Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires
Exodus 3
So Moses is out tending his father-in-law's flock when he notices a bush burning. Instead of thinking "this fire could cause amazing damage- I better put it out," he notices that the bush never burned up. Maybe his concern for a potential spreading flame led him to notice the odd quality of this "strange fire."
God speaks to him from the bush and tells him to take off his shoes since he's on holy ground and identifies Himself as the God of his ancestors. He tells Moses that he's seen the suffering of his people and that Moses is the one to lead them out- into a land flowing with milk and honey. I might prefer one flowing with pork-chops and diet pepsi- but it still sounds a whole lot better than slavery.
Moses says- whoa...who am I to handle this? God says- relax...I'll be with you.
Moses says the equivalent of- ok then...who are you to help me? Or more politely, "what's your name in case they ask me?"
God says "I AM who I AM." Tell them I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Tell them I've been watching and I'm going to get you out of this mess. You'll have plenty of milk and plenty of honey.
Tell the king that God has told you to take a three day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices. Of course he'll say no- until I show him what I can do. So I will- and then he'll let you go. In fact the people will like you so much that you won't even have to leave empty-handed. Let each woman ask neighbors and housemates for gold and clothes- and you'll end up plundering them.
A couple of ideas:
God chooses Moses, apparently not the most religious man. God identifies himself- and Moses still has to ask who He is. Granted, information was distributed much differently in that day and time but he still didn't seem to know much about this Being from the bush. It's so easy to puff yourself up when you see yourself as someone doing God's work. I worship regularly, I give to charity, I read the word- surely I'm on God's A-list. It looks like here that God has use for folks who might not fit into such an easily classifiable mold. And to puff ourselves up over others is silly and harmful.
Moses also seems to have learned some humility. He's gone from the Egyptian slaying, shepherd terrorizing potential peacebringer to someone who thinks...maybe I'm not qualified for such important work. While it seems like he displays a lack of confidence in God, maybe this quality of humility is what caused God to choose him in the first place. And maybe humility in my life would open doors of service too.
I'll keep looking for that bush.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Thursday, November 23, 2006
When You're A Shepherd...
Exodus 2: 11-25
So Moses grows up and witnesses a street fight. An Egyptian is brawling with a Hebrew and Moses, feeling a sense of ethnic pride decides to help the cause. He kills the Egyptian and hides him in the sand- which I guess means, he buried him. Only a day later he comes upon two Hebrews (he bruise) brawling and after determining who was to blame gave the whole "aren't we brothers?" speech hoping to end the violence.
The outcome, though, wasn't quite what Moses expected. Basically the Hebrew replies- "you're not the boss of me...and what're you gonna do about it? Kill me like you did the Egyptian?"
Suddenly Moses's heartrate increases as he realizes- I could be in trouble. The word has apparently reached the street. What was intended as a way to show support for his people has backfired badly. And now Pharoah's out for his neck too.
And how do we react when our good intentions backfire and put us in trouble? Moses runs. OK, I'm outta here. I'm done playing the hero- I'm done butting in to other people's business. It's live and let live I say...until he comes upon a well where thug shepherds are bullying the priest's daughters, not letting them water their flock.
This is a seemingly comical scenario to me. Shepherds from the hood- If West Side Story were set in Midian I could see these guys snapping their fingers and waving their staffs in the air. But Moses is there to rescue these maidens and restore justice.
As his reward, Moses is given one of these girls for a wife. Zipporah bears him a son named Gershom. During this time the king of Egypt died and the Israelites aren't too keen about their slavery. And God is concerned about his children.
Two thoughts. It strikes me that Moses has a bit of a hero's complex. Breaking up fights, killing Egyptians, scaring off shepherds and while he has varying amounts of success, it isn't until he starts working FOR God that he really makes things happen. Maybe it's the same for us- we mean well and we act, but without going through the source- trying to do it without God may make us clumsy, overbearing, or just plain wrong.
Secondly- the chapter ends expressing God's concern about his Israelites. This insight to God's personality is interesting to me. He knows the outcome- he knows what's going to happen to these people, but still he's "concerned"- a word that suggests to me tension regarding the outcome of a situation.
God's rooting for us- He feels our pains, hears our cries- and even though He knows what successes and failures lie ahead, He still feels the heartache of uncertainty right along with us. Even though He knows I'm going to face temptation and make it through (or not) He still invests Himself emotionally in the whole process.
It's like me watching the ball go through Bill Buckner's legs time after time after time and not only feeling his pain every time but rooting and caring and empathizing, even though I know the outcome.
He cares. He comforts. He cheers. He's in our corner even when we fail.
