I've been reading through the book of Exodus the last week or so, and I've been utterly mesmerized by something I never noticed before through all the years I've been reading the Bible. One reason for this sudden bout of clarity in the book is due to a paradigm shift in the way I read and study Scripture thanks in large part to a book I'm currently reading called Rediscovering Israel by Kristi McLelland. In the book, Professor McLelland points out that there is a distinct difference between how Westerners read and interpret Scripture versus how Middle Easterners do.
For Westerners, we have the tendency to read for nuggets within the passage that tells us something about ourselves. "What can we learn from this about ourselves? How can I better my walk with Christ by understanding this passage?" It's all very Greco-Roman philosophy and such. And while there’s something honorable in looking for ways to improve our faith in such a way, it’s far better to reflect on God and let Him change us from the inside. That’s precisely how those of a Middle Eastern culture approach the Word of God. When they read a passage, the first and foremost thing on their mind is, "What does this say about God? What does it say about His character? His plan? Who He is?" And by knowing God better, He is able to change the reader from the inside out.
Although I've always known that the Bible is about God, not humanity, I never realized I studied the Bible through that western philosophical lens. So, I've shifted my focus as I now read through Scripture and it's opened my eyes to new insight into old, very familiar stories in the Bible.
Case in point: Exodus, chapters 7-12. Naturally, there's far too much text here to repeat in this blog, so let me summarize. God has instructed Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand to let the people of Israel leave to go to the wilderness to "serve" God (i.e. perform sacrifices and basically have one big worship service to get to know Him better). Remember, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have been in Egyptian captivity for about 430 years now. I AM might have been very familiar to the Patriarchs, as well as Joseph and his brothers, but after that amount of time being in captivity with a pantheon of foreign gods, the Hebrews were most likely unfamiliar with just who the God of their forefathers really was.
To continue with the summary, however, God warns Moses that Pharaoh's heart would be hardened and would refuse to let His people go, so to convince the Egyptian monarch, God was going to send a series of ten ever-increasingly devastating plagues on the land.
In this narrative, there is a theme you'll see over and over again. It begins in the first few verses of Chapter 7: 1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh [i.e. God’s vicar (vicarious) or avatar, if you will…not actually a god.], and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”
Take a moment and re-read that passage. If you're like me, you might scratch your head over the phrase that God says, "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart..." Now, that's not the repeating theme I'm referring to here, but it certainly is a repeated step within the theme. Time and again, Moses warns Pharaoh of a coming plague. Time and again, Pharaoh refuses to let God's people go because his heart was hardened. Now before you start blaming God for Pharaoh's granite-like pumper, understand that God had a distinct reason for doing this and it is this reason that has gotten me so excited!
Go back to the passage again and pay attention to verses 4 and 5. What clue do we have as to God’s motivation in these two verses? Pay special attention to verse 5 and you’ll see it.
“And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”
Time and again, God says this throughout these chapters. Over and over, he repeats the fact that the Egyptians will know that I AM is God! That I AM is the Great I AM. That He has dominion over the earth. Has dominion over the skies. Has dominion over locusts, frogs, and even plagues. That I AM is superior to every single god the Egyptians have!
Now, why do you think he’d do this? Is it out of jealousy that the Egyptians worship other gods? Is it out of vengeance for how the Egyptians have treated God’s people? Is it out of simple spite? Seriously, what do you think. Take a moment to reflect on what you think is the reason for this?
By the way, this repeated theme of “they will know I am the LORD, their God” is used over and over again throughout the Old Testament, not just in Exodus. I tried to do a search online to find out how many times the phrase (or a similar variant) was in Scripture and truth is, I couldn’t find the answer. In the end, I calculated well over 100 verses with a similar format of “they will know” and “that I AM, the LORD” and “their God.” It’s literally peppered in through all the books of history, all the books of poetry, and all the books of prophecy.
