Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 32:17-18

17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.

18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.

Back when Moses had ascended the mountain, we were told that his minister, Joshua, accompanied him. So now Joshua met Moses along the way down the mountain, reporting that he had already heard a tumult coming up from the valley down below. Joshua assumed that it was the noise of a battle, Moses, however, heard the notes of a song.

These verses are describing the noises of two types of trouble. In fact, it is the two fundamental types of trouble that are the source of all of our problems, both individually and collectively. There is the trouble of a foreign attack, outside sources seeking our destruction and causing us harm. Then there is the trouble of deliberate disobedience, the idolatry and revelry that we inflict upon ourselves. One sounds like discordant chaos, the other like patterned notes of blasphemy.

No wonder Joshua thought he heard the sounds of the first, for persecution inflicted upon the Israelites had been the pattern for many years. But now the nature of Israel’s trouble was changing. It was shifting from an external enemy to an internal one, and Moses was perceiving that change already.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 15:18-19

18 The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.

19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

Today we reach the end of the song. Israel observes that “the Lord shall reign forever,” and their justification for that claim is that He has already proved Himself stronger than the chariots of Pharaoh, and also able to preserve His people, Israel. In essence the argument is that God is mightier than the greatest power in the world, so He shall reign, and He has even shown power over life and death, so that reign will never die.

Verse 19 once again contrasts the differences in experience that befell the Egyptians and the Israelites. They each tried to walk the same path, the passage through the sea, but they came to two completely opposite outcomes. The Egyptians ventured forth with ill purpose of heart, and so were destroyed by that path. The Israelites moved forward in obedience to God’s commands, and so they were saved by that path. We learn from this that God’s way is both a way of salvation and damnation, depending on the state of the soul that walks along it.

Israel’s song is either a song of hope or warning, depending on the sincerity of your heart. By all means, come and join the throng of believers and see the miracles of God lift and preserve you, but only if you are sincerely turning your life over to Him, otherwise you will come to a terrible end!

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Whole From the Parts

Individual notes might have a beautiful resonance, but if they stand alone they seem random and purposeless. It requires as an external composer who can arrange them in a sequence for them to have a greater function and beauty. Each note knows nothing of the greater song, yet each is essential to it.

So it is for the stars in the heavens. Individually each is beautiful, but if separated from the rest there are no constellations, no signs of the seasons, no greater whole in the heavens. The full picture only comes when all are taken as a whole, but the whole can only exist because of the individual contribution of each member.

And so it is also for us and the good that we do. We do not know the greater song, the greater sign that we are a part of. We try to live good lives, we try to help where we can, we try to make something beautiful, and each of our efforts are worthy in their own way, but they tend to be localized and short-lived. But if we could see how all of our small, random efforts were being combined and arranged alongside of one another, we would realize that a great author and composer has arranged us with purpose and intent, forming a crescendo, a constellation, a beautiful, greater whole.

Now and again, if we are lucky, we occasionally catch the smallest glimpse of the larger picture, just enough to convince us that there is a symphony and a shape formed through all of humanity. That greater whole surpasses each individual part, but it can only exist because of each individual. I am sure that when we pass over to the other side we will finally be able to appreciate the finished work at a distance, and we will find closure in knowing the vast beauty we were all a part of.