THE FIRST OF THE BIG TEN –
“I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD,
WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT,
OUT OF THE HOUSE OF SLAVERY”
Exodus 20:2a
Rev. Paul Wrightman 8/20/23
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS,
WHICH ARE FOUNDATIONAL FOR BIBLICAL ETHICS –
HOW GOD DESIRES US TO LIVE --
WOULD HAVE BEEN FOUNDATIONAL
FOR JESUS’ OWN SPIRITUALITY AS WELL.
FOR THE NEXT TEN WEEKS WE WILL
BE TAKING A CLOSE LOOK AT EACH OF THE BIG TEN,
ATTEMPTING TO SEE THEM
THROUGH THE JEWISH EYES OF JESUS.
CHRISTIANITY, WITH ITS EMPHASIS ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
AS LAWS, CONSIDERS THE FIRST TO BE
“YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME” (Exodus 20:3),
AND REGARDS TODAY’S TEXT, “I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD,
WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT,
OUT OF THE HOUSE OF SLAVERY” (Exodus 20:2a),
TO BE MERELY AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LAWS WHICH FOLLOW.
THE JEWISH TRADITION, HOWEVER, WITH ITS EMPHASIS ON
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AS TEN LIFE-GIVING WORDS,
TEN LIFE-GIVING TEACHINGS FROM GOD,
CONSIDERS OUR SCRIPTURE READING TO BE THE FIRST,
AND ALL-IMPORTANT COMMANDMENT,
FIRST AND ALL-IMPORTANT BECAUSE IN IT GOD REVEALS
HOW GOD DESIRES TO BE UNDERSTOOD AND RELATED-TO.
TODAY’S LIFE-GIVING WORD, “I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD,
WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT,
OUT OF THE HOUSE OF SLAVERY,”
IS NOTHING LESS THAN THE GIFT OF GOD’S SELF-DESCRIPTION,
THE GIFT OF GOD SHARING WITH US
GOD’S PRIMARY SELF-IDENTITY.
AS SUCH, IT IS A WORD, A REVELATION,
THAT IS INCREDIBLY SURPRISING.
ONE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT
THAT GOD’S PRIMARY SELF-REVELATION TO ISRAEL,
LIKE THE GODS OF SO MANY OF ITS NEIGHBORS,
WOULD BE GIVEN, FIRST-OF-ALL IN TERMS OF CREATION;
IN OTHER WORDS, IN TERMS OF WHAT THIS GOD HAD MADE,
AND THE POWER OF THIS GOD TO KEEP CREATION GOING.
BUT NO.
ALTHOUGH CREATION IS AN IMPORTANT DIMENSION OF GOD,
AS SHOWN BY THE TWO CREATION STORIES
THAT BEGIN THE BOOK OF GENESIS,
IN THE JEWISH TRADITION
(AND SPILLING OVER INTO THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION AS WELL),
CREATION IS NOT THE PRIMARY SELF-DESCRIPTION OF GOD.
OR ONE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT
THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT REVELATION OF WHO GOD IS
WOULD HAVE BEEN GOD’S DESIGNATION OF GODSELF
AS “THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC,
AND THE GOD OF JACOB” (Exodus 3:6).
BUT NO.
ALTHOUGH GOD’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ABRAHAM, ISAAC,
AND JACOB IS SIGNIFICANT, ESPECIALLY FOR ITS EMPHASIS
ON GOD’S HISTORY WITH HUMAN BEINGS,
PAST HISTORY IS NOT THE PRIMARY SELF-DESCRIPTION OF GOD.
OR ONE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT
THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT REVELATION OF GOD’S NATURE
WOULD HAVE BEEN THE REVEALING OF GOD’S NAME
TO MOSES AT THE BURNING BUSH AS “I AM WHO I AM”
(Exodus 3:14).
INDEED CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY HAS USED THIS HIGHLY ABSTRACT
TRANSLATION OF GOD’S NAME AS THE BASIS
FOR A NEARLY EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED YEAR REIGN
OF ABSTRACT, PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY, A THEOLOGY
THAT LOVES TO DRAW SPECULATIVE INSIGHTS ABOUT GOD’S BEING
FROM THIS METAPHYSICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH
TO GOD’S NAME.
BUT NO.
THE ENTIRE SLANT OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
ARGUES OVERWHELMINGLY AGAINST
ABSTRACT SPECULATION CONCERNING GOD’S NATURE.
JEWISH BIBLICAL SCHOLAR AND THEOLOGIAN MARTIN BUBER
HAS ARGUED CONVINCINGLY THAT TRANSLATING GOD’S NAME
AS “I AM WHO I AM,” IS A FLAGRANT MISTRANSLATION,
AND THAT A MUCH MORE ACCURATE RENDERING
OF THOSE WORDS WOULD BE: “I WAS WITH YOU; I AM WITH YOU;
AND I WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU.”
