What I learned from Ridley Scotts new movie, Exodus: Gods and Kings. (Spoilers mostly just for the basic story of Moses, Pharaoh, and the Exodus of the Hebrews themselves.) 1. God is greater than you. He also doesnt like to explain Himself very much. He looks at a much bigger picture, which He may or may not share. When he does share, its not always a comfort. How many generations of suffering must we wait here in this place? Etc. This is very frustrating when youre stuck in a small part of the picture, waiting for forces beyond your control to work their mysterious ways. For instance: waiting to be freed from slavery, waiting to sell your house, or waiting for clients and money to pay bills so you can keep the doors open. I liked having a small boy appear as God when Moses talks with him. He seemed extremely frustrating to deal with -- just like God must have been at times for Moses. Moses had to commit based on faith and then had to explain Gods actions to a frustrated people. But. Moses is not the Savior of the Hebrews -- he was an instrument in the hands of God, crafted for that purpose. Tools are wielded by a maker, and they dont get to choose that purpose. Work with God or not, it was all Moses choice... but if he didnt like the ground rules and what God proposed to do, he could walk away. (And probably should just keep walking into the desert to die, since theres no real going back to his old life as a prince of Egypt.) To paraphrase Moses: youre killing the people I grew up with! Youre brutal, relentless, unforgiving -- why does it have to be that way? But when you commit on faith, you need to understand that you may never get many answers, or any. 2. Its Not All About You. We didnt really need the final staredown confrontation between Moses and the Pharaoh, who has made the mistake of thinking this is his story. Its not really about brother versus brother, or civil war, or alpha males fighting with my sword/instrument of my hand/extension of my manly genital prowess, even. This is not personal combat, or at least, its not one humans will versus another. God is more than all of those. This is Gods will be done, or the Pharaoh will be taught a lesson, even a final one. The story of Exodus is about the forging of a people, who will become the instruments of God. He will make the Israelites into a nation again, and they will spread his Name. Exodus is the story of a people chosen by God. God has plans for these people that do not include having them stay in Egypt forever. The Pharaoh, absolute ruler of his nation, held to be a living god himself, basically becomes irrelevant when the real God, supreme above all, shows up. When the waves finally wash him away, Pharaoh becomes a footnote, a stopover, in a much greater story of Gods chosen people returning home. Their story will continue long after Egypt is no longer a world power. Now, are there any other Bruce Springsteen fans out there? https://youtube/watch?v=UwudWifcecE O MARY DONT YOU WEEP {Transcribed and researched by SpringsteenLyrics} Album version, verse one: Well if I could I surely would Stand on the rock where Moses stood Pharaohs army got drownded O Mary dont you weep...
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 07:56:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015