Exodus

by Surath Fernando

Exodus. Movement of the people. So sang Bob Marley in one of the grossest understatements in music history. It is a story so grand, it’s not surprising that many a Hollywood blockbuster has been written about this most sacred of stories.

And as I see it, at its heart are two key messages. One emanating from the story of Moses. The other arising from the event and its meaning to the nation of Israel.

The story of Moses, as with many of the ancients, is summarized by one word - Faith.

By faith was he delivered from the water to none other than pharaoh’s daughter. By faith did he renounce the long years of his Egyptian heritage, choosing the lot of the Hebrew slaves. By faith does he follow the instructions of the great, I AM WHO I AM, to free his people. By faith does he go to pharaoh despite repeated reproaches. By faith does he part the Red Sea to lead his people to the promised land.

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (Heb 11:1).

Moses repeatedly showed this faith and submission to God’s will. And he does this despite his many flaws, none greater than his perceived inability to speak publicly. We live in a vastly different world to that of Moses. However, we face many of the same challenges. We all have our very own personal perceived character flaws. However, the next time we second guess ourselves, whether it is in our ability to write eloquently, our ability to speak publicly, or just discern the voice of God, we need only to recall Moses, have faith, and understand the power that lies within us when we are following God’s plan.

The second takeaway for me is the event itself and what it meant to the people of Israel.

As Bob Marley sings, at some point in time, the people of Israel would have asked "Open your eyes and look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?" And I think their answer would have been a resounding no!

For I do not believe the years spent in Egypt were prosperous in a spiritual sense. They became attached to the land of Egypt, its people, culture, customs, and religion. However, change is a difficult beast. It is as difficult today as it was back then. It did not come naturally and required divine intervention.

Interestingly, once Israel left Egypt, they started rebelling. The road to the promised land was long. It was tough. It was only through the constant leadership of Moses and the presence of I AM that moved them forward.

This second episode I see as being particularly relevant for us today. How many of us are chained to our present day pharaohs? The chains of money, power, and false idolatry. Even the chains of the past. When we look within, how many of us are truly happy with the life we are living? I dare say many can give a resounding affirmative to this question. Myself included.

And that is ok. The reality is that constancy is easy and change is hard. The nation of Israel had Moses. We, as Christians, have a personal connection with God the Father through the Holy Spirit. It is this connection we need to cultivate in order to enact positive change in our lives.

And again, the reality is that we will deviate from His path. Just as the people of Israel did, we will rebel and cause a fuss. We are after all, only human. But as we have said many a time, the trick when this happens is to be constant in faith so that when we fall we strive to rise, and rise again.