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There are many, yes many, stories in scripture that just don’t make sense. There is the one about the Nephilim and the sons of God. How about the huge lists of names that really do not seem to matter much? I like the story of Ezekiel who was told to lie on his side for a long time and cook food over excrement. That’s a good one. Honestly, on a historical basis you can make some sense out of these stories and lists, but you need to put it in the framework of the bigger story of the bible. Our text today is one of those “what’s the point” stories. But if we look at it historically and along other stories in scripture we can probably get a descent grip of what is going on. So, without further ado, let’s look at the confusing story of Exodus 4.

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Life holds many surprises. Everything to getting up in the morning and it how snowed three feet to being stuck down some road somewhere and a car stops and helps. Some of the great surprises are new arrivals in the family and a visit from friends that was not expected. Some surprises are negative. Health issues in the family tend to be one of the worst surprises out there. But surprises happen. Just recently, friends of ours surprised us with a thank you gift. It really took me back when I thought about the extent of their generosity. Usually when you are surprised like this the automatic think to do is say “Thank You.” Cathy and I did, but something else happened with our friend’s generous blessing. God reminded me that this was actually His surprise. No, he did not show up in a cloud or by fire. No, there was no theophany in the middle of the night. No, no burning bush. God was working in the background. The silent partner in a “blessing” scandal. God was at work but you would not even notice. I have to admit, this happens so much we may never sit back and recognize it. God surprises and asks for no credit or recognition. He just does.

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I have a small confession to make: I read the “Hockey News”. I actually subscribe to it and I usually read it cover to cover. Yes, I am a hockey fan and more specifically I am a Montreal Canadiens fan. (A side note: reading the Hockey news actually gives me something to talk about to the men in our hockey driven communities). The latest issue of “The Hockey News” featured “the 100 people of power and influence in hockey”. I find this list very interesting. Number one on the list is Sidney Crosby, the face of the new NHL. Number two on the list is the other face of the NHL, Alex Ovechkin. The one person that caught my attention though was not found in the top five, he missed it by one. At number six of the people with the most power and influence in hockey actually haves no connections to the NHL. He never played an NHL game. He is not a GM or a coach. His name is Jim Balsillie. Jim is an entrepreneur who wants to buy a team or start a team in the Canadian market. Jim has 50 million dollars to do that. Actually, Jim could buy a few teams. The reasons why he has not been granted his wish for a team is for political reasons of course, but what intrigued me was his response to being denied over and over again the opportunity to get a team.

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As we leave 2008 behind and enter the new year it seems that a study on leaving the old and entering the new is very appropriate. So, starting this month we are going to have a journey through the book of Exodus. This book is amazing for a few reasons. First of all, the whole idea of exile and exodus theology is very popular right now. Thanks to theologians like Walter Brueggemann and N.T. Wright, we have learned to approach all of scripture with these two themes in mind. Secondly, Rob Bell’s “Jesus Wants to save Christians” has put “exile and exodus” theology into the hands of the public. Third, there has been a very obvious shift in North American christianity, and Exodus is the type of book that can help guide a culture who has been ripped of identity, specifically spiritual and religious identity. So, with all of that in mind we will hopefully walk away from this study with an understanding that those that have come before us have something to teach us. I hope we come out of this journey with hope for the now and the future. Here are some of my resources with a brief description. Let’s journey together!!

Currid makes connections that I never imagined. This book is a great starting point for those interested in the Egyptian Cult.

Brueggemann invites preachers to walk their congregations through the exile we are now experiencing.

This is a very simple and short commentary that has a lot of bite. Friedman brings out the Judaic history of the Exodus narrative.

Sarna's Exodus volume is very detailed and a basic knowledge of Hebrew is needed

This was a pleasant surprise. I bought this commentary when we went preached through Genesis. When I flipped through the pages, I found that Brueggemann did the Exodus section. This commentary is priceless for it's great scholarship and "reflection" sections of each chapter. The perfect preaching tool.

Tickle brings the reader on a brief 2000 year journey. A great starter for those who feel they are in "exile".

This a general public "manifesto" of exile and exodus theology. The presention is very clear and they get really political near the end!!

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Do you ever argue? Really, did you ever really get into a hot dialogue with someone else? How do you handle the topic? Do you end up forgetting what the topic was about and argue over issue after issue? Or are you the type of person that is not quick enough with words so you end up just picking apart the person? Are you the type of arguer that has to have the last word even if you are wrong? The only conclusion to the argument is yours? I love studying people’s social behaviour in a heated debate. It helps me understand people, how they behave and it informs me of the type of personality they are.

What we say, how we say it and when we say it can reveal plenty of who we are.
When we open the book of Exodus (which was really called “these are the names of”), we find something out about the personality of somebody by what he says. And that is where we turn to today.
Exodus 1

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