Theophany (appearance of God) and the Call-The Divine-Human Partnership in Redemption

Exodus 3: 1-12

Theophany (appearance of God) and the Call-The Divine-Human Partnership in Redemption

Jethro (His abundance) is another name for the priest of Midian Ruel (2:18). Moses is in a different and totally new life in the service of his father-in-law. Moses tends the sheep and comes to new grazing land, namely Horeb (literally means “desolate waste”). These two terms connote both the stale life that Moses leads in Midian because of his forced expulsion from Egypt and the transformation that God Almighty is going to bring in his life as he a God with abundant resources to renew life.

Horeb is known as “God’s mountain” or “Mountain of God”, Because of it becoming the locale of God’s appearance many times. In other traditions, the mountain is also called Sinai. The text prepares the reader for some extraordinary happenings and urges the reader to use the categories of faith to understand the text. The burning bush is presented as an angel of God and the voice of God is presented as coming out from the bush. This is the first appearance of God in the book of Exodus. The theophany episode has a visible part (vv.2-3) as well as an audible part (vv.4-6). The dramatic visible part draws the attention of Moses to the very theophany event. The audible part calls out Moses by his name, it is a divine summons. Moses’ response to this sovereign summons is complete submission and obedience as in other “call-response” patterns in the Bible. Moses responds by saying, “here I am (v.4).” The ordinary place that is termed as “desolate waste” (Horeb) is transformed by the preemptive holy presence of God. Moses is now taken up into the sphere of that awful holiness.[1] The holiness of the reality of God always sets a sense of limit for human endeavors. It even happens in the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve are instructed while they were appointed as stewards to respect the limit of not approaching the trees of life and knowledge (Genesis 2:17). Moses is also asked to keep a respectable and conscious distance while approaching the holiness of God. Moses’ removal of sandals signifies his complete submission to the will of God.

Though God was visible Moses is not attempting to see God as seeing God amounts to impinging upon God’s freedom and holiness. Moses hides his face to avoid seeing God. Brueggemann writes about the developing relationship with Moses and God in the following words; “Thus Moses’ act of submissive deference is undertaken so that God’s sovereignty is not crowded. Later on, Moses will become daring and emboldened (33:17–23). But this is after a long, troubled history together.”^[2]

This is the nameable, identifiable voice of the God of Genesis, the one who has made faithful promises, who “goes with,” who guards fugitives like Jacob, who keeps outsiders like Joseph, and who births babies to barren mothers.^[3] God once again reveals His identity as the God of Moses’ forefathers (Ex. 2:24 & 3:6). This God is a God who remembers his covenant with humanity and the people who bear the prospects of that covenant in all generations. The narrative talks about three particular actions of God towards his people; “I have seen…, I have heard…, and I have known…” All three of these actions testifies that Israel is the object of God’s very intense attentiveness. God claims the hapless slaves in Egypt as “my people.” God very seriously attends to the afflictions, cries, and sufferings of his people. God not only knows, but he becomes bodily present in the sufferings of the people. He incarnates into the troubles to share in the pain and to redeem them. God will snatch them away from the brutal clutches of Egypt and will bring them up to the promised land overflowing with the power of God’s blessings. They will be brought to an experience of plenty and goodness from that of misery and bitterness (1:14) in Egypt. Only this God who intensely looks and deeply engages with the lives of the people can bring out an alternative to the oppressive life situations of Israel.

V.10 is a decisive break from whatever is said until now. The generous promises of God have turned out to be a rigorous command to come and play the human responsibility in fulfilling God’s intentions in the life of the people. God says to Moses that I will send you. Moses will act as an agent to fulfill all the promises that God had spoken about the future of the people. God blends beautifully with human history to bring forth newness in God’s beloved created order. Man has to still “till and guard” (Gen. 2:15) for the wellbeing of God’s world. Now it will be Moses who will bring out the people from Egypt for God.

It is no wonder that Moses raises a series of doubts and resistances to this divine summons as the task entrusted is very dangerous. His chances of success in a human viewpoint are very modest, and his chances of survival in his confrontation with the imperial power of the status quo are even worse. But his absolute submission and his willingness to allow God His freedom and power in his life will open up new possibilities of an Exodus even in the darkest and ruthless situation of life.

