In this week's teaching, the Hebrew people finally leave Egypt. Josh explores three theological implications of the story leading up to the Red Sea crossing: God's leadership, the people's resolve to trust, and the tension between the past and the present.
the restoration project. Joshua James. 23 April 2017
Small Group Questions:
(1) Josh began this talk by noting some "historical problems." One of those problems deals with our lack of knowledge on the whereabouts of the cities mentioned in Exodus 13 and 14. One scholar writes, "Frustratingly, the story gives us lots of concrete detail about the way the Israelites went, but we cannot actually locate any of the places it mentions" (Goldingay, _Exodus_). And another, “None of the place-names mentioned here…can be identified with certainty" (Sarna, _Exodus_). How do you process this information? Reject it out of hand? Accept it and not be too concerned with it? Does it impact how we might think of ancient history writing? Since things are still being discovered, are we just waiting for the Bible to be "confirmed"?
*I actually don't want to spend a lot of time on the historical issues, but if your group is interested, pursue it!
(2) The majority of the teaching focused on the theological implications of Exodus 13:17-22. First, the passage says that God "led" the Hebrew people. How does God's leadership work out for Israel in the exodus event?
How do you think God's leadership works in your life?
(3) Josh briefly mentioned an article on Psalm 23 by James Charlesworth. Charlesworth explained his surprise at some of his students struggling with the line "he maketh me to lie down in green pastures"? He writes, "In focusing on this verse, I experienced a moment when I was surprised by how much I had misperceived my students' sensitivity and perceptions. More than one student rejected any 'Lord' who forced them to do anything, such as making them lie down. One aggressive student interjected that this 'shepherd' is simply a bully who forces one to lie down, and not on a bed but in a pasture that may be pockmarked by dung. Such students would not be impressed by Kushner's comment that to 'lie down in green pastures is to live in God's world' (p. 43)." [https://www.sbl-site.org/publications/article.aspx?ArticleId=220#sthash.3HzodTm9.dpuf]
How would you respond to this student?
(4) Exodus 13 says, "God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, 'If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.'" This is an interesting passage. One scholar writes, "One might expect that God, with all the power at the divine disposal, would not back off from leading people into any situation. God would just mow the enemies down! No, the human situation makes a difference regarding God's possibilities and hence affects the divine decisions" (Fretheim, _Exodus_).
This line of thinking goes against what many of us have been told (I imagine). Do you think God factors the "human situation" in? Do you think that God thinks about future "possibilities" (if they go this way...maybe this will happen...)?
(5) We also talked about the resolve to trust that is present in this passage. God is leading, but the people had to move—that is, they had to actively respond (to move away from what is familiar into the unknown). Do you have any experience with this?
A bit later in the story, the Israelites want to "go back" to Egypt. Why would they want to go back?
