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Today’s lesson scripture focuses on the leadership of God.  Pondering the words as I bush-hogged two of the horse paddocks after work, I was struck by three main themes – more about those below.  Let’s take a look at today’s scripture first:

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, “If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.”
18 So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for battle.
19 And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, “God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here.”
20 They set out from Succoth, and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.
21 The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.
22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.  Ex 13:17-22 (NRSV)

Yesterday I posed a question about how we are sometimes concerned by what others think of us – that we may come across as too religious or judgmental.  Gary’s comment is an excellent answer to that question from the standpoint of worry about the world judging us by worldly standards.  But . . . there’s always a “but” . . . we should be concerned about how the world views us based on divine standards  Bear with me a second on this and how it relates to today’s scripture.

These few verses follow the final plague, the death of Egypt’s first-born, the institution of the Passover and the Exodus of the people of Israel.  The verses are a break in the action before picking up again with the flight of the people to the Red Sea (or “sea of reeds”) and – well - and the rest of the story.  It’s interesting because we literally “hear” God murmuring to himself  about his newly freed people.  I think the pause in the narrative here, with its reflection on the divine intent, serves to emphasize that the Passover and Exodus are a beginning – not an end – of God’s plan for saving the world.  Moreover, it’s a beginning that occurs in every generation.

Now for those three points I mentioned to begin with:

1. In verses 17 & 18, God is concerned that the people of Israel will be tempted to return to the comfort and status quo offered by Egypt.  And this is the point in all of our lives.  We turn toward God, we answer his call and repent, and then we not only encounter the desire to return to the ways of the world, we are constantly tempted to cling to traditions for traditions’ sake – because those traditions are familiar and comfortable.  How is that different from the temptation of Israel to return to the comfort of civilized Egypt?
2. But we are also, by human nature, geared toward re-inventing ourselves with each new generation – often casting aside tradition simply because it is tradition.  Vanity – disguised as enthusiasm – can lead us to disdain what our parents try to instill in us.  Verse 19 reminds us that we should honor the values that tradition has to offer us, and the lessons of faith that the lives of those who have gone before can teach us.
3. How do we strike the right balance between these two temptations?  That’s right!  Just as Israel depended upon the leadership of God (verses 21-22) so we should pray for God’s guidance both day and night.

This is important not only for this present time, but for the future.  Joseph, imperfect though he may have been, ultimately acquited himself well in faith – thinking of generations to come.  We should aspire to no less.  God give us the wisdom to exhibit those standards that are essential and important from God’s point of view, that we might fulfill the Great Commission and witness to God’s plan of good news to the whole world both in our own time and in times to come.