Exodus 2: 11-25
So Moses grows up and witnesses a street fight. An Egyptian is brawling with a Hebrew and Moses, feeling a sense of ethnic pride decides to help the cause. He kills the Egyptian and hides him in the sand- which I guess means, he buried him. Only a day later he comes upon two Hebrews (he bruise) brawling and after determining who was to blame gave the whole "aren't we brothers?" speech hoping to end the violence.
The outcome, though, wasn't quite what Moses expected. Basically the Hebrew replies- "you're not the boss of me...and what're you gonna do about it? Kill me like you did the Egyptian?"
Suddenly Moses's heartrate increases as he realizes- I could be in trouble. The word has apparently reached the street. What was intended as a way to show support for his people has backfired badly. And now Pharoah's out for his neck too.
And how do we react when our good intentions backfire and put us in trouble? Moses runs. OK, I'm outta here. I'm done playing the hero- I'm done butting in to other people's business. It's live and let live I say...until he comes upon a well where thug shepherds are bullying the priest's daughters, not letting them water their flock.
This is a seemingly comical scenario to me. Shepherds from the hood- If West Side Story were set in Midian I could see these guys snapping their fingers and waving their staffs in the air. But Moses is there to rescue these maidens and restore justice.
As his reward, Moses is given one of these girls for a wife. Zipporah bears him a son named Gershom. During this time the king of Egypt died and the Israelites aren't too keen about their slavery. And God is concerned about his children.
Two thoughts. It strikes me that Moses has a bit of a hero's complex. Breaking up fights, killing Egyptians, scaring off shepherds and while he has varying amounts of success, it isn't until he starts working FOR God that he really makes things happen. Maybe it's the same for us- we mean well and we act, but without going through the source- trying to do it without God may make us clumsy, overbearing, or just plain wrong.
Secondly- the chapter ends expressing God's concern about his Israelites. This insight to God's personality is interesting to me. He knows the outcome- he knows what's going to happen to these people, but still he's "concerned"- a word that suggests to me tension regarding the outcome of a situation.
God's rooting for us- He feels our pains, hears our cries- and even though He knows what successes and failures lie ahead, He still feels the heartache of uncertainty right along with us. Even though He knows I'm going to face temptation and make it through (or not) He still invests Himself emotionally in the whole process.
It's like me watching the ball go through Bill Buckner's legs time after time after time and not only feeling his pain every time but rooting and caring and empathizing, even though I know the outcome.
He cares. He comforts. He cheers. He's in our corner even when we fail.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The Story of Me
Exodus 2: 1-10
So Moses is born and after three months, knowing his potential fate, his mother hides him in the reeds along the banks of the river. Moses's sister (Miriam?) watches from a distance and sees Pharoah's daughter approaching. Moses cries and she has pity on him.
Seizing the opportunity, Miriam offers to find a "surrogate" mother for him who actually happens to be his actual mother. And now Pharoah's daughter even pays mama Moses for raising him. Sounds like a plotline to a French farce . When he grew older his mother takes him to Pharoah's daughter to be her son.
I think the four players in this scene all add to greater understanding.
Moses's mother despairs to such a degree that she thinks he is better off hiding in the bushes than remaining hidden as her son. How difficult a choice it must have been to finally realize, there's nothing I can do to protect him. He'll die if I don't let him go. And finally after three months, she accepts that she doesn't control everything around her.
Wow, tough lesson. All too often I try to fix my own problems, figure my way through, plot my escape, solve the world's dilemmas...and I can't do it. I don't have the capacity, the ingenuity, the resources and often even the desire to make everything okay. I can't make it all okay. I can't make my house sell or make my students learn, or make my sins ok- it takes a force far beyond what I can do to make any of it work.
Great- but what does it mean to turn it over to God? Stop trying? Stop encouraging? These don't seem right and while the concept of trusting God is obviously the answer, the application is elusive and intangible. Which might make the challenge part of the answer.
How about Moses's sister? I'm assuming she's Miriam, but I have no idea. She had the foresight to watch the bushes and jump at the chance to put things the way she wanted them. She's an opportunist- but I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. Miriam took one for the team- she knew what her family and more specifically her baby bro needed, and she made it happen. Miriam looked at the world beyond it's direct affect on her. She saw what was lacking in those she loved and tried to fill the gap. Great lesson.
Pharoah's daughter is an interesting character. She had pity on a crying baby. Crying babies aren't exactly a rare commodity. In fact...at some point, all babies are crying babies. Is she rebelling against her tyrannical father? Does she secretly want her own child? Does she see the injustice in the current regime and act to restore humanity in a time where's it's a rarity? And think about what she's risking. She's defying the most powerful man in the land for the sake of a strange child of a different race.
