Category Archives: Exodus

Hospitality, Old Friends, and Remembering

Posted on by

1

Monday I received a text message from an old friend, Larry, who is a Navigator at Wright Patterson Air Force base near Dayton, OH (He’s the one on the far left in the photo). He said he was going to stop by and see my young daughter Anna and maybe grab dinner on his way back from Atlanta. Well… what would have taken him  45 minutes, turned into 2.5 hours Odyssey throughout the backwoods of Kentucky in a thunderstorm. Larry survived and ended up spending the night.

There is something about returning to old friendships that awakes the sleeping parts of souls to the our present memories. Hospitality allows us to invite old friends not only into our houses, but into our lives again . Like the Old Testament Prophets calling ancient Israel to remember the Exodus, old friends have a way of prophetically calling us back to remember our past accomplishments, desires, spiritual growth and gifts, and zeal to serve the Lord.

Bob Dylan and Exodus

Posted on by

2

What does Bob Dylan have to do with Exodus? The chorus of one of Dylan’s songs, “Gotta Serve Somebody” goes like this:

You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

If I could rewrite this chorus to fit one of  motifs in the book of Exodus then it would  go something like this:

You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the Pharaoh or it may be the LORD
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

Everyone has to serve someone, right? You may be a midwife, a princess, a slave, or 40-year-old exile shepherd, but you gotta serve someone in Egypt: “Pharaoh or the LORD.” Well there’s my eisegesis.

There is an inherent contrast that takes place in Exodus between the LORD and Pharaoh. Consider the encounter in Exodus 5 between Moses/Aaron and Pharaoh. It begins in 5:1 with a decree from the LORD’s servants (Moses and Aaron) that is introduced like this, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel.” After a cynical response from Pharaoh the response of his servants is, “Thus says Pharaoh” (accompanied with a severe punishment).

Who is the servant of God who is giving the message of God to the persecutors of God’s people? “Thus says ____?” Are we living under the fears of “Thus says Pharaoh” or abiding in the holy love of “Thus says the LORD.”? Does it take the utter collapse of our Pharaoh’s power before we are left with no other option but to repent and listen to the LORD?

It is a revealing response in Exodus 5:21 that the Hebrews give to Moses and Aaron after their punishment decree from Pharaoh’s servants,

“May the LORD look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Do you catch what they’re saying here? They’re choosing Pharaoh over the LORD. Who is the Pharaoh(s) of today? We are not only CALLED OUT OF Egypt, but we are “CALLED INTO the fellowship of Jesus Christ our LORD” (1Cor1:9).

You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody