A collection of easy-read rewrites of various Biblical passages and themes.
An extract from the book
What If… Moses
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange sight – why the bush does not burn up.’ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ’Moses! Moses!’
And Moses said, ‘Hang on a minute, that shouldn’t be happening, Bushes don’t speak for goodness sake. I must be imagining it. Must be that goat’s cheese I had with that date and fig relish for lunch.’
’Don’t come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you’re standing is holy ground.’
And Moses said, ‘I think not. This is just a bit of old sand. Can’t be going round calling anywhere holy ground. Next thing you know we’ll be expecting God to be all over the place. With us everywhere. That can’t be right.’
The LORD said, ‘I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers…’
And Moses said, ‘Oh really?? Do you have to bring that up? Look I’m sorry, okay? I bumped that guy off, I admