Moses and Pharaoh are 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 11

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

Exodus 11:7 says, "... the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel."

This hearkens all the way back to Noah's descendants after the flood. From what I wrote about Genesis 9:

Ham, the father of Canaan, "saw the nakedness of his father," I think we are to infer something more, perhaps that Ham mocked and humiliated Noah, or worse. Ham then must become a slave to his brothers.

This sounds like a metaphor. There's a side of me that's potentially capable of anything, no matter perverse or gross, but I also have a higher self that subdues such impulses. The Ham in me must be a slave to better versions of me. 

The lineage of Shem includes Abraham from Ur, while the descendants of Ham populate Canaan and Egypt. Most of Genesis is about Abraham and his descendants bearing witness to The LORD in these lands in which they were initially foreigners.

It's analogous to the individual "higher self," or spirit, descending into this world in the flesh, where it is an alien. This world of the flesh is Ham, the father of Canaan and Egypt, which represent enslavement to the flesh. The Hebrews, aka Israelites, represent the higher self that has also become enslaved, but still remembers that God is present.

This "separation" between Egyptians and Israelites is the separation between those entirely enslaved by the material world (up to and including Pharaoh) and those who still have faith in a higher power.

You might be in a dire situation, and you realize the only way out is to separate yourself from people who are dragging you down. That realization comes from "God," or the "the LORD" or your higher self. The Ham in you wants to stay where you are; the Shem in you wants to leave. This drama between Moses (from God) and Pharaoh (from the material world) is the same internal conflict, except that it's played out 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)