Moses as Spiritual Director (2)

These are my notes for my series on "Moses as Spiritual Director" at Corinth Presbyterian Church in Parker, TX (6/24/12-6/26/12)





I. Birth/Exodus and Childhood/Leviticus (6/25/12)

1. Birth/Exodus
Theme: Freed by Grace, Freed for Gratitude, Accompanied by Glory (29:43-46)

a. Three Crises

i. Who will Israel serve? (3:1-15:21): Pharaoh or YHWH? Pharaoh’s building project or YHWH’s?
ii. How will Israel serve YHWH? (15:22-24:18): Its Own Wisdom and Way or YHWH’s Wisdom and Way?
iii. Why Israel serves YHWH? (25:1-40:38): To participate in his building project

b. Mosaic Covenant

i. The Nature of the Covenant
Grace-based (20:2)
ii. The Nucleus of the Covenant
Idolatry (20:3-17)
iii. The Nurture of the Covenant
Freedom (for God and others)

c. Moses as God’s partner

i. Builds on Abraham’s profile but goes beyond him
ii. Begins in reluctance (chs.3-4) but ends in friendship (33:11)
iii. He has to be a “god-with-you” kind of person (18:19)
iv. Comes to full maturity and reciprocity in wake of the golden calf episode where he rejects God’s offer of his own “name” and “great people” (remember Babel) and “talks God into” hanging in with Abraham’s people for sake of God’s reputation (ch.33)

d. Other partners

i. Aaron (Moses’ brother)
ii. Jethro (Moses’ father-in-law, ch. 18)
iii. Assistant judges and priests
iv. 19:4-6 – for blessing of the nations

e. Summary: Partnership between God and human is reciprocal. It is real, and earnest: its goal is adhered to tenaciously by God, a tenacity which needs to be taken on by those willing to embrace God’s will. And what is that? That all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Such a goal is not journeyed toward by God alone or by human kind alone: the task requires divine-human partnership that is to some extent reciprocal. . .though of course it is always God who initiates and sustains the relationship. Obedience from the human partner is requisite, but God looks also for the capacity of the chosen one to initiate dialogue concerning the fate of others, as Abraham did concerning Sodom and Gomorrah. And God seeks partners who can voice proper dissent before the divine, talking God out of divine anger and destructive intentions, if necessary, as Moses has done. (Paul Borgman, “Exodus Overview”)

2. Childhood/Leviticus
Theme: How a Holy God Makes an Unholy People Wholly His (19:2)

a. Sacrifice (chs.1-7)
Whole-hearted thanksgiving to God
A life that is dedicated to generosity and giving.
A meal shared with the Lord, priests, and others for thanksgiving, fellowship, and praise

For unintentional weaknesses and failures before the Lord.

An offering of money for sins of ignorance connected with fraud.

b. Priesthood (chs.8-10)
c. Discernment of Clean/Unclean (chs.11-15)

Learning to see the world and live in it as God sees it wants us to live in it

d. Day of Atonement (ch.16)

Two foci: cleansing the high priest/tabernacle & people

e. Holiness Code (chs.17-27)

The Jubilee Legislation – God’s great Dream for his world.

Debts forgiven/slaves freed/land returned

Every generation was to experience a leveling in which resources and opportunity were reallocated to everyone to prevent extremes of wealth and poverty in Israel.


©Lee Wyatt 2012