B’Shallach (Exodus 13:17 – 17:16)
“Who is like you, Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, sublime in holiness, awesome in praise, working wonders? You reached out with your right hand: the earth swallowed them. In your love, you led the people you redeemed; in your strength, you guided them to your holy abode” (Ex. 15:11-13).
In triumphant praise, Moses and the children of Israel sing of all they have witnessed – how the Living God toppled the tyrant and set them free. “Who is like you, O Lord” must have thundered as thousands of voices joined in chorus. Israel was not unfamiliar with “gods,” but the gods of their experience did nothing to intervene on behalf of humanity – no, they stood in silence, deaf to the cries of those worshipping them. The covenant Lord of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, however, not only intervened on their behalf, he knew them. Still, as the triumphant praise suggests, the children of Israel did not yet know him.
The exodus generation grew and matured under the harsh realities of bondage in Egypt – both physically and spiritually. While the children of Israel physically suffered under the burden of bondage, their spirits grew weary from the relentless silence found in the shadow of idols. Now, after witnessing the defeat of the Egyptian gods by the right hand of the Living God – they were free.
In the days and weeks after their deliverance, the children of Israel would gradually learn about this covenant Lord of their salvation. He would provide for them, in supernatural ways, bread and water. He would command a rest for a weary people. And he would condescend upon Mt. Sinai and speak the Ten Commandments – commandments that would teach a freed people to live as free people. In all of this, the Lord revealed his abiding presence with his covenant people.
When the months after the exodus are considered, even the moments after the revelation on Mt. Sinai, the children of Israel had not yet developed a relationship with the Lord of their salvation. Immediately after the Sinai revelation, the children of Israel say to Moses, “You, speak with us; and we will listen. But don’t let God speak with us, or we will die” (Ex. 20:19). Unlike the Egyptian gods, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was living, and he related personally to his people. While the idols of their past stood in silence, the God that Moses proclaimed lived – and spoke directly to them as their Lord and deliverer.
It is easy for followers of Messiah Jesus to look back and be critical of the mistakes made by the exodus generation. They were, in most cases, very serious mistakes after all. Still, we must relate to them as examples, as the apostle Paul explains (1 Cor. 10:6). Meaningful relationships take time to develop – this is true naturally and spiritually. Peter, when he first met Jesus cried out, “Get away from me, sir, because I’m a sinner” (Lk. 5:8), which was the result of catching fish! From there, Peter would spend some three years living very close to Jesus, and yet, seemed no closer to knowing him after all that time – in fact Peter would deny knowing Christ (Jn. 18:17, 25-27), only to be restored to him after the resurrection (Jn. 21:15-17). Jesus allowed Peter to draw close and then step back, in order to draw him even closer than before.
The children of Israel sang, and asked, “Who is like thee, O Lord among the gods?” We discover a very important point in this song – to know who he is, we must remember from where we have come, and to where he is bring us – his holy abode. The children of Israel were brought out of bondage, and he was leading them to their inheritance. Nevertheless, where they had come from, Egypt, remained appealing to them as the days grew difficult and the receipt of the inheritance appeared delayed. When we grow weary, we must recall our bondage to the silent idols of our past, in order to appreciate the living dynamic of life with the Lord in union with Christ. We have received the living bread from heaven, the living water that satisfies the soul, and as he provides for us our daily needs – both known and unknown, recognized and unrecognized – the intimacy of our relationship with him grows stronger.
Who is like this God of our salvation? Amen.
Shalom;
Dr. J.D. Elwell