Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives. – Exodus 30:16

Today's Scripture Reading (November 30, 2024): Exodus 30

It was a road and a dream. The idea was that a road could be built through a high mountain pass, providing a direct route between two essential cities. Until this point, a circuitous route was required that took hours to navigate between two crucial sections of the country. With a new road through the high mountain pass, that travel time could be cut to less than half the time that was currently needed. The problem was that the new route would be difficult and expensive to build and maintain. With budget levels already at record levels, there was no way to raise the funds required to complete the project. 

Unless they ask the road's users to pay the bill. The idea was that the government would essentially loan the project the needed funds, but the highway users would repay the loan through the toll. The toll was initially set at twenty dollars per vehicle, with larger tolls for larger vehicles. The users weren't asked how much money they had or what they could afford. The charge was the same whether you were rich or poor.

My father-in-law hated the idea and boycotted the new toll road even though it would take hours off any trip he would make through the mountain range. He would prefer to take the extra time and pay the extra money for fuel rather than pay the toll. His problem was that he didn't trust that the toll would disappear once the loan was repaid. And he was right. Decades later, the toll remains with the government dependent on the toll road's income to maintain projects other than the one the toll was initially created to support.

Moses tells of a similar project. It was a toll road of sorts, only this time, the road was life, and the toll was a payment for sin. The toll was the same for everyone. It wasn't wealth that necessitated the toll, and the rich and the poor paid the same price because the rich and poor sinned against God and needed to make atonement. The money raised by the toll was to be used for repairs to the Tabernacle. Eventually, this Temple Tax would be used to upkeep the much more expensive Temple. It was a toll that everyone paid to maintain the dream that God had placed in the heart of the people, a dream that would result in a nation.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 31

Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband. – Exodus 29:5

Today's Scripture Reading (November 29, 2024): Exodus 29

I have been listening to a podcast about the development of the early 24-hour news channels and the emergence of Fox News. One of the stories involved the dress code for women at one of the stations. According to the report, women at this news outlet were required to wear dresses or short skirts, and there were lights under the desks to highlight their bare legs. Women who, up until this time, preferred pants were forced to change their mode of dress so that they could be put on the air. All I could think of was someone trying to tell Rachel Maddow that she had to wear a dress and have her legs lit from below the desk. But this is how that news was, and if we are honest, sometimes still is, peddled to the audience. 

Aaron needed to be clothed, but not with his own coverings or the items that he was used to wearing. He needed to be dressed in the clothes provided by God. It is a familiar tale within the Biblical narrative; a change of life often means a change in clothes, but not a change into something demeaning and uncomfortable. The change of clothes is intended to give us respect.

It is part of the story told by the Prophet Zechariah. In the Prophet's vision, he sees Joshua, the High Priest, standing before God. Zechariah records the vision this way.

Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes."

Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you."

Then I said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by.

The angel of the LORD gave this charge to Joshua: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here (Zechariah 3:3-7).

What was dirty, tattered, or simply inappropriate was removed, and the clean and honorable coverings were to be put on. Charles Spurgeon brings this passage into our lives.

Note, that these garments were provided for them. They were at no expense in buying them, nor labor in weaving them, nor skill in making them; they had simply to put them on. And you, dear child of God, are to put on the garments which Jesus Christ has provided for you, at his own cost, and freely bestows upon you out of boundless love (Charles Spurgeon).

 Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 30

Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of skilled hands. – Exodus 28:6

Today's Scripture Reading (November 28, 2024): Exodus 28

We have an image of the way certain people dress. Not only that, but we judge people based on little more than what they wear. We all do it. Early in my career, I was taught that a certain level of dress was expected of me. If I were preparing to deal with the bank or company executives, I would wear a shirt and tie. When I started to work in the church, my boss always wore a tie, even when he was warned by denominational executives not to. I remember him getting pulled up in front of a denominational meeting so that the grand-pooh-bah of the church could cut the tie off of him. (I am pretty sure the whole incident had been set up in advance, so it wasn't a much-beloved tie.)

Police officers wear a specific uniform, as do members of the Armed Forces or other various Military divisions. In some countries, lawyers wear powdered white wigs, especially for critical criminal trials. Priests often wear clerical collars. There was a short-lived time in my life when I briefly considered putting on a clerical collar during my weekly duties, just because then the community could quickly identify me. Like I said, it was short-lived. I have never donned the clerical collar. I enjoy my track pants, t-shirt, and hoodie too much. But that often means that people seem to think that I work in tech support, not the church (and I apologize to all of you working in tech support and dress better than I do). 

God instructs Moses that Aaron and his sons, the first priests of the nation, should wear specific clothing. The ephod was an ornate apron-like garment, and this ephod was to be made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread. These were important colors. Blue was a tricky color to make during ancient times, so these colors were reserved for special occasions. 

But more than that, fine linen was the dress of the noble and the priest in Egypt. The people of Israel would have recognized fine linen as the dress of the priest and some other important dignitary. So, by dressing the priest in fine linen, the people would readily identify the priesthood because they had already seen this mode of dress before.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 29

Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. – Exodus 27:2

Today's Scripture Reading (November 27, 2024): Exodus 27

In 1935, Italy declared war on Ethiopia. Over the previous centuries, it seemed that European powers had carved up Africa and placed various African countries under European control. Italy felt that they had been left out of the windfall. Benito Mussolini believed that Ethiopia, or more precisely Abyssinia, which was made up of the Highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea, was part of the Italian Empire, and they had every right to take the land back before some other European power claimed it as their own.

The war was a mismatch. Italy had a modern army that was mobilized and ready to go, while Ethiopia was unready for the fight. Maybe the best example of this was that Italy sent as many as 800 tanks into Ethiopia to face the four older tanks that the African nation possessed. And the mismatch continued in several other areas. Italy had 2,000 artillery pieces to go up against the 200 artillery pieces of Ethiopia, and 595 aircraft flew missions against the thirteen planes that Ethiopia had to defend the nation. 

