Sometimes I visit the local Jewish synagogue on Saturdays for their "Torah study." I'm not Jewish, although I do have some Jewish ancestry. I find their bible study often insightful and refreshing, and as I've said before, I enjoy hearing different perspectives on things. I wanted to share something that I thought was very profound with the forum here.
The Jews have a yearly reading cycle for the first five books of the bible. Starting with the Jewish Civil New Year in September/October (the Jews actually have two separate new year observances, one in the spring and one in the fall), they begin reading in Genesis and progress through the end of Deuteronomy during the course of the year.
Today, we studied Parsha Shemot, meaning "Portion 'Names'." It's named after the beginning of this portion of the bible, from Exodus 1:1: "Now these are the names..." It encompasses the story of how the Israelites stayed in Egypt and became enslaved all the way through Moses' first meeting with Pharaoh.
Can you imagine yourself as living in slavery in Egypt, and what it must have been like? Your life isn't your own. Day in and day out, all you ever have to look forward to is meaningless drudgery. You might have some idealistic hope that someday, maybe things will change for the better, but the likelihood is that things never will change.
Moses was born into this situation, although he didn't grow up in it. Fortunately, he grew up in the Pharaoh's own household. He didn't have to endure slavery and hardship. Nevertheless...and here's the extraordinary part...he was sensitive to it, even though his own life was much more comfortable. He knew that the Israelites were being mistreated. He knew how miserable they were. He knew of God at that point in time, as a young man, but he couldn't bring himself to believe in a God who would allow such terrible circumstances to go on...and on...and on.
By the way, I'm not just guessing about this. Try talking to a Holocaust survivor sometime. Believing in God when things are that bad is pretty hard.
Moses murdered the Egyptian taskmaster because he didn't believe in a higher power who could bring justice, so he took matters into his own hands. (It says in Exodus 2:12 that Moses looked around and saw that there was "no man," which is a Hebrew idiom for no one to dispense right judgment.) Later on in the story, we find that his son Gershom who had been born in Midian wasn't circumcised, so he wasn't technically part of the congregation of Israel. Why not? Because circumcision was, in part, a sign of submission to God, binding oneself to a covenant with Him. Moses couldn't submit to God on account of the Israelites' suffering. Until God did something about it, Moses wasn't about to put his trust in God. It's not that Moses hated God, but he needed a pretty good reason to believe in Him and trust in Him.
When Moses turned aside to see the burning bush, it was then that God called out to him. Why is this?
The angel in the burning bush was symbolic of Moses and his circumstances. The bush represented the people of Israel. The burning fire was the presence of God dwelling upon Israel. The angel represented Moses. If it weren't for the angel, the bush would have been consumed. If not for Moses, the Israelites would be destroyed. (Compare Ps. 106:23; Num. 14:1-21.)
When Moses approached the burning bush, God began by answering Moses' concerns even before Moses had voiced them. "I have truly seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their pleas because of their taskmasters. I know their sorrows." God answered this way because Moses' heart went out to the Israelites in slavery. Moses had thought to himself - as many of us do when we're confronted with horrific circumstances (like the tsunamis in Asia, for instance) - if God exists, why isn't He concerned with the suffering in the world?
God's answer was "I AM THAT I AM." I do exist! And I am concerned.
Moses had felt powerless to do anything about the plight of the Israelites in slavery. After all, what was one man against all of Egypt? But the lesson was that we should not be afraid to stand up for what's right, no matter how impossible the circumstances might seem. It's in being willing to stand up for what's right that God manifests Himself to us.
Damon