A Penitent Blogger
What happened to the Egyptians
Scripture tells us that "God is love" (1 Jn. 4:8 & 16) and wants “all men to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:4).
In today’s first reading (Ex. 14:21-15:1), God wipes out hundreds of Egyptians down to the last man.
And it came to pass, that in the morning watch
the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians
through the pillar of fire and of the cloud,
and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
And took off their chariot wheels,
that they drave them heavily:
so that the Egyptians said,
Let us flee from the face of Israel;
for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
And the LORD said unto Moses,
Stretch out thine hand over the sea,
that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians,
upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea,
and the sea returned to his strength
when the morning appeared;
and the Egyptians fled against it;
and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians
in the midst of the sea.
And the waters returned, and covered the chariots,
and the horsemen,
and all the host of Pharaoh
that came into the sea after them;
there remained not so much as one of them.
This story has been told and depicted so often that it is easy to come away with a superficial understanding of it: the God of the Old Testament wiping out the bad guys.
It is better - and much more meaningful – to look deeper into this familiar account and see it not just as the key moment of salvation history for the people of God but also as a moment in which the Egyptians encounter God: an encounter that has warnings for us all.
The Egyptians’ problems begin when they actually get a glimpse of God through the pillar of fire.
In a real sense, what is described here is a classic instance of human beings having an encounter with God for which they are not prepared: they are troubled and disoriented by this glimpse into the Infinite.
Prior to this moment of encounter, the Egyptians’ approach to the Infinite was crudely materialistic: their gods were Pharaohs and idols, and immortality was associated with embalming.
Too many of us in the world today likewise seek refuge in materialism or in mental images of God purely of our own making - not the best preparation for the reality of infinity.
Thus, at this moment of encounter, the Egyptians glimpse Infinity itself and they are stricken with an existential crisis of cosmic proportions.
Finite, weak-minded, time-bound human beings cannot survive unmediated contact with the Infinite, Omnipotent, Eternal God.
That is why the Lord says (Ex. 33:20), “No man may see me and live.” Contact with God is only possible through grace.
But grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father,
he hath declared him
(John 1:17b-18)
As people of faith, when we have crises – existential or otherwise – we call upon God, seeking his grace and rejoicing in the infinite bounty we receive through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Egyptians' reaction to their crisis, on the contrary, is not to seek God’s grace, but to try to run away from God. This, of course, leads them deeper into disaster. Nature takes its course and the waters of the sea flow back to their place.
One might speculate or hope that in their last moment of life, the Egyptians realized their folly, came to know that the Lord is God, and turned to him with their last thought. Indeed, one might see this as part of the mysterious plans and purposes of God, over and above the rescue of his people from slavery.
And I will harden Pharaoh's heart,
that he shall follow after them;
and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh,
and upon all his host;
that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.
(Exodus 14:4)
Along these lines, in Cecil B. de Mille’s classic film The Ten Commandments, Pharaoh has only one thing to say after witnessing this event.
"His God IS God."
What happened to the Egyptians at the Red Sea reminds us of the catastrophic power of a true encounter with God, of how God’s grace in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ makes such encounters life-giving instead of life-threatening, and of how we need to pray for that grace always – no matter how great the crisis or how late the moment.
Praised be Jesus Christ
In today’s first reading (Ex. 14:21-15:1), God wipes out hundreds of Egyptians down to the last man.
And it came to pass, that in the morning watch
the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians
through the pillar of fire and of the cloud,
and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
And took off their chariot wheels,
that they drave them heavily:
so that the Egyptians said,
Let us flee from the face of Israel;
for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
And the LORD said unto Moses,
Stretch out thine hand over the sea,
that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians,
upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea,
and the sea returned to his strength
when the morning appeared;
and the Egyptians fled against it;
and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians
in the midst of the sea.
And the waters returned, and covered the chariots,
and the horsemen,
and all the host of Pharaoh
that came into the sea after them;
there remained not so much as one of them.
This story has been told and depicted so often that it is easy to come away with a superficial understanding of it: the God of the Old Testament wiping out the bad guys.
It is better - and much more meaningful – to look deeper into this familiar account and see it not just as the key moment of salvation history for the people of God but also as a moment in which the Egyptians encounter God: an encounter that has warnings for us all.
The Egyptians’ problems begin when they actually get a glimpse of God through the pillar of fire.
In a real sense, what is described here is a classic instance of human beings having an encounter with God for which they are not prepared: they are troubled and disoriented by this glimpse into the Infinite.
Prior to this moment of encounter, the Egyptians’ approach to the Infinite was crudely materialistic: their gods were Pharaohs and idols, and immortality was associated with embalming.
Too many of us in the world today likewise seek refuge in materialism or in mental images of God purely of our own making - not the best preparation for the reality of infinity.
Thus, at this moment of encounter, the Egyptians glimpse Infinity itself and they are stricken with an existential crisis of cosmic proportions.
Finite, weak-minded, time-bound human beings cannot survive unmediated contact with the Infinite, Omnipotent, Eternal God.
That is why the Lord says (Ex. 33:20), “No man may see me and live.” Contact with God is only possible through grace.
But grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father,
he hath declared him
(John 1:17b-18)
As people of faith, when we have crises – existential or otherwise – we call upon God, seeking his grace and rejoicing in the infinite bounty we receive through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Egyptians' reaction to their crisis, on the contrary, is not to seek God’s grace, but to try to run away from God. This, of course, leads them deeper into disaster. Nature takes its course and the waters of the sea flow back to their place.
One might speculate or hope that in their last moment of life, the Egyptians realized their folly, came to know that the Lord is God, and turned to him with their last thought. Indeed, one might see this as part of the mysterious plans and purposes of God, over and above the rescue of his people from slavery.
And I will harden Pharaoh's heart,
that he shall follow after them;
and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh,
and upon all his host;
that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.
(Exodus 14:4)
Along these lines, in Cecil B. de Mille’s classic film The Ten Commandments, Pharaoh has only one thing to say after witnessing this event.
"His God IS God."
What happened to the Egyptians at the Red Sea reminds us of the catastrophic power of a true encounter with God, of how God’s grace in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ makes such encounters life-giving instead of life-threatening, and of how we need to pray for that grace always – no matter how great the crisis or how late the moment.
Praised be Jesus Christ
posted by Penitens | 12:52 AM
<< Home