Raising a Village

As I was reading further into the book of Exodus this week, continuing to follow the journey of Moses and the Israelites, a strange thought occurred to this inquisitive mind. If the old adage “It takes a village” still holds true, like I believe that it does… the next question one might ask themselves is “Who raised the village that it took to raise the one that the village raised?”

I know that I am not alone in this place of curiousity… how else do you think those DNA mail in companies became so popular? Why else would we care who and where we came from? How often do we wonder why we look the way we do, why we have mannerisms that we have, and/or why we were raised the way we were raised? Some are raised deeply rooted in traditions handed down from earlier generations, while others grew up without anything familiar from their earliest memories.

The Israelites memories and belief systems were set from generations earlier… beginning with Gods’ covenant with Abraham, again later with Isaac and Jacob, and resting with Joseph when he entered Pharaohs court as a young man. The Egyptians carried generations steeped with their own traditions, blending some of the Israelites traditions with their own through years of coexisting. When Moses was born, it was as if he was placed in a foster home. He must have been exposed to the most confusing of upbringings, in my opinion. Growing up in the foster care system, all I remember was feeling like I was to go where they sent me to school, attend whatever church that particular family went to, if any, and sleep in whatever room had been made available for guests.

While I don’t necessarily believe that Moses upbringing was as harsh as mine, I believe we both grew up very confused.

I am guessing that played a large part in the amount of time it was before Moses returned to Egypt, to represent the God of his forefathers. In essence, I think Moses became like an adopted son of sorts, being raised up, cared for, and prepared for a purpose he was born to fulfill… beginning right there at that burning bush I mentioned in the previous episode.

I’ve only just gotten through all the 10 plagues, and the departure of the very large village Moses found himself responsible to lead and teach. They only just arrived at the Red Sea and had already accused Moses and GOD, of leading them to their deaths. The only traditions these people had gotten settled into was bondage, so they didn’t get far before their faith ran out. This got me to wondering how long a tradition has to be in place before it can be considered a solid tradition. All this village knew how to do was survive… living had become nonexistent to them.

From there I asked myself how long it actually took for the plagues to run through, as well as the leaving part. History seems to show a lot happening in a relatively short period of time. I can only imagine how overwhelming it must have been, to experience something so life altering during those days and weeks. On the heels of 10 major plagues ravaging the land, the village was then instructed to pack up their families, livestock and belongings, and wander off into the desert. Logistically, it must have been a nightmare to organize a village of this size. Did you know that there were over 600,000 men… not including their wives and children. Nothing about this many people is going to move easily nor quickly. Don’t forget that the Israelites had also been instructed by God to plunder the Egyptians (Exodus 12:36). Personally, I would break out in hives at the thought of taking someone’s stuff and leaving town.

At this point I am getting a clearer picture of the state of mind this village was in by the time they pulled out of the station in Egypt.

I get the feeling that it took God some years in the desert with Moses, just to undo all of the damage caused by the wrong Village. God then worked in and through Moses to free a village that would need to do a lot of growing up before arriving at the land God intended to give the Israelites.

God is the ultimate example of a parent caring for and teaching their child. As parents, you and I have no intention of handing our 5 year old the car keys, leaving them to simply have a go at it! In the same sense, God had no intention of handing over a land flowing with milk and honey to a bunch of scarred, scared, and far from spiritual children… so to speak. While I’ve not read the passages ahead yet, I am already privy to the 40 year time period of wandering that was in store for the children of Israel. Based on my own life, it took 40 years from the time I divorced my parents and became a Voluntary Ward of the State, to where you find me today. When I broke free from that bondage, had God just handed me the keys to freedom and said, “There ya go”… I wouldn’t be alive today!

If I can leave you with anything today, it would be a reminder that just as God used Moses back then to raise a village, He works through you and I today, to stand in the gap for some pretty broken villages. There are so many children of God still living in bondage to something, and whether or not I feel capable on my own, my desire is to be a part of God’s plan and purpose… His village!

Christ our King by Village Lights will be the song I wish to leave you with, and I have no clear reason why… sometimes it’s not about me, but someone else may need this so I will leave it at that… I love you guys.

Let’s be a village together…

Today Is Everything Potato Sunday!

Be sure to pick up your favorite slippers

and bean bag

Lets strap on the feed bags and belly up to the Potato Bar…

You can either pick an already prepped tater, in case you are in a hurry…

Or grab a plate and follow me…

Now that you picked out your tater, let’s head for some toppings…

Who doesn’t like at least a smidge of crumbly and salty goodness sprinkled across the top…

For our cheese lovers I brought a choice of yellow or white cheddar…

For dessert I thought a simple chilled peach might suffice…

Have a Blessed Day everyone… hugs