Do we need signs, wonders and rituals? Exodus 13 - 15

Post Foundationalism. Empiricism. Speculative Realism. Ex-nihilo Creationism. These are all philosophical viewpoints I'm pretending to understand in order to write this post. Why? Because Moses had no idea about any of them: He simply ascribed the Israelite escape from Egypt as the work of God. (Oh, a quick summary: God prescribes the traditions that are now the Passover; The Israelites are given directions by a 'God-GPS" a.k.a pillar of fire/smoke; Pharaoh has another mood swing and chases them down; The Israelites panic......again; God parts the Red Sea letting the Israelites across and, well, drowning the Egyptians; The Israelites regain their faith and sing a happy song involving reverence and roasting). It makes me realise how unfortunate it is that we are always waiting for signs and wonders in order to believe. A recent article I read makes a good point: Where we are 100% certain we have no need for faith.

Some other quickies:

• I'm getting a tattoo. Well maybe, but more importantly I'm wondering why the modern church is so ritual-averse. God makes it clear that he wants his people to remember who saved them by making a means that's "a sign on your hands or a symbol on your forehead" (Chapter 13) i.e. so that you can't blooming-well miss it! And we get scared of custom....
• Rabi Ken Spiro makes a case for miracles being natural acts with incredibly good (God) timing. Check out the pillar of smoke and the parting of the red sea (after an evening of incredible wind - not from Moses' oratory this time).
• I forgot that the authorship of Exodus is ascribed to Moses, and he's explaining everything in a theological way. So when I read "God made the [Egyptian] chariot wheels get stuck in the mud", I thought that maybe I have been making too big-a-deal about God making Pharaoh stubborn. That's just Moses' mental filter.
• Say this with a New York Jewish accent: "Hey Moses! What, the cemeteries in Egypt ain't big enough for us so you thought you'd bring us out here to die? Shmendrik!". Now read Chapter 14: 10-12.

Macdonalds lamb burgers and what not to wear: Exodus 11 - 13.

Yo Pharaoh - smell you later! Moses' posse finally gets to leave the land in which they thrived for many years and head off into the wilderness. That makes Moses, despite his stutter, an outstanding salesman, although I think having a staff that turns into a snake and watching the promise of Egyptians dying wholesale overnight would have convinced most people to sign on the dotted line and press hard please. Even some Egyptians went with them! (*mental note: get some scary presentations of exploding computers to sell new data backup service*). Mixed up in this time frame we also have the significant act of the God not killing the Israelites based on them following his instructions of painting lamb's blood on their doors: The Passover.

A couple of things spring to mind:

• What did Moses wear? No really, not like "man those sandals clash with that belt" but rather that he was Pharaoh's grandson and an Israelite, so I wonder how he presented himself in Pharaoh's court. Did he get changed to address the Israelites? How do we present ourselves every day or is this just a contrived thought?
• Since God killed the firstborn of everything Egyptian including animals, I think it would have been a bad time to be an Egyptian Goose.
• It's interesting that the families could share the sacrificial lambs if the group was too small for a whole animal. Very practical advice for a massively spiritual event don't you think?
• God tells them to eat quick - keep your clothes on and your walking stick in your hand (Exodus 12:11). Officially the first historical record of drive/walk-through fast food.
• This is the first time I've noticed a detailed set of rituals which I recognise as an observed festival or custom. Perhaps part of the process of nation-building that sets up the events at Mount Sinai a bit later on. (Interestingly the Jewish people see themselves as the only nation not defined by geography but by God proclaiming as such. But that's jumping ahead.) As Christians we are quick to dismiss these laws as rituals, but perhaps we should give them more attention: If not in observance then in looking for the reasons they exist. Some Jewish people think that Christians consider the 10 commandments the "10 suggestions", and are quick to point out that there are actually 613 commandments. Do we take them seriously enough? Oops, jumping ahead again.

So there you have it. After 430 years in Egypt, the Israelites are on the move. Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" is playing in my head............

A Pox on Your Head! Oh and your river....your house...Genesis 7 -11.

On some days I feel like a special bird that my friend Winston told me about: It flies around in ever-decreasing circles until it flies up it's own butt. Reading about the (famous) biblical plagues in Egypt has created this unpleasant vision-darkening experience for me.

I subscribe to the view that the bible is not intended to be historically accurate: Although it may be it's not a prerequisite for it's authenticity or relevance to me. So let's forget about the science or plausibility of the plagues and what might have happened when, I'm confused by dynamics of God's approach to nailing Pharaoh whilst working towards getting the Israelites out. He says it plainly to Moses at the beginning of chapter 7: I'm going to make Pharaoh's life hell but I'll also make him stubborn so that we can make it clear who's boss. Is that fair? I don't mean to be irreligious, but since my plan for this blog was to record my honest thoughts I really do think that's a bit rough on the fella. Or am I being overly simplistic? Maybe Pharaoh was the over-confident ruler who simply wouldn't accept he was wrong and needed the beating he got (and this was recorded as God making him stubborn).


I'll have to dig a bit deeper on this one - since this story was written after the fact, I guess it could be like the sports report on Monday morning where everything happened for a reason and there is always someone to blame. Excuse me whilst I engage with the idol of Internet information to find out more, let's see...www.google.com.....did Pharaoh have a right to be miffed....*search*......39341153 results......(you still here? This is going to take a while!)

Pharaoh Pious the III (not really)

Giving Birth, Episode One. Exodus 5 and 6.

Labour unions would have had a field day with Pharaoh. When Moses does what God asks him to (let my people go), Pharaoh responds with "When pyramids fly!", and simply makes the Israelites work harder. "Management 101: Pharaoh's Way" became an instant best-seller. To make things worse, the Israelites blamed Moses and Aaron for dropping them in the poo, leaving the lads wondering what on earth they signed up for. Why are they not getting the results they expected? So they consult God, who once again tells them to just keep going as He (that's with a big "H") will make it happen as promised.

Eugene Peterson describes the freeing of Israel as a birthing process i.e. a painful one. I'm finding many of the goals I've set to be just that: painful! I want business results...now. I want to finish building my new house...now. I want to increase my fitness...now. Now, now, now, now! And in the process I want everyone to like me, to experience no resistance and never to stutter. OK I threw that last one in, but I'm just saying I think we need to get into Moses' sandles every once-in-a-while and learn to stick things out to reach good goals. Know what I mean?

Why me is a good question when you suck. Exodus 2 - 5

It's a Sunday school bonanza! Moses in the reeds, Moses and the burning bush, Moses and the stick-that-becomes-a-snake-and-check-out-his-yucky-hand-toys-r-us-would-kill-for-it trick. But I know all that already from, well, Sunday school I suppose. It's the question Moses asks that intrigues me: Why me God? God might have taken spread bets on how often he gets asked that question daily, but nevertheless it's a good one coming from Moses: Why would God choose a murderous, culture-swapping, cowardly, stuttering, uncircumcised (I think) and doubting character to lead one of the most important events in Jewish History? Would you buy into O.J. Simpson's leadership vision?

I dunno. It's actually pretty amazing how persistent God is with Moses who completely lacked any semblance of Faith in this process and was probably no stranger to a good rack of pork ribs. God tells him what to say (Tell them the God of their fathers sent you), gives him the means (cleans out the Egyptians), makes him credible (the miracles), and even provides support in the form of a good public speaker (Aaron, his brother-ish).

I've always been one to think my own lack of faith is a problem for God, but maybe the church has drummed the wrong idea into me: It's not the blind faith I've come to think is so desirable. Perhaps it's a general life lesson too: Instead of "Why me?", should we not ask "Why not me?", and then find ways around the obstacles.

Egyptian Chameleons are still alive and well.

I like condensed milk, therefore I like Exodus 1 as it takes about 200 years down to one chapter. If I do some extrapolation I reckon we could have made the whole bible just 30 chapters: much easier reading! Just kidding - I'm at home with a tome - but the Egyptians seem to prefer their Hebrews in small chunks. Not literally of course (although maybe one or two became salty snacks), but when Israel grows into a large nation the Egyptians feel seriously threatened. I guess they went to bed feeding a Maltese Poodle and woke up staring at a Rottweiler, so they decided it would be best to put the new pooch in a cage. The Israelites soon found themselves enslaved and heavily persecuted as their Egyptian masters tried to manage the threat they perceived them to be.

It's amazing how quickly people change: Friends one day, enemies the next........

Oxymoron: The end of Genesis

In the last bit of Genesis we see Jacob heading skywards, and the winding down of the story of these first bible characters. Joseph and his brothers - the 12 tribes - all die in the first chapter of Exodus. I skipped ahead, but pretend I didn't. By the way, Jacob clearly missed chapters 1 - 10 of "How to win friends and influence people" as he tells his sons what he expects they will become in a mix of blessings and curses worthy of the label "Tourettes". The first three kids he derides, the rest he either praises or suggests they will have a career in confectionery. Counselling anyone?

So what can I take home about Genesis?

1. Nobody's perfect. And maybe that's the idea. But try to make good decisions.
2. We work stuff out with God. When did we stop this and start putting both of us in a box?
3. Good things happen. Bad things happen. It's part of the journey.
4. Faith (a.k.a. hope) is important. Good people were faithful and faithful people counted.
5. Never trust a talking snake, and try not to pass out naked.

Now for Exodus..............

Recession? Pay up! Genesis 47.

After toying with his brothers and father for a period of time during which Joseph hides his identity and messes with their collective heads (for reasons I can't think of but will be sure to look up), the whole clan get to move to a nice fertile spot in Egypt and start doing very nicely, thank you. So nicely in fact, that when the paw-paw and fan make close acquaintance in the form of deepened famine in Egypt, they seem to to be the only ones left with food and resource. This allows Joseph to provide for the rest of the starving minions in return for a small price: Their money, livestock, land and services in the form of slavery to Pharaoh. Welcome home totalitarianism, everyone is now literally owned by the state.

