The Fifth Day of Christmas

"On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me fiiivvveee golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree"

For some reason, I feel this is the peak of the song. Recently, I was just thinking of the miracles in the Pentateuch. Like Damn. God is God. I'm trying to hype Him but He is beyond hype. Like seriously who makes dry paths in the Red Sea? Who rains down food? Who turns things the way He wishes?

I love the way the Psalm explains what happens at the Red Sea "What's wrong with you, Sea, that you ran away? and you, River Jordan, that you turned and ran off? And mountains, why did you skip like rams? and you, hills, frolic like spring lambs? Tremble, Earth! You're in the Lord's presence! In the presence of Jacob's (my) God. He turned the rock into a pool of cool water, turned flint into fresh spring water. 

As someone who grew up reading the old testament a lot during church sermons just so I could stay awake, one of my favorite bits of the Pentateuch isn't a story, in that sense of the word. It's the back and forth "let's forget about these people" moments that happened between God and Moses. In the book of Exodus, the Israelites had left Egypt and as they ventured deeper into the desert, they kept losing their cool (pun intended). At a point, it seemed that every step of the journey from the second they made it across the red sea was rigged to have one internal struggle or another. 

As the leader of the tribe, it's safe to say that Moses continued to get frustrated with the behavior of the Israelites and could hardly put up with them for much longer. This was no doubt his state of mind in Exodus 17 when the people were pestering him for water on this particular occasion and he cried out to God in verse 4;

"What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."

Amazingly, God maintained a tranquil personality and granted their request. It's moments like these that make me marvel at his love for Israel but it truly is a beautiful thing to see. Tragically, they have a knack for testing the limits of their heavenly father's patience...

There is only so much a father can bear from an erring child and this time, the Lord was fed up. The Israelites had grown weary of waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain with the commandments and proceeded to make a golden calf they could worship. As you would expect, this made God very furious and he made an offer to Moses in exodus 32:10;

"Now, leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you a great nation"

From where I stand, it's a very attractive proposal because who wouldn't want to be the pioneer for a race guaranteed to be forever loved by God? However, Moses pleaded for the Israelites to be spared and the Lord listened.

What I love most about the companionship between God and Moses is the level of communication that ensured there was a high level of understanding. Conversely, some would argue that they weren't that close because God didn't forgive Moses' disobedience and let him enter the promised land. I like to counter that assertion with the final evidence of their closeness recorded in exodus 34: 5-6;

"And Moses the servant of the Lord did there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab in the valley opposite Beth Poer..."

What better sendoff than to have your cherished friend bury you? What better friend is there to have than the One who gave all for you and would not give up on you?

I love you💝