The Old Testament: Exodus IV: The Ten Commandments and Other Rules to Live by

Posted on February 21, 2013 by virgowriter

I live in a house that’s over a hundred years old.  Where I’m from (L.A.) this is impressive.  Where I live (Philadelphia), not so much. Some people flinch when they learn how old my house is because they have a sense of how old things tend to hold up (not too well) and, given how well modern houses can be built, why would you want to rely on old technology? We do it better now (don’t we?).

Well, there’s something to be said for character (which a lot of older homes have and new ones don’t).  Then there are things like closets—which older homes tend to have few of (or small ones).  In short, modern homes are tailored for modern people.  So the idea that modern people use older homes effectively is interesting (or in some cases, simply a necessity).

Since we are a culture that embraces new things and shuns old things, it’s always fascinating to note the things that have stood the test of time.  When one of those things happens to be the laws upon which our culture has been built, it’s more than interesting, it’s downright genius.

So arrives in Exodus the unveiling of the Ten Commandments and other rules put down by God. Aside from getting exhausted reading about Moses’s constant up and down Mount Sinai, I noted a lot of interesting content here.

You could argue that these rules are more or less common sense, but that’s probably because they have been with us for so long.  Yet some of these are pretty striking, especially given the era. God’s ideas on how to better protect property (you can kill the thief who enters your home, though only if it is dark out—perhaps the level at which you can see mattered) were apparently a shift away from vengeance and more focused on the restitution our society favors.  These laws likely shaped our own sense of dealing with criminals—they have to repay society for their crimes. Even if you’re not religious you have to see the wisdom in these ideas.

However, some were still strange and some betray blatant hypocrisy.

Again, being a woman during this time was hard. Virgins were, apparently, very expensive (22:16). And what is this point about offering the first born son after 8 days? This is probably a circumcision reference but it looks oddly like a sacrifice decree.  New rules for Hebrew servants also abound (they could be freed after the 7th year, but the wife and kids stayed with the master) and rules to follow for selling your daughter.  You can also beat the crap out of your slave, as long as you don’t, you know, kill him.

Furthermore, the people are commanded to be respectful to aliens (which is interesting, in light of the issues some states in the US are grappling with, regarding illegal immigrants).  Yet God lets the Israelites know that he is sending an angel ahead of the caravan in order to wipe out every town in their path. That’s respectful.

In addition, it seems troubling that a people recently released from bondage themselves would even CONSIDER having slaves.

I get that this era condoned this practice of slavery, but these commandments were charting a new course for society, setting laws and regulations down which hadn’t been articulated before.  So why wouldn’t they change everything while they were there? The fact that God would not consider these human beings when he decreed these laws is also strange. I also wondered, with all the talk of good Christian values stemming from the Bible, why these particular issues are not discussed more often. If you’re going to refer to one rule, should you not then be held to all of them?

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The Old Testament: Exodus III: The Forty-Year Caravan

Posted on February 19, 2013 by virgowriter

Most of my friends growing up were Jewish. From them I heard ample stories about lavish dinners and long days at Temple. I figured Christmas and Easter were better holidays, especially since in my house neither involved church or much in the way of ceremony (other than letting the ladies be served first).

But when I was in high school, I became closer with one of my friends. As such, I was asked to his family’s Passover feast every year. I didn’t know what to expect but I was assured there would be ample Manischewitz on the table. I was sold. The dinners were always nice. His family cooked an awesome spread, and once every one sat down, we began the ceremony. The program his father had prepared gave me a general sense of what was happening when (and a subtle explanation for why), but I was lost. I was still happy to be included. Though after my second glass of Manischewitz, I wasn’t as concerned about the details.

Now that I have finished Exodus, I understand better what I was helping to celebrate.

I generally avoid going out to dinner with a large party (anything over 12, really). You can’t spend time with whom you want to, the service can be slow, and problems arise when the check hits the table. I cannot imagine dealing with a caravan of a million people.

