The Exodus and Becoming
A central part of the story of the people who become the people of Israel occurs in Egypt. They had been invited there by Joseph, a Jew who was very influential (you may remember the famous coat of many colors). Over time, Pharaoh realizes that the Israelites are multiplying, which makes him nervous, so he enslaves them. Still afraid of an uprising, he orders all Hebrew male children to be thrown into the Nile at birth. But one baby boy in particular escapes thanks to his clever mother. The boy, Moses, grows up in Pharaoh’s household. That works out well enough until Moses learns that he is a Jew not an Egyptian.
One thing leads to another, Moses kills an abusive Egyptian slave driver and runs away. Forty years later God clearly makes himself known to Moses in the famous burning bush event.
Exodus is the magnificent story of a people becoming- and realizing that they are – the chosen people of God. That is a very, very big deal for them (and for us) and it takes them a while to catch on to what that means. The process includes the ten plagues triggering their escape from Egypt, the first Passover, the parting of the Red Sea and God giving His people the Ten Commandments. It is a story of becoming. The
rest of the Old Testament is mostly about how Israel meets or fails to meet God’s expectations. I note here that failure, even multiple failures, never results in termination of God’s relationship with His people. Failure doesn’t define God’s people. The unfailing love God has for His people defines God’s people.
Back to the burning bush. The introductory exchange between God and Moses seems strangely brief. Moses certainly knew of God but had not yet had any meaningful experience of God. Approaching the bush, God calls out to Moses (by his name). ‘Here I am’ replied Moses. ‘Remove your sandals, this is Holy Ground’ God responds.
At this point, Moses is perplexed- and scared. God tells him, ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. I know of my people’s suffering, I will save them and provide an abundant, joyful life (paraphrased).’
‘OK’ says Moses, ‘but what is your name?’
God’s reply? ‘I AM who I AM; tell them, I AM sent you’. That may strike you as a little odd.
In the book of John (8:58) Jesus says, ‘…before Abraham was born, I AM.’ In fact, 7 times in the book of John, Jesus makes claims about Himself that begin with ‘I AM’. BTW, the number seven indicates completeness, perfection, exoneration and healing. Get the connection? Clever huh?
So, what can all this mean? Many things. Here are a few.
- God does make himself known.
- Events in life reflect God’s activity in our lives.
- God wants us to see that we are always becoming something- and God wants us to become more complete, more whole by a personal encounter with Himself.
- This is the way God has always been, is now and always will be.
- We will come up short, but we mustn’t stop striving for holiness.
- We are chosen of God.
The passion and resuurection of Jesus proves all this. Make the most of this Lent.