God or Gandalf?

When I read the words of Exodus 15, it sounds like our God just might be even greater than the white wizard. :-) It is fun for me to make the connection to the Lord of the Rings, because sometimes for me I am more easily able to imagine a scene from a book than I am to picture some of the true stories from THE Book.

Maybe imagine a blend of your Sunday School Mental Picture, but instead of thinking of the song as personifying God, simply consider Him actually doing these things. Pardon My geekiness for today, Lord, I hope you are considering my imagination a blessing from you today. I certainly am.

¹ Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD :
"I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.

I'm going to commit all the way to this imagination. I am picturing The Angel of the Lord (Christ) as more similar to a jedi master here, picking up the horses with the riders still on their backs and force pushing them into the sea.

² The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.

³ The LORD is a warrior;
the LORD is his name.

Picturing Gandalf with his staff and his sword, running full speed at the Balrog. (Firey Demon above the chasm of Kaza-Dum)

⁴ Pharaoh's chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh's officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.

⁵ The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.

⁶ "Your right hand, O LORD,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, O LORD,
shattered the enemy.

Imagine the special effects as his hand simply shatters the enemy into shards and slivers.

⁷ In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.

⁸ By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood firm like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

I haven't ever seen a wizard use his nostrils to create dry land across a sea. For sure this was outside of Gandalf's power. Wouldn't that have been nice, if he could have just moved waters or mountains that were in the way of Frodo and Sam.

⁹ "The enemy boasted,
'I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.'

¹⁰ But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.

The idea of his power moving seas like we would blow out a candle is fun for me to picture.

¹¹ "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

¹² You stretched out your right hand
and the earth swallowed them.

I know some of these clearly are just figurative, but this is a very easy for me to picture scene. the wizard raises his hand, and the ground opens up and swallows them.

¹³ "In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.

¹⁴ The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.

¹⁵ The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people of Canaan will melt away;

¹⁶ terror and dread will fall upon them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, O LORD,
until the people you bought pass by.

(Turning people to stone.... or freezing them....)

¹⁷ You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.

¹⁸ The LORD will reign
for ever and ever."

¹⁹ When Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. ²⁰ Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. ²¹ Miriam sang to them:

"Sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea." -Exodus 15

Now, it is possible that someone may criticize my imagination for wandering.... But what I like is the fact that there is no part of me that finds it difficult to take the Bible's description of events literally. There are so many that seem to struggle with the truth of stories like this.

I don't struggle with his ultimate power. In fact, in this story, the part that I would think people in our culture would struggle with is the Loving Jesus hurling people into the sea. This is one reason that Tolkien's minions are mostly orcs, and trolls, and goblins.

But the truth is, the Bible takes such care to build up for chapters the fact that Pharaoh's heart had been hardened, and that God gave him, though Moses, every opportunity for repentance. In effect, Pharaoh is much more like the Witch-King of Angmar, the leader of the Ring-wraiths, the Nazgul Lord. He had been corrupted beyond redemption by his own greed and selfishness. Those that followed him, we have no trouble watching die.

The Israelites clearly have no trouble watching Pharaoh's soldiers die either. But I guess enslaving people and killing off their firstborn sons would tend to make people enemies.

Who are my enemies? Where has God won battles worth celebrating with a tambourine?

God please use me like Moses. Let me be the one who finds the directions in your Word to know what to say and when to say it. Help me overcome the fear that leads me to say, "Not me Lord."

Thanks for arguing with Moses, in spite of his concerns and excuses and finding a way to use him anyway. Thanks for these words you spoke to him: "Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say," (Exodus 4:12). Let me hear and obey.


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