THE GOD WHO LIBERATES Class One

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THE GOD WHO LIBERATES

Class One: Introduction to Exodus: “These are the Names”

INTRODUCTION

The story of Yahweh’s rescue of the Hebrew slaves from oppressive slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt has inspired people all around the world for millennia. According to popular author Bruce Feiler, the Exodus narrative is especially foundational to and serves as a recurring narrative in American history. “Even a cursory review of American history indicates that Moses has emboldened leaders of all stripes, patriot and loyalist, slave and master, Jew and Christian.”1 But long before it became a recurring theme in politics, the story of the Exodus was a recurring theme in the Bible. The Book of Exodus, the second book in the Torah, tells the original story of how a group of enslaved people in Egypt escaped into the wilderness and became a new people, the people of Israel. The books of the prophets tell the story again, reminding the people of how they have forgotten their liberation and their promises, the Psalms celebrate the story and use it to question God’s behavior, and in the New Testament, the story is repeated and reworked in a variety of ways. The Exodus is in the sacraments– baptism and Communion– and in our commission to be a light for the world. It is in the Gospel of John, when Jesus is equated with a bronze serpent Moses held up to save the people from serpents in the desert, and when Jesus commanded that his disciples remain rooted in the vine. But perhaps most of all, the Gospel of Matthew draws upon the Exodus narrative as Matthew frames Jesus as a second Moses figure, ushering in a new era of liberation and a new kingdom, the kingdom of God. Thus, one cannot really know the Bible without knowing something of the Exodus story, and cannot fully understand who Christ was to his Jewish followers either. Both the Bible and Jesus’ life tell us that we serve a God who is in the business of liberating us from the things and people that enslave us.

In this class we will explore this core liberation narrative as it is presented in The Book of Exodus and in the Gospel of Matthew. Both texts are long and important and could be studied for at least a year a piece. Covering them both in eleven weeks, therefore, will only scratch the surface. I encourage you to continue your study after the class is over to discover where the biblical liberation narrative and your life intersect.

The Book of Exodus

Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann provides the following outline of Exodus:2

1 Feiler, Bruce, America’s Prophet: Moses and the American Story (New York: HarperCollins, 2009), 5.

2 Brueggemann, Walter, Exodus in The New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 1 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994), 687-89.

I. Exodus 1:1-15:21 The Narrative of Liberation A. 1:1-4:31 Preparation for Deliverance 1:1-22 A New King Comes to Power 2:1-10 The Birth of Moses 2:11-22 Moses Flees from Pharaoh 2:23-25 God Hears Their Groaning 3:1-4:31 Moses is Sent to Pharaoh

B. 5:1-11:10 Let My People God 5:1-6:1 Bricks Without Straw 6:2-30 I Am Yahweh 7:1-13 Aaron’s Staff 7:14-25 The Plague of Blood 8:1-15 the Plague of Frogs 8:16-19 The Plague of Gnats 8:20-32 The Plague of Flies 9:1-12 The Plague on Livestock and the Plague of Boils 9:13-35 The Plague of Hail 10:1-20 Plague of Locusts 10:21-29 Plague of Darkness 11:1-10 Warning of the Final Plague

C. The Lord will reign 12: 1-28 The Passover Instituted 12:29-39 Death of the Firstborn 12:40-51 Directions for the Passover 13:1-16 Special Observances 13:17-22 Pillars of Cloud and Fire 14:1-31 Crossing the Sea 15:1-21 Songs of Moses and Miriam

II. Exodus 15:22-18: 27 Is the Lord Among us or not? A. 15:22-27 Bitter Water Made Sweet B. 16:1-26 Manna and Quail C. 17:1-7 Water from the rock D. 17:8-16 Amalek is defeated E. 18:1-12 Jethro Comes to Moses F. 18:13-27 Jethro’s advice