Italy knew that this conflict was not going to be close. Ethiopia's only hope was that it was a member of the League of Nations, which meant that the other member countries would hopefully come to its defense. The problem was that Italy was also a member. But Italy was also the aggressor and had undertaken the conflict to expand its territory, which was Illegal after the horrors of the War to End All Wars. Following its own rules, the League should have come to the defense of Ethiopia. The African nation had done everything right. But, in that moment, the rest of the world blinked. The nations of the League didn't want a war with Italy. So, the League chose not to interfere in the conflict that was taking place in the Eastern African nation. 

The League of Nations was supposed to facilitate conversation and allow the nations to reach out and find ways other than war to solve their issues. War was still an available response. But if war were declared on a League nation, the League would come to the assistance of the one who was being attacked. In the Italian-Ethiopian War of 1935, that should have been to the benefit of Ethiopia.

As the Tabernacle was being built, Moses was also instructed to make an altar on which the animal sacrifices would occur. The altar was to have a horn on each of its corners. These horns were not to be added on but to be one piece with the altar; the horns were an integral part of this place of sacrifice. And when an animal was sacrificed on the altar, blood from the animal would be placed on these horns. Part of the meaning of horns was that they gave an image of something that was reaching out. The horns carried the concept that had been present within Israel since the days of Abraham. I will bless you so that you can bless the nations. I will bless you so that you can bless the world. There was never an idea that Israel, or I believe the Christian Church, would curl up in a ball and take care of itself. We have been created to reach out, covered with the blood of the sacrifice, and make a difference in the world.

We are to be the source of salt and light that this world needs. We would Be God's presence in the world. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 28

For the entrance to the tent make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. – Exodus 26:36

Today's Scripture Reading (November 26, 2024): Exodus 26

When I was seven, my parents moved into a new house my Dad had purchased. I was seven, and we lived in the house for only a few months, but I still remember the house and my bedroom. One of the house's unique features was that my bedroom had a door leading into the backyard. As a seven-year-old, I was a reasonably sick child, and seven is young, so I never did use the unique door in my room, at least not in a clandestine way. But as I have had children and grandchildren who have passed the age, I admit I have wondered what I might have done if I had lived in the house a little longer or had been a little healthier.

As I remember that house, I remember that only one door led into the world: the front door. The door in my room led into the backyard, which was completely closed off to the rest of the world by a fence. There might have been a second door into the yard, but I think it is more likely that the only other door led into the garage. From there, you could enter the backyard or walk into the outside world, but from the house, the only door to the world was in the front of the house, so that was the one we used.

As the plans for the Tabernacle are revealed, there is only one entrance to the tent that would be seen as the home of God over the next five hundred years. The Temple that would replace the Tabernacle would have many gates into the Temple complex, including an entrance that was only used by the king. But here, there is one entrance. 

Maybe that entrance foreshadows the idea that there is still only one way to God. For Israel, at the beginning of their journey, that one entrance stressed that there was only one way to God, a way that was guarded by priests and Levites. 

In the 1970s, singer Larry Norman wrote a song that stressed this idea: there is one way to Heaven, although this one wasn't guarded by priests but by Jesus. 

So I say one way, one way to Heaven.

Hold your hands up high.

Follow, free and forgiven.

Children of the sky.

There is still only one way to God, open only to those who have been forgiven by the sacrifice of our Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 27

There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites. – Exodus 25:25

Today's Scripture Reading (November 25, 2024): Exodus 25

It was just a movie. It is a piece of fiction conceived in the mind of a man. But it was a piece of fiction that had captured Doug's mind. Doug was young, maybe 13, and possibly a little shorter and thinner than most boys his age. Most adult people probably wouldn't even notice, but Doug noticed. He knew he was not the tallest or the strongest. And like so many of us who have never been the strongest, tallest, fastest, or most intelligent, Doug lived much of his life through movies. He had stood on Tatooine as Luke Skywalker and walked the bridge of the Enterprise as Captain Kirk (at this point, Kirk was the only Captain of note in the Star Trek Universe.) And then, he discovered this movie.

The movie fulfilled all of his fantasies. At its core, the tale's hero was a bookworm, a professor, who was not the tallest or the smartest. The hero of the story was someone with whom Doug could identify. I still remember the day that Doug came to talk to me about the movie. His words were just a comment. Until now, I still hadn't seen the film in question, although I have watched it many times since.

"Isn't the Ark great!" Doug said.

I still remember my reply; "Big boat, with animals inside for a long time. I wish I had been there! And what are you talking about."

To my amazement, he wasn't talking about Noah's Ark, but about the Ark of the Covenant, the box that sat for years inside the holy of holies in both the Tabernacle and the Temple. However, this conversation with Doug was so foundational for me that if you have ever heard me preach on the Ark of the Covenant, you have probably heard about my conversation with Doug. And part of my problem, in all honesty, was that at the time, I, a Youth Pastor, knew very little about the Ark of the Covenant.  

The movie that captured Doug's attention was "The Raiders of the Lost Ark." It was the first of the Indiana Jones movies. The film was set in the Second World War. Hitler was moving through Europe, but he desired to move faster. He had stumbled upon the idea that maybe he could win the war faster with the Ark of the Covenant moving in front of his armies. With the Ark, Hitler would be unbeatable. So, the movie begins with a race between the evil minions of Hitler and a young archeology professor who was neither the tallest nor the strongest to see who could find the Ark first. 

In the movie, The Ark of the Covenant became the symbol of hope. And here is the truth that I know: we all need hope. Why do we buy a lottery ticket every once in a while? You know the truth. It is much more likely that you will be hit by lightning on the way home than that you will win the lottery. Most of us are big losers. As the grand prize for the lottery climbs, it is because no one has won the jackpot. It takes an incredible number of losers in the lottery to make one winner. And we know that. The losers pile up. Why do we do it? Because this little piece of paper represents hope. And what we can't live without is hope.

We need to know that tomorrow can be better than today. Jesus told a parable about a man who goes and finds a great treasure in a field. The question that Jesus asks at the end of the parable is this: which of you would not go home and sell all that you have to go and buy that field? How many of you would not go and sell all that you have so that you can have hope? And if we are honest, the answer to the question is no one. We will all give everything that we have so that we can know hope.

