Exodus: Resistance Is Futile

I finished Exodus this morning. Here are a few of my thoughts.

I was struck by how much of the first part of the book has people resisting God. When Moses encounters God in chapter 3 (the burning bush and all that), he does everything he can think of to avoid going back to Egypt to deliver the Hebrews. Pharaoh, of course, is famous for resisting God. It took 10 horrendous plagues for him to let the people go, and even then he didn't exactly embrace the Lord. During the wilderness wanderings, the Hebrews resist God by resisting Moses. One wonders if that was payback for Moses resisting God in the first place.

It's also kind of surprising that these people -- Moses, Pharaoh, the Hebrews -- resist God so much. I mean, where else in the Bible are there so many astounding examples of God's power? Burning bush? Leprous hand? Ten plagues of "biblical proportions"? Parting of the sea? Water from the rock? Manna from heaven?

 One also has to give some thought to how much each of us resists God, and how much of His power we ignore.

Here's another thought. In Exodus 18, Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, advises Moses' that he needs help in judging the people because he's wearing himself out. He tells Moses to identify some other leaders and teach them the decrees and laws so they, too, will be equipped to teach and judge the people. Immediately after this incident, God provides Moses and all the Hebrews with written code that details the decrees and laws. That certainly made the task of teaching and judging much easier and more uniform.

Chapters 19-31 and then chapters 33-40 go on at great length with the Ten Commandments, plus a ton of other decrees regarding worship, personal and corporate holiness, and the details of the tabernacle and its furnishings. Sandwiched in between is chapter 32, the story of the golden calf and how the Hebrews completely disregarded--and resisted--Moses and God. It's actually sort of jarring, to be reading along about God's laws and regulations, then stumble into this discouraging narrative of the people's rebellion.

And Aaron's words in 32:24 are on my list of funniest and most ludicrous things said by people in the Bible.

I always feel sympathetic for Moses, trying to lead the stiff-necked, whiny people. I can imagine how betrayed he felt, coming down from Mt. Sinai, when he'd spent 40 days talking to God and completely focused on the welfare of the people -- just to find them out of control and running wild. Who among us that has been devoted to a position of service or leadership hasn't felt this kind of bewilderment?

Along with my list of funniest sayings, I should keep a list of sayings worthy for stitching on a pillow. To this list, I'd add Moses' words to God in Exodus 33:13: "If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you."

Those words, if we would say them and mean them, would go a long way to keeping us from resisting God. After all, the stories in Exodus make sure we know how powerful and loving God is, and how futile it is to resist Him.