No Longer Slaves, But What Then?

Let's ponder a moment our former Egyptian slaves.  They are wandering in the desert, grumbling and stumbling, questioning God and driving Moses to distraction. 

Slavery is a very contradictory state to be in. Our Israelites were subjected to violence, stifled in liberty, demeaned to inferiority and driven to extremity. 

The lash, the threats, the deprivation, the fear, the loss... plagued them every day. Some slaves had it better than others, to be sure, and how they were treated by the master may have mitigated their suffering, but at the end of the day, they were still slaves. 

They were not Egyptians. They would never be Egyptians. 

And yet, the Israelites as slaves were given the basics for human existence:  food, shelter, clothing and potable water. 

Strange, isn't it?  These former slaves were at the bottom of society. You could argue that the slave masters and ultimately Pharaoh had an incentive to keep them alive, because they needed their labor, so they provided the bare minimum. These former slaves were taken care of, not out of human kindness, but because they were needed.  Not wanted.  Needed.

So, here we are in the desert with these former slaves, wandering with them and watching them.

Did they miss the lash?  No.

Did they miss the violence?  No.

Did they miss the food, potable water, clothing and shelter?

You betcha.  

They came into the desert, redeemed from slavery, but because slavery meant getting the basics, they feared they would not survive.

They complained about not having potable water to drink.  The bitter water at Marah made them snipe at Moses.  

God stepped in through Moses and made the water potable.  

They sniped at Moses about the lack of food.  Look what they say:

"The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.'” (Ex. 16:1-3)

(You failed to mention that the slave master was just a few feet away, watching you and making sure you weren't planning an escape or some kind of revolt. The lash was equally only a few feet away.)

So, let's invade the thoughts of these people: 

Slaves get water to drink.  Check.

We are no longer slaves, so no water?

Slaves get food to eat. Check.

We are no longer slaves, so no food? 

Slaves are provided with clothes.  

We are no longer slaves, so will our clothes wear out?

Look what God says about their clothing: "Yet the Lord says, 'During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.'" (Deut. 29:5)

God was not a new slave master.  He wanted their obedience not out of fear, but out of love for Him.  He didn't replace their former masters; He was their Shepherd, who led them as sheep.  

This new radical status as His chosen people meant they were led, not driven: 

"And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people." (Ex. 13:21-22) 

His chosen people were now under His care, not subjected to violence, not stifled in liberty, not demeaned to inferiority and not driven to extremity. 

But they didn't understand just how dramatically their status had changed.  

Now, in the desert, they were learning a whole new way to see themselves. They, while still in Egypt, saw themselves as slaves who were turning the tables on their masters and Pharaoh, for their God was mightier!  Take that, Pharaoh!  Take that, all you gods! 

No.  God's purpose for redeeming them was so much more than a regime change. What then? 

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” (Deut. 7:6)

“The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” (Deut. 7:7-8)

"The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments." (Deut. 7:7-9)

So, we are not slaves. Check.

But what are we?

We will explore how God was molding these people into their original purpose--guiding, reminding and transforming them to a new status:  Men and women who will be priestly representatives of the one true God. 

We, too, were former slaves.  

Our slave master was sin. 

Our Pharaoh was Satan. 

We don't exchange God for a new master.  

He is now our Father.  Our Shepherd.  Our Savior.  

 

What a Week, Huh?

I have been told I have a prophet's heart, which is a nice way of saying I am a pessimist.

But I am not a pessimist for the sake of being a bringer of doom and gloom.

I have spent most of my adult life studying the Holocaust.  Germany was one of the most liberal in terms of laws in Europe regarding the Jews.  If any nation was going to turn on them, many Jews thought it would be France.  They would have been shocked if you had told them that not only Germany would repudiate them but would build places whose sole purpose was to murder them.

It's hard not to be a pessimist when you are a history nerd like me.  Human beings don't fundamentally change from age to age, and to think we are enlightened, as compared to everyone else who has gone before us, is arrogant and prideful, and looking for a fall. 

I am studying Bible history, and exploring the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  I am looking at their leadership and wondering if we can draw any lessons from what the Bible says about them. The kings of Judah and Israel, who did "evil in the sight of the Lord" were constantly reminded by God's prophets what God expected of them and how to live a life that reflected Him. The kings and the priests had the Mosaic Law that left no societal or personal stone unturned as to what to do and how to live as God's chosen people. 