And that is the real story of the Ark of the Covenant. It was a much-needed symbol of hope for all of Israel. It was a place where the God of hope came to meet with his people.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 26

But Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him. – Exodus 24:2

 Today's Scripture Reading (November 24, 2024): Exodus 24

There are many places to which I will never go, some because it is forbidden for most people to go there. As I pondered this post, I wondered if I could pick the one I most wanted to visit from among a list of forbidden places. But that was too hard a task for me. I would love to visit Area 51 or Groom Lake Air Force Facility and see what is really there. I heard one person recently argue that he would love to become President of the United States just so that he could have the clearance to see the restricted files on the Groom Lake Facility. 

I would love to wander around North Brother Island at the other end of the nation. It was the home of Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary. Mary was an Irish-born cook who was an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever. While she didn't have symptoms of the virus, she was a carrier of the virus and infected many others. Because Mallon insisted on working as a cook, she freely infected those who ate the food she prepared. Mary Mallon spent the last 23 years of her life in quarantine on North Brother Island. Today, the Island is a bird sanctuary, and visitation is forbidden.

Or maybe, if you are more adventurous, North Sentinel Island interests you. This small Island in the Bay of Bengal is inhabited by an indigenous population known as the Sentinelese. How much these people know about the outside world would be hard to judge because they are highly xenophobic. No one is allowed to come to the Island, and any attempts are met with arrows aimed to kill. In 2004, researchers approached the Island in a helicopter to evaluate the damage caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami, but even the helicopters were greeted with a barrage of arrows. No one was injured, but it once more stressed that visitors were unwelcome on their turf.

The invitation was given to Moses, Aaron, Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu, as well as the seventy elders, to come to the mountain, but only Moses was permitted to go up the mountain to meet God. The rest were told to worship at a distance. Moses would be allowed to mediate for the people, to be the go-between, but a vast gulf separated God from the people. It was an image of the barriers that exist between us and God. The mountain was one place where the people couldn't go. Moses would have to stand in the place of the people.

The gulf still exists today, and we cannot enter the presence of God except that a way has been made for us through the death of Jesus. He has become our mediator, and he is the one who welcomes us to cross the distance and come into the presence of the Father.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 25

And do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit. – Exodus 23:3

Today's Scripture Reading (November 23, 2024): Exodus 23

In Greek mythology, her name was Themis. Like her mother, Gaia, Themis is an earth goddess. She is often pictured as a sober-looking woman with scales in her hands. Themis presides over the proper relationship between a man and a woman. She is the goddess responsible for the correct ordering of a family. But she is also the goddess of justice. As a result, judges were called "themistopoloi," which means "the servants of Themis."

Interestingly, Themis is not wrathful. She has no anger within her to deal with people who ignore her wishes, but that does not mean that those who defy her instructions have nothing about which to worry. Wrath will come, but it will be at the hands of another goddess, Nemesis. Nemesis will deal with all who ignore the dictates of Themis. 

Themis is the model on which our Lady Justice is based. Lady Justice is often seen carrying a scale in one hand and a sword in the other, possibly a nod to Nemesis's role in dealing with those who ignored Themis. However, there is one other feature of Lady Justice that differs from Themis; Lady Justice is often pictured wearing a blindfold. 

The Bible has a lot to say about the care of the poor. During election season, a meme caught my attention on Social Media. 

Notice how it's always 'vote according to Biblical values!' until it comes to welcoming the immigrant, helping the poor, feeding the hungry, bringing healthcare to the sick, forgiving debts, caring for our planet, laying down our swords, or loving our neighbors.

It is a message we need to hear, and it should make us uncomfortable.

Lady Justice is blind. She doesn't know if we are rich or poor, strong or weak, or even male or female. All Lady Justice cares about is what is right and just. Yes, we should care for people experiencing poverty and protect the disenfranchised. We should welcome immigrants. Once again, as I write these words, I hear singing outside my office door in a language I don't understand. And I believe that this is the way it should be. But immigrants, people experiencing poverty, or the disenfranchised do not get a free pass to do wrong. God is clear on this. Justice is blind; the only thing that matters in her dealing with us is if we are being dealt with fairly. True justice does not favor either the rich or the poor. She only knows right and wrong.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 24

Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. – Exodus 22:22

Today's Scripture Reading (November 22, 2024): Exodus 22

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) coined the phrase "Survival of the Fittest" after reading Charles Darwin's book "On the Origin of the Species." The idea put forward in Darwin's Theory of Evolution was that random changes in the genetic makeup would result in adaptations. These adaptations, slowly over time, would make the organism better, or worse, at handling the environment in which the organism lives. This may be an oversimplification of Darwinian theory. Still, Spencer recognized in the fight between these adaptations that those who survived would be the ones most fit for survival in the environment.

A simple example of this principle might be the rabbits living around my home. During the summer, the rabbits are brown. But the rabbits turn white as the temperature slides down into the negative numbers, and snow begins to cover the ground. When food for predators becomes scarce in winter, a white rabbit is much harder to see than a brown one. Therefore, a rabbit with the genetic ability to change color with the weather has a sizable advantage. If everything else is equal between a white and a brown winter rabbit, the white rabbit has a better chance of survival or is more fit than a brown rabbit. Thus, Spencer would advocate that the white rabbit will have a better chance of surviving and replicating itself in the coming mating season. 

"Survival of the Fittest" is a biological fight. It is an advantage that says that the stronger will survive and the weakest will die. We could call it a biological imperative. But just because it is a biological reality doesn't mean that that is the way we should live. I am not a rabbit, and my educated guess is that neither are you. We can fight back against a biological imperative. And the Law of Moses insists that that is how we should live.

The weakest people in an ancient male-dominated society were the widow and the fatherless. Under normal circumstances, it was the man who earned the money or brought home the food. While we reject this suggestion in our contemporary society, even now, it is the widow and the fatherless who are more likely to experience poverty than any other group in our local population. In the battle of the survival of the fittest, these are the ones who lose in the societal struggle. These are the ones who are the easiest to take advantage of. In the tale of our lengthening life spans, these are the ones, along with older adults, whom the immoral tend to take advantage of.

