FIRST WORDS
To My Friends, Colleagues, Church Fellowship, Curious People everywhere and especially my Grandchildren,
Always know that you are fully loved by God and you are loved by me. I pray that you remember our purpose is to reflect the entire Glory of God.
CHRIST HARDENS PHARAOH'S HEART
What are we to do with this?
If we consider seriously that God is active in the world at this point through Christ, then we cannot relegate this action of God (hardening Pharaoh's heart in Exodus 7:3) to the responsibility of the Father. We cannot simply dismiss it because that is not the way God acts towards us in Jesus Christ. Would you at some level agree, that this is the way we have usually handled our questions about the plagues, judgment and the hardening of Pharaoh's heart? These actions were done by a judgmental God (The Father). In contrast to that fierce, judgmental Father we meet Jesus Christ (God Incarnate), and are introduced in the New Testament to the God of grace and mercy who calls us to love and forgive.
What if I am correct in my reading of scripture, and Christ is always the active presence of God in this world from the first verse of Genesis to the last verse of Revelation. That makes this action by God the responsibility of Christ, just as surely as we will see God in the New Testament as the compassionate and loving action of Jesus Christ when he heals the blind man or forgives the prostitute. It also means, that this is the same resurrected Christ who will come again with the judgment of revelation when He breaks the seals and sends plagues to ravage the earth. This is exactly what I believe is happening in Scripture.
This interpretation begs for an answer in Exodus 7:3. What does it mean to say that Christ will and does harden Pharaoh's heart?
To explore a possible and I believe plausible answer to this, let me take you back to Exodus 6:6-9. Christ tells Moses to speak these words to Israel, "I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will take you as my own people." In verse 9, when Moses spoke these words to the people of Israel, they responded like this, "they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor." In other words, they were so beaten down and discouraged from the abuse and tyranny of the Egyptians that they did not have the capacity to hear words of hope and deliverance. I hear in this that their hearts were "hard". I wonder if you have ever found yourself in that situation. I certainly have. I have had times in my life where I seemed so caught and transfixed by fear, pain and sometimes anger, that I was not able to hear words of hope that could have resolved the pain in my life. I don't think Israel was being blatantly disobedient to Christ, I think they simply didn't have the capacity to hear these wonderful words of hope. With that idea let me talk about Pharaoh.
Is it conceivable, that Pharaoh was in a frame of mind that fear and perhaps even anger was keeping him from responding to the voice of God that would have brought deliverance to Israel and potential prosperity to Egypt. At the very least, we can conceive this reality, if Pharaoh had listened to Christ from the beginning he would have had an intact nation on which to rebuild their future. They had received free labor for hundred of years that had enabled them to build one of the most impressive cultures the world has ever known. Egypt was in a good place and the reality of losing slave labor would have certainly changed their future but not left them desolate. For proof of this we need only look at the massive step forward the United States of America took when we moved from ideas of nation building on the backs of slaves to nation building by free lives that dream and hope for their own futures. Is it possible, that the fear, pain and yes even anger which accompanied the call of Christ to set Israel free created a barrier to hearing future hope and framing that voice of Christ in a way that made Pharaoh's heart hard? I think it is possible, and laying that as a foundation we witness the fight and conflict which develops as Christ will work to free His people and Pharaoh will rebel. With each successive judgment and plague we watch as Pharaoh considers his options but ultimately chooses rebellion. In this way, can we not affirm the words of Christ that His actions will harden Pharaoh's heart while at the same time affirming that it is the choices Pharaoh makes which prompt future judgment and plague. It appears that Christ is ready to relent at any point where Pharaoh is willing to let Israel go. Is this not a reflection of what Pharaoh has already done to Israel in Exodus 6:9?
For this to be true it must be consistent with the way Christ will teach and act as Jesus Christ. It must also be consistent with the way our resurrected Jesus Christ will act through the end of time.
