Dwelling among them...and us

In Exodus 10:2, the Lord explained to Moses that the purpose of the plagues was so that His people would understand how God works and would know that the Lord is God. God later more completely revealed His purpose for bringing His people out of Egypt when He gave instructions for the Tent of Meeting and the attendant details. "Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God." Exodus 29:45-46. The Tabernacle was for God to actually dwell in. God still wants us to know how He works and wants to actually dwell in us. 1 Corinthians 3:16.

The Passover Lamb

When God directed the procedures for the first and successive Passover celebrations, He was pretty specific (as usual). In retrospect, it is obvious that the perfect lamb symbolized Christ. Exodus 12:46 contains instructions that the lamb was not to have any his bones broken. This is reiterated in Numbers 9:12. While a curious instruction, it was important to God. We see it again, prophetically, in Psalm 34:20. God also required the sign of the covenant, circumcision, in order to participate in the Passover celebration and to claim the redemption the blood of the lamb provides (Exodus 12:48). The symbolism is finally made complete in John 19:36. The Perfect Lamb was sacrificed so death would pass over those sealed with the sign of the covenant...and not one of his bones was broken.

Moses' Anger

Why was Moses so angry? You might think he could move through all of this with a stoic detachment. After all, God had told him exaclty how it was going to turn out. Moses was not surprised by the sin of Pharoah. But he was still disgusted by the destructive behavior of a stubborn leader. Pharoah's sin was causing the destruction of so much. Even when you know something bad is coming... it's still bad. Apparently that made Moses angry. Sin can be very predictable... does it still make us angry?

Who owns the land?

In Genesis 47:20-22, Joseph ends up buying all of the land for Pharaoh, and the people were reduced to servitude. The priests were exempt and got to keep their land. However, as the Israelites came into the promised land, God established laws that reversed this paradigm and more accurately reflected the Israelites' relationship with God. Israelites were not permitted to permanently sell their land (Leviticus 25:23) - it belonged to God. The priestly tribe of Levi was not given an inheritance in the land (Numbers 18:20) - they relied on the offerings of the people. The Israelites were to be good stewards of that which God provided.

Lessons from Joseph

Joseph's life got off to a rocky start. As Rachel's firstborn, he was a favorite of Jacob's and Jacob made no secret of that fact. Early on, Joseph didn't have the good judgment to live in humility - and his brothers made him pay. Over time, God developed Joseph's character through adversity. God blessed everything Joseph did, and Joseph began to exercise good judgment. When Joseph was thrown in prison, God continued to bless Joseph. When it came time to interpret dreams, Joseph gave God the credit (Genesis 40:8 and 41:16). Daniel would echo this centuries later when he was called upon to interpret a dream (Daniel 2:28). When Joseph had the chance to hold a grudge against his brothers, he instead recognized God's sovereignty despite his brothers' evil intentions (Genesis 45:5 and 50:20). Centuries later, Esther also found herself uniquely situated to save God's people (Esther 4). Joseph's life is an excellent lesson in both long-suffering and God's sovereignty. God can use you right where you are to further his kingdom.

Esau's Spite

"Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan." It's easy to see this a simply part of the historical record, given its context in the history of the Edomites. However, looking back earlier in Genesis, it shows an act of spite on the part of Esau toward his fathers (Genesis 28:9). The Canaanites were cursed by Noah in Genesis 9, and Abraham went to great lengths to ensure that Isaac did not marry a Canaanite woman in Genesis 24. When Isaac sent Jacob off in order to save his life, he commanded him not to marry a Canaanite woman (Genesis 28:1). Looking forward, this spite that Esau had for his fathers foreshadows the troubles between the Edomites and God's chosen people (Obadiah 17-21).

Struggling with God

In Genesis 32, Jacob struggled with God. Immediately following this, he is re-named "Israel", which means literally "He struggles with God". Isn't it interesting that God names Jacob this, and by extension names His people Israel this? We struggle with God.

I still have a lot of questions about this text. One thing I am sure of... the narrative seems to challenge our assumption that walking with God is easy and struggle-free. Too often we see God as a vending machine to dispense blessings as we demand, rather than a Person to enter into a relationship with. He is sovereign. He dispenses blessings as He sees fit.

And sometimes, He leaves us walking with a limp.