But God's instruction is simple: don't do it. We are to protect the weak among us and care and protect those of whom some might want to take advantage. Herbert Spencer's "Survival of the Fittest" might be the biological imperative among the plants and animals of the planet. Yet, God has given us the tools to fight against that imperative. What is true for rabbits should not be true for us. 

Jesus stressed all of this during his ministry on earth. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 23

These are the laws you are to set before them: - Exodus 21:1

Today's Scripture Reading (November 21, 2024): Exodus 21

One question I have received from people is, "What exactly did God give to Moses? Did he just receive the Ten Commandments, or are there more regulations that God gave to Moses on the mountain?" It is a good question. Popular culture has Moses walking off the mountain with just two tablets on which God had written the "Big Ten." If you see a movie version of Moses, you might notice that the Ten Commandments are itemized on those tablets. But that part of the story is false. God did not itemize the Big Ten, and we disagree a little on what the Big Ten actually are.

What Moses received from God is a question that scholars continue to debate. Some argue that the entire codex of laws was given to Moses by God on the Holy Mountain. Others contend that not only were there no more regulations given to Moses, but that Moses was not the great prophet who had received the Law in the first place. The various laws of the nation were the work of an unnamed group of priests more than eight hundred years after the time of Moses. This story and the man we celebrate are nothing but figments of our imaginations. 

It shouldn't be a surprise. We are a skeptical people, especially about things that we don't quite understand. It is something that even I experience. A friend recently posted on social media about a man in the 1980s who prophesied that Donald Trump would bring America back to God. My first reaction was that this was another piece of propaganda, a rewriting of history to serve a political end. The fact that the video had been removed from YouTube seemed to support my feelings. But for my friend, it was an act of censorship.

A few years ago, I had a visit from a modern prophet who handed me the same verdict on Donald Trump. Again, I still don't believe in the truth of the prophecy, but maybe I need to be less skeptical; only time will tell how Donald Trump will be seen by history. Trump has done nothing to make me believe he will lead a nation back to God, but I have been wrong before. Some scholars don't think that William Shakespeare was an actual person, but I do. So, maybe I need to give this contemporary prophet some breathing room.

I also believe that there was an actual Moses. And Moses received all of the Law from God intended for Israel, just as the biblical record states. This verse would seem to agree. There were more than just the Big Ten that God gave to Moses. God handed Moses a list of regulations on how to live life.

For us, the mystery is simply how this man would have taken so much information and delivered it to the people of Israel. It would seem to be an impossible task for us. But in a preliterate society, the task of quickly memorizing material was essential for survival. There is no reason to believe that Moses, who might have been the only literate person among the people of Israel, couldn't have learned the laws on Mount Sinai and then transmitted that material to the people. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 22

You shall have no other gods before me. – Exodus 20:3

 Today's Scripture Reading (November 20, 2024): Exodus 20

One of my favorite M*A*S*H characters was Father Mulcahy. I love the episode where his sermon is left undone because he spent the whole Saturday night talking to a patient in the Hospital. Or maybe his drive to be relevant in a warzone and his willingness to take chances. I love his understanding of his call to the priesthood. His naïve way, sometimes never really connecting with the events that were happening around him. His failing efforts to tell a joke; no one laughs when I tell them either. I love how he interacted with the patient who thought he was Jesus Christ, giving him honor while helping to draw him back into the real world. I love his description of Plato's ideal plain, and this sitcom character sparked my interest in Greek Philosophy. But it would be ridiculous for my church board to decide that maybe our church needs to hire Father Mulcahy instead of me. Besides the fact that the Father is Catholic and I am a Baptist, Father Mulcahy is a character on a T.V. show played by an actor named William Christopher. Christopher died on New Year's Eve 2016. Whereas, believe it or not, I am real, and I am here; I exist where Father Mulcahy never really did. 

God told Moses his name was "Hayah hayah," or "I am that I am." Essentially, God is saying that he is the God who exists, so why would we trade him for one who is made of wood or nothing more than a character in a book? God tells Israel, "Because I am, you shall have no other gods before me because there are no other gods to have."

God's invitation is that we would journey with him; he has already made the first move, telling Israel, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery" (Exodus 20:2). I have already done this. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt. Israel, you have already benefited from my grace, so now I want to know if you will honor me and me alone. I did what no one else could do; why would you bring honor to someone else? You shall have no other gods before me. 

This is the story of the Bible; it is the story of our journey with God. And that journey begins with trusting God above everyone and everything else. "You shall have no other gods before me" could also be interpreted as "You will have no other gods in my orbit." It isn't just about prioritizing God among the other things competing to take his place in our lives. The first commandment is about realizing he is the only God; no one else even inhabits his neighborhood. He is the only God, so honor him above everything that is not God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 21

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. – Exodus 19:16

Today's Scripture Reading (November 19, 2024): Exodus 19

The Ten Commandments is a code of laws that most of us have heard of, and some of us can even list at least a few. But I think that few of us could get them all. By the way, even the experts disagree on the list of commandments because the Bible doesn't itemize the commandments into a list of ten; we have done that. There are two main reactions to this idea of the Ten Commandments. Right now, some of you are ready to fist-bump somebody because it is time we started discussing the rules. Or maybe your skin begins to crawl just thinking about a list of rules. And you aren't standing at the base of Mount Sinai watching the lightning and listening to the thunder, yet you are feeling very uncomfortable. You are not sure you want to keep reading. I am unsure if I want to let you out of that tension.

However, the Ten Commandments have captured our imaginations. Did you know that our culture was built using the Ten Commandments as a guideline? We live in a culture that has been built around the idea of God and this specific set of rules. I am old enough to remember when it was illegal to go shopping on Sunday. Can you imagine a culture that said that we would celebrate the Sabbath and keep it holy? As a result, it would be illegal for most stores to be open. And the reason why was Commandment number four.

Do not steal or murder are automatic in our thinking, but there was also a time in our culture when you simply did not go against your parents; you gave them honor just as automatically as you didn't kill people, and the reason why was Commandment number five.

There was a time when adultery was not just immoral; it was illegal and could be punished by the law courts. That seems almost unimaginable, but the reason was simple: it goes back to commandment number eight. 

When we enter the courtroom and place our hands on the Bible and swear that we will tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God, and that action is based on commandment number nine, which says you will not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Our culture was built around these ten commands, given by God to Moses 3500 years ago on a mountain that flashed with lightning and was covered with a cloud. The mountain was overcome with a power that the people didn't understand. But this moment was essential to all that was to come. The Ten Commandments begin with this thought: I am the one who rescued you. I am the source of everything. The first thing you need to know is that I am God and the source of everything you need. It is enough to make any of us tremble if we really understand everything that this means. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 20

Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. – Exodus 18:20

Today's Scripture Reading (November 18, 2024): Exodus 18

Many years ago, the Christian Band Petra released a song called "Seen and not Heard." The title was a line from the chorus, which summed up the song's message. The chorus stressed, "Sometimes God's children need to be seen and not heard" (Bob Hartman). I remember talking with a teen at the time the song was released, who was offended by the lyrics. She believed she had the right to be heard and had no desire to remain quiet. I agreed with her, but at the same time it was a misunderstanding of the song's meaning. As Christians, there are times in our lives when we just need to walk and don't need to talk. Sometimes, the people who need to hear your words the most will not listen to you until you show them your life.

A few years ago, there was a movie made about a Catholic priest who felt called to go and work among the lepers who had been expelled from Hawaiian society by King Kamehameha V, condemned to living their lives on the isolated Kalaupapa Peninsula on the North Shore of Molokai. At predetermined times, a boat would drop off supplies to the outcasts, and this priest was petitioning the church to allow him to go and minister to this unreached group of people. 

The Catholic church balked at the idea. They knew the dangers and were unsure whether this was the man who should go and be with the people. But they finally allowed the priest to go, and this young priest built a church on the island and started ministering to the people.

He startled them as he reached out to touch them. The priest ministered and brought food, but the people seemed unwilling to respond. Finally, the day came when the man was ready to give up. He sent word to Oahu that they should send out a boat to pick him up and take him back. He also requested that they send someone else out to continue the ministry he had attempted but failed to establish on the island. The story says that as he stood at the dock on that Sunday morning, awaiting his ride back to society, he looked down and saw the white spots that had appeared on his own hands. He realized that he wouldn't be able to return to Oahu. He had become a leper and was no longer visiting the island. This place of the outcasts had become his new home.

He slowly left the dock and walked up a hill toward the tiny church he had tried to serve so faithfully. Two hours later, he arrived at the church and was surprised to find that, for the first time, the church was filled with people. They had watched him and heard the priest teach, but now he was one of them. He was no longer talking to a group of people of which he was not a part. He was one of them; he could show them how to live, and now he was entitled to speak with them about God.

People need someone who will teach them and speak the words they need to hear. But they also needed someone who was one with them that could show them the way to live. So, God's message was that Moses needed to live in front of them so they could see how he lived. Sometimes, words are not enough.

One of the concepts that I strongly believe in is that of the wounded healer. The one who has the right to speak into my pain is the one who has gone through similar pain. We have all gone through stuff, but rather than our past disqualifying us from speaking, those pains are the very things that give us the right to speak our truth. The church doesn't need perfect teachers; it needs people who have walked through the fire, arrived at the other side, and now have become encouraging voices for those still making the journey. 

Moses was the teacher and had the right to speak about life in the desert because he had lived in Midian for 40 years. But he couldn't be the only teacher. Others had more experience with what it meant to live life as a slave than Moses had, and still other people who had suffered different pains. Together, they could now step up and share their ministry with others.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 19

Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me." – Exodus 17:4

Today's Scripture Reading (November 17, 2024): Exodus 17

Now that another election season in the United States is behind us, or if you are Canadian, one is just ahead, maybe it is time to remind ourselves that while a President or a Prime Minister can affect significant change in a nation, there are a lot of things that are simply out of their control. I love listening to Jim Carville, but I agree with him on very little. But his quote, "It's the economy, stupid," has to be one of the greatest political slogans in the last 100 years. Not only that, but it is also one of the things that is relatively out of the control of our political leaders. The economy depends on many things, like war, worldwide weather, foreign stock markets, and other things that are often beyond our control. There is a lot that a politician can do that will harm the health of the economy, but there is very little that they can do to improve our economic situation. It really is the economy, stupid, and the one thing I want to know from our politicians, above everything else, is that they won't be foolish and cause harm to the economy. Politicians can make grand promises about the economy, but the best they can hope for is that they will do no harm and that the economic dice roll comes up in their favor.

In some ways, Moses is a prophet and a man of God. But in other ways, please don't be offended by this comment; he is just another politician. God has called him out of the wilderness. Moses didn't want to leave the life he had built for himself after he fled Egypt. God sent the prophet into the presence of Pharaoh and had him introduce a series of plagues that Moses had no control over. Then, he led the slaves out of Egypt following a route that God had chosen, a path that had been selected because it was designed to keep the people safe and not be brought immediately into conflict with some of the minor powers of the area. So far, Moses has written or initiated very little of this drama.

Now, the people are upset with Moses. It is the nightmare of every politician. Moses has done everything right, and yet the roll of the dice has come up against him. And so, he prays to God; these people are upset, and they are about ready to stone him as a heretic. Moses doesn't know what he is going to do.

I get the emotion of the statement, but Moses's reality is that there is nothing he can do. There has been nothing that he could do since the beginning of this journey. Luckily for Moses, God has been in control of rolling the dice. All he could do was do no harm and follow the dictates of his God.

For our political leaders, it is still the hope and the only expectation. Please, "do no harm," and allow God to move in our midst. If that is our truth, then we will be successful in the place where God needs us to be.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 18

When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. – Exodus 16:15

Today's Scripture Reading (November 16, 2024): Exodus 16

It happened one Christmas. My mom has always been the curious sort without the needed will to wait. As a result, Christmas was a time of various trials when I was growing up; Mom trying to restrain her curiosity and refrain from opening her presents before the big day, while the rest of the family attempted to hide her presents in places where Mom wouldn't think to look. The tension between these two desires led to several interesting stories.

