God is at work, even if we don't see it

Scripture: Exodus 1:8-2:10

Central Verse: “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Exodus 1:8 NRSV

Central Truth: This begins a few weeks in Exodus so some background material is important. Author: Unknown, tradition has accredited it to Moses. Some portions may have been written by Moses but they have been compiled together by various authors over the years before they arrived at their final work. In biblical studies, there are four primary redactors of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the bible). Their abbreviations are JEPD. J stands for Jehovah tradition which is the southern kingdom of Israel’s history. E is Elohim which is the northern kingdom. In the Hebrew, these two redactors are identified by their usage of these names for God. While we translate Jehovah and Elohim as God, and Yahweh as GOD traditionally these groups used the names listed above. P stands for priestly tradition, usually if the text deals heavily with priest and what priest do its considered part of that tradition. The final one is D, Deuteronomistic primarily seen in Deuteronomy it has a primary concern about the law. All of that is just information to be aware of, it is helpful to think in these authorship terms to try and come to grips with what might have been the issue trying to be addressed by the story. This also helps us understand who the audience might have been, contrary to popular belief the bible wasn’t written with you explicitly in mind. Time of authorship: Various parts stretch back possibly to the actual events described. The book of Exodus is generally agreed to have been put together during the exilic period when the people of Judah were in Babylon. This is important for us to be able to understand some of the concerns the text is addressing. These are a people who are not in their homeland trying to identify and hold on to who they believe themselves to be. This works out constantly in the need to understand how the covenant works and the fact that the Genesis covenants are still in effect, even if that is only implied (like in how Pharaoh is trying to stop the Hebrews from multiplying but God keeps blessing them, remember Abrahams covenant?). Type of literature: Exodus is not history. It is to ancient Egyptian history like “Gone with the Wind” is a history of the civil war. While Exodus includes historical elements, and has historical references its major concern is to tell us about who God is and what God is doing. It is a theological narrative. For too long the church has been preoccupied with whether the events happened or not. What we should be concerned with is what does God want to reveal about God’s self to us through this story of faith. Theological Concerns: Creation and the redemption of that creation – Israel’s redemption out of Egypt is not just about Israel its about everything, it also becomes the basis of how we are to understand the Gospels and Jesus’ saving work; Knowledge about God – who is God? What does God do? What does God care about? These questions are constantly struggled with throughout this text. To ignore these questions is to ignore who God is; Worship – what is proper worship of God, where is that worship located, and why do we worship; Law & Covenant – how is the covenant being fulfilled and how does the law relate to that covenant; Liberation – Exodus has repeatedly spoken throughout the centuries to peoples and cultures struggling with oppression. Exodus’ impact has been major in American history with the civil rights movement and Liberation theology (a major writer for this is Gustave Gutiérrez) which began in Latin America. Exodus and the Gospel: It must be remembered that we come to Exodus with the Gospels in our minds. The events in Exodus and what lessons the people of Israel receive during this time about God factor heavily into our understanding of the Gospels. Jesus’ family flees from Pilate where do they go? Egypt so that even Jesus comes out of Egypt. 40 days in the wilderness…40 years in the desert. The Passover events and what later becomes communion. Transfiguration Moses is one of the people to appear. Moses also factors heavily in understanding any prophet in our scriptures and that includes Jesus. Moses is seen in Jewish thought as the ultimate prophet, all others are compared to him. This week’s narrative begins us on the journey to asking many of these questions. Where is God when his people are oppressed? We see God working through the promises of the covenant. One author I read stated God is in the process of “snatching victory from the jaws of unlikelihood”. That is God works through the midwives to save his people. Unlikely people to be accomplishing the saving work of God. God works through a basket on the river to save Moses, a basket that could have sunk and could have gone anywhere in the river but where it eventually went. God works through the women in the palace to provide a way out for his people. It is exciting to see the possibilities that God has instore for us and how God will lead to liberation.

Food for Thought: (questions about the text) The relationship with Genesis and Exodus isn’t often pointed out. Tradition has said that Moses wrote both. Whether he did or didn’t doesn’t matter, what is interesting is how often they relate to each other. The workings of the covenant are happening explicitly in this passage. The covenant works out in non-explicit ways. The Midwives are able to use their lies to save the Israelite children because of God fulfilling the covenant with Abraham that his offspring would be numerous. Another interesting connection with Genesis is that the word used for Moses’ basket is the same word used for the Ark in Noah’s story. Pay attention to the social consequences always at work in this story. Moses comes from an oppressed people but becomes a part of the people doing the oppression. This plays out in numerous ways in this book. It is difficult to preach and teach on theological narrative. There is a lot of creative freedom in understanding the stories, the biblical texts do this. (See how Deuteronomy expands what God says to Moses). Don’t be afraid to interact creatively with the text, lets be honest they are really good stories!

Connections: (time with our society) “Where God went wrong, some more of God’s mistakes, and who is this God person anyway?” These are the titles to three fictional books in the sci-fi novel “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.” While I don’t think the author of Exodus would have put it that way I think the author might agree to some tweaking of those titles. “Where did we go wrong, what mistake did we make, and who is this God who wants to save us?” These questions are often asked of us and if we are honest we ask them in different ways in our lives. We forget the stories of our faith and what stories can teach us. They give us an emotional anchor in difficult times. While none of us studying this story in Arizona are dealing with massive oppression and a leader bent on genocide we can all point to difficult times in our lives and wonder where God was in the midst of that time. Our opening lesson from Exodus reminds us that God is at work even when we don’t see it on the surface. God is at work through promises in scripture, through other people like the midwives and the princess. God is at work through this little baby even though we don’t see anything yet. It is important to remember that even in the midst of bad times God is at work in quiet and unassuming ways. The result of these ways can be a huge story that shapes those around for generations.

Application: Discussion When did you first learn this opening story in Exodus? Do you understand it differently now as an adult? What is a question from this story would you most like to answer? Close in prayer: