Week 3 Genesis 43-Exodus 12
Two things are going on while I read: (a) I’m reading, and (b) I’m trying to figure out what my take-away is from that reading. Luckily for me, sometimes the bible tells me what it is.
An example is the story of the ten plagues. Egypt had killed and enslaved the Hebrews, and so a series of plagues from the Lord ruined the country. Egypt released the slaves. The obvious thing I see is that the Lord was powerful and took action to free an oppressed people.
But the Lord also spells out to Moses the bigger point of the miracles. I’ve freed you from bondage, he says, in order that you may know that I am the Lord.
So on one hand there’s the story itself, and on the other there’s what I’m supposed to get from the story.
I think it’s totally possible that someone reading the plagues story today might feel sorry for Egypt, sorry for the pharaoh. It seems unfair, seems pretty drastic. Why would God do something like that? God must be pretty angry. I don’t like that story; it offends me.
So the bible sometimes anticipates response. Joe is reading the event but he might misread it, so he needs a key. Key for Joe: the point of this story is that you can know that I am the Lord.
If I was smart enough I guess I wouldn’t need the prompt. But there it is.
Note: quote is from Exodus 10:2