Welcome to the One Great Story!. George B. Thompson
Israel survived on dry ground (Exod 14).
Moses told the people not to be afraid, that their god, the LORD, would deliver them.
This episode concludes with the storyteller noting that the people recognized the LORD’s action on their behalf—saving them from annihilation—and that they therefore put their trust in this God (and Moses) (Exod 14:31). As we heard earlier, this is the God of their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the One who issued a call and a promise for blessing through a band of unlikely folks. Not even the grandiose and tyrannical intentions of the ruler of the world’s strongest empire would thwart the purposes of God.
From the Frying Pan . . . ?
After such a spectacular rescue, Israel simply had to celebrate! The Story preserves some poetic verse that remembers the event with vivid imagery and gives all the credit to the LORD. Both Moses and his sister, Miriam, led the singing (Exod 15:1–21). But the celebration could not last forever: the people had a calling to fulfill, and The Story keeps making it clear that the LORD will guide and protect them.
If only the people could have trusted that promise! They did a lot of complaining as they traveled. First, it was about water that tasted bad—so Moses did what God showed him to do, and the water tasted better (Exod 15:22–25). Then they got hungry and were sure that life back in Egypt at least would have provided them food enough. So God gave Moses and Aaron a “heads up” about what would happen next, along with some instructions and restrictions. Each morning, “a fine flaky substance” appeared on the ground. This substance was edible and would sustain the Israelites on their journey. They were to collect only as much as they needed for the day; leftovers spoiled by morning. On the sixth day of the week, the people gathered twice as much, so that on the seventh day, Sabbath, they could rest and still have something to eat (Exod 16:1–30).
Those of us who went to Sunday school very likely remember that this substance was called “manna.” The name appears to be a play on the Hebrew words, man hu, which in English is “What is it?” (Exod 16:15, 31). Don’t think that God does not have a sense of humor—at least, the ancient storytellers did! God then told Moses to put some of this manna in a jar and keep it for posterity, to remind Israelite descendants of who sustained them on their journey out of Egypt (Exod 16:32–34).
Pause to Reflect What do you complain about? What do the people whom you know best tend to complain about? What do these complaints reveal about you and them?
As The Story goes, the Israelites spent a lot of time in the wilderness, and much of the time, they did not display appreciation for the One who had rescued them. They complained—a lot! For instance, in the story about receiving the manna every morning, forms of the word “complain” appear seven times in just eleven verses (Exod 16:1–11). They complained, and fussed at Moses, when a new campsite had no water (Exod 17:1–7). (There are plenty more examples, but I don’t want to get ahead of where we are in The Story.) As we will see soon, the Israelites also would stray from following the LORD. The Story makes it clear—sometimes in unadorned terms—that God expected their loyalty and trust.
The Israelites often did not appreciate the One who had rescued them.
“Here’s the Deal”
On the move in a dangerous land, the Israelites traveled for several weeks before arriving at a place known as “Sinai.” It was at this location that another series of significant events took place. Sinai also is part of the wilderness in that region, and the people set up camp there. God called Moses up to a mountain and reminded him of their rescue and of God’s intention that they “be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation” (Exod 19:6). When they heard back from Moses, the people agreed to follow the LORD (Exod 19:8). So the people, by God’s instruction, prepared for a divine encounter, with smoke, fire, the mountain shaking, and a trumpet blasting. The people did not get to “see” God, but they knew that Moses was going up and down the mountain. Now the stage was set for probably the most far-reaching part of their deal with God (Exod 19:9b–25).
Moses received from God ten “words,” or laws, during this dramatic moment on the mountain. We know them today most commonly as “the Ten Commandments.” These ten have to do with loyalty to the LORD and with relationships to other persons (Exod 20:1–17). Some of us remember trying to memorize these ten when we were in Sunday school. By this point in The Story, the people seemed suitably impressed by the natural display of power to ask Moses for protection (Exod 20:18–21). The moment is presented here and elsewhere as a very solemn episode in the life of the Israelites. Following the pronouncement of the ten words come long sections in the text that explain related laws, such as those about slaves (Exod 21:1–11), about different categories of persons physically hurting each other (Exod 21:12–27), about property (Exod 21:28–36), about making property amends (Exod 22:1–15), and some other social and religious practices (Exod 22:16–31).
Within the first books of the Bible, there are a number of other long sections that spell out regulations that the Israelites are expected to follow. The flow of The Story sometimes is “interrupted” by these sections. In general, they appear where they are in part to remind listeners that these divine expectations are not arbitrary: rather, following such “rules” expressed one’s loyalty to the One who brought them out of the land of Egypt, the One who called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Who is that One? It is none other than the God of the burning bush, the LORD, YHWH in Hebrew, a name that plays on the verb “to be” (see Exod 3:13–15). Israel’s God is “I AM WHO I AM”—a god who cannot be manipulated by humans who try to use a divine name for leverage and advantage. The storytellers seek to keep this God and this narrative paramount; the codes, regulations, and law serve a bigger purpose. “We live a certain way, because we belong to this God.”
Israel’s God is “I AM WHO I AM”—a god who cannot be manipulated.
It might seem difficult to keep religious rules in perspective when Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy contain so many of them! Besides statutes about behaviors and consequences, the episode of Moses on the mountain with God also looks distracted by details of religious observances, objects, offices, and structures (see Exod 24–31). Yet, in the midst of these long sidebars, one short section stands out. It speaks of using the legal system for the purpose of justice, rather than one’s own gain. Persons with whom one does not get along; those who are poor; non-Israelites who live among Israelites—these are people who are to be protected. In particular, the storyteller connects fair treatment of “strangers” with Israel’s own Story: “you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Exod 23:9).
Thus, in the text as we have inherited it, the foundations of life as God’s called community have been woven into the dramatic Story of oppression, rescue, wandering, and covenant. Eventually, Moses came down the mountain, carrying two stone tablets bearing those decisive ten words (Exod 31:18), the central symbol of what the LORD wanted from—and for—The People. In spite of all this, however, what Moses found when he returned led quickly to a crisis of immense magnitude.
When the Cat’s Away, . . .
Pause to Reflect Try to recall your earliest memory of rules and laws. What were they? How did you deal with them? How have your attitudes toward rules and laws changed as you have gotten older? What makes “the ten words” different from other kinds of law?
As we continue to see over and over again, the People called by God to bless all the nations of the earth were not selected because of their superior faith and behavior. While Moses was away, This People seem to have forgotten their Story; they got impatient when he had not returned yet. In their minds, it was time to find someone else to get them out of the boondocks. So, they collected their gold jewelry and melted it down, to craft a statue of a calf. This imposing figure of strength was supposed to represent the god who had rescued them (Exod 32:4b). A big celebration kicked off, with lots of singing and dancing. You can guess, though, that God was ticked off—and so was Moses. This “golden calf” worship veered the people away from trust in the LORD. The people subsequently were punished, and yet—and yet—still God told Moses to keep leading them toward