One of the benefits of reading through two books at once is seeing a similar point made in two very distinct ways. Where I note Joel's take on God being at work on our behalf even when we might feel compelled to believe otherwise, here now is Eugene Peterson on how God remains present in such "human" situations.
One other aspect of what amounts to a written sermon on the Exodus, is that there's a seeming contradiction in Peterson's telling with something we often see in Joel's messages. Here, the Israelites are saved despite a lack of faith. The distilled version of what we often here from Pastor Joel is that when we don't activate our faith, we often miss what God is trying to work into our lives. On the surface, a contradiction. But digging deeper, I think there's an inherent similarity that might be missed if we stick to the surface.
In the Exodus story, the Israelites are seemingly trapped with a fate of what should be certain disaster. You'd think that if anyone could be excused for believing anything other than for certain disaster, it'd be them. But it took a teaching moment - in this case, Moses' instruction to "be still/stand firm." Presumably, they did. At least some of them, I'd guess.
There had to be some level of belief in this - that by standing firm, as Moses instructed - that God would deliver them. So where Peterson notes a lack of faith, I think he actually misses a moment of faith. Otherwise, there might be a gorey tale of chaos as Israelites tried anything other than standing firm.
Anywhoo ... below the fold is Peterson's version. Needless to say, brilliant book, a lovely read. I'm thinking of picking up the Study Guides for the three "conversation" books. They're inexpensive enough to qualify as an impulse buy. And besides, October's reading will be dedicated somewhat to poring over Joel's new book once it's out. For now, read on.
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places (Eugene Peterson)
pg 172 - Christ Plays in History: Salvations: The Story
The Hebrew language has a rich vocabulary to tell what God does to help his people, but "save" is by far the richest in connotations and the most common (as a noun, 146 times; as a verb 354 times in the Old Testament). In the reading of our Scriptures, we come on the word for the first time in this Exodus salvation story, first as a noun ("stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord," 14:13 RSV) and then as a verb ("thus the Lord saved Israel that day," 14:30). "Salvation" and "save" frame the story.The word, whether as noun or verb, is reserved almost exclusively for what God does: God is the subject, people are the object. God does it, we get in on it. Apparently, the Hebrews were the only people among their neighbors who had this exclusive sense that salvation was God's work, and only God's work. There is only one occurrence of the word (except in proper names) outside the Hebrew language and that is in the ninth-century B.C. Mesha inscription from Moab.
The Wonder at the Sea is meant to be understood as a miracle without qualification. It was not even qualified by Israel's faith. Brevard Childs makes the trenchant observation that "Israel failed to believe right up to the moment of her deliverance." At the very outset we are meant to understand that salvation is not limited by conditions, by impossibilities, by conventions. The Wonder at the Sea establishes it as fundamental that salvation consists in what God does; it is not a human project. We see and fear and believe (14:31) and that's it. This is difficult to digest, for we grow up with and are surrounded with "salvation projects" on all fronts (many of them in churches) that insist that what we do, how we get involved, is critical to their success. When was the last time that we heard one of our pastors or evangelists or politicians tell us, "You have only to keep still"? But that is what we are told here. This is as indisputable and as clear as our storyteller can make it: Our showcase salvation story anchors "save" in the sheer, unqualified miracle of the Wonder at the Sea. Only God did this and only God could do it.
But there is more to it. It is essential now to observe that subsequent to this salvation story, as "save"/"salvation" continues to be used in our Scriptures, the word nearly always (but not quite exclusively ) tells us that God, rather than removing us from the trouble we are in, brings something into the human situation that is not already there. I AM THAT I AM enters and is present with us in the conditions; he doesn't abolish the conditions. The conditions stay the same. From Exodus on, save/salvation is the distinctive and miraculous work of God among us that he works seriously and savingly with us in our troubles and difficulties, our sicknesses and addictions, our devastations and disappointments, through assault and opposition. This does not in any way diminish the miraculous element in salvation: it does, through, convey to us that the salvation that is God's work in history is not a repudiation of history, not typically a deus ex machina that the Greeks were so fond of using in their cheaper theater productions.
Anyone who promises or demands something of salvation other than this is giving us a half truth that ends up being a lie.
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"Only God did this and only God could do it."
"I AM THAT I AM enters and is present with us in the conditions; he doesn't abolish the conditions. The conditions stay the same. From Exodus on, save/salvation is the distinctive and miraculous work of God among us that he works seriously and savingly with us in our troubles and difficulties, our sicknesses and addictions, our devastations and disappointments, through assault and opposition. This does not in any way diminish the miraculous element in salvation"
The above excerpts echo God's sovereign choice to save and his charge for us mortal men to be still and know he's God or more colloquially 'just chill.' A few scriptures that reiterate this are:
Exodus 33:19 "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion" and Romans 9: 17-18 "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden."
One may read the above and asks "Is God unjust?" We glean the answer later in Romans 9:23 "What if he did this make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom HE PREPARED IN ADVANCE for glory - even us, WHOM HE ALSO CALLED." Yes, he is God whom we should fear and whose commandments we should follow (Ecclesiastes 12:13); but he is a merciful and just God. Through life's challenges, HE IS in control, with us and will bring us out of circumstances. He knew you before he formed the world; before he called you.
Thank the Lord God Almighty for his sovereignty; that he is more than a deus ex machina, the big guy in the sky or worse yet, a Martian from some inter-galactic planet called "Spacey."
Side note: Interesting way to spend the last minutes of my b-day.
Thank God, it's over! :-).
Happy Bell-ated Birthday.
Danke. Arigatoo gozaimasu. Grazie. Gracias ... simply, (many) thanks, GW.
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