Recently we have been dipping into the epic story of the God’s liberation of the people of Israel as recorded in the book of Exodus.
This week we will be looking at perhaps the central event of this grand narrative … indeed perhaps of the whole of the Old Testament … the crossing of the Red Sea.
Did you notice in the text that Moses was dealing not just with the rampaging army of Egypt but those who were moaning and groaning in his own camp who thought whips and slavery did not seem to bad compared with the situation they were in? (Humans are humans … nothing changes in 3,500 years.)
Secondly, let’s be clear that the members of Pharaoh’s army are victims … real people with families … caught up in Pharaoh’s nefarious doings … sacrificed like so many before and since in a pointless battle.
Yet let me say it again core to this passage is an understanding that God overcomes the forces of chaos … represented both by Pharaoh and his army, and the deep scary Sea.
God is a God of new creation and liberation who confronts and deals with the dark forces.
This sisters and brothers is not a purely theoretical affirmation … to know that God will not allow evil to prevail is a statement of profound hope.
For an inspirational listening song, you might enjoy “Baba Yetu” – the Lord’s Prayer, in Swahili:
In our congregation we have people who have come to Australia via the UNHCR refugee program. We have others who came seeking asylum however they could, using all their resources to escape persecution. Happily, many of our people seeking asylum have had protection visas granted to them.
But there are still asylum seekers in our community who are being left behind. Here is Fatma’s story, produced by the Refugee Council of Australia, encouraging us to do what we can to urge the government not to exclude these people from the basic supports that others have taken for granted.
Perhaps this week if you are stuck at home alone with too much time on your hands, you can make contact with the Refugee Council and find out what you can do to help advocate for people in need.
Some of the music from our worship video today was composed and performed by a group called The String Contingent. If you liked their music, which they freely gave permission for us to use, I encourage you to visit their webpage and find out more about them here.