GOD’S NAME, IN OTHER WORDS, COMMUNICATES THE PRIMAL FACT
THAT GOD IS UNFAILINGLY WITH GOD’S PEOPLE.
WITH BUBER’S INSIGHT WE ARE GETTING CLOSER
TO THE EXTRAORDINARY IMPORT OF TODAY’S TEXT:
“I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT
OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, OUT OF THE HOUSE OF SLAVERY”
(Exodus 20:2a).
TODAY’S TEXT ANSWERS THE ALL-IMPORTANT QUESTION:
HOW IS GOD WITH US?
AND THE ANSWER IS:
GOD IS WITH US AS THE GOD WHO FREES FROM SLAVERY.
THIS REVELATORY SELF-DESCRIPTION ON GOD’S PART
GIVES US PRECISELY THE SINGLE INSIGHT WE NEED
IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN FALSE GODS
AND THE ONE, TRUE, REAL GOD:
ANY GOD WHO DOES NOT LEAD FROM SLAVERY TO FREEDOM
IS BY DEFINITION A FALSE GOD. (REPEAT)
WE ARE OFFERED A SIMPLE TEST BY WHICH WE CAN DISCERN
IF SOMETHING IN OUR LIFE IS AN IDOL – WE ASK:
IS THIS SUBSTANCE, IS THIS RELATIONSHIP, IS THIS ATTITUDE,
IS THIS PRIORITY, IS THIS INSATIABLE DESIRE LEADING ME
TO FREEDOM, OR IS IT LEADING ME INTO SLAVERY?
IF WE ARE HONEST WITH OURSELVES, THE ANSWER WILL BE CLEAR.
THIS SAME SIMPLE QUESTION – DOES IT LEAD ONE
FURTHER INTO SLAVERY OR MORE DEEPLY INTO FREEDOM? –
CAN ALSO PROVIDE US WITH A CRUCIAL INTERPRETIVE LENS
THROUGH WHICH WE CAN DISCERN TRUE BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
AND TRUE THEOLOGY FROM THEIR BOGUS COUNTERPARTS.
BY THIS CRITERION, A WHOLE LOT OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
AND THEOLOGY CAN BE SEEN FOR WHAT THEY ARE:
MISLEADING, AND ULTIMATELY DEATH-DEALING
UNDERSTANDINGS OF GOD AND GOD’S WAYS,
IN CONTRAST TO APPROACHES TO GOD
WHICH LIBERATE AND ARE LIBERATING.
DAVID HAZONY, IN HIS BOOK ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS,
INVITES US TO IMAGINE THE FOLLOWING:
“IMAGINE YOU ARE A TEN-YEAR-OLD CHILD,
LIVING IN EUROPE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAST CENTURY.
YOUR FATHER DISAPPEARED WHEN YOU WERE A BABY,
SENT OFF TO WAR LIKE SO MANY FATHERS.
ALL YOU KNOW OF HIM ARE STORIES YOU’VE HEARD
FROM YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
AND A FEW PHOTOS IN AN ALBUM.
HE IS A STARK PRESENCE IN YOUR CHILDHOOD,
SOMETIMES PAINFUL AND SOMETIMES REVERED,
BUT ALWAYS MISSING.
BUT THEN THE WAR REACHES YOUR OWN COUNTRY.
ENEMY FORCES OVERRUN YOUR TOWN,
AND YOUR COMMUNITY IS PLUNGED INTO DARKNESS AND FEAR.
YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE TRANSFERRED TO A PRISON CAMP
WHERE YOU SUFFER INTENSE DEPRIVATIONS
OF HUNGER AND COLD AND FORCED LABOR,
EVERY DAY AND NIGHT FOR LONG MONTHS. . .
YOU ARE JUST A CHILD, ENDURING THE HORRORS OF WAR,
DREAMING OF BEING SAVED.
AND THEN ONE NIGHT YOU ARE AWAKENED
BY GUNFIRE AND CONFUSION.
SIRENS BLARE, GUARDS FALL DEAD, AND IT QUICKLY TURNS OUT
THAT PARTISAN FORCES HIDING IN THE NEARBY FOREST
HAVE ENGINEERED A DARING ESCAPE FROM THE CAMP.
FOR WEEKS YOU ARE LED THROUGH SNOWY WOODS,
STRUGGLING WITH THE ELEMENTS,
BUT FREE FROM YOUR CAPTORS,
UNTIL FINALLY YOU REACH AN ENCAMPMENT
WHERE YOU ARE GIVEN FOOD, CLOTHING, REST,
AND MEDICAL ATTENTION.
