Today's readings: Exodus 1-2, Leviticus 1, and Psalm 44.
I. The Book of Exodus begins by noting that the descendants of the sons of Jacob/Israel had grown numerous in Egypt (1:1-7). A new pharaoh arose and stoked fear among the Egyptians that they would be overrun, and enslaved the Hebrews to do tough, menial work for them and "made their lives bitter with hard service" (1:8-14). On a side note, isn't this always like tyrants? Find a scapegoat to blame and soothe the masses from what's really wrong in society. Like sheeple, we seem to fall for this time and time again, no matter the culture. At any rate, when the number of Hebrews failed to decrease as a result, he next moved to having newborn Hebrew sons killed by the midwives, which also failed, and then ordered them to just be tossed into the Nile River (1:15-22). It's like a perversion of this probably historically fictional scene in the movie Braveheart. Kill the boys, but keep the girls, thereby essentially "breeding" out the Hebrews.
Then a boy is born to parents from the House of Levi (2:1-2). The mother put the boy into a basket near the Nile riverbank, which was discovered by Pharaoh's daughter, who "took pity on him" (2:3-6). It sounds like the mother knew that Pharaoh's daughter would find her son, who had been named Moses, especially when she managed to conveniently have herself hired as the baby's wetnurse (2:7-10). Moses grew up in the household of Pharaoh's daughter, and one day, when he was grown, he killed an "Egyptian beating a Hebrew" (2:11-12). I've always wondered if there was more to this story. From the surface of it, we'd normally consider what Moses did to be defending his fellow Hebrew. Since he killed the man after looking around and seeing no one, does this mean it went beyond self-defense or defense of another? Did Moses kill mainly out of anger and hatred, instead of just incapacitating him? Interesting to consider.
Word seems to have gone around, and after Pharaoh finds out, he flees to Midian, where he marries a woman who bears him a son (2:13-22). The Pharaoh who had sought his blood dies, and the chapter ends with God taking notice of the suffering of the Hebrews (2:23-25).
II. The next book begun today is that of Leviticus, which, like many people, I confess to finding boring. In one sense, it's like reading the tax code. Yet, it does have some interest in seeing how the Hebrews were commanded to worship and what each part came to be later on. Today, for instance, the first chapter is on the rules concerning burnt offerings of animals for atonement of sins. This would eventually lead to the great Temple in Jerusalem, culminating in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross out of love for us (Eph 5:2).
III. Psalm 44 is another moving lament, only this one is national, as well as a heartfelt plea for God's help and deliverance from their enemies. As the Ignatius Bible notes:
The people of Israel feel abandoned by God (44:24). They have suffered defeat at the hands of their enemies (44:10); they have been exiled to foreign lands (44:11); and they are cruelly taunted by their captors (44:13, 16). This was the result of many national sins (79:5-9). Nevertheless, the faithful remnant - those who stayed true to the covenant - they, too, are targets of humiliation and death, thanks to their loyalty to God (44:22). Their cry for deliverance (44:26) is inspired by God's saving actions in the past (44:1-8). (p. 867)
I'm curious when this was written and the context for the national disaster it describes. Unfortunately, we do not know for certain, but from what little I could find online, scholars seem to think it is from 600-400 BC and may date from around the Babylonian exile. Whatever the true context and dating, you can almost hear the deep lament and deep cry for help in the face of utter catastrophe.
That's all for today!
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