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[1] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 712). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

 

^[2] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 712). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

^[3] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 712). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Amalek (trouble-maker) defeated

Exodus 17: 8-16

Amalek (trouble-maker) defeated

Troubles and Conflicts are part of the journey to the Promised Land. The way of the Israelite migrants is fraught with many adversaries because Israel constitutes a political and military threat to the settled people on the way. The struggle with those who are too strong for Israel, when they are not properly organized for a battle and extremely weary because of the grueling journey through the wilderness on bare minimum resources to sustain life is very difficult. Joshua for the first time is introduced as the warrior who recruits the army, fights with the Amalekites, and defeats them.^[1]

Here we see the overlap of traditions of Moses and Joshua though they are given with different responsibilities in the Exodus-conquest-settlement model. Moses is the leader of Exodus and Joshua the leader of the conquest. The name Joshua is derived from the root Hebrew word that means “to save.” The name indicates the fact that the credit of saving the people from bondage and the guidance they experience in the wilderness journey rests with Yahweh and Moses and Joshua are human agents in the overall purpose of Yahweh for this people. Moses also acts as a mentor for Joshua finding in him the leadership qualities to lead the people at a later stage and nurturing his skills for that impending task.

Moses, though does not participate in the battle directly, plays a crucial role in the victory. Brueggemann quotes Childs to say that the crucial roles of Joshua’s leadership and Moses’ hands in the victory represent an inevitable balance between human initiatives and divine intentions; “a delicate balance which neither impaired God’s will nor destroyed man’s genuine activity.”^[2] Human endeavors are strengthened and driven to purpose when they are done within the purposes of God to bring justice and wellbeing in the lives of all.

Brueggemann puts this as, “after all the military strategy, material, and technology is assembled, battles require passion, energy, and sheer adrenalin, which are usually generated not by technicians but by public leaders who can mobilize imagination and play on the passions of the military community.”^[3] This passage is not advocating military adventures, because these people are not marching in an imperial conquest of lands. But this is an exodus journey of unarmed slaves, who had to protect their women, young ones, and the cattle from the attack of the greedy settlers. Therefore, the defensive battle is a sudden innovation for the protection of lives in its entourage. Unless this passion to survive is not instilled in the hearts of the people, their dreams of entering a land of freedom will also be buried along with their dead bodies in the wilderness.

Prayer always instills confidence in people who are out in the field taking up the struggles to bring changes in the collective life of the community. Seeing the raised hands of Moses boosts the confidence of the people who fought the Amalekites, who were the trouble-makers in their journey towards a new life of freedom and justice. The name Amalekite can be translated as the “trouble-maker.” Therefore, in interpreting this text the ‘Amalekites’ should be taken up as a figurative representation of all the hindrances that act against the people’s attempts to fulfill God’s will in their life. It should be this figurative sense that prevail when we interpret the eternal enmity of Israelites with the Amalekites that the Old Testament talks about. Deuteronomy 25: 17-19 exhorts the Israelites “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way, when you were faint and weary, and struck down all who lagged behind you; he did not fear God. Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies on every hand, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; do not forget.” The war was against the trouble maker who prevented the people from progressing to their freedom and the fulfillment of God’s promises in their life. It is not an advocacy to keep a historical enmity with a particular race who are the neighbors of the Israelites. If it is so this comes in conflict with the commandment to love and care for their neighbors.

The people are called out from Egypt to be in an Exodus to proceed to a new life. The people’s resolve to remember forever the hurt, hate, rage, and fear will surely prevent them from being part of the political processes of newness.^[4] The path that the escaped slaves need to take is that of forgiveness. Forgiveness, by contrast to hatred, is the political, creative process of negotiating old wounds in ways that lead to newness. Such negotiations are impossible in a world where hurts are absolutized and institutionalized.^[5] Sometimes our religions and our ideas of a nation are inscribed with this hatred in its institutional expressions preventing a collective progression towards a new, just, and equalitarian society. Let us be wary of these dangers in our political and religious lives!

