When I started this series of articles I mentioned that the Presence of Yahweh is not always pleasant. Sometimes the Presence is terrifying. God will not be tamed. He will not conform to our pre-conceived ideas of justice and love. It is not our job to give God an image makeover. It is also not our job to ignore the difficult passages of Scripture. We are called upon to acknowledge the Presence of a Holy and Awesome God; to allow the Presence to shape us. And the Presence will shape us. But will it shape us in our efforts to be obedient children or will it shape us as we defiantly stand against his will. I suggest the former. It is an easier shaping. Still not easy, but easier.
Exodus 12:29-36 reports the tenth mighty act and the subsequent hasty exodus of Israel from Egypt. In the middle of the night Yahweh struck all the firstborn of Egypt from Pharaoh all the way down to the prisoner sitting in a dungeon. Every household of Egypt was dealt the devastating blow. Even the firstborn cattle were killed. So, in the night Pharaoh and all of the Egyptians rise up and wail out their grief.
And the cry of distress was heart wrenching. Are we sure we seek the Presence of Yahweh? This is an honest question. Do you want the Presence of an untamed Deity; of an awesome and terrifying holiness? To be sure, Pharaoh and Egypt stand in defiance of Yahweh; relegating him to the god of slaves, a deity to be mocked rather than listened to. But this is still devastatingly dire doings.
Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and burst out with three commands to leave; “Rise up! Get out! Go!” And there is no negotiating this time. “Take everyone and everything with you. Go work for Yahweh just as you have said. Get on out of here with the lot of you. O, and could you bless me as well?” This last part is not a command. It is a request. Pharaoh has been completely humbled. The Presence of Yahweh has rocked his world to the foundation of his existence. His gods have been shamed and his firstborn son lies dead. There is no longer a defiant asking “Who is Yahweh that I should listen to him?” There is no hardening of the heart this time. There is no threatening Yahweh’s servants with immediate death. There is only urgent imperatives and desperate pleadings. The Egyptian people strongly encouraged Pharaoh to release the Israelites. They were rightly concerned that if he didn’t, there would be no one left alive in Egypt. The Presence terrified them. And can we blame them?
And then you have this interesting account of the people taking up their dough before it was leavened. It seems likely that they had prepared dough and set it out to let it rise through the night so that they would have bread to bake whenever and wherever they could. But when this happened they wrapped the bread and the kneading bowls or boards all together and carried it on their shoulders. They disrupted the rising process. And bread is finicky. Once the process is disrupted it will not rise and it is basically unleavened. I think we are told this interesting tid bit to demonstrate the obedience of the sons of Israel. They were indeed ready to leave at any given moment. And the leaving was more important than the rising of the bread. They were like soldiers who have a travel bag packed at all times so that they can deploy when the orders come down. God had told them to be ready to travel and they were.
And as they are packing up, they ask the Egyptians for objects of silver and gold and clothing. Again, this was something God told them to do. We are told again that Yahweh gave the Israelites favor in the eyes of the Egyptians. One source takes this to mean that Yahweh put the whole lot of Egyptians in some kind of favorably disposed toward Israel trance. Again, it seems more likely that they were terrified by the Presence of Yahweh and wanted to please him in any way possible. So, if the servants of Yahweh ask for gold and silver, give it to them and now. Clothes? Here you go then. This is about the terrifying Presence of Yahweh shaping the Egyptian view of these slaves. If this powerful God favors them, we better play nice.
Our God is a holy God. And true holiness holds a certain amount of scary in it. Isn’t that why we see people flopping to their stomachs in front of angels? In this passage, we can see the Presence of God shaping two sets of people. The Israelites are, at least for the moment, acting like obedient children. And the Egyptians are humbled by the Presence. Their pride and arrogance is shattered. There is nothing pretty about this shattering. But it is Yahweh. He will not be tamed. Please be shaped as obedient children.