Exodus. As a noun, it means departure, mass departure, emptying a place. But it also refers to a particular story of escape from slavery, the story of Moses leading the Hebrew people out of Egypt to the promised land.

The story of how Moses got to be the leader is interesting of in and of itself. The events that led Pharaoh to release them – a series of plagues that troubled the land – is also worth telling. But it is the journey from the Red Sea onward that interests me right now.

At the edge of that sea, the people discovered that Pharaoh had reconsidered the decision to let them go, sending his army to bring them back. God intervened through Moses, opening a path for the people to walk between the waters, closing the sea over the pursuing army. On the other side, the people rejoiced. They were free.

They began their journey north and east, but they had left with very little on short notice. Not long into the journey, they ran out of food. They went to Moses, their leader, their miracle worker, and asked for something to eat. Given the miracles God had accomplished through him, their expectation is understandable. Along with their request, however, there is grumbling: “Did you bring us out of Egypt just for us to die of hunger?”

God answered that question with manna, a flakey substance that would fall overnight to feed them for one day. It would not keep, but it fell every day that they were in the wilderness.

Then, as the journey progressed, they came to a place without water. The people were thirsty. Their animals were thirsty. There was no rain in this place and no water in sight. The people are afraid that they will die.

When they came to Moses, he asked why they don’t trust God. He calls them quarrelsome.

Now, calling someone quarrelsome does not help the conversation. Moses was likely thirsty and uncomfortable himself, not at his best. If he had responded with something like, "We have seen God protect us before. Let me go and ask for water," they might have told him to hurry up, but at least it would be a constructive conversation. Instead, Moses accused them of being difficult.

The people got angry. "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"

The people were not being fair. They had been eager to come with him. It's just that at that moment they were uncomfortable and afraid. While this was understandable, the accusation they made did not help the conversation. Of course he didn't intend them to die. He intended to save them. But intention is not everything. If they didn't get water soon, the vulnerable among them would die and all would suffer.

At that point, Moses was upset and afraid. He went to God, but not with the request for water. "What am I supposed to do with these people?” he asked. “They are ready to stone me." Now, that was not what the people said. Moses upped the ante. And he did not ask for what the people needed, just implied God needed to protect him.

God answered with water. God showed Moses where to release water from the ground, addressing the underlying issue.  

The conversation about the need for water got way off track. The people were afraid, and they let their fear make them angry and discouraged. Moses heard their fear, and he got angry. He challenged them rather than comforting them.  

Fear does this. We don't like being afraid. It is easy to let fear make us angry. When fear and anger enter the conversation, they become the topic. It is hard to get at the underlying issues.

There is lots to make us afraid these days – lingering pandemic, inflation, the war in Ukraine, changes in weather patterns (have you seen pictures of the dried-up canals in Venice?!!) It is important to acknowledge our fear if we are going to have healthy conversations about solutions. Otherwise, we can end up in the kind of conversation we see between Moses and the people, a conversation that destroys trust and increases disruption.

On another note: The story of Moses leading slaves to freedom appears in a few slave spirituals. The song Go Down Moses tells the story of the release from Egypt and freedom at the far side of the Red Sea. There the people rejoice. The thing is, the journey was far from over at that first crossing. Dangers tracked them. But the slaves who risked escape knew what was behind them if they were caught. It was worth the risk, worth the work of making a new life at the other end of the railway.

As well as appreciating the music, we should learn the harrowing stories. Scenes like the escape in Homegoing teach us of the dangers. And the story told in Broken Shackles of a former slave who settled in Owen Sound can help us see the whole picture.

Cathy HIrd lives on the traditional territory of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation.