The Moony Thing (Ex 17/ 67)

The moon is more than just a ball of cheese.
In fact I guess that is not even a close description of our lunar body.
Unless you're Swiss. Maybe.
Poor way to get thing rolling tonight.
But it IS more than it appears.
You can hide it with your thumb.
Even if you have a small thumb. Just squint a bit.
It affects the rise and fall of water all over the world.
It can be round or ovally or moon shaped.
Which is such a weird shape description, "moon shaped", because you could say a circle is moon shaped.
Or a ball.
Or a ovally thing.
Not just a ) or (.
It has held civilisations in awe for centuries.
It has commanded small fortunes from governments and countries intent on its exploration.
It continues to generate mystery , intrigue and conspiracy.
It is a feature in music video clips.
And is critical for navigation.

And we call it "moon".
Simple.
Pretty low key name really.
Perfect.
Better than glowythingthatcomesoutatnightandchangesshapeandisnotmadeofcheese.
The Welsh are nuts.*


Exodus 17
I'm thinking Moses is a little over all the complaining. Maybe to the point of an exasperated exaggeration.
"They nearly stoned me!"
Possible, or was it that he too had lost some faith in God.
"Do something God. It's getting nuts again!"
Why did the people complain to Moses? Why not bypass the middle man and go straight to the source of their frustration?
To this point God has only spoken to Moses. He was God's vocal cords. He was the messenger that they wanted to shoot.
So the reasons for bringing the elders to see the miracle of the water coming from the rock first hand is a means of ending some doubts.
We can catch a sight of a leader and from our vantage point they block out the true source.
We look at them in a unnatural light.
We complain when they don't meet these inflated expectations.
It's not fair. Because they have no hope of and maybe had no intention in even trying to appease our hopes.
Sometimes we live vicariously through our childrens' lives.
It don't work, because they ain't us.
(My mum would have a field day with that superb sentence.)
We also shouldn't misconstrue what our leaders can and cannot achieve.
The Israelites had high expectations in Moses.
Fair enough.
But they HAD seen what God could do.
Bad situations cause blind panic.
Better to sit it out and wait.
Stress levels are lower.
And God will still do what is required.

Aaron had obviously had more experience using public transport than Moses had.
I say obvious because as a prince of Egypt, Moses would scarcely have need for a bus.
Aaron was used to the standing around with his arm in the air.
He could do it longer.
He could also read a newspaper one handed and was aware of his personal space.

And that was that for Amalek.


*The Welsh aren't really nuts. To my knowledge anyway. Comment was added for attempted humour. If offended please insert suitable people group that makes you smile.