truth is that it is because corn stands tall that it works so well as a medium for a maze. But for the stalk to grow tall, first it has to sink its roots down into the ground. If that didn't happen, then the mildest wind would knock the corn stocks down. If the stalk is going to be healthy and stay standing throughout the growing season, it has to put down strong roots that will support the plant through the summer and into the fall.

The immediate effect of Moses's entrance back into Egyptian life was that it made things worse for the Israelites. The Pharaoh instructed those in charge of the slaves to lessen the help given to the slaves. Up until this point, the Israelite slaves were given the task of making bricks. But the Egyptians would provide the straw needed for that process. Now, because of Moses, the task of producing bricks was going to be more challenging. No longer would straw be provided; the Israelites would have to go and get straw from the fields while still being required to make the same number of bricks.

Pharaoh's message was given to the slave masters; the slave masters would deliver the message to the overseers in charge of the slaves. The overseers, who were Israelites themselves, were responsible for telling the slaves. The slaves would have to execute the instructions to the best of their abilities. But everyone realized that they were being set up for failure.

The Egyptian purpose for the new requirement was to get the Israelites to drive Moses from the nation. All the blame for everything that was happening was placed on the shoulders of the prophet. If Israel would just reject him, then things could go back to normal. The Egyptians would bring the straw, the Israelites would make the bricks, and Moses would go back to taking care of the flocks in the wilderness east of Egypt or whatever else he wanted to do, as long as he did it someplace else.

But God was working for a different purpose. He had promised Jacob that in Egypt, he would grow a nation. And the time for the birth of that nation was now near. The delivery would be neither easy nor quick. But in the struggle that was to come, Israel would grow some roots, which would someday allow them to stand tall as the nation that God intended, and Jacob dreamed they could be.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 6