III. Exodus 19:1-24:18 The Charter of a Holy Nation A. 19:1-25 At Mount Sinai B. 20:1-17 The Ten Commandments C. 20:18-21 Moses as Mediator D. 20:22- 23:19 The Covenant Code E. 23:20-33 Conquest of Canaan Promised F. 24:1-18 The Covenant Ceremony

IV. Exodus 25:1-31:18 The Pattern of the Tabernacle

V. Exodus 32:1-34:35 Sin and Restoration A. 32:1-35 The Golden Calf B. 33:1-23 Moses Seeks Assurance C. 34:1-28 Renewal of the Covenant D. 34:29-35 Moses’ Shining Face

VI. Exodus 35:1- 40:38 Israel’s Obedient Work

A. 35:1-36:7 Materials for the Tabernacle B. 36:8-39:43 The Work of Construction C. 40:1-33 Moses Finishes the Work D. 40:34-38 The Glory of the Lord

Literary scholars have been able to demonstrate that Exodus was written and/or edited by at least three different sources over time. These sources are called “J”- for the people who knew God as “Yahweh” (or Jahweh), “E,” for those who knew God as “Elohim,” and “P” for the priestly tradition which was concerned with worship practices at a later time. You don’t need to know who wrote which parts in order to understand the book. But because there have been multiple editors, there are sections of the book in which some stories are told twice, called “doublets,” and issues with name inconsistencies. (The mountain of God is called both Sinai and Horeb). This can be confusing, but it is also interesting to see how the stories have evolved over time.

Major Themes and Things for which to Watch:

In Jewish tradition, the Book of Exodus is called “These are the names” after the first verse of the book. This verse provides an abbreviated genealogy of the descendants of Jacob and serves as a bridge between Genesis and Exodus. But names play an interesting role in the text as well. As you read, notice who is named and who is not. This is the only book in the Old Testament which records the story of how God identified Godself by name to a human being. What does that name teach us? This book provides the foundational history which defines who the people of Israel became and how.

Terence Fretheim identifies these additional themes which weave their way through the text:3

1) The theology of Creation-

Although the focus of the plot in Exodus is on the redemption of the slaves in Egypt, the story is told in such a way to demonstrate that this was part of God’s larger plan to redeem creation. God’s work in the story has cosmic effects, as does God’s plan for Israel. Look for allusions to Genesis as you read. How is nature used in the story for God’s purposes?

2) The Knowledge of God-

3 Fretheim, Terence E., Exodus, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1991), 12-22.

A recurring theme in the book is who is the God who has spoken to and through Moses. What is this God like? Over the course of the book God reveals Godself in a variety of ways to Moses, the people of Israel, Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Consider God’s revelations over and against the images and expectation these same people have of God.

3) The meaning of liberation and exodus as a paradigm

The Book of Exodus has inspired a branch of theology known as “liberation theology.” The emphasis of this theology is that Yahweh is a God who is particularly concerned with the poor, oppressed and enslaved. Since God worked to liberate the Hebrews, generations have expected that God will do the same for them. Thus, this story, as it is told in the Passover liturgy, has comforted Jews through all kinds of persecution. It has comforted African American slaves. It comforts the poor in Central and South America. The liberating God offers more than spiritual liberation. God’s freedom is political, economic, and social; it is a form of re-creation. But, liberation in divine terms is not synonymous with independence in the sense of getting to do whatever you want. God always frees people from serving others by inviting them to serve God instead. Exodus defines true freedom as living and serving in God’s kingdom. We will see later that Matthew does too.

4) Law, Covenant, and Identity

Exodus is a story about how a people who saw themselves one way came to see themselves in an entirely different way. It talks about the joys and challenges of that identity shift, and the blessings and curses that come from living in a covenant relationship with Yahweh. The Law is the means by which the people are to understand and embody their new identity. But God gives them the Law after saving the people, not before. So, even in this Old Testament text, we see that God’s redemption is not contingent upon our obedience. It is “unconditional love” at work. The people’s covenant with Yahweh is a response to the redemption. Israel’s failure to keep their promises and the consequences that flow from their unfaithfulness is then the subject of the rest of the Old Testament.