If Pharoah had found out, would he have laughed it off as the impulsiveness of his daughter? Would he have disowned her? Or killed her? Why does she put so much of herself on the line? And would we do as much for a stranger? Do I help the stranger on the side of the road who looks a little scary? Do I stand up for the little guy in the face of the angry majority? Or do I play it safe?
And fianlly we have the original autobiographer. What would it have been like for Moses to step back and examine the beginning of his own life? He's looking back after a long life of service, doubt, courage, rashness, defiance, accomplishment and regret. When he looks back to square one does he see the beginning of an epic saga or the pilgrimage of a misguided schnook who doesn't get where he intended, but through God's help gets close enough?
And if I were to pen my own tale- would I be able to view my habitual failures in the frame of a successful exodus? It takes getting over the disappointments- and more difficultly getting over yourself.
Exodus 2: 1-10
So Moses is born and after three months, knowing his potential fate, his mother hides him in the reeds along the banks of the river. Moses's sister (Miriam?) watches from a distance and sees Pharoah's daughter approaching. Moses cries and she has pity on him.
Seizing the opportunity, Miriam offers to find a "surrogate" mother for him who actually happens to be his actual mother. And now Pharoah's daughter even pays mama Moses for raising him. Sounds like a plotline to a French farce . When he grew older his mother takes him to Pharoah's daughter to be her son.
I think the four players in this scene all add to greater understanding.
Moses's mother despairs to such a degree that she thinks he is better off hiding in the bushes than remaining hidden as her son. How difficult a choice it must have been to finally realize, there's nothing I can do to protect him. He'll die if I don't let him go. And finally after three months, she accepts that she doesn't control everything around her.
Wow, tough lesson. All too often I try to fix my own problems, figure my way through, plot my escape, solve the world's dilemmas...and I can't do it. I don't have the capacity, the ingenuity, the resources and often even the desire to make everything okay. I can't make it all okay. I can't make my house sell or make my students learn, or make my sins ok- it takes a force far beyond what I can do to make any of it work.
Great- but what does it mean to turn it over to God? Stop trying? Stop encouraging? These don't seem right and while the concept of trusting God is obviously the answer, the application is elusive and intangible. Which might make the challenge part of the answer.
How about Moses's sister? I'm assuming she's Miriam, but I have no idea. She had the foresight to watch the bushes and jump at the chance to put things the way she wanted them. She's an opportunist- but I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. Miriam took one for the team- she knew what her family and more specifically her baby bro needed, and she made it happen. Miriam looked at the world beyond it's direct affect on her. She saw what was lacking in those she loved and tried to fill the gap. Great lesson.
Pharoah's daughter is an interesting character. She had pity on a crying baby. Crying babies aren't exactly a rare commodity. In fact...at some point, all babies are crying babies. Is she rebelling against her tyrannical father? Does she secretly want her own child? Does she see the injustice in the current regime and act to restore humanity in a time where's it's a rarity? And think about what she's risking. She's defying the most powerful man in the land for the sake of a strange child of a different race.
If Pharoah had found out, would he have laughed it off as the impulsiveness of his daughter? Would he have disowned her? Or killed her? Why does she put so much of herself on the line? And would we do as much for a stranger? Do I help the stranger on the side of the road who looks a little scary? Do I stand up for the little guy in the face of the angry majority? Or do I play it safe?
And fianlly we have the original autobiographer. What would it have been like for Moses to step back and examine the beginning of his own life? He's looking back after a long life of service, doubt, courage, rashness, defiance, accomplishment and regret. When he looks back to square one does he see the beginning of an epic saga or the pilgrimage of a misguided schnook who doesn't get where he intended, but through God's help gets close enough?
And if I were to pen my own tale- would I be able to view my habitual failures in the frame of a successful exodus? It takes getting over the disappointments- and more difficultly getting over yourself.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
And The Journey Begins
Exodus 1
So some time has passed- in fact enough time for Joseph and his brothers to have all died- and a new king to be in power. Enough time has also passed for this new king to not know about Joseph. The Israelites took this be fruitful and multiply thing to heart and the Egyptians were starting to worry.
They hypothesize- if there's a war- there are enough of these people to side with the enemy and cause us some serious trouble. So they crack the whip and lay down the law- enslaving the Hebrews, trying to break their spirit. But even in their misery- they still found time to make babies.
So finally the king talks to the Hebrew midwives (they only had 2? They must have been quite busy from the sound of things) and tells them to let the girls live but to kill the boys. The midwives were God-fearing though and it didn't happen. When questioned about it, the midwives reply- These Hebrews are some vigiorous women- by the time we get there, they've already given birth. God rewards these midwives with families of their own.
