Week 3 Genesis 43-Exodus 12
Exodus 3: the angel of the Lord appears to Moses and says he wants Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt. Moses says he doesn’t want that job.
That much is pretty clear. I look at the last 12 verses of Exodus 3 and the first 13 verses of chapter 4 and I see Moses’ explanation: Reasons Why I’m Not the Right Man For the Job. I understand the story to that point. The Lord wants Moses to do something that he doesn’t want to do it. I find out something about Moses.
The story also says something about God. I already know from reading Genesis that God has incontestably dynamic force available to him. He has the titanesque power to vaporize galaxies with a glance; he has coercive powers to make Genghis Khan weep with envy. And then this story. The narrator portrays the Lord in human strokes, sketches him out to look kind of like, well, a guy. The angel of the Lord as a negotiator: I can discuss, I can listen, I’m reasonable, I can make concessions.
I’ve already seen, already know that the Lord is not just a regular guy. This story muddies the water, complicates the picture.
A one-dimensional god is a way more manageable god; multi-dimensionality is a tougher mental fit for me.
Things cloud over in my head. I feel I have to manoeuvre with care; a cat on a crowded counter.
I’ll file it away for now; wait and see if it’ll clarify for me.