5) Worship and Faithfulness

Exodus illustrates the human tendency to worship the wrong things. Much of Exodus was written to help people worship Yahweh instead. This is evident in the story of the Passover and God’s command to repeat the meal as a ritual of remembrance. It is evident in the story of the golden calf. And although we won’t be reading the chapters on the Tabernacle, it is evident in the details surrounding the creation of the Tabernacle– the place where God would dwell, and the people could give glory to God.

The issue of proper worship and faithfulness is also evident in all the stories about the people of Israel’s struggles to trust that God is present with them even when life is challenging. Trust is a major theme that ties together the lessons about covenant, worship, identity, and liberation.

Chapters 1-6- The Problem, the Heroes, and the God who will Save the Oppressed Objective questions to guide your reading:

Chapters 1-2:

Exodus begins with a genealogy of the names of the descendants of Jacob. But it soon leaps to a time which is very different from where Genesis leaves off. The Pharaoh in charge is not Joseph’s Pharaoh.

How would you describe this new Pharaoh?

How does he see the “Israelites”?

What does he do about them and why?

Who thwarts his plans and how?

Notice who is named in the first few chapters of Exodus. What does this suggest to you in terms of how Israel carried this history with them?

Moses is raised in Pharaoh’s court like a prince. But he leaves the court and flees to the desert. Why?

Moses is taken in by the Midianites. Note that in Genesis it is the Midianites who purchase Joseph from his brothers and take him into slavery. Now they are a source of help to Joseph’s descendant. The Midianites were descendants themselves of Abraham and his second wife Keturah.

Chapter 3-6: Moses encounters Yahweh for the first time in a burning bush. How does God identify Godself?

Why does God reach out to Moses?

The divine name God gives Moses is represented with the tetragrammaton YHWH which is connected with the Hebrew verb for “to be” hayah. It is typically translated “I AM”, but, because Hebrew tenses are fluid, could be equally translated, “I will be what I will be” or “Being there.” What if anything can we learn about a God who self-identifies in this way?

What does God promise Moses? What proof does God provide Moses as evidence that he really did encounter God? How does Moses respond to God’s commission? When Moses returns to Egypt, how do the Israelites respond to him? What’s been going on during his absence? How does Moses feel about this? How does God?

Group Discussion Questions

1. The Book of Exodus begins with a story of a group of slaves who are not really yet “a people” by connecting them with their spiritual ancestors. How have your ancestors shaped your sense of self? Your faith?

2. Pharaoh manages his fear by enslaving the Hebrews. How are people enslaved and oppressed in our day and by what or whom? Why? Why do we allow this? He also tries to eliminate the Hebrews so they will not grow up to be a threat to him. In our day many want to eliminate immigrants for the same reason. What can Exodus teach us about that kind of response? Have you ever wished a whole category of people would go away?

3. Have you ever been involved in the cause of human freedom and/or standing up against injustice? Why or why not? If yes, what did you do?

4. Shiphrah and Puah, Jochebed, Miriam, and Pharaoh’s daughter all stood up against the Empire in ways that were transforming but which also potentially endangered their lives. Can you envision risking your life for anyone? Do you believe an individual has the power to transform society?

5. Moses’ burning bush experience has become a paradigm for many Christians of what they think an encounter with God should feel like. Have you ever had a supernatural experience of God? How did it make you feel? Did it change you in anyway? If you told others, did they believe you? If you did not tell others, why not?

6. Walter Brueggemann has said that in American culture, which emphasizes productivity as a measure of value and success, most people are still enslaved to brick-making quotas. We work 24/7, reject taking vacation time, and answer the question “How are you?” with “Busy!” more often than not. Even Christians choose the brick-quotas of Pharaoh over the freedom of God. How much does your sense of self-worth depend upon what you accomplish in any given day? Are you comfortable with just “being” instead of “doing?” Why or why not?