There is a great scene in Monty Python’s “Holy Grail” movie where Sir Robin runs away, and his companions sing a song about it. Many of us have run from something at one point in our life. Whether we would not admit to something we did, or refused to take responsibility for a mistake at work or at home. Maybe we ran away from reality via drugs or alcohol. Or perhaps we physically ran away, leaving a city for a fresh start. Maybe we were fearful, and ran away for that reason. Sometimes we have to run away for good reasons, like a person in witness protection running away from those trying to kill them, or a person getting out of an abusive relationship, etc. In cases like this, running away is a good thing – we are doing it to protect ourselves. We have all run away from something at one point in our life, both for good and for bad reasons. In the next part of the story of the Exodus, Moses is running from Egypt, and specifically from Pharaoh.
“When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.”
After Moses kills the Egyptian (see previous blog), he flees to Midian, where he will spend approximately 40 years in the wilderness tending sheep and raising his family. Often our response to difficult situations in life is to run, and this can become a pattern. It starts out as something small that we have done as a child that we do not take responsibility for, and if we continue to react this way it can become a habit. It can become how we deal with hard things in life, so when something really big comes along, we automatically run away, like the hit and run story in the blog on “Change” for example.
Moses sees the injustice of slavery and experiences a wakeup call that moved him to strike down the Egyptian task master that was beating the Hebrew slave. Rather than accepting the consequences for what he has done and taking responsibility for his actions, he runs. He is fearing for his life. From the text it appears that Pharaoh really was trying to kill him, so Moses fled. Often there are things in our life that are trying to kill us as well, that we need to flee from. But most of us don’t have someone physically trying to kill us like Moses did. So what are some possible applications of this part of the story for us today?
Recently my doctor informed me that sugar is ‘trying to kill’ me, so I am having to ‘flee’ from sugar by not eating so much of it. If I don’t, I will be diabetic someday. Bummer. Moses probably liked Egypt like I like sugar. He went from being a prince to being a homeless vagrant. Also a bummer. Many times running away involves loss.
Loss of something or someone we love and enjoy. We have to leave things behind and move into a new phase in our lives. Maybe we have to ‘flee’ from a profession that is ‘killing’ us – the stress of work is just too much for our bodies to handle. Or maybe we are fleeing from an abusive relationship, or a bad habit, etc. There are all kinds of moments in our lives where we find ourselves facing a choice to either stay in a bad situation or leave something behind and move on to a new phase of our lives. I like to think that Moses consulted with some close friends before he left, like we would do when facing a moment in our lives like this. In my case, my consultation was with a doctor, and he advised me to flee from sugar, and a few other beloved foods. So I am on the run, so to speak, just like Moses was.
Then there is the negative type of running away, where we are in essence running from responsibility. We blame-shift, we lie, we refuse to take responsibility and face the consequences of our actions or decisions, etc. There are many ways this type of running away manifests itself in our lives. One of the most common in America today is being unwilling to face our weight problem. Whether we are overweight or anorexic, many Americans have great difficulty owning this situation and are unwilling to face it, taking responsibility for our food choices. There are many other ways this form of running away can be in our lives though, such as drugs and alcohol, porn, throwing people under the bus at work, not taking responsibility for raising our children, not keeping our marriage commitment, etc. There are myriads of ways that we have ‘run away’ over the years when we should have stayed the course. All this said, how does “running away” relate to the gospel? How is the gospel portrayed in this part of the Exodus story.
Because of sin, all of us have at one time or another been running from God. Many of us are still running from God. All of us at one time or another have lived our lives on our own terms, in our own power. Just as Moses tried to set Israel free in his own power and failed, we too have tried and failed and have ended up with a ‘dead Egyptian’ and a death warrant on our lives in some way. We have screwed up, have refused to own it, and there is a death warrant out for us in the form of the judgment of sin that is coming upon all of us. The gospel’s impact on our lives begins with a wakeup call, followed by whether or not we want to take the long road of running away, which in Moses case was 40 years in the wilderness herding sheep, or the short road, which is to face the reality of our sin and come to God for forgiveness. Are we willing to own our sin and come to God via the Messiah, Jesus Christ, or are we still running from God, running from His call on our lives, running from taking responsibility for who we are, and accepting God’s way forward in Jesus?
One of my favorite Yogi Berra sayings is, “When you get to the fork in the road, take it.” That is exactly the situation. We have had a wake-up call, are at a fork in the road, and we will be taking it, following one of the two paths that lie before us. We either run away from God, refusing to acknowledge that we are sinful. Or like an alcoholic in AA facing the reality of their addiction, we accept the reality that we are sinful, and need help. Which way we go is our choice. We are back to the story of Jonah included in a previous blog. Like the old commercial on TV years ago, “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.” Our sin will catch up with us eventually. If not in this life, then at the final judgment of all of humanity. The only question is when do we want to deal with it.
What are some of the things you have been running from? What are you running from today? What is something that you successfully fled from to protect yourself? What is something you need to flee from right now to protect yourself? In what area of your life do you have trouble owning things, accepting responsibility? Is there something you need to do this week to “own it”? Someone you need to apologize to perhaps? Something you need to do?
Fleeing and courage are similar in that both of them can be good or bad, depending on the situation. We must find the courage to face our mistakes, to own our actions, to act responsibly, to accept the fact that we are sinners and turn to God. And on the other hand, we must flee from those things that are killing us, especially the sin that so easily entangles us if we let it. I pray that God will reveal to you where you need to be courageous this week, and where you need to run for your life. May He give you wisdom to see clearly and know the difference.
Lord God Almighty, I come before you in Jesus name, and confess that I often run from things that I need to own and take responsibility for. Conversely I let things into my life that I should flee from, often becoming hooked on them and in bondage and slavery to them, just as the Israelites were in bondage and slavery to Egypt. I have run when I should have stayed, and I have stayed when I should have run. Forgive me for this, and help me to step up and start facing the things in my life that need attention. I acknowledge to You that I am sinful and in need of help. Rather than running from You and Your call on my life, I turn to you now and ask for deliverance. I pray this in Jesus name, amen.
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