I passed a landmark today in that I completed the readings for January and have started on February. So, roughly 1/12 of the way through and on track.
For today, I read parting of the Red Sea and the triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
These stories are very much about God and Jesus. They celebrate the nature of the deity. First we learn that main character in the current story is the same as the entity from an earlier story. In Exodus, we learn that the God of Moses is the God of Abraham. First here is how English readers get Exodus 6:2-4, “God also said to Moses, “I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD. I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens.” Of course, that could more carefully be rendered “God also said to Moses, “I am YHWH. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but by my name YHWH I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens.”
In Matthew, we get our typical dose of evidence that Jesus is the one about whom all the prophets were speaking, we have an earlier famous story of Peter’s good confession, Matt. 6:13-20, but which closes with “Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.” Now, the most straight read of that is that Jesus wasn’t yet ready for everyone to know about his special position, but dare I point out that this scripture also “explains” why Jesus never said to anyone while he was alive that he was the Messiah?
Next were learn that YHWH and Jesus are truly awesome. More powerful that Pharaoh’s gods in the case of YHWH:
Who among the gods is like you O YHWH?
Who is like–
majestic holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them.
In the case of Jesus, more powerful than the Pharisees or church leaders, he overturns their tables and scatters them from the Temple, and Caesar by marching into Jerusalem.
Moses is in for a long tough road. The Israelites complain constantly. Christ’s path is shorter a more violent.