United In Suffering: God used a famine to drive them (see
previous blog) from their land to Egypt, where they would either assimilate
into Egyptian culture and squander their destiny or intensify their distinct
family identity as refugees, and not only as refugees, but eventually, as an
oppressed, enslaved minority group as well. These shared sufferings did their
work, and after about four hundred years in Egypt, their identity was strong,
their spirit was still (barely) unbroken by their hardships, and their unique
faith in one supreme God was embedded deeply within them. God intervened again,
calling a uniquely prepared man named Moses to liberate these special people
from their oppression and enslavement and return them to their homeland, which
had been unseen by them for four centuries.
The return took much longer than one might
expect, because God did not want the land resettled by halfhearted followers.
It was essential that they maintain a vigorously distinctive identity and
vibrant spiritual vitality as they reentered their homeland. During this
difficult but formative time, the family wandered as nomads in the harsh
wilderness between Egypt and Palestine. It was during this nomadic period
(called the Exodus) that formal public worship of God began. Additionally, the
moral standards of this community of faith became codified during these years,
most notably in the Ten Commandments. No wonder Moses is remembered as such an
important figure in the family history of the Jewish people, since he led the
people through this amazing passage.
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