Today's Scripture Reading (January 19, 2022): Deuteronomy 18
In Frank Herbert's classic "Dune," an expected Messiah comes to the desert planet
Arrakis in the form of Paul Atreides. Paul becomes the Messiah "Maud'Dib" and rescues the society a conflict between the major
houses of the Empire. But we shouldn't miss that the message that Herbert was trying to
tell us was a cautionary tale. In 1979, Frank Herbert said, "The bottom line of the Dune trilogy
is: beware of heroes. [It is] much better to rely on your own judgment, and
your own mistakes." Part of the problem with Maud'Dib was that, even
though he understood the ways the Fremen who are native to the desert planet,
he is an outsider. In modern understanding, he was a "white savior" who
had come to free the people of Arrakis.
Moses
tells Israel that there will be one who will come to them. God will raise up a
Prophet "like me." The phrase can be hard to understand. What would
it mean to be that someone like Moses? While Moses was an Israelite, he was
also an outsider who had spent the first portion of his life in the Pharaoh's
palace and then spent the next significant part of his life wandering in the
wilderness. In many ways, he was different and an outsider. And maybe this is
the best way to understand the idea that the Prophet would be like Moses; there
would be an element of an outsider to him.
But
just an element. The next phrase is important. The Prophet might be an outsider
in some respects, but he would also be "from among you." The Prophet
would be someone who walked among them, touched them in various ways, and
shared with them in the difficulties of life. He would also be "a fellow
Israelite." He would be born of one of the tribes of Israel. Moses was a Levite,
but this statement that he will be a fellow Israelite does not limit the
Prophet to just one tribe. But he would be someone of Israel.
"You
must listen to him." The statement is important. Like Moses, this would be
someone through whom God had chosen to speak. And just as the nation had
gathered around Moses to hear his words, when the Prophet came, they must
listen to him as well.
The
people waited for the coming of the Prophet. Year after year, they were
disappointed when the Prophet did not come or when men who they thought might
be the Prophet had failed them. The genuine prophets of Israel always pointed,
not to themselves, but to one who was still to come. During the days of Jesus,
John the Baptist seemed to fulfill all that was expected from The Prophet,
including that John was a Levite like Moses.
He did not fail to confess,
but confessed freely, "I am not the Messiah."
They asked him, "Then
who are you? Are you Elijah?"
He said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?"
He answered, "No"
(John 1:20-21).
Yet, as hard as we looked
for the Prophet, we still missed him because he wasn't quite what we expected. We
know the name of the Prophet; His name is Jesus.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 19
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