The kings' response to the prophets? Ignore them.  Persecute them. Try to kill them. Why?  The prophets reminded them in no uncertain terms that God knew exactly what they were doing, and how they were leading His people astray.  

God always wants to bless, rather than judge.  But when people and their leaders are constantly disobedient and God's decrees are violated, He will respond. 

What were the leaders and the people doing?  Compromising what God had set their nation aside to do:  To be a blessing to the nations around them.  What did the leaders do?  They mixed the worship of the one true God with the local gods, built temples to them or allow the places of worship that were already there to remain.

In other words, they started looking a lot like their neighbors. 

They led the people into thinking that some how, some way, Yahweh's prohibition against idolatry, polytheism and depravity were not all that bad.  The leaders compromised their covenantal mission and encouraged their people to follow along. The people enjoyed their freedom to sin, with their leaders' approval and the leaders enjoyed their freedom to sin because they had the support of the people.

Was everyone joining in?  No.  I am sure many Jews looked in horror at the rampant idolatry and sin that accompanied it, and walked away, not wanting to displease Yahweh. 

God promised over and over to restore His errant people if they sought Him: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The hope of God's mercy was always there: 

    "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
    For the Lord is a God of justice.
    Blessed are all who wait for him!" (Is. 30:18)

When we seek the Lord, He is quick to receive us as we confess our sins.  

That is true for a nation as well.

So why was I pessimistic?  I assumed we had gone too far down the road of disobedience.  Or that the whole democratic process would be subverted and the people's voice would be silenced by political abuse of our system. In other words, we would never see a legitimate election in this country again.

And here we are. 

But we must consider:  

    "Praise the Lord.

    Praise the Lord, my soul.
    I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
    Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
    When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
    Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God." (Ps. 146:1-5)

We, as individuals, must search our hearts, and ask where we have contributed to the decline of the nation. God is always ready to cleanse and forgive, for that is always His desire for His people: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) 

Jeremiah also warns us against placing our trust in leaders and not in the Lord:

    "This is what the Lord says:
    'Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
    who rely on human strength
    and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
    They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
    with no hope for the future.
    They will live in the barren wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salty land.

    But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
    They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
    with roots that reach deep into the water.
    Such trees are not bothered by the heat
    or worried by long months of drought.
    Their leaves stay green,
    and they never stop producing fruit.

    The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is?
    But I, the Lord, search all hearts
    and examine secret motives.
    I give all people their due rewards,
    according to what their actions deserve.'” (17:5-10) 

Yes.

We may breathe a sign of relief for the change in the White House. But we are to look to the Lord for His restoration in our nation and in ourselves.

We must not think that compromise with the world's values is somehow acceptable; you must ask the Holy Spirit, every day, "How can I reflect Jesus today?"

Revival.

Renewal.

Restoration.

Repentance.

That is what we all need.

That is what our nation needs.

We are at a crossroads in this country. If we go for what is acceptable, easy and not in line with His Word, we can expect the same reaction God had with His chosen people.

This country will be unrecognizable in ten years if we choose poorly.

If You Are Exceptional, You Must Be Acceptable...to God

With the election looming large, I have been thinking about American Exceptionalism.

I had to look that phrase up, because it seems to invoke a lot of arguing and finger pointing. Here is a good operating definition from the Britannica: 

"American exceptionalism, idea that the United States of American is a unique and even morally superior country for historical, ideological, or religious reasons. Proponents of American exceptionalism generally pair the belief with the claim that the United States is obligated to play a special role in global politics." [1]

This definition played out when we landed on the moon in 1969.  As a kid, it seemed that there was nothing we couldn't do as a nation.   

My history books seem to imply that when we made our way out West, it was one vast empty plain.  I  remember one Indian attack, on a poor hapless woman evangelist.  Imagine my surprise when I learned about the complexities existing between native peoples and westward expansion.  Dances With Wolves was a revelation. 

Slavery?  We focused on the Emancipation Proclamation. That was about it. 

Back then, it was easy to believe America got it right every time, or at least, rarely got it wrong. 

I am not here to bash America.  It has become very trendy to point out all of our faults, seriously flawed beliefs and failures. That is why Trump seems so out of place in the public arena for a lot of people.  His beliefs about America echo what I heard growing up and what I read about in my history books.

