First United Church of Christ (Bremen, IN)

The sheep and the goats.

Jesus' parable of the talents.

We come to the end of the exodus. Israel stands at the shore of the Jordan as Moses lays out for them what living in the land in covenant with God must look like.  After that, he dies. On the one hand, this feels tragic and maybe even unfair. On the other, his death speaks a profound truth about what faithfulness requires.

Moses and God talk like friends. And sometimes friends have to have hard conversations. This hard conversation doesn't give Moses what he asks for, but God does provide what he needs. 

The ten commandments! We tend to think of them as a series of statements chiseled on stone. But before they were that, they were a sermon. God's first sermon. What difference does it make when we think of them as such? It helps understand their purpose and may even help us know how to keep them.

A story with lots of parallels to last week's text, Israel has Moses in fear for his life. How will God respond to the fact here again Israel demonstrates a lack of trust?  In a profoundly surprising way. And one that helps us understand how we might deal with our own frustrations-- regardless of who they're with. 

There is the glory of Pharaoh which is demonstrated in the fertility and wealth of Egypt. Then there is the glory of Yahweh which overpowered Pharaoh at the Red Sea. When that Glory leads Israel into the wilderness, it leaves Israel longing for a return to Egypt. They can't imagine anything other than death. But Yahweh's glory is one that transforms even wilderness into a source of life. 

Israel leaves Egypt "boldly," but then Pharaoh's heart hardens yet again. It appears he's less interested in taking them back to Egypt than leaving them dead in the wilderness. What a terrible turn of events! It leaves Israel wishing they'd just been left alone. Indeed, sometimes the disappointment that follows the experience of joy makes you regret the joyful experience. But the challenge of this story is to remain hopeful because we were made for more. Here's a printable version. 

Why does it require ten plagues for Pharaoh to finally "Let YHWH's people go?" Why does he keep hardening his heart? How do we learn to avoid the same fate?