One story came out of a time when I was a teenager. I lived 3000 km away from most of my relatives for most of my life. As a result, Christmas presents often started to arrive from our relatives to my displaced family in early December, providing an overwhelming temptation for my mother. One day, I remember getting home from school and finding my mother looking perplexed at the kitchen table. I remember going into the kitchen to figure out what was going on.

My mom admitted that she had opened a present from my grandmother, Dad's mom, for her. I put on my best look of disdain in my reaction to her crime. She admitted that she had rewrapped the present and put it back under the Christmas tree.

My next question seemed logical, at least to me. I asked my mom, "So, what did grandma get you?"

Mom's reply was unexpected. "That's the problem. I still don't know."

I don't know that I ever found out what my grandmother gave to my mom that year. But maybe there was a hint in her answer. The trick to buying my mom a Christmas gift was to buy her something that she couldn't figure out what it was even if she opened the gift. But that was easier to think about than to actually do.

God has promised the Israelites food. Meat would come in the evening, a reality that came with a bunch of quail that Israel could hunt and kill, and then bread being given to Israel in the morning. However, unlike the meat-filled quail, the bread came in an unexpected form. God sent a heavy dew during the night, and as the sun rose and the dew disappeared, a flaky substance was left on the ground. As Israel got up and began to look for their promised bread, they saw the flakes and openly wondered what it was. Moses's reply was that it was the bread for which they had been waiting.

But the question became the name for the substance; manna simply means "What is it?" And "What is it?" was precisely what had been promised to the people.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 17

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. – Exodus 15:22

Today's Scripture Reading (November 15, 2024): Exodus 15

He became the voice of a generation, almost the conscience of a generation. Even if you didn't like his thought process, you couldn't ignore his voice. He possessed two voices: a physical voice and a prophetic one, and neither was to be overlooked. He has been called a poet, the great philosopher, and the folk hero of the Rock Generation. Nobody who followed him seemed to be the same; he had that kind of an effect on the people.

He is the only Rock Artist I know who was booed for coming on stage with a band. The only one that I know of who heard his audience's displeasure when he stepped out on stage with an electric guitar (it happened in 1965). It seemed that his image went beyond who he was. And I'm not sure that even he could live up to the image he had created or was created around him.

His name was Bob Dylan. He was distinctive and known. And he spoke the thoughts of a lot of people. And then something happened. It seemed like overnight we went from protest songs like  

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

to songs with lyrics like

But you're gonna have to serve somebody

Yes, indeed, you're going to have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil, or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody

What happened? I know, it's obvious. Somehow, Jesus grabbed the voice and the contemporary prophet. And then, just as quickly, Bob Dylan did a U-Turn. He was just joking with us for two CDs. Dylan had never become a Christian. The only church he had ever joined was the church of Bob Dylan. And once again, the people were left scratching their heads.

Some in the Christian community agreed with Dylan. He had never become a Christian. He had been out trying to get some money from us. However, there wasn't as much money there as he had anticipated so he did his U-turn and returned to what Bob Dylan did best.

But is that really what happened? Did Bob Dylan fake his conversion, or did he make a real change but then slipped out the back door with many other new believers? Was Bob Dylan's salvation real?

We could ask the same question of Israel. In my mind, there is no doubt that the Israelites had been saved. After all, the plagues hadn't affected them. You can't mistake the physical reality of being led out of Egypt, where they had spent time as enslaved people, and into a freedom that they hadn't known for generations. They were alive, but the Egyptians who had chased them weren't. It was a concrete reality. But at the same time, they were willing to give that salvation back for the security of the way things used to be when they lived as slaves.

I have a real problem with people who say Bob Dylan was never saved. The words that he penned seem too real. There is truth in the words. I don't want to dismiss his conversion experience. I think it happened. But the problem is maybe that he didn't develop any further.

We will all walk in the desert, and it is then that our faith will be threatened. Have we done anything to grow our faith so that it can survive the desert? Only you will know the answer to that question. The time to develop your faith is before you begin your journey through the dry wilderness of the desert.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 16

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. – Exodus 14:15

Today's Scripture Reading (November 14, 2024): Exodus 14

It's story time. I admit that I love stories. Many years ago, I was at a conference, and I heard the story of an unnamed woman. This woman was waiting at her local airport for her flight. She had gone through security, and now she was just waiting for the announcement that her flight was beginning its boarding procedure. Sitting in the same area of the airport was an older man in a wheelchair who was also being prepared to board the plane. He was being brought to the front of the line so that he could board first. The man wore pajamas with spilled food on them, and his long hair was a tangled mess. The unkempt look both brought the attention of others in the area and their attempts at ignoring the man. The man just sat there staring into space. The lady was a Christian, and she felt God was asking her to go and comb the man's hair.

I can imagine the conversation taking place between this woman and her God. Are you kidding me? Here in this place? What would people think? God, I can't do that! The airport was crowded and she tried to ignore God's prodding, but God kept on pushing and making the ask. Finally, she gave in, moved over to the older man, and softly asked him if she could comb his hair. Unfortunately, the man was also hard of hearing. God was not going to make this easy.

So, in this crowded airport, she found herself shouting at this man in the wheelchair, "Can I brush your hair?" The man replied, yes. To which the lady had to respond, "I don't have a brush. Do you have a brush?"

The man pointed to a bag stuffed under his wheelchair, and she reached in, pulled out a brush, and softly, just like she had for her daughters many times before, started to untangle the man's hair. As she worked on his hair, she continued to talk to the man and found out that he was being flown to see his wife, who was in another hospital and wasn't expected to live. As she was standing, wondering if she should carry out the plan that God already had in mind, he was sitting in the chair thinking that he was going to see the love of his life one last time, and he looked like an absolute mess.

God tells Moses. Why aren't you moving? Why are you sitting there crying out to me? God isn't trying to say that prayer, or crying out to God, is wrong, but that prayer involves listening. Prayer is a two-way street. Too often, we treat prayer as something we do to get God to see our side. But we are wrong. Prayer involves speaking to God but also listening to God; it involves God changing us so that we are willing to go and brush a stranger's hair.