To reflect on this, it seems very consistent that Jesus Christ teaches a willingness by God to embrace a rebellious and sinful life the second it will repent (Read Paul's letter to the Romans). It seems equally consistent to say that Christ did not remove free-will from our lives but left the decision up to us. In this way we continue to be responsible for our own destiny. It also makes for an interesting conversation in regards to the "Lord's Prayer" when Jesus Christ teaches this truth. "Forgive us as we forgive". In the context of Pharaoh's actions towards Israel, (as they ask to leave and pursue the worship of God in freedom Pharaoh says he will make life harder for them-he takes away even the straw he had previously supplied for the making of brick) we witness Christ making it equally as difficult for Pharaoh. We certainly see in the book of Revelation the harsh judgments of Christ that once again bring a world to it's figurative knees. Yet the world will not relent even in the midst of destruction.
I would ask at least an honest consideration of this interpretation for Pharaoh's heart being hardened by Christ.
THE LAWS OF CEREMONY, CLEANLINESS AND MORALITY
I am choosing to wait and deal with this fully at the time we study Christ and His words in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. I will pull this part of Exodus and the "Ten Commandments" into that conversation. All of those Laws were actually given at this time of the exodus, and so it is appropriate to have that conversation in its entirety as we are actually reading the laws.
Until next week,
Yol Bolsun,
Tim
Showing posts with label egypt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label egypt. Show all posts
Friday, April 27, 2018
Friday, April 20, 2018
Christ in Genesis (pt. 2)
FIRST WORDS
To My Friends, Colleagues, Church Fellowship, Curious People everywhere and especially my Grandchildren,
Always know that you are fully loved by God and you are loved by me. I pray that you remember our purpose is to reflect the entire Glory of God.
OBEDIENCE TO GOD
God in Christ, calling Abraham (Abram), marks the beginning of a conversation we can have about obedience and faithfulness. Abraham leaves his home with his family and travels to a land God has promised to give him. With this land comes the promise of descendants and a family that will fill the land. From that area Abraham will bless the entire world. There are, however, a few "if's" in this promise.
Abraham actually had to go where God called him to go and do what God called him to do. The mark of obedience will be circumcision. (Gen. 17) By this act, God (and the world) will know that Abraham and his family were active participants in a covenant that would bless them and bless the world. Circumcision will become for future generations the mark of the covenant. This covenant will not end when God comes into the world as Jesus Christ (God Incarnate). The promise of all God says He will do for Abraham is linked to the new testament through our baptism. No longer are the people of God required to observe the covenant by circumcision but rather they were to be baptized. Even in baptism Christ Jesus Himself submits to John so that the sign of the covenant can be fulfilled in the humanity of the Incarnate God (Jesus Christ).
I believe an interesting place to begin a discussion on obedience comes from watching Abraham interact with the world as he tries to be faithful to the covenant of God. Normal situations in the world happen and Abraham must decide how to handle them. A Famine occurs in the area God has called Abraham to live. What is he to do? Here is a quandary. Abraham is where God has called him to be and doing what God has called him to do and yet bad things are happening to him. Is there not a thought in our lives that if we will be faithful to what God has called us to do and where God has called us to be that bad and hurtful things won't happen to us. That does not seem to be the case for Abraham. I think he responds the way I might. He moves to Egypt where they have plenty of food. Sounds reasonable to me and God actually seems to watch over him. Abraham is frightened of Pharaoh because Sarah his wife is beautiful. God warms Pharaoh to behave himself and things work out well for Abraham. He returns after the famine to his own land a very wealthy man. Here's the catch for me. It seems that Abraham is learning a lesson that goes something like this. I will follow God but when it gets right down to it I will find food and shelter and security in the things of this world. It is one thing to use common sense and go where it seems prudent to get help. I would always recommend when you are sick to go to a doctor and let him or her help you recover health. It is quite another to replace our trust and obedience to God with an assurance that the doctor is the answer. There is a reckoning for this type of thinking for us and there certainly is a reckoning for Abraham.