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^[1] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 820). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

^[2] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 820). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

^[3] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 820). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

^[4] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 822). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

^[5] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 822). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Water from Rock: Life is wrought from Death

Exodus 17:1-7

Massah and Meriba: A call to be wary of the dangers of a utilitarian religion

The journey through the wilderness to the promised land continues as the Lord had commanded. But there is no water again! The journey was not a well-calculated or well-planned journey. The setting out of the exodus happened in haste and was motivated by the people’s trust in the saving kindness of God. The people are again in great distress as they lack the most elemental resource that is required to sustain life in the wilderness. The exodus instilled in them great expectations and now the journey gets harder and harder by each day. They are turning their frustration and anger against the leadership.

There are two heated exchanges between Moses and the people. The first exchange questions the credibility of the leadership of Moses. It was he and his brother Aaron who convinced these people for an exodus into the wilderness. They promised them a better life outside the realm of Egypt’s brutal and abusive power.

Moses wants to put the issue in a larger context of the destiny of these people in God’s plan. He wants to tell the people that the responsibility of the exodus and the reaching of the promised land is a collective one. The whole group of the escaped slaves needs to show the endurance and character appropriate for this long-lasting journey. He retorts painfully saying “Why to blame me?” “Why test God?” The people need to trust in the faithfulness of the God of the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph in the midst of this life-threatening crisis.

The second exchange between Moses and the people is more outraged and the people are accusing Moses of causing death by instigating the exodus. They might have been ready to take revenge on Moses by imparting death on him for bringing them to the verge of death. Moses now turns to God, his petition this time is not for the wellbeing of the people but for his own safety. “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”^[1]

The best part of the story is that YHWH is directly involved in the process of resolution of this crisis. The God of the Exodus is not a distant God, who control the affairs of the people remotely, but one who descends into the miseries of His people to deliver them (Ex 3:8). Moses is asked to walk ahead of the people carrying the staff that he used to strike the Nile, which is a symbol of God’s guiding presence in the life of the journeying Israelite congregation. It is not the personal grievances of Moses that is resolved but the crisis in the people’s lives that is resolved.

The staff, the rock, the courage of Moses, the witness of the elders, and the guarantee of Yahweh all converge to work a wonderful deliverance for the people.^[2] Deliverance, therefore, is a continuing series of saving acts of which God is consistently the subject.

Only Yahweh can give the resources for life, but Yahweh will do so through the work of Moses.^[3] God uses the human medium to manifest his life-giving wondrous acts. People who holds the staff of authority entrusted by God Almighty must always be mindful of this fact to become the life-giving medium for God’s gracious incoming into the lives of the people whom they serve.

The presence and power of Yahweh are perfectly capable of transforming rock to water and death to life. The rock here represents the morbidity of death and water the dynamism of life. Brueggemann notes the importance of this incident being situated in Horeb by the biblical narrator. Horeb is the place where the “wasteland” of no importance was turned into a “holy land” of theophany for Moses. “It is likely important that the rock is “in Horeb,” located in the peculiar precincts where Yahweh’s presence is palpable and immediate. In the sphere of Yahweh’s sovereignty, life is wrought in situations of death.”^[4]

Moses calls the place Massah and Meribah (Massah=“test” and Meribah = “quarrel”), because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”^[5] The context is that of faith or unfaith. It is not the wonderworking power of Yahweh is exposed here but the lack of faith of the people in spite of the mighty acts that they have witnessed in Egypt.

The tendency to test and quarrel with God for personal comforts arises from the practice of a utilitarian religion. A utilitarian religion never allows God His sovereignty. Brueggemann explicates it as an “inverted relationship” of the people with God.^[6] Or in other words, people want to take sovereignty into their hands and YHWH to obey and act in accordance with their desires. “The only evidence of Yahweh’s presence that Israel will accept is a concrete action that saves. Thus, Israel collapses God’s promise into its own well-being and refuses to allow Yahweh any life apart from Israel’s well-being.”^[7]

We all want God to take out all the miseries from our lives immediately. But a spirituality that limits God to the comforts of our personal life is going to be as dangerous as it had been in Meribah and Massah. It will only create more hatred and frustrations and no movement in life towards the purposes for which God calls us collectively as the community of disciples.

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^[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Ex 17:4). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

^[2] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 817). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

^[3] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 817). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

^[4] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 818). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

^[5] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Ex 17:7). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

^[6] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 818). Nashville: Abingdon Press.

^[7] Brueggemann, W. (1994–2004). The Book of Exodus. In L. E. Keck (Ed.), New Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. 1, p. 818). Nashville: Abingdon Press.