We don't listen, let me rephrase, I don't listen; at least, not enough. I have my agenda and my wish list. Too often, my prayers are filled with my voice, not God's. We pray like prayer is supposed to be me bending God's will to ours. We even ask the question. Does God change his mind? And if he doesn't, the next question we ask is, "What good is prayer?"

Prayer is always a conversation. Prayer is not me telling God what is on my wish list and then sitting back to find out what God will do. Prayer involves listening and action. We don't serve a God who is simply a symbol in our lives. We serve a God who continuously tries to communicate with us and shape us so that we can be his hands and feet on the earth; so that we will even be willing to brush a stranger's hair.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 15

Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal. – Exodus 13:2

Today's Scripture Reading (November 13, 2024): Exodus 13

During my senior year in high school, I spent the last class of the day doing "Work Experience." For me, that meant working for a veterinarian. It was probably one of the more unusual work experience projects of which I have heard. I had moved from an urban city to a rural town a year earlier. The learning curve of rural life was already high, but it was about to escalate. Working for a veterinarian, I spent long hours going out to farms and ranches in the area. I was only supposed to be working for the duration of that last period of school, but when you were out doing house calls with the vet, you didn't come back to the town until he did. Sometimes, that meant that you didn't get home until around midnight.

I did many things I had never done before during that school semester. And I admit that I was way out of my comfort zone; after all, I was really still a city boy. I had to learn things that someone who had grown up in the area knew from childhood.

One of the most challenging times began in the dead of winter. It was calving season, and in the area in which I was living, the calving season ran from January to March. It was cold and miserable; complications for the cattle seemed to be high, and so was the mortality rate. I asked the vet I worked with one day why calving season started so early. His response was blunt. Starting the calving season in January was risky, but the rewards were also great. The calves that were born in January, early in calving season, had the most brutal beginning to their lives, but those that survived this beginning were also strong and would be worth the most money when the cattle went to market later in the year. A higher percentage of the calves born later in the season would survive, but they would also bring in significantly less money. And so, every calf we worked to save in January was important and well worth our effort to the rancher.

As a result, we went out into the fields in January during freezing weather to save newborn calves and their mothers. Some cows were stuck in the middle of the fields and couldn't be brought into a place of shelter from the elements until we had taken care of whatever the problem might have been.

After the plague of the firstborn had moved through Egypt, killing the firstborn sons of the Egyptians and their animals, God demanded that Israel consecrate the firstborn to him. The word consecrate could mean sacrifice or simply to consider them to belong to God. In practice, this consecration has taken different forms throughout the Bible. The animals were most often sacrificed, even though the firstborn would have been worth more than any of the animals born later. Firstborn sons were considered to belong to God or bought back (redeemed) through the sacrifice of another animal.

However, in some cases, these sons were actually given to God. An example of this would be the Prophet Samuel. The firstborn of his mother, Hannah, she literally gave her child to God.

After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, "Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." And he worshiped the Lord there (1 Samuel 1:24-28).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 14

The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. – Exodus 12:13

Today's Scripture Reading (November 12, 2024): Exodus 12

Sometimes, a song lyric sticks with me better than anything else. It also can trigger me. Let me explain. A few months ago, a friend decided to send me a message via group text. The message was simple; it was just one word: "Hello." You have to understand that my mind works differently. So, I replied to the text with a little longer message. My reply was, "How are you? Have you been alright through all those lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely nights?" And then there was silence. I recognize that I am old, and I started to worry that my friends didn't get the reference. And, in fact, they didn't. They didn't listen to much Electric Light Orchestra when they were younger. But the one-word message had sent me down a rabbit hole of music. For the rest of the afternoon, all I had in my mind was an old song by the Electric Light Orchestra. As I make grammatical corrections to this post, it is a few days later, and I am heading down the same ELO rabbit hole.  

Hello, how are you?
Have you been alright through all those lonely, lonely, lonely,
Lonely nights? That's what I'd say.
I'd tell you everything if you'd pick up that telephone.

Going down a music rabbit hole happens to me a lot. There is another song that comes back to me when I read specific passages in the Bible, including this one. It is a song I first heard sung by Steve Bell. It is called "Here by the Water." The lyric that keeps returning to me is from the song's second verse.

I know it was stormy.

I hope it was for me a learning

Blood on the road wasn't mine, though

Someone that I know has walked here before.

I love the lyrics because I know the truth about it. The blood on the road is not mine; it comes from the nail-pierced feet of the one who came before me.

Exodus tells us that the blood of the lamb that was slaughtered was placed around the doorframe on that terrible night in Egypt. The blood that would be placed on the doorframes of the houses in the time to come wasn't theirs; it belonged to the Passover lamb, the one that was killed and eaten in that Passover supper.

You may not know the song, but you can understand the truth. The blood on the doorframes in Egypt or our figurative road is not ours. It belongs to the one who died on our behalf. We are saved because someone else died in our stead.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 13

But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.' Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. – Exodus 11:7

Today's Scripture Reading (November 11, 2024): Exodus 11

The story is called "The Adventure of Silver Blaze." It is a short story published in 1892 and written by Arthur Conan Doyle. For most of us fans of Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" is really the case of the dog that didn't bark. Arthur Conan Doyle said "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" was one of his favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. The story centers around the disappearance of the racehorse "Silver Blaze" and the murder of the horse's trainer. The mystery of the theft turns around the curious incident of the dog at nighttime. The surprise in this curious incident is that the dog didn't do anything, which is Holmes's point. If the dog didn't even bark, then he must have known the intruder and have been comfortable with the presence of the one who committed the murder. It is a theme that has been used several times in various fictitious works since its inclusion in "The Adventure of Silver Blaze." The dog who didn't bark shrunk the pool of possible offenders and was the critical clue that pointed the detective toward the guilty party.

According to the story in Exodus, this would be the night when the firstborn of Egypt would die. It meant that from the firstborn of the Pharaoh right down to the firstborn of the slaves, and even the firstborn of the animals was condemned to death. It was a night that a wail went up in Egypt. There was much pain in this African nation on this night. Tears were shed because the future of the country had been compromised. It was a time that was bereft of hope because that is what our children symbolize; they are our hope for a future.