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46: 10 ESV)
Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. (Ezekiel 39: 28 ESV)
Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have saved them from the hand of those who enslaved them. (Ezekiel 34: 27 NASB)
I could go on and on sharing verses like these from the Old Testament. There’s literally hundreds of them! And guess what? It’s even in the New Testament as well. When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” That’s a reference directly to this theme throughout the Old Testament. When Jesus told people, “I am what I am,” he was referring to this theme as well. They will KNOW that He is the I AM. That He is LORD. That He is God.
So what’s the point? Why is this so important? At first glance, it just seems like God is doing mean things to the Egyptian just to rub their noses in the fact that He’s God and their gods are works of fiction. But this is the really exciting bit! He’s not!
In fact, despite the misery and physical death brought upon many Egyptians during this ordeal, God’s actions were motivated by the most profound love for ALL people, not just His Chosen nation. Remember God’s promise to Abraham?
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” [Genesis 12: 2-3 NIV]
Take a close look at those last two lines: “…all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” How? How would all peoples of earth be blessed through the Hebrews? Ultimately, we’ve been blessed through the coming of Jesus from the line of Judah. But even before Jesus, God has been using the Jews to point the world to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
He started with the fact that He promised Abraham the land of Canaan, which was along the great International Coastal Highway. People from around the known world traveled that highway. As they passed what would one day because Israel, they would be introduced to God through interaction with God’s people. God was making Himself available to the whole world through the Israelites. When the Israelites finally were freed from Egypt, God instructed Moses to construct a tabernacle for Him and He told Moses that He would dwell among the people. God came down to live with us.
God approached Abraham, who lived in Urr of the Chaldees. God came to Abraham.
God wrestled with Jacob. God approached Jacob where He was.
In a tiny stable in an insignificant town near Jerusalem, Jesus was born. Emmanuel. God with us. God came down to live among us.
Time and again, we see the same thing. God approaches us and not the other way around. On our own, we cannot know Him. Of our own power, we cannot approach Him. We wouldn’t even know about Him if He didn’t reveal himself to us. If He didn’t assure that we knew He is I AM…LORD…and God. God Himself is the greatest missionary and evangelist the world has ever seen! God comes to us, where we are, and introduces Himself to us at every opportunity.
And as harsh as it might seem in regards to the Egyptians, that is precisely what He is doing with them in these passages in Exodus. God is introducing Himself. He is showing the Egyptians that their gods are fiction, but that He is very very real. And despite the horrific tribulations Egypt suffered, in the end, there could be no doubt that Yahweh was infinitely superior to Ra or Isis or Anubis or Osiris or Pharaoh (who was considered a god as well) or whatever god they wanted to turn to. These false gods had no power over Jehovah! And this, my friends, was not an act of God for vanity’s sake, but something far more profound. He was reaching out to the Egyptian people. He was offering them knowledge of Himself that they might know Him on a personal basis.
You see, in the grand scheme of things, our pain, suffering, and discomfort is only temporary. It’s only short term. In the grand scheme of things, it’s unimportant. Mark 8:36 tells us: What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? (NIV) The Egyptians were living high on the hog! Wealthy beyond measure, using the backs of the Israelites to bolster their economy and expensive living. They had everything. A powerful empire. A strong ruler. Gold and riches and more livestock than they knew what to do with. And yet, without knowing God, they had nothing. They were doomed not just temporary suffering here on earth, but an eternity outside of a relationship with I AM. What’s worse? I dare say it would be being separated from the God of the Universe for me. Wounds heal. Heartache goes away. Eternity, however, is forever.
And that is why God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. That is why He sent plague after plague. That is why time and again, we see Him shouting at the people of Egypt, “Here I AM! Know me! Know that I am God!” It’s the parent who slaps the hand of a child about to touch a hot stove. It’s the harsh shout of someone yelling to warn someone who’s about to get hit by a bus on the street. It was love…immense and powerful love…even for a people as wicked as the Egyptians during that time.
Praise God that He comes to us! Thank you LORD that you sometimes shout at us in warning. Thank you God for approaching us where we are, no matter how wicked we might be.
Thank you, Kent. You have made me think anew about this!