The effect of opening the Book of Exodus has been, for me, the opportunity to let God “speak for Himself.”  Today’s voices (especially the secularist “enlightened moderns” as Dawkins calls them) are dismissive.  They are the shouters, hell-bent on “shouting down” any dissenting voice with their rantings against any public expression of faith in God and any moral expectation that may be derived from it.

To this kind of culture, not unlike the Late Bronze Age circumstance of Exodus 1, a pastor is called upon to “go before Pharoah” to express God’s commands.  Moses’ first stop after the experience at the burning bush, was to convince his own people that he had received his direction from God!  Almost daily my mind is racked with the question:  “Who am I to go before Pharoah (whose own persona and edicts were to be received as if divine)?”  And how will ordinary church goers accept my input or instruction (as if I had my own mountain-top experience)?!

Exodus relates, however, that when God “revealed his ways to Moses,” (Psalm 103.7), that “I AM that I AM” was both the God of Creation AND the God of the Covenant.  The God who ordained that mankind have dominion in His Creation is the same God who desires to unite with His people as a Kingdom of Priests (Exodus 19. 3-6).  If we let the Scriptures do the talking, this is a profoundly good thing.

Consider this:  We are first taught to understand God (Elohim) in the story of Creation.  Genesis 1 relates where God makes order out of formlessness and void-ness (Chaos).  As God creates, He categorizes, classifies, organizes, systematizes, labels.  In so many words, God’s pronouncement upon every taxonomical category, from our earth-bound perspective,  is “very good.”  Mankind is set in this perfect environment as its proprietor bearing the Divine Image and exercising dominion.  The natural order of things is to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth.  The orderly beauty is an expression of the character and quality of God!   Since Creation is VERY GOOD …. its Maker must also be Good!

But today’s secularists call god a malevolent bully!  Who’s Right!?