That is, hope had disappeared in Egypt except for the place where the children of Israel lived. Within the Israelite community, there were no tears. No pain was experienced in the middle of the night. On this night, the dogs in Israel didn't even bark. Because nothing happened there that would cause pain. There was no discomfort among the Israelites, not on this night. The nation was in an uproar, except for the part of the nation where Israel lived. The neighborhood of Israel existed in such a sense of peace on this night that even the dogs were quiet. That is amazing. I live in an average neighborhood, and almost every night, I hear some of the dogs in my area start barking at someone. But in the community of Israel on this night, peace reigned.

Moses tells us that, on this night, anyone who even took a cursory glance at Egypt and the neighborhood of Israel would know that there is a difference between the nation and this one neighborhood. Dogs were barking all through the nation, but among the homes of Israel, the dogs were quiet. If you have ears, you will hear the difference. I love how Walter Kaiser describes this night in his commentary on Exodus. "An unprecedented outpouring of grief would follow, but among the Israelites there would be such tranquility on that evening that no dog would have occasion to bark" (Walter C. Kaiser, Exodus, The Expositor's Bible Commentary Volume 2). Maybe this is the first occurrence of the curious incident of the dog at nighttime. Sherlock would have noticed this and understood the importance of this night when the dogs didn't bark.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 12

Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?" – Exodus 10:7

Today's Scripture Reading (November 10, 2024): Exodus 10

Richard II (1367-1400) ascended to the throne of England when he was only ten years old. As a child, various advisors and counsellors made decisions for him during the first part of his reign. But, beginning with the Peasant's Revolt in 1381, the now fourteen-year-old King started to emerge, placing his stamp on his reign. It might have been that the children of England empowered Richard as they saw someone their own age, and thus sharing their worldview, on the throne of the nation. The first years of Richard went reasonably well. But trouble was on the horizon.

That trouble seemed to arrive as Richard stopped trusting his advisors. Disagreeing with their advice, Richard became a Tyrant who made his own decisions. He had his perceived enemies rounded up and executed or exiled in the latter portion of his reign. As a result, his list of enemies multiplied as the King grew older.

Contemporary historians argue about the mental state of Richard II, with some arguing that the King was bipolar and others saying he had a narcissistic personality. Still, others maintain that none of this is true; Richard simply believed in the throne's power and his ability to do whatever he wanted to do, something that would not have been unusual during this era of history.

But the result of the King's behavior is something else about which historians argue. We know that Richard believed in his absolute power and that there was no need, now that he was of age, for him to listen to his advisors. But Richard's behavior became so offensive to Parliament that Richard was deposed in 1399. At first, his successor, Henry Bolingbroke, who reigned as Henry V, agreed to let Richard live. The two were first cousins and had been childhood friends. But it soon became apparent that as long as he lived, Richard would provide a figurehead to those who wanted to restore him to the throne. It also seems that Henry couldn't give the order to have Richard killed. As a result, Richard II died in captivity of neglect and starvation less than a year after his removal from the English throne. Henry V had a much healthier relationship with Parliament, and observers have to wonder if Richard's story would have been much different if he had built a better relationship with Parliament and his advisors. Maybe he would have been a much better ruler if his pride hadn't gotten in the way and he had been able to take into account the advice of his counselors.

It is something that could definitely be said about Pharaoh in the days of Moses. The ruler's advisors and officials saw something to which Pharaoh's pride had blinded him. The cost was mounting, and if all the slaves needed was time for worship, maybe it was time to give in. But that was something Pharaoh couldn't do, and his lack of perspective was starting to cost the empire dearly.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 11

Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go. – Exodus 9:7

Today's Scripture Reading (November 9, 2024): Exodus 9

I live in an area where the Earth is very flat. So maybe it shouldn't be surprising that on one of the main highways out of the city, there is a sign that advertises the local chapter of the "Flat Earth Society." Maybe when you live on the Great Plains of North America, it is easier to believe in a flat earth rather than living in areas that have hills and trees or mountains, and you just can't see very far in the distance in the first place. On the plains, it sometimes seems that you can see forever. I once heard someone describe the road between two cities that lie not far to the east of where I live. They described the road as going straight for about an hour, then it turns and travels through a valley before it turns again on the way out of the valley and continues straight for another couple of hours. I heard the description and heard someone say, "I know that road, and that is exactly how it goes."

I have had conversations with flat earthers, and let me say that they have never convinced me that this is what they believe, but if you ask them why these Flat Earthers believe that the Earth is flat, they will often point to the verdict of your senses. If you go to places like the Great Plains, it feels like you can see forever, and you don't see the curve of the Earth. It seems easy to believe that maybe the Earth really is flat.

However, you must overcome some indications that the Earth just might be some kind of a sphere. Some of the evidence is just what we can see in our planetary neighborhood. Our naked eyes show that both the moon and the sun are spherical. Not only that, but if we use a telescope, we find that Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune are all spheres. In fact, if the Earth is flat, it is the only body in the known galaxy that is not spherical.

Flat Earthers would defend that idea of a flat earth in a universe of spheres by arguing that the Earth is different because we are at the center of the Universe. Everything else revolves around us, just as it was created to do. One Flat Earther has even told me about an experiment where an airplane went up with a level on board, and as far as the plane flew, the level never moved off of center, proving that the Earth is flat. As far as I know, these believers have never explained how a plane or boat can circumnavigate the Earth, even taking vastly different routes.

However, as I said, I am not convinced that Flat Earthers really believe the Earth is flat. There is so much evidence to the contrary, and the reality is that we as a race have believed that the Earth was a sphere for longer than we sometimes think.

Pharaoh did not believe in Israel's God. At least, that is his public testimony. And yet, he investigated the situation after the night the animals of Egypt died. What he found was that the animals of the Egyptians had been killed, but that not one animal of the Israelites had passed away. Israel's animals remained healthy. Pharaoh had enough belief to at least investigate the claims of Moses and Aaron. At the same time, he said He didn't believe but was hoping against hope that he could find another logical explanation for what had happened. But it was becoming hard to disregard the prophetic message of Moses and Aaron, almost as hard as believing in a Flat Earth in a neighborhood of globes.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 10