September 28, 2014: Rescue at the Sea

Exodus 14:10-14, 21-29

¹⁰ As Pharaoh drew closer, the Israelites looked back and saw the Egyptians marching toward them. The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Weren’t there enough graves in Egypt that you took us away to die in the desert? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt like this? ¹² Didn’t we tell you the same thing in Egypt? ‘Leave us alone! Let us work for the Egyptians!’ It would have been better for us to work for the Egyptians than to die in the desert.”

¹³ But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand your ground, and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never ever see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you. You just keep still.”

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord pushed the sea back by a strong east wind all night, turning the sea into dry land. The waters were split into two. ²² The Israelites walked into the sea on dry ground. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left. ²³ The Egyptians chased them and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry. ²⁴ As morning approached, the Lord looked down on the Egyptian camp from the column of lightning and cloud and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. ²⁵ The Lord jammed their chariot wheels so that they wouldn’t turn easily. The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites, because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water comes back and covers the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. At daybreak, the sea returned to its normal depth. The Egyptians were driving toward it, and the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the cavalry, Pharaoh’s entire army that had followed them into the sea. Not one of them remained. ²⁹ The Israelites, however, walked on dry ground through the sea. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left.

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Not too long ago, there was a story in the news about the Willow Run Bomber Plant in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan.  This old edifice was slated for demolition.  The pulling down of an old building often does not elicit headlines, but Willow Run was different. It was a factory where many real-life “Rosie the Riveters” worked during World War II.  Thousands of women picked up tools and operated machinery while the men were overseas.  The old factory was a piece of a story that had inspired millions.

Historian and columnist Gwynne Dyer once said, “[The study of] history has two purposes: one is to understand how stuff works and the other is to know where you came from.  Whose shoulders are you standing on.”  It’s important to know how governments and nations work. It’s important to know what kinds of economies and political ideologies and military strategies are effective.  That’s all good. But history also tells us where we came from.

Our relationship with the Bible is very similar: when we read it and talk about it we learn about how God works: what God is like, what God cares about, how God wants us to live.  This is all very, VERY important.  But we also read the Bible and talk about it because it tells us where we came from. 

Reading the Bible is really like looking through an old family photo album or hearing your grandparents talk about the Great Depression or World War II.

This is most certainly true of our story today.  For the past three thousand years, Exodus has been THE story for the people of Israel.  Everything else comes back to the fact that they were slaves in the land of Egypt and God liberated them.

We don’t get the entire story today, but we do get the most exciting episode.  Everything looks lost: Pharaoh and his army with all of those chariots are about to destroy the people.  It’s going to be a massacre.  And Moses says “Don’t be afraid. Stand your ground, and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never ever see again.  The Lord will fight for you. You just keep still.”

And that is exactly what happens. This is a spectacular story with all of the special effects you could want. Generation after generation of people must have sat in hushed silence around the campfire or in the synagogue (or in the movie theater) in order to hear and see this story told.  As Pastor Rob Bell says, “God is in the liberation business.”

And this changes the way we live today.  When we read or hear history it tells where we come from and that changes our actions and our thoughts today.  It inspires us.  This story about God’s salvation and liberation does the same thing.  Did you notice how it’s God (through Moses) who does all the heavy-lifting? The people of Israel saw the chariots and were ready to go back into slavery.  How often are we ready to go back into slavery in our own lives because freedom is too scary?

Throughout the Bible God reminds the people of this event, “Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt...remember that the Lord freed you.”  This story is foundational.  The way they are supposed to live is based on the fact that they were slaves and now are free.  Treat your servants and foreigners well. Why? Because you were once slaves and now are free.  Take care of the poor among you and treat each other well.  Why?  Because you were once slaves and now are free.

The Willow Run Bomber Plant in Michigan was slated for demolition, but a campaign to preserve part of the factory as a museum was able to raise the $8 million necessary and part of our national story will be saved.  We study history for two reasons: to learn how things work and to learn where we came from.  We read and study Scripture for the same reasons.

September 21, 2014: Joseph in Prison

Genesis 39:1-23

When Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, Potiphar, Pharaoh’s chief officer, the commander of the royal guard and an Egyptian, purchased him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. ² The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man and served in his Egyptian master’s household. ³ His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful. ⁴ Potiphar thought highly of Joseph, and Joseph became his assistant; he appointed Joseph head of his household and put everything he had under Joseph’s supervision. ⁵ From the time he appointed Joseph head of his household and of everything he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s household because of Joseph. The Lord blessed everything he had, both in the household and in the field. ⁶ So he handed over everything he had to Joseph and didn’t pay attention to anything except the food he ate.  Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.

⁷ Some time later, his master’s wife became attracted to Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”

⁸ He refused and said to his master’s wife, “With me here, my master doesn’t pay attention to anything in his household; he’s put everything he has under my supervision. ⁹ No one is greater than I am in this household, and he hasn’t denied me anything except you, since you are his wife. How could I do this terrible thing and sin against God?” ¹⁰ Every single day she tried to convince him, but he wouldn’t agree to sleep with her or even to be with her.

¹¹ One day when Joseph arrived at the house to do his work, none of the household’s men were there. ¹² She grabbed his garment, saying, “Lie down with me.” But he left his garment in her hands and ran outside. ¹³ When she realized that he had left his garment in her hands and run outside, ¹⁴ she summoned the men of her house and said to them, “Look, my husband brought us a Hebrew to ridicule us. He came to me to lie down with me, but I screamed. ¹⁵ When he heard me raise my voice and scream, he left his garment with me and ran outside.” ¹⁶ She kept his garment with her until Joseph’s master came home, ¹⁷ and she told him the same thing: “The Hebrew slave whom you brought to us, to ridicule me, came to me; ¹⁸ but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment with me and ran outside.”

