Israel is You

 Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as we discover new insights and new perspectives from a very old book.

EXODUS 12

I'm reading Young's Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Up to this point, I've seen no reason to read anything in the Bible as history, but I did a brief search to see if the cities of Ramses and Succoth were indeed ancient cities so I could get an idea of the distance the Israelites traveled in this story. Apparently it's 120 miles. 

Then it gets confusing. Earlier in the Bible we were told the Israelites had settled in the Goshen area of Egypt, but they also fled to Succoth, which was in Goshen.  Yet verse 51 says the LORD brought them out of Egypt. 

So were there parts of Goshen, including Succoth, that weren't in Egypt, beyond Pharaoh's borders? Maybe the detail is unimportant.

Aside from that, four things strike out to me:

1. The LORD has very specific commands in the procedures for a feast or holiday, the "ordinance of the passover." I don't recall the LORD being this meticulous before, except in telling Noah how to build the ark in Genesis.

2. The LORD follows through on his threat as with the previous plagues: the LORD did kill all the first-born among the Egyptians.

3. The LORD allows the plunder of seemingly innocent people at their most vulnerable, i.e., the Egyptians in shock and mourning at the deaths each one faced.

4. The LORD is welcoming to all who want to become Israelites, provided the males among them undergo genital mutilation – a pretty tall order.

Another way to look at it:

1. The LORD imposes unnecessary rules.

2. The LORD is genocidal.

3. The LORD is unkind.

4. The LORD is perverse.

While liberating the Israelites from slavery is the most important thing, in this chapter, the LORD seems entirely devoid of what we in the modern world would call morality or decency. It's been rare in Genesis and so far in Exodus that the LORD has actually exhibited any good traits.

To make sense of any of it, I see it through the lens of Shem vs Ham, shown here as Moses vs. Pharaoh. 

Shem, the spiritual self, is to be the master and Ham, the materialistic self, is to be the slave of Shem. In Egypt, this was inverted; Shem was the slave to Ham.

If my thoughts lead me to feel trapped or in bondage, that's because I let Ham overcome me. Shem might have to be both disciplined and ruthless to be freed from Ham in order for me to reach a better state of mind and move on. 

In other words, I must be aware of and control my thoughts and feelings, and  eliminate - sacrifice - any habits and associations which burden me. Burdens are heavy, whereas the spirit is light.

The journey of Israel out of slavery is your journey and my journey out of darkness into light, just on a grand scale.

James Leroy Wilson writes Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, JL Cells, and The MVP Chase. Thanks for your subscriptions and support!

(Photo credit: TyshkunVictor)