In the greatest "test" of obedience I can imagine, God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac his "son of the promise". It is through Isaac that God will give Abraham the descendants and blessing that are promised in the covenant. Does Abraham trust God enough to surrender what seemed in this world to be the obvious answer to his very real world problem? The problem was how was Abraham to be blessed with all these generations of children who were to come after him if he couldn't even have one child with Sarah. God did give him the one child. Could Abraham now turn around and give that child back to God? The Test. Do you trust God or do you trust what the world can give you? Of course we read that Abraham did not hold even his only son from God and we learn at the same time that God would never even consider asking that of His children.
The issue becomes that this is a back and forth struggle for Abraham and his descendants. Famine in the land..."run to Egypt". Isaac is going to have the same challenge and it is going to turn out the same as it did for Abraham. Here is the catch. By the time we get to Jacob (who has trouble trusting God himself) we see a resolution. At the end of Jacob's life he has just been told that Joseph who he thought had been killed years before was still alive. But we have a problem! Joseph is living in Egypt and is actually a powerful man being second only to Pharaoh himself. To top it all off you might guess...there is a famine once again in the land God has given to Jacob as a descendent of Abraham. Jacob by the time he is an old man has learned his lesson. Egypt is not the answer. You no longer move to Egypt if there is a famine you simply send money and trade with Egypt until the famine is ended. But...if he wants to see his son Joseph he is going to have to go to Egypt. What are you going to do now? In his excitement to see his son he begins the journey but in Beersheba he seems to have second thoughts. He stops and offers sacrifice to God. In modern day terms, He stops to pray. He stops and says...what am I thinking. What does God want? This has never worked out well for us. I'm not sure I should be going to Egypt. Now that is faith. Hard earned wisdom. Is this really what God wants me to do. Jacob is rewarded!! In Genesis 46:2 God speaks to Jacob.
"I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again."
OBEDIENCE IS HONORED!!!
If I can leave you with one word of encouragement this week, let it be this. It may take a lot of trial and error to figure out the things and places of the world that we tend to trust more than Christ, but the battle to learn is worth the pain of the fight. I pray that we like Jacob will all reach a point, even as we begin that journey to Egypt or we begin that process of looking to the world for answers, that we stop and in prayer to turn our hearts to Christ. Why? Not because we are so wise and faithful but rather because we have witnessed time and again in our lives the difference it makes when Christ is with us on the journey. The difference between the faithfulness of Abraham and the faithfulness of Jacob is that Abraham learns no matter where he goes Christ will show up and Jacob learns it is much better to have Christ with you where you are going. Never forget that the expression of God that Abraham encountered is no less than Christ before He became incarnate in this world. The same God in Christ that walked with Jacob is the same God in Jesus Christ that walks with us.
Yol Bolsun,
Tim
To My Friends, Colleagues, Church Fellowship, Curious People everywhere and especially my Grandchildren,
Always know that you are fully loved by God and you are loved by me. I pray that you remember our purpose is to reflect the entire Glory of God.
OBEDIENCE TO GOD
God in Christ, calling Abraham (Abram), marks the beginning of a conversation we can have about obedience and faithfulness. Abraham leaves his home with his family and travels to a land God has promised to give him. With this land comes the promise of descendants and a family that will fill the land. From that area Abraham will bless the entire world. There are, however, a few "if's" in this promise.
Abraham actually had to go where God called him to go and do what God called him to do. The mark of obedience will be circumcision. (Gen. 17) By this act, God (and the world) will know that Abraham and his family were active participants in a covenant that would bless them and bless the world. Circumcision will become for future generations the mark of the covenant. This covenant will not end when God comes into the world as Jesus Christ (God Incarnate). The promise of all God says He will do for Abraham is linked to the new testament through our baptism. No longer are the people of God required to observe the covenant by circumcision but rather they were to be baptized. Even in baptism Christ Jesus Himself submits to John so that the sign of the covenant can be fulfilled in the humanity of the Incarnate God (Jesus Christ).
