Beloved,
Have you ever wondered why God includes some incredibly difficult to swallow and hard to understand texts in the Bible? It’s a question I’ve been pondering this week as I have wrestled with my sermon text for Sunday morning in Exodus 4 (particularly vv. 24-26). It is the epitome of a head scratcher! Here is what some interpreters have to say about it:
- Philip Ryken: “These are some of the most enigmatic verses in the Old Testament.”
- Peter Enns: “Anyone familiar with the legion of interpretive challenges that surround this passage and the oppressive amount of scholarly activity it has generated will be relieved to know that they will not be treated here in as much detail as they might otherwise deserve. Why? (1) There is little anyone can say about this brief passage that has not already been treated (too) thoroughly elsewhere. (2) After the dust clears and the debate subsides, few definitive conclusions can be drawn.”
- T. Desmond Alexander: “This short incident continues to baffle commentators, for the Hebrew text contains various ambiguities.”
- Christopher Wright: “The event is mysterious and, owing to some ambiguity in the Hebrew itself, there are things we simply do not know for sure.”
- David Strain: “The commentators have written volumes [on this text]. This is the kind of thing Bible commentators just rub their hands with glee over; this is how they make their money! It’s a tough text.”
The more I study and meditate upon the account, the more I agree with these men. It is a tough and enigmatic text indeed! The reality is you and I will probably have more questions by the end of Sunday’s sermon than we have at the beginning. Such has been my experience in sermon preparation. The more I come to understand about this account, the more I come to understand how much I don’t understand about this account!
Why would God give us passages like this in the Bible? After all, one of the hallmarks of the Reformation is the perspicuity (i.e., clarity) of Scripture. Contra the Roman Catholic Church, we believe God speaks clearly in His word so that the simplest child can pick up the Bible and understand the main contours of its message with the Spirit’s help. But some texts leave the most brilliant exegetes and godly saints totally at a loss to understand, and it’s not an accident as if God tried to communicate clearly but failed to. So why does He give us texts with grammatical ambiguities and enigmatic happenings?
I don’t claim to have the answer, but I can tell you what this hard-to-understand text has been producing in my soul this week: humility. It has been a fresh reminder of the limitations of my knowledge and my innate inability to fully comprehend God and His word. How easy it is for us preachers to feel a bit too comfortable and confident in the Scriptures! But then a text like this comes, causing us to cry, “Uncle!” Furthermore, it has been a fresh reminder of my desperate need of the Spirit who alone can enable me to apprehend the revelation I cannot comprehend. Too much clarity, and we can forget just how needy we are. But Moses’ nightmarish, bloody ordeal at a wilderness motel leaves us clinging to God for the light only He can give.
While there is much I will not understand by the time I stand in the pulpit this Lord’s Day, there is much I do understand by God’s grace. This text pulsates with the grace and glory of Christ, and I am eager to help you to see it! But at the end of the message, we will have to rest content with only God knowing the full meaning of this short, mysterious narrative. It’s humbling, and may we be humbled by it.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nick