ON THE THIRD DAY, THE REBEL COMMANDER
FINALLY MAKES HIS APPEARANCE,
A TALL AND IMPOSING FIGURE
SPORTING A UNIFORM AND BERET,
INSPIRING BOTH AWE AND FEAR.
HE TAKES YOUR HAND, LOOKS YOU IN THE EYE –
AND SUDDENLY YOU RECOGNIZE HIM.
“I AM YOUR FATHER,” HE SAYS.
“I TOOK YOU OUT OF PRISON.”
THIS IS A METAPHOR FOR WHAT THE ISRAELITES
MUST HAVE FELT WHEN HEARING THE DRAMATIC OPENING LINE
OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS:
“I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD,
WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT,
OUT OF THE HOUSE OF SLAVERY.”
IN LIGHT OF THIS SELF-DESCRIPTION ON GOD’S PART,
IN LIGHT OF THIS SELF-DESCRIPTION ON GOD’S PART
BEING THE FIRST AND ALL-IMPORTANT COMMANDMENT,
OR WORD-OF-LIFE-FROM-GOD,
THE LIFE-GIVING WORD FROM WHICH
ALL THE REST OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOLLOW, OR FLOW,
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CAN BE SEEN AS NOTHING LESS
THAN THE FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENT OF HUMAN FREEDOM.
THERE IS NOTHING ELSE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
OR THE MODERN WORLD, FOR THAT MATTER,
WHICH CAN CLAIM THIS UNIQUE STATUS.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS
TO A BUNCH OF RECENTLY-FREED SLAVES
ON HOW TO LIVE AS A FREE PEOPLE,
OR AS SOMEONE HAS PUT IT:
“. . .IT WASN’T ENOUGH TO JUST GET THOSE SLAVES
OUT OF EGYPT. GOD HAD TO GET EGYPT OUT OF THEM.”
AS THE FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENT OF HUMAN FREEDOM,
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE NEVER OUT-OF-DATE.
THEY ARE PERPETUALLY NEW, CHALLENGING,
AND CAPABLE OF RENEWING SOCIETY AND CULTURE
IF FOLLOWED, LIVED-OUT,
AND MADE A VITAL PART OF ONE’S DAILY LIFE.
AT THEIR BEST, BOTH JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY
HAVE EXPANDED THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD’S LIBERATION
TO INCLUDE NOT ONLY LIBERATION
FROM THE SLAVERY OF HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES,
BUT LIBERATION FROM OUR PERSONAL BROKENNESS AS WELL.
TO KNOW THE GOD OF LIBERATION
IS TO COME TO KNOW OURSELVES AS FORGIVEN,
NOT SO MUCH IN THE NEGATIVE SENSE OF BEING FREED FROM SIN;
BUT “FORGIVEN” IN THE POSITIVE SENSE
OF BEING GIVEN GOD’S PRESENCE WITH US AND FOR US (FOR-GIVEN)
BEFORE WE EVEN ASK FOR IT.
THE AMAZING, AWESOME CLAIM
OF BOTH JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY
IS THAT THE GOD WHOSE SELF-DESCRIBED JOB DESCRIPTION
IS TO LEAD US OUT OF SLAVERY
WANTS TO BE KNOWN, WANTS TO BE KNOWN PERSONALLY.
AS CHRISTIANS,
WE KNOW THAT JESUS CALLED THIS GOD HIS “ABBA,” OR “DADDY,” AND THAT RABBI JESUS GIVES US PERMISSION
TO USE THIS SAME TERM OF ENDEARMENT WITH GOD.
MANY CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES
HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THE SUREST ROUTE
TO COMING TO KNOW THE STRENGTH
OF THIS POWERFUL GOD OF LIBERATION
IS TO BOLDLY APPROACH THIS GOD
ON THE MOST INTIMATE TERMS POSSIBLE:
TO DARE TO ADDRESS GOD AS “ABBA,”
TO DARE TO CLAIM THE GOD WHO LIBERATES
FROM ALL SLAVERY, BOTH SOCIETAL AND PERSONAL, AS “DADDY.”
THE PARADOXICAL CLAIM IS THAT THE BEST WAY
TO GET TO KNOW GOD’S POWER
IS BY WAY OF FIRST GETTING TO KNOW GOD’S LOVE.
IF GOD SEEMS DISTANT AND INACCESSIBLE,
HIDDEN BEHIND A CLOUD OF UNKNOWING,
PERHAPS THE BEST WAY TO BRING THIS GOD
DOWN TO EARTH, SO TO SPEAK,
IS TO TAKE THE BOLD STEP OF KNOWING GOD,
AS JESUS DID, AS “ABBA.”
AS MANY OF US MEDITATE AND PRAY EACH WEEK,
“ABBA, I BELONG TO YOU.” “ABBA, I BELONG TO YOU.”
AMEN.