Exodus 1-3 Knowing who we are
Finally, I have reached this part of Bible that I have been anticipating. I couldn't help feeling a bit awe while reading it and carefully mull over every word. This book means a lot to me not only because that I found myself being in a desert of every aspect of my life longing to find the way out but also that I relate to how Moses explained his son's name, Gershom, "I have been an outsider in a foreign land." I feel like an exile being out of place despite that I am in my physical homeland.
These chapters are the prelude of Israelite's great mission back to their promised land. After generations and generations, their people grew to be large in number and in strength that the new king of Egypt feared that they might turn against Egypt one day. So he made a couple of orders to try to slow down or stop their growing rate. However, a baby boy from the Levi tribe, was spared from this cruel rule. He was placed by his own mother in a basket, which was the same Hebrew word as the the word, "ark" made by Noah. This info shows that God again stretched out His hands and prepared a shelter to save His people.
One interesting thing I have noticed is that the baby boy's sister also played a part in saving his life. She was observant and quick to take actions to fetch her mother to work as a nurse to his brother. It shows again that no one is too insignificant for God to use in His great plan.
So the boy grew and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter was named Moses which she explained as, " I took him out of the water.". That name has a great meaning because later on God would save His people out of the water. And also Moses would play the role that would lead his fellow Israeli out of Egypt.
Metaphorically speaking, God's hearing the pleas and remembering the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob signifies that God hears us and remembers us when we get lost or in trouble in our life. And He longs to take us back to the "land" that He's promised us within our hearts.
The most important part of this story or the true beginning of Exodus is when Moses encountered God in the blazed bush. God chose to show himself through this miraculous way and make him realize who he was in God. The burning bush was no minor matter and it was just the right setting God designed to ignite an awakening in Moses' heart and soul. Because he felt out of place being in a foreign land, feeling abandoned because he was an adopted,being confused by his identity as a Hebrew but living among the Egyptian royalty and being guilty for having killed an Egyptian, being misunderstood by his own people. He must have had been pretty defeated only wanting to get by in his life and his heart must have been just like the desert surrounding him, dry and barren. However, on a random day, Moses chose to guide the flock to the other side of the desert, a different place than the usual pastures. And just on that ordinary day, at that time and place, God called his name out of a burning bush and revealed Himself as the never changing Eternal one, the I AM.
Just as Moses, our life can be changed on an ordinary day, when we encounter God. God is I AM. And "I Am" is the moment of now. It has never changed despite everything else is always changing. Now is the only time and space we can encounter and connect to God within our hearts, our promised land. Just like Moses, we might not know who we are and what our purpose is in this life, But God's waiting to ignite us and remind us who we are and want to use us to impact lives on the earth. No one is too insignificant and it doesn't matter where we are or what we do. That little girl who helped saving her baby brother was not insignificant. God knows us all.
I want to add an side note to this part of story. When I recall the part where God said "I will make it so the Egyptians treat My people favorably; and when you leave Egypt, you will not leave empty-handed.", I cannot help but thinking of how my parents had funded me when I worked as a missionary. Even though at that time I felt a bit bummed and ashamed that I could not find any other sponsors but my own parents who were not even Christians. But for their love for me, they lavished their adult child with the funds and let me go across the globe to one unknown place after another. Whenever I thought of the places I never dreamed that I would have had visited but I have had the privilege to have been to, I felt that I did not deserve all this. I still don't understand why my parents were so nice to me. I felt overwhelmed with love from them despite they never articulated about it. And I realized that it was also God's working that he let my parents willingly support me for what I did. This anecdote together with the story is very humbling.
These chapters are the prelude of Israelite's great mission back to their promised land. After generations and generations, their people grew to be large in number and in strength that the new king of Egypt feared that they might turn against Egypt one day. So he made a couple of orders to try to slow down or stop their growing rate. However, a baby boy from the Levi tribe, was spared from this cruel rule. He was placed by his own mother in a basket, which was the same Hebrew word as the the word, "ark" made by Noah. This info shows that God again stretched out His hands and prepared a shelter to save His people.
One interesting thing I have noticed is that the baby boy's sister also played a part in saving his life. She was observant and quick to take actions to fetch her mother to work as a nurse to his brother. It shows again that no one is too insignificant for God to use in His great plan.
So the boy grew and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter was named Moses which she explained as, " I took him out of the water.". That name has a great meaning because later on God would save His people out of the water. And also Moses would play the role that would lead his fellow Israeli out of Egypt.
Metaphorically speaking, God's hearing the pleas and remembering the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob signifies that God hears us and remembers us when we get lost or in trouble in our life. And He longs to take us back to the "land" that He's promised us within our hearts.
The most important part of this story or the true beginning of Exodus is when Moses encountered God in the blazed bush. God chose to show himself through this miraculous way and make him realize who he was in God. The burning bush was no minor matter and it was just the right setting God designed to ignite an awakening in Moses' heart and soul. Because he felt out of place being in a foreign land, feeling abandoned because he was an adopted,being confused by his identity as a Hebrew but living among the Egyptian royalty and being guilty for having killed an Egyptian, being misunderstood by his own people. He must have had been pretty defeated only wanting to get by in his life and his heart must have been just like the desert surrounding him, dry and barren. However, on a random day, Moses chose to guide the flock to the other side of the desert, a different place than the usual pastures. And just on that ordinary day, at that time and place, God called his name out of a burning bush and revealed Himself as the never changing Eternal one, the I AM.
Just as Moses, our life can be changed on an ordinary day, when we encounter God. God is I AM. And "I Am" is the moment of now. It has never changed despite everything else is always changing. Now is the only time and space we can encounter and connect to God within our hearts, our promised land. Just like Moses, we might not know who we are and what our purpose is in this life, But God's waiting to ignite us and remind us who we are and want to use us to impact lives on the earth. No one is too insignificant and it doesn't matter where we are or what we do. That little girl who helped saving her baby brother was not insignificant. God knows us all.
I want to add an side note to this part of story. When I recall the part where God said "I will make it so the Egyptians treat My people favorably; and when you leave Egypt, you will not leave empty-handed.", I cannot help but thinking of how my parents had funded me when I worked as a missionary. Even though at that time I felt a bit bummed and ashamed that I could not find any other sponsors but my own parents who were not even Christians. But for their love for me, they lavished their adult child with the funds and let me go across the globe to one unknown place after another. Whenever I thought of the places I never dreamed that I would have had visited but I have had the privilege to have been to, I felt that I did not deserve all this. I still don't understand why my parents were so nice to me. I felt overwhelmed with love from them despite they never articulated about it. And I realized that it was also God's working that he let my parents willingly support me for what I did. This anecdote together with the story is very humbling.
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