Exponential Potential.

Somewhere along the line, I obtained a new found obsession with the Old Testament, believe it or not, because everyone else seems to find it tedious and drawn out.  I think it is compelling and fascinating despite the fact that I have never given it much more than a bird's eye view before, merely turning to it for church or lecture reference.  I find it a blessing, however, that God has instilled a passion in my soul to dig deep into these classic stories and find the humanity of the characters; they are just like me!  And what's better is the reality!

Currently, I am chillin' out in Exodus doing a full-blown dissection of Moses.  As a baby his life gets spared, he gets adopted by the king of Egypt's daughter, and has it pretty much made, or so it seems.  Finally, when he stumbles out of the palace and realizes that his people (the Israelites) are getting beat up, he decides it's time to do something.. along the lines of killing an Egyptian.  Okay: rewind.  Moses killed someone?  Couldn't he have just gone to the king and let him know that he had a problem with the way the Israelites were being treated?  I mean, he had an ins with the palace AND the king's daughter (his adoptive mother).

This is when things start to get heated and Moses ends up fleeing for his life and landing in Midian where he eventually marries Jethro's daughter Zipporah.  By this point, his problems in Egypt have disappeared and Moses is kickin' it with Jethro's flocks, doing his thing and keeping it real.  Fast forward to a seemingly normal day on Mt. Sinai.. until a burning bush appears which never burns up.  That's when God spoke to Moses.. how incredible, I love it.  Moses is probably just looking around dumbfounded thinking, "where did that come from?" and I always love the way the Bible puts their response, "Here I am."  I don't think he was that calm.  So God gives Moses this epic adventure that he is supposed to partake on, more so just letting the Israelites know that the God of Abraham is going to set them free and telling the king that it's okay to let all the slaves take off for three days to offer sacrifices.  Easy stuff, right?  This is the point where Moses FREAKS.  I would too.  I'm sure he's thinking, "God, are you crazy?  I just got ran out of the country AND I suck at speaking AND there is no way you'll get me to go back when I have no clue who you are, you've got to find someone else."  However, Moses quickly found that you don't tell God what he can or can't do through you.

Then come the miracles.  The staff turning into a snake, Moses' hand being consumed by a skin disease and then quickly healed, water turning to blood, etc. and Moses doesn't freak out at this.. but I think they just left that part out to make Moses look more manly.  I wanna know if he passed out, screamed, cried, what!  Honestly, he has no emotion at this point but I know he was feeling something.

Then comes the Dream Team: Moses and Aaron.  Moses gets the God-thing, hearing his voice and what not, Aaron gets to be the poster child, you know, repeat what Moses gets from God, a figure-head if you will.  So the two of them set out to do what God asked and they are NOT pleasantly surprised.  Of course, the Israelites are super stoked that God is going to rescue them but, hold up!  There is no way that the king is going to allow them to leave and Moses has to confront God in all of his frustration.. it did not happen the way it was supposed to!

Moses is ticked!

Okay. So that's enough for now.  Moses is so much like we are.  He was impulsive when he killed an Egyptian, doubting when he challenged God on what he was called to do, freaked out when God performed miracles in front of him, prideful and full of insecurities when he said he was the wrong choice for the mission, and super peeved when things didn't turn out the way he wanted them to.. and he still has a book in the Bible devoted to his journey with God.

Wow.