Pharoah orders all male Hebrew children to be thrown into the Nile- which I guess would make it a less than ideal picnic spot.
2 lessons:
1) We're only a small part of the plan. It's easy to have grandiose visions about your role in God's plan- but only one generation later (?) the news of Joseph's great works was gone from Egypt. If his life can be forgotten so quickly, what chance do I have to make a major impact?
1b) in the same light- it's easy to carry around the weight of the world for things done poorly or not done at all- we're still only a small part of the plan. We can't thwart God's will- and our weaknesses and failures aren't bigger than God's power and grace.
so...work to please God- but take the pressure off yourself. You aren't the savior- or the serpent- just a servant willing to keep trying.
2) What about these midwives? They save the lives of these Hebrew children (yeah!) and then cover their backsides with this whopper of a lie about vigorous Hebrew women (oops). Yet God is pleased and rewards them.
Couldn't they have saved them and faced up to it? Were they saving themselves to save more babies in the future? Does it matter?
Seems here that saving the children was a bigger issue than honesty- but I'm not sure why they were mutually exclusive. How is their deception acceptable? Maybe the message is that we're way more concerned with the details than God is- although that thought scares me- and goes against every legalist-ingrained bone in my body.
Love your God- love your neighbor- maybe they still had these things covered.
Exodus 1
So some time has passed- in fact enough time for Joseph and his brothers to have all died- and a new king to be in power. Enough time has also passed for this new king to not know about Joseph. The Israelites took this be fruitful and multiply thing to heart and the Egyptians were starting to worry.
They hypothesize- if there's a war- there are enough of these people to side with the enemy and cause us some serious trouble. So they crack the whip and lay down the law- enslaving the Hebrews, trying to break their spirit. But even in their misery- they still found time to make babies.
So finally the king talks to the Hebrew midwives (they only had 2? They must have been quite busy from the sound of things) and tells them to let the girls live but to kill the boys. The midwives were God-fearing though and it didn't happen. When questioned about it, the midwives reply- These Hebrews are some vigiorous women- by the time we get there, they've already given birth. God rewards these midwives with families of their own.
Pharoah orders all male Hebrew children to be thrown into the Nile- which I guess would make it a less than ideal picnic spot.
2 lessons:
1) We're only a small part of the plan. It's easy to have grandiose visions about your role in God's plan- but only one generation later (?) the news of Joseph's great works was gone from Egypt. If his life can be forgotten so quickly, what chance do I have to make a major impact?
1b) in the same light- it's easy to carry around the weight of the world for things done poorly or not done at all- we're still only a small part of the plan. We can't thwart God's will- and our weaknesses and failures aren't bigger than God's power and grace.
so...work to please God- but take the pressure off yourself. You aren't the savior- or the serpent- just a servant willing to keep trying.
2) What about these midwives? They save the lives of these Hebrew children (yeah!) and then cover their backsides with this whopper of a lie about vigorous Hebrew women (oops). Yet God is pleased and rewards them.
Couldn't they have saved them and faced up to it? Were they saving themselves to save more babies in the future? Does it matter?
Seems here that saving the children was a bigger issue than honesty- but I'm not sure why they were mutually exclusive. How is their deception acceptable? Maybe the message is that we're way more concerned with the details than God is- although that thought scares me- and goes against every legalist-ingrained bone in my body.
Love your God- love your neighbor- maybe they still had these things covered.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
The End of the Beginning
Genesis 50:22-26
So Joseph lives to the age of 110 and sees three generations of his children's children. Interestingly, he still passes before at least some of his brothers- we know this because he tells them he is about to pass. He asks them to promise to take him out of the land to bury him.
He assures his brothers that God will come through and fulfill the promise that he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the message here for me...patience.
How easy it would have been to have lost faith that it wasn't actually going to happen. This promise is hundreds of years old at this point. But even at death, Joseph isn't bitter about missing it, or skeptical about it happening. Instead, he assures his brothers to hang on...it's coming.
And Genesis ends.
Genesis 50:22-26
So Joseph lives to the age of 110 and sees three generations of his children's children. Interestingly, he still passes before at least some of his brothers- we know this because he tells them he is about to pass. He asks them to promise to take him out of the land to bury him.
He assures his brothers that God will come through and fulfill the promise that he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the message here for me...patience.
How easy it would have been to have lost faith that it wasn't actually going to happen. This promise is hundreds of years old at this point. But even at death, Joseph isn't bitter about missing it, or skeptical about it happening. Instead, he assures his brothers to hang on...it's coming.
And Genesis ends.
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