The Bible mentions over 600,000 Israelites fleeing Egypt, but this speaks to the men (you know, the ones worth counting, because women and children didn’t matter in this era). So we’re looking at getting a million people to listen to directions. I’m guessing this group would be easy to find in the desert, were someone so inclined. I also don’t really understand how you could keep that many people together. I picture the cluster-f*@&^ of people in a marathon—say almost just south of 50,000 for New York—and I start multiplying. Not a pretty picture.

Although they were living in unfavorable conditions, they didn’t make it exactly easy for Moses—lot of complaining. You’d think that they’d have a little more faith in the man who had rescued them and then PARTED A SEA to secure their escape. Would they really have rather been taken back to Egypt (and bondage) than live like they were living? Then I think about people who continue to live with abusive spouses and it’s not hard to believe.

Still, you have to give these people credit. They’d been oppressed for so long that they agreed to pick up and move—without much to go on—based on the word of two men (Moses and Aaron). That’s some faith. It’s also something worthy of multiple celebrations a year. The great part is that they like to include outsiders to share in their history and jovial spirit.

Better still, my friend’s family never asked me to believe what they believe or renounce anything. They were happy to share their holiday with me, to show me their way of life. Breaking bread with them was respect enough. If only other people understood that you don’t have to foist your beliefs on others, that room exists for different ways to live.

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The Old Testament: Exodus II: Dealing with Pharaoh and Getting the Hell out of Egypt

Posted on February 17, 2013 by virgowriter

The famous Abbott and Costello routine, wherein the two comedians debate who is on first base, is amusing for a number of reasons.  One is that just when it seems some understanding has been reached, the conversation reverts to confusion. It’s also amusing because there’s nothing significant at stake.  When a similar-in-spirit exchange occurs between two people and there is something important on the line—like the lives of a million Israelites—then the back-and-forth is maddening.  When it takes ten rounds, it’s as boring as it is infuriating.

Turns out, God made it this way for Moses and the Pharaoh.

So Moses has been charged with asking the Pharaoh to release the Israelites so that they can go worship God in the desert. The plan is for them to flee from there.  Because he didn’t want to give up his free labor, Pharaoh will need some convincing.

And so, at their first meeting, Moses breaks out the miracles handed to him from God. First, he turns his staff into a snake. Pharaoh is unimpressed, which might have been because his magicians did the same thing—which didn’t seem strange to anyone, apparently. But Moses (and God) have more up there sleeve.  In the subsequent meetings—nine more—Moses confronts Pharaoh (who is suspiciously easy to get a hold of) with the same preamble (literally, we get to hear it nine more times) and more signs that he is who he says he is. In order, he turns the Nile into blood (yes, blood), rained down a plague of frogs, and unleashed a plague of gnats. How one is not convinced we these signs, I’m unsure, thought the fact that Pharaoh’s magicians come through in the clutch yet again to replicate Moses… except for the gnats.  That they could not pull off.  Still, Pharaoh isn’t having it. When Moses brings about the plague of flies, Pharaoh concedes. But when the flies stop, he changes his mind.

Thus our new pattern: Plague of liver stock, Pharaoh unmoved. Plague of boils, nope. Plague of hail? Okay, I give up. Then the hail stops. Not so fast. Plague of locusts, okay, this time, I give up. Locusts retreat, not so fast. The plague of darkness, okay, no, I mean it, go, and never appear before me again. But God offers the plague on the first born for good measure, and the Israelites are on their way. No wonder Moses left their last encounter “hot with anger.”

I have to admit, I was excited when I approached the Plague of the frogs section. I was hoping to have that frog scene in Magnolia make sense all a sudden.  But I was disappointed.  I’m trying to imaging people dealing with all those frogs and not breaking out into hysteria. Hard to picture, but it is hard not to smile thinking about these frogs going everywhere. Why frogs? Who’s afraid of a frog? Now granted, the numbers are the issue here, but still.

The last thing that struck me as strange was God working against Moses. Of course Moses needed a challenge, but, come on, 10 tries? Seems a little sadistic to challenge Moses so (after all, he had PLENTY of tests coming his way once the journey began). And even if he really was getting at Pharaoh, it seems like there were several other ways he could mess with him.  I mean, he’s God, right?

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