Week 10 Deuteronomy
Back in the third week of January I was reading the story of Israel living down in Egypt. There in Exodus the author told about what happened – Israel’s enslavement, Moses’ early life, the plague-miracles, escape from Egypt, like that.
Now I get to Deuteronomy where Moses, four decades later is thinking back over those same exodus years.
While he’s thinking back two separate things are going on. He’s thinking back to the actual events that happened. And he’s attaching meaning to them.
There’s the what happened part, and there’s the added weight-of-meaning part that the what happened part is carrying.
Anyway, the paragraph in Deuteronomy 4:32-40 pointed out to me that Moses is freighting-up the exodus train.
One example. In verse 32 he sets up a kind of Top Events So Far in World History Scale. He’s saying that the #1 event so far in world history is the creation of the world. Fair enough. Then he ranks the exodus in the #2 spot.
Which makes the exodus not just big but gigantic.
So that’s pretty good to know.
And it’s a reminder to keep reading through. Back in January when I read Exodus 1-20 I thought it was an interesting and pretty good story. Now – about a hundred and sixty-five pages later – I have someone laying out for me just how interesting and pretty good it was.
Note to mhj: keep reading. Maybe other things will open up for you.