¹⁹ When Joseph’s master heard the thing that his wife told him, “This is what your servant did to me,” he was incensed. ²⁰ Joseph’s master took him and threw him in jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were held. While he was in jail, ²¹ the Lord was with Joseph and remained loyal to him. He caused the jail’s commander to think highly of Joseph. ²² The jail’s commander put all of the prisoners in the jail under Joseph’s supervision, and he was the one who determined everything that happened there. ²³ The jail’s commander paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s supervision, because the Lord was with him and made everything he did successful.

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“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” John Wooden, the famous College Basketball Coach, said this many years ago and it’s been repeated quite often.  It applies to women too, Have you ever known someone who looked very good and upright in public but when you saw them “below the surface” their attitude and/or behavior was less-than-stellar?  It really changes your view of them, doesn’t it?

But at the same time, “character” can feel like it is no longer relevant.

You will hear some people say, “Well, it’s what I had to do to get ahead,” or “It’s a big, tough world out there, you have to do what you have to do.” “Anti-Heroes,” (the main character in a story who doesn’t have all idealism, loyalty or moral goodness) has been very popular on TV shows like The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and Madmen in the past fifteen years. People who try to do what’s right can be called “Boy Scouts” or worse.

So which is it?

And here we have Joseph. If you’ve heard this story from the Bible before (or seen the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) you know that Joseph has already been through a lot. Sold into slavery by his brothers (his BROTHERS!) and now living in a foreign land, things are starting to look up for this young man. He has a good position, and is called “successful.”

And then there’s Potiphar’s wife. What’s Joseph supposed to do? How should he act?  It turns out he acts with integrity and character by remaining loyal to his master and his own set of values.  In the short term this seems to turn out badly for him: Joseph is thrown into prison and it looks like he’s back on the “trash heap” of life. BUT, it also says, ‘…the Lord was with Joseph and remained loyal to him. He caused the jail’s commander to think highly of Joseph.” 

We might not be in Joseph’s exact position today, but each of us face opportunities to do the right or wrong thing each and every day.  There are plenty of times when “no one is watching” and our character is tested.  Maybe it’s the chance to cut-corners at work, or to do the opposite of what you say at home.  Maybe we talk a good game on one day but run in the other direction the next. 

We don’t always succeed, but we can know that God is on the side of justice.  The results just don’t come on our schedule.  May we all turn to the God who shows loyalty, and God’s Son Jesus who had every chance to turn away from his mission, but didn’t out of love for us.  May we turn to the Holy Spirit who gives us strength and perseverance in the face of life’s challenges.  If you are looking for good character, look to them: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

September 14, 2014: Call of Abraham

Genesis 12:1-9

The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you. ² I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.

³ I will bless those who bless you,
    those who curse you I will curse;
        all the families of the earth
            will be blessed because of you.”

⁴ Abram left just as the Lord told him, and Lot went with him. Now Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. ⁵ Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all of their possessions, and those who became members of their household in Haran; and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, ⁶ Abram traveled through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. The Canaanites lived in the land at that time. ⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I give this land to your descendants,” so Abram built an altar there to the Lord who appeared to him. ⁸ From there he traveled toward the mountains east of Bethel, and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshipped in the Lord’s name. ⁹ Then Abram set out toward the arid southern plain, making and breaking camp as he went.

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There’s a great scene in the movie Chariots of Fire that always sticks in my head.  One of the main characters in this movie is talking about an important decision he has to make.  Eric Liddell is a world-class athlete in 1920s Great Britain and he is rising to prominence as a runner. The 1924 Olympic Games are approaching and he has the chance to make the team, represent his country and compete for the Gold medal.  He is also a devoted Christian and feels called to become a missionary in China.  Feeling pulled in two directions at once, Liddell has to ultimately make a choice.

In the scene mentioned above Liddell is speaking to his sister Jenny, trying to describe his dilemma and the decision he has reached. He says, “I believe that God made for a purpose, for China, but He also made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure. To give it up would be to hold Him in contempt. You were right, it’s not just fun.  To win is to honor Him.”

Liddell eventually went to China, but before that he took part in the 1924 Olympics and…well, you’ll have to see the movie to find out how he did.

Liddell was able to find PURPOSE for the gifts he’s been given.  In our lesson for today a man named Abram has been chosen by God for a purpose.  God says, “I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.” He will be given a new name “Abraham” and he will indeed become the “Father of Many Nations.” Today, three important religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) trace their heritage back to them.

Being blessed is rather nice isn’t it? To be give talent, ability, strength, confidence, whatever…is something we usually hope for. But there’s something else about God’s blessing: it’s FOR a purpose.  Abram/Abraham is BLESSED so that he can BE A BLESSING. Like Eric Liddell, so many centuries later, Abram/Abraham has been given a mission to accomplish with God’s help and guidance.  We’ll see this theme of being blessed to be a blessing over and over again throughout the Bible.

Paul says “It is for freedom that Christ set you free,” He also says “…only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence.”  As followers of Jesus Christ we are freed, saved, made-right-with-God for a PURPOSE. It’s always worthwhile to ask yourself, “What’s my purpose here?”

Liddell was able to find his purpose and it gave him strength and meaning.  The same can be true for us.