Window to the Kingdom One of the most powerful stories in the Bible is the story of the Exodus. It provides a point of entry for one of the major themes of the Bible. One receives a primary point of reference for what it means to be God’s “chosen” people. Before reading the story, please remember the vast majority of people in the ancient world were illiterate. Moreover and relatedly, written records were extremely rare and expensive to produce. Paper did not exist. Animal hides and skins provided the canvas. Public education did not exist, and scribes (the only people who could write) were educated by the noble class to record the history of the rulers. When reading the story, consider the content spoken aloud, as it was primarily communicated and remembered in oral form. When modern people read it, something quite different from the ancients is experienced. Picture a family listening to a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, older brother or sister, telling the story at a meal or maybe while the family settled down to sleep. Bear in mind this was long before electricity, running water, industrialization, or urbanization. Good stories were coveted for entertainment. And, to be a good historian in this context, one had to think and speak memorable thoughts. Imagine the wonderment from the hearer as the story begins with the people of God ENSLAVED in Egypt under the reign of Pharaoh. With prevailing thought then as it is now –that God blesses those that enjoy material success and that the powerful and those who rule are God’s chosen elect – one is startled to find God is with the powerless. Consider the power of hope conveyed with the repetition of miracles in the plagues, the flight across the Red Sea, the 40 years of wilderness wandering, culminating in the crossing of the Jordan River into “the promised land.” One is captivated by a story that, very much like the narrative describing the covenant of Abraham, exhibits a theme that no matter how bleak things may seem, God is with humanity. Moreover, when “hearing” the story, a window appears, exhibiting God’s intended rule/reign for humanity. In the Exodus story, a stark contrast is created between the rule of Pharaoh and the rule of God. Under Pharaoh’s policies, God’s people were subjected to slave labor and reduced to commodity – their value determined only by what they could produce. An ageless and perpetual tendency of humans to wield power over other humans is clearly displayed in Pharaoh’s heartless, self-justified, and de-humanized perception of the powerless: “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy.” (Ex. 5:7-8) When the Israelite supervisors protested this action, that things weren’t fair, they were told, “You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks.” (Ex. 5:17-18) Repetition when telling a story in an oral culture is another key for memory. It seems blaming the powerless for their own misfortune is not a recent development. Even thousands of years ago, the suffering of those on the bottom was disregarded by those in power. Being called “lazy” was just as if not more insulting then as it is now. Pharaoh’s self-serving system of economics and rule is maintained through retribution for complaint and lack of compliance. Order is maintained by retributive and perverted justice. This is the rule of Pharaoh. This is the rule of an empire. Empire does not care about the sick or powerless. Empire cares about increasing levels of production and becoming stronger. Empire (be it corporate, political, or national) is all about survival of the fittest. Empire promotes the interests of the elite, the “most fit.” God’s concern resides elsewhere. Despite these hardships, the rule of Pharaoh was all that the slaves had ever known. The forced labor of the Israelites sustained them in Egypt. Even after their captors were vanquished many longed for a return to their former conditions of captivity because of the fear and uncertainty facing them in the desert. “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt… for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Ex.16:3) God’s people reluctantly placed their fate entirely in God’s hands by fleeing into a desert – surely a death sentence. For those with older relatives or young children, one knows how hard it is to travel. Without food or water, survival of the fittest would quickly take over. The weaker members of families would soon perish. One would expect to see things as they always were, with the strong triumphing over the weak. After all, through traditional eyes, those who receive much are blessed. Not so. Just as Egypt’s jurisdiction ended in the desert, the laws ordering ‘natural’ survival were suspended as well. God reigned. They lived in God’s Kingdom. How did they make it in a place notorious for scarcity of resources? What sustained them? Manna (literally translated from Hebrew meaning “what is it?”). And through the distribution of sustenance and the most basic human needs, God’s preferences for economy and rule become apparent. God’s commandment for rule and order and sustenance: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.” And “The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, those who gathered little had no shortage.” (Ex. 16-18) Everyone had enough! No one had too much, nor too little. The orders established by both human empire and nature were overturned. But folks just came out from conditions of scarcity and despite orders to the contrary, some tried to do as humans will, to hoard, to stockpile. Maybe they wanted a little extra security. Maybe they could have a surplus and sell it to their neighbor. But the manna rotted, “it bred worms and became foul.” (Ex. 16:20) There was no economic surplus here. Everyone had what everyone needed every day - nothing more, nothing less. No one could get ahead of their neighbors. God established equality among all according to resources. Order is established and maintained through distributive justice. Each gathered according to his/her own ability and each had enough! They were all truly equal according to life’s basic resources. The concern for equality and justice takes root. God’s concern for the powerless and vulnerable becomes reflected throughout the Pentateuch, the major and minor prophets, and very clearly into the New Testament gospels. “You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord you God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord you God may bless you in all your undertakings. When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. Remember (before you get too prideful or haughty, greedy or materialistic), that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this.” (Deuteronomy 24:17-22) Safety nets are established by God for God’s people “for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7; Mark 11:17) It is this same hope for distributive (not retributive) justice that our forbearers created a system of social safety nets, so that if a person died or became incapacitated, their family still had a chance to survive. We made laws supporting the establishment of social security, Medicaid, Medicare, etc. NOT because we believed in Karl Marx, but because we believed in God - because we believed that all men and women were created equally. That “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one.” (Galatians 3:28) Concern for one’s neighbor is mandated by God. “You are not far from the kingdom (rule/reign) of God.” (Mark 12:34) But not only is this God’s will, this is basic human decency. So we can pervert this all we like with our politics, and economic policies, and irrational justifications that the poor are lazy and deserve every ounce of misery that comes their way, ignoring perhaps the most basic, consistent, and overarching theme of the Bible, or we can realize that with our consumption, greed, and materialistic focus, we destroy ourselves and the generations that follow. When we drive around in our dually trucks or our luxury automobiles and complain about paying taxes that help our neighbor and strengthen our general public; when we assume that the poor are lazy, and that material possessions are always a sign of God’s favor; if you are one of God’s people, remember that you were a slave in Egypt. God’s preference is for the poor, “Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God” (Lk 6:20) and calls our concerns to abide with theirs.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 03:50:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015