Refusing To Move

Progress moves forward despite our efforts to slow it down or speed it up. People on the other hand are addicted to the status quo. In short, we don’t like change! In fact, we often have to see a benefit to us personally before we will join the herd. We are creatures of habit and habits don’t change easily.

Is there a precedent you wonder? We thought you’d never ask. Maybe you’re familiar with the movie, “The Ten Commandments” made in 1956. It was a mega blockbuster. It was the most expensive movie ever made to date and starred hundreds of big name actors. To make it as authentic as possible it was filmed on location in Egypt, Mount Sinai, and the Sinai Peninsula.  Did you know the director of this film Cecil B. DeMille suffered a heart attack during the production when he climbed 130 feet to check on a faulty camera?  It was the last movie DeMille would ever direct.  Actor Charlton Heston played Moses and was the actual voice of God in the scene with the burning bush.  Who’s going to remember what the voice sounded like?  It’s what the voice said that’s important. That was about 3000 years ago. Today we have thousands of laws to help us remember what the voice told Moses, but they all boil down to two things: love God and don’t hurt anybody.  Want a little more trivia?  Charlton Heston’s infant son Fraser Clark Heston appeared as the infant Moses in the movie. Heston said. “The Ten Commandments was the greatest role he ever played and felt privileged and honored to play Moses and be God’s voice”.  You’re probably thinking did it win any awards?  Indeed.  It won: an Oscar, Best Special Effects, Best Original Effects, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. What most people find incredible is that it was based on a true story!

A story of epic proportions with epic results. The story can be found in the Bible under the name that fits what happened – the Book of Exodus. Ring a bell? A brief outline for those who were born after 1956. The story is mainly about a man named Moses who was rescued from the Nile River in Egypt by the daughter of Pharaoh. Moses spent 40 years growing up in the palace of Pharaoh. The next 40 years Moses spent as a shepherd in the desert. The next 40 years Moses spent as God’s emissary to release the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. After ten plagues visited upon Egypt (from God) Pharaoh relented and released the Israelites. While they were traveling away from Egypt, God called Moses out from his leadership position to have a little talk on Mount Sinai. While Moses was on the mountain the people made camp.

When he was gone for several weeks, the people grew restless and wondered if they could – are you ready for this – go back to Egypt! They were afraid that God couldn’t or wouldn’t make good on His promises. Progress was leading them to a Promise Land flowing with milk and honey, but wanted the old lifestyle they had been used to. To teach them a lesson God decided to let them wander in the desert for 40 years. The generation that grumbled died without entering. Don’t get viney and refuse anything new. Jesus was new.