Luckily, Joe is the benevolent sort and gives the underlings a means to pull themselves out of the hole they are in (with a small 20% tax to be paid on the results). Sound familiar? Governments around the world have bailed banks and companies out of financial ruin during this wide-spread recession. There is increasing control placed on fiscal activity too. I'm as far from being an economist or political guru as the Zimbabwe dollar is from buying a pancake, but I'm thinking two things here: Firstly, I hope the governments do not get too drunk on the power (see "t" word above), and secondly I hope the price we have to pay for the help is not too high......

Mind the Gap: Messages from Beyond in Genesis 40 - 42.

Joe Christian's saga at work continues when the big boss (a.k.a Pharaoh) gets a couple of cryptic emails about the markets that almost make sense, but not quite. A bit like anything that comes out of the mouth of SA rugby coach Peter de Villiers. So he calls in IT, finance, and his brokers to try and make sense of them, but no-one has a clue (although the broker managed to sell an increase in life cover). Then someone recalls that Joe in cleaning once worked out the origin of some nasty SPAM using a technique involving a mop, seven pages of A4 paper and a glass eye, so the boss decided to give him a go. Joe - being Joe, remember - cracks the code and tells the boss that the emails are from Warren Buffett and outline what is going to happen in the markets over the next few years. This allows all the right decisions to be made and the company is saved. Hurray!

I am quick to dismiss many of the dreams and 'God encounters' in bible stories as explanations from people with a theological world view. That is the unfortunate result of a skeptical nature, too much time in university and an aversion to the paranormal. But I have to admit that what is logical and real to me might not count at all to God. I read a great article on the power of dreams in the bible and the author (Walter Brueggemann) makes some excellent points on why we sometimes need to take heed of things that are "outside our controlled management of reality". Dreams are a way for God to intrude on our ordered, well explained world and although the psychology greats have good scientific models for why we dream, I can see equally good reasons for God to use them to talk to us. Anyone for a discussion on non-realist theology? Just kidding - read the article............

Does cream rise to the top? Genesis 39.

Let's re-word the beginning of Jo's trip to Egypt. Joseph = Joe Christian. Egypt = The Office. Pharaoh = The boss.

The boss is mighty pleased with Joe's work and realises that if he promotes this trustworthy and loyal character that he will soon be able to play golf three times a week. So he does, Joe rips his job to the power of woohoo, and the boss upgrades his 3 wood. But the receptionist who gets batted by Joe after an advance on his half-decent bod spitefully frames Joe for stealing paperclips with an scheme worthy of being an episode of Grey's Anatomy. The next thing you know Joe is demoted to the cleaning staff. Joe being Joe, the cleaning boss spots the same attributes the big boss did, and within no time Joe is managing all the cleaners whilst the cleaning boss gets back to his post-graduate studies in the ecophysiology of submerged angiosperms.

There are plenty of well told life lessons in these early passages. What struck me is Joseph's success by being ethical in a world that was not. We live in a world where right and wrong seem to have no bearing on a persons ability to rise to the top (think presidents, executives, murderers) and the measure of a person's character is less important than their position or achievements. Much like what Egypt represented symbolically. Will ethical and morally motivated people be successful in this world or have the rules changed?

Legalise prostitution? Genesis 38.

A quick thought. Judah (Joseph's brother) sleeps with who he thinks is a prostitute but is in fact his daughter-in-law. It's a long story, but Judah first calls for her punishment until she produces evidence that it was him that danced the happy dance with her, and he duly acknowledges his guilt.

There's a lot of debate in South Africa at moment about legalising prostitution. I think criminalising prostitution is a bit like this story in that we're quick to judge when we are really all guilty and we condemn the person outright. But does legalising it amount to condoning it? Is it not better to try and eliminate it by helping the women and men caught up in the vicious cycle it produces?

Like I said, just a thought.

Any dream will dooooo (warble): Genesis 37

I'm moving on from acknowledging the general depravity of these early bible characters. It's like watching a slasher movie - eventually the gore loses it's impact and you start looking for some plot. Not that you'll find any in the movie, but I'm sure there's plenty in this book!

So Jacob has a bunch of sons one of whom is Joseph, and makes the mistake of openly loving him more than the others. Joseph adds to the resultant jealousy and hatred by either arrogantly or innocently retelling the (figurative) dreams he has that he will rule over his brothers and parents. The story is well told (thanks Andrew Lloyd Webber!) and Joseph starts his significant life journey with a trip down a well followed by slavery. Who could ask for a better start?

I'm stealing from Matthew Henry's commentary here, but isn't that typical of life? We have dreams, hopes, visions and plans but always seem to end up in a hole or a slave to something - time, commitment to work, church (careful Russ), family, people etc. I am about to set off on a path to reach a personal goal and to be honest I am expecting to have to get through some tough times to start with. Let's see where Joseph's journey takes him, maybe there's some solutions for us.