I believe an interesting place to begin a discussion on obedience comes from watching Abraham interact with the world as he tries to be faithful to the covenant of God. Normal situations in the world happen and Abraham must decide how to handle them. A Famine occurs in the area God has called Abraham to live. What is he to do? Here is a quandary. Abraham is where God has called him to be and doing what God has called him to do and yet bad things are happening to him. Is there not a thought in our lives that if we will be faithful to what God has called us to do and where God has called us to be that bad and hurtful things won't happen to us. That does not seem to be the case for Abraham. I think he responds the way I might. He moves to Egypt where they have plenty of food. Sounds reasonable to me and God actually seems to watch over him. Abraham is frightened of Pharaoh because Sarah his wife is beautiful. God warms Pharaoh to behave himself and things work out well for Abraham. He returns after the famine to his own land a very wealthy man. Here's the catch for me. It seems that Abraham is learning a lesson that goes something like this. I will follow God but when it gets right down to it I will find food and shelter and security in the things of this world. It is one thing to use common sense and go where it seems prudent to get help. I would always recommend when you are sick to go to a doctor and let him or her help you recover health. It is quite another to replace our trust and obedience to God with an assurance that the doctor is the answer. There is a reckoning for this type of thinking for us and there certainly is a reckoning for Abraham.
In the greatest "test" of obedience I can imagine, God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac his "son of the promise". It is through Isaac that God will give Abraham the descendants and blessing that are promised in the covenant. Does Abraham trust God enough to surrender what seemed in this world to be the obvious answer to his very real world problem? The problem was how was Abraham to be blessed with all these generations of children who were to come after him if he couldn't even have one child with Sarah. God did give him the one child. Could Abraham now turn around and give that child back to God? The Test. Do you trust God or do you trust what the world can give you? Of course we read that Abraham did not hold even his only son from God and we learn at the same time that God would never even consider asking that of His children.
The issue becomes that this is a back and forth struggle for Abraham and his descendants. Famine in the land..."run to Egypt". Isaac is going to have the same challenge and it is going to turn out the same as it did for Abraham. Here is the catch. By the time we get to Jacob (who has trouble trusting God himself) we see a resolution. At the end of Jacob's life he has just been told that Joseph who he thought had been killed years before was still alive. But we have a problem! Joseph is living in Egypt and is actually a powerful man being second only to Pharaoh himself. To top it all off you might guess...there is a famine once again in the land God has given to Jacob as a descendent of Abraham. Jacob by the time he is an old man has learned his lesson. Egypt is not the answer. You no longer move to Egypt if there is a famine you simply send money and trade with Egypt until the famine is ended. But...if he wants to see his son Joseph he is going to have to go to Egypt. What are you going to do now? In his excitement to see his son he begins the journey but in Beersheba he seems to have second thoughts. He stops and offers sacrifice to God. In modern day terms, He stops to pray. He stops and says...what am I thinking. What does God want? This has never worked out well for us. I'm not sure I should be going to Egypt. Now that is faith. Hard earned wisdom. Is this really what God wants me to do. Jacob is rewarded!! In Genesis 46:2 God speaks to Jacob.
"I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again."
OBEDIENCE IS HONORED!!!
If I can leave you with one word of encouragement this week, let it be this. It may take a lot of trial and error to figure out the things and places of the world that we tend to trust more than Christ, but the battle to learn is worth the pain of the fight. I pray that we like Jacob will all reach a point, even as we begin that journey to Egypt or we begin that process of looking to the world for answers, that we stop and in prayer to turn our hearts to Christ. Why? Not because we are so wise and faithful but rather because we have witnessed time and again in our lives the difference it makes when Christ is with us on the journey. The difference between the faithfulness of Abraham and the faithfulness of Jacob is that Abraham learns no matter where he goes Christ will show up and Jacob learns it is much better to have Christ with you where you are going. Never forget that the expression of God that Abraham encountered is no less than Christ before He became incarnate in this world. The same God in Christ that walked with Jacob is the same God in Jesus Christ that walks with us.
Yol Bolsun,
Tim
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