Exodus 15-18

According to Frank Moore Cross and David Noel Freedman (the latter being one of my professors when I was an undergraduate), The Song of the Sea (or the Song of Miriam) in Exodus 15 is one of the oldest parts of the Bible, if not the oldest.

However, the thing that really strikes me in Exodus 15 is that it only takes a three-day journey into the wilderness before the Israelites start complaining to Moses. Anyone who has ever led any group of people will understand how this could be.

Another thing to note is that the Israelites place Moses on quite a high pedestal. They treat him as though he was the one who brought them out of slavery; from the Israelites’ perspective, it is Moses who should supply them with water. However, is it not YHWH who has brought them out of Egypt? Is it not YHWH who will give them food to eat and water to satisfy their thirst?

People in religious institutions continue to this day to put their leaders on very high pedestals. They praise their pastors inordinately when they are pleased with their performance. However, let the pastor do one thing wrong and his or her fall from the pedestal will be heard throughout the church and beyond that to the community at large.

I believe this is wrong. As Christians we need to truly, deeply, recognise that our pastors are human beings; they are capable of good, yes; but our pastors are not God. We need to understand that any human leader will make mistakes, will disappoint us. We need to stop looking for other human beings to be God to us and get on with the real business of life: loving the one true God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and loving our neighbour (including our pastor neighbour) as ourselves.

The C. S. Lewis quote in this section sums up very nicely the lesson we all need to learn from the story of the manna in the desert in Exodus 16. Lewis says in a letter to a correspondent:

The great thing, as you have obviously seen, (both as regards pain and financial worries) is to live from day to day and hour to hour not adding the past or future to the present. As one lived in the Front Line “They’re not shelling us at the moment, and it’s not raining, and the rations have come up, so let’s enjoy ourselves.” In fact, as Our Lord said, “Sufficient unto the day.” (Letter to Mary Willis Shelburne, October 20, 1957, emphasis mine)

Exodus 17 continues to show us both the greatness and the humanity of Moses. When Moses is lifting up his hands (presumably in prayer), the Israelites win the war against the Amalekites. When Moses’ arms droop, through sheer human weariness, the Israelites lose. Thus, even as great a leader as Moses needs Aaron and Hur to hold up his hands.

Leaders today, in the church and elsewhere, need others to hold up their hands. Perhaps you and I need to do more of this “hand holding” by praying for our Christian leaders.

Moses’ father-in-law Jethro comes to visit him in Exodus 18 and he quickly realizes that Moses is wearing himself out by sitting to judge all of the Israelites’ petty disputes. Jethro suggests to Moses a system of shared leadership that will enable Moses to endure and the people to have their needs met at the same time.

Thus, I believe we have a number of good lessons for individual Christians and congregations in these chapters:

Don’t complain (Exodus 15:24).
Trust God to provide for your needs day by day (Exodus 16:16).
Don’t put your pastor on a pedestal; he or she is sure to fall off and get hurt.
Hold up your pastor’s hands by praying for him or her and assisting him or her in their work.

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