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| REST STOP #3: Choosing our Stories One of the most interesting Bible stories for me is the story of the Exodus. Here were all these slaves, under the oppressive thumb of Pharaoh. They cried out to a God they barely knew, and God answered them by sending terrifying plagues upon Egypt. And when Pharaoh changed his mind and decided to fetch them back, they walked through a wall of water to safety on the other side. Then the waters crashed on the Egyptian army. What an incredible experience! What a life-changing event! So I’m a bit astounded by Deuteronomy 6:20-25. I’m astounded that Moses had to say what he did. Moses told the Israelites what to do, what to say, when their children asked about the motive for observing the statues of the law. Tell them the story. That’s the advice Moses gave. Tell them the story. Why? Because before the slaves deserved it, the LORD rescued them from their oppression. So they followed these statutes out of gratitude, a gratitude that came from experiencing such grace, a gratitude that came from knowing the story. Other scriptures follow this same pattern. Deuteronomy 26:5-10 records the annual storytelling ritual that the Israelites performed for hundreds of years after the Exodus event. This religious ceremony involved bringing the first crops from the harvest to the priest. Then, as the priest received the offering and placed it before the altar, every Israelite would say, “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor …” Every Israelite would tell the story. Continued... |
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