02 January 2006

Censoring a Great Story

You were born in difficult times.
Your Mother literally feared for your life, and rather than lose you,
chose an unorthodox method of putting you up for adoption.
Her method worked.

You were raised in opulence.
Your adoptive parents truly loved you as their own.
But you had questions about your heritage,
and finding answers put you in conflict with your upbringing.
When you are old enough to strike out on your own, you leave the life of wealth and comfort behind you.

Starting anew is hard,
but you establish a new life, take a wife, and start a family.
Life begins to be bearable again.

Your new Boss is an intimidating figure.........
a sort of beneficent dictator.
He comes to you with a challenge:
"I've been watching you very closely. I like what I see.
I have a difficult job I want you to tackle."
When he outlines the job he wants you to do, you are overwhelmed.

"Boss, that job requires someone with great speaking skills.
You know I have a tendency to stammer when I'm under stress!
And you need a great leader of men.
If you want to be successful, surely another man can do this job better!"

But The Boss won't be dissuaded.
"No, you're my guy. Believe me, no one can do this job but you.
I'll provide whatever you need to accomplish the task."

You've seen the boss in action.
His powers to get things done are amazing.
It's hard to turn him down......He can be VERY persuasive!
You reluctantly agree to take on this huge job.

It means you must uproot your loved ones from
their comfortable surroundings and extended family.
You pack them and your modest belongings and set out on your goal.

Mid-way in your journey,
while you and your family are asleep in temporary quarters,
The Boss sneaks in and tries to murder you!

Your wife, a very quick thinker,
does something odd that mollifies The Big Guy,
and he departs before he succeeds in taking your life.

You continue on your mission,
still dedicated to the task and your Boss!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you familiar with this story? I wish more people were.
That too few people know it has troubled me for some time.
I'd like to do my part to fix that problem.

I'll be here with more on this story and share more thoughts with you later.

6 comments:

The Raabs said...

The story of Moses of course. I will be interested to see your comments.
Found you on "weathertopacademy..." blog - in case you were wondering.

The Old Man said...

I thought perhaps T.R.

Greybeard said...

"the raabs" is on the money....it's the story of Moses.

But.....did the fact that God came into Moses' tent and tried to kill him surprise you? That part didn't make the Disney movie, nor is it discussed in most Sunday School lessons!

I'm ashamed of the way most Churches teach The Bible. Most people think The Bible is dull.
Think "Peyton Place" is racy?
It's got NOTHIN' on The Bible!

More later.

The Raabs said...

You got it! The Bible is amazing - especially since it is true. And it gives us plenty to think about.

I have never trusted Disney to give me anything near a faithful account of any story (even Snow White doesn't look like the original), but then again, they are only trying to make money. But didn't "Prince of Egypt" (Dreamworks, right?) have this scene in it?

So have you understood what happened that night? What interests me is that Zippora knows what is going on.

Greybeard said...

Dreamworks!
I misspoke.....the Dreamworks movie is obviously the latest/greatest telling of that tale, and the one I was thinking of.
And no, they didn't include the scene of God tussling with Moses......I think it would have been troubling for kids.
(And how would you depict it?!!)

This story is mighty confusing, even for Greybeards!

Some argue God is angry because Moses wasn't circumsised, and that is why Zipporah picks up the sharp stone.

But this explanation doesn't hold water.....God certainly knew Moses' anatomy when he selected him for the job.

There's a piece of this story missing somewhere.

Anonymous said...

Was it a test of Moses faith, just as God tested Abraham? Just as He tests us daily? Whether we know it or not? Funny, I quit asking for patience as it seems the Lord always hands me a bigger platter. Now I ask for wisdom, endurance, the ability to love beyond the moment, to love as He loves. And to see the humor in it all. As surely He must.

I loved your synopsis of that story. Very contemporary and yet clear.