Was what I learned all wrong?  No, I don't believe so.  I think a lot of it was not discussed, because it didn't fit the idea of American Exceptionalism, so it was left out.   I perceived that Viet Nam seem to be a mistake, only because my dad was angry about it. We consoled ourselves with the thought that at least we got out with what Nixon called "Peace with honor."  The war and its destructive effects on our  soldiers and America's confidence in itself took decades to heal, but we carried on with our definition of our greatness. 

I remember a college professor who taught exactly the opposite of what I had been taught.  When I asked him about this, he said, "I am teaching the other side."  I hadn't really thought there was another side. 

Yes, there was.  

The Jewish people, the chosen people, had that same sense of destiny and being special. They were to be a blessing to all nations, as God told Abraham, who had been willing to offer up his son: 

"I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Gen. 22:17-18) 

Why did God chose the Jewish people? He tells them:

"The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments." (Deut. 7:7-9)

For what purpose were they chosen?   God tells Moses: "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Ex. 19:5-6) 

Priests point to God, teach about God and live in such a manner that people may know about Him by watching how His people live. 

Peter takes this idea and applies it to include those who follow Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9) 

Imagine then, the day Jesus and His disciples were in Jerusalem for the Passover.  They stood in utter awe of the Temple.  It was a mind-boggling and breathtaking architectural achievement.  But more than that:  God resided there.   

God's house.  Chosen people.  Exceptional among the nations. 

But He blew them away:

"Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 'Do you see all these things?' he asked. 'Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.'” (Matt. 24:1-2)

I am sure the disciples were dumbfounded.  They wanted to soften this statement by Jesus, and put it in its larger (read: future) context--someday, far away from now (the disciples were hoping) and they asked Him to explain.  The picture He painted was scary, but seemed far off... They must have breathed a sigh of relief.  Maybe, they thought,  Jesus was just being metaphorical.  He loved to teach in parables, after all.  

But it was only about 40 years in the future. 

What is known as the Great Revolt, where some Jewish radicals, disgusted with the Romans, rose up in Galilee in 66 AD.  For several years, many uprisings occurred, and the Roman army, in characteristic fashion, crushed these revolts.  By 70 AD, the Romans went in without mercy into Jerusalem after a siege, and threw down the walls of the mighty Temple just as Jesus predicted.  The army looted the Holy Place and Holy of Holies. They killed or enslaved the Jewish people.  There were a few more revolts, and by the 130's, the Jews were exiled altogether from Israel, and would not return until 1948.

It was catastrophic. 

This echoes the destruction of Israel (the northern kingdom) by the Assyrians in 732 BCE and the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BCE, resulting in their captivity in Babylon for 70 years. 

There, God allowed pagan nations to punish His people for their disobedience of His laws and decrees.  They disregarded their exceptionalism and took on the practices of their pagan neighbors: worshipping idols and engaging in their practices of sexual immortality and child sacrifice. They were no longer acting as priests to the nations.   

Or, as in the Great Revolt, they grew weary of their oppression and took matters into their own hands, ignoring God and assuming He'd just get on board once they started.  They believed in God, but believed even more in their just cause. 

Pagan practices. Disloyalty to God. Failure to act and behave in a manner that behooved the chosen of God. It's as if God said, You so admire pagan practices, pagan ways and pagan kings.  You will come out from under My eagles' wings, and live, die and be scattered by those people you so admire and emulate. 

Their exceptionalism demanded they be acceptable to God. 

And they weren't.

Are we a kind of Israel?  The American exceptionalism definition seems to have an implied affinity with Israel--that we have been chosen by God. 

But is our exceptionalism being lived out, or are we imitating the ways and behaviors of nations that have turned away from God?  Are we taking matters into our own hands, trying to be progressive, savvy and not burdened with conventional morality? 

There were certainly Jews who did not go along with what their kings were doing and how their neighbors were acting. They listened to the prophets who warned the nation and tried to make changes.

But overall? 

God used His word, His prophets and an occasional king to try to turn the people back to Himself.  But the people ignored Him.  Judgment came. This sad biblical history of blessing, descending into disobedience, ignoring warning and then receiving judgment is there for one reason:  To teach humanity that God takes very seriously that nations uphold His morality. 

Micah put it so well: 

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. 

And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God." (6:8) 

The bar was set higher for His chosen.

We have set the bar higher for our nation, seeing it as exceptional. 

Consequently, are we acting in ways that are acceptable to God? 

[1] https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-exceptionalism