I am an Israelite

I skipped church yesterday.

Instead, I made a pot of coffee, sat on my window seat in the sun, and read my bible.

In an earlier post, I wrote about the continuum of sin and God, and how "leaving sin behind didn't necessarily mean I was pursuing God." I concluded that post with more of a question than an answer, but with the knowledge that I couldn't just sit in the middle of that SIN------GOD continuum. I knew I would never be content there.

In the days following that post, I spent more time reading the bible, even though I practically had to chain myself down to do it. I had fleeting thoughts of reading the bible cover-to-cover in 2010, because I'm insane, but didn't want to start in Genesis. I started in Matthew instead.

In Matthew 4, I read about Jesus being tempted by Satan in the desert and noticed something I hadn't before -- that each time Jesus needed to battle temptation, he quoted Deuteronomy.

Curious about this piece of information, I flipped to Deuteronomy and started reading. The first few chapters are basically made up of Moses reminding the Israelites of where they've come from and what God has done for them. It's like he has to keep repeating it so they don't forget. I was thrilled to discover that an ENTIRE PEOPLE had a worse memory than I do.

In chapter 5, Moses is again reminding the people about stuff God has done, and then he moves on to the Ten Commandments. Blah, blah, I've read those a million times. But I read them again, beacuse skipping is cheating.

Quick refresher; God says:
a) I'm your God, I saved you from slavery in Egypt.
b) Worship me only; don't have any other gods.
c) Don't make any idols; again, only worship me.
d) Don't take my name in vain.
e) Keep the Sabbath holy.

Ugh, I have THE HARDEST time with this one. Usually I have no trouble at all ignoring chores, which you can tell by running your finger along any surface in my house. But on Sundays I get the itch to clean.

I found myself wondering why -- why does God care if I rest on the seventh day? Not surprisingly, the answer is right there: "Six days you shall labor... but the seventh day is the Sabbath... in it you shall do no work... AND REMEMBER that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there..."

When I read what followed "and remember," I felt like my story and that of the Israelites became one and the same.

I have a tattoo that says, in Greek, SET FREE. The Greek term originally referred to being released from from marriage through a spouse's death, or set free from slavery. After Christ died, it was used in the New Testament to mean set free from sin. To me, my tattoo means to be set free from slavery to sin.

Maybe someday I'll write about what led up to getting inked, but my point right now doesn't require it. My point right now is about what happened between getting the tattoo and where I am today.

I'll illustrate with a comparison of the Israelites and myself:
THE ISRAELITES (in Exodus): Were set free from slavery in Egypt
I: Was set free from sin.

THE ISRAELITES: Managed to rollercoaster through a series of valleys and victories:
- VALLEY: Went from Egypt into the desert. After three days of no water, they complained.
- VICTORY: God led them to a place called Elim where there were 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees (I laughed at the thought of some Israelite counting the trees and reporting his findings).
- VALLEY: After a month and a half, the Israelites complained that they missed all the good meat and bread they used to have in Egypt and said they wished they had just died in Egypt instead of being brought into the desert.
- VICTORY: God gave them quail and bread. Mmm, quail.
- VALLEY: Once again, the people got thirsty and complained. (I should mention that each time they complained, Moses went to God on their behalf and asked for help.)
- VICTORY: God takes the people to a place called Horeb, where Moses strikes a rock and water comes pouring out.
- VALLEY: A group of people called the Amalekites attacks the Israelites.
- VICTORY: The Amalekites are defeated by a sort of miracle of God (you can read it in Exodus 17).

So I'm thinking, these people are UNbelievable. All they do is freak out in crisis, even though God comes through every time Moses asks for help.

I: Have found myself in a series of valleys and victories since being set free. And yet, I have still been stuck in the center of the SIN------GOD continuum -- in the middle, in the wilderness.

I found the similarities striking, so I kept reading.

There's a lot more to the story, but in chapter 6 of Deuteronomy, I found it.

IT.

Moses said to the people:

“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, “What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?” then you shall say to your son: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. THEN HE BROUGHT US OUT FROM THERE, THAT HE MIGHT BRING US IN, to give us the land of which he swore to our fathers.”

HOLY MOTHER. God brought them OUT of slavery, so that he could bring them IN to something great! This is likely not a revelation to anyone who has read the story before, but it hit me hard because this time I am LIVING it, not just reading it.

Suddenly feeling like an Israelite didn't seem so crappy, because I could see that God didn’t just bring me out of my slavery, out of my awful darkness, to wander in the MIDDLE of the SIN------GOD continuum, just trying not to screw up. No, he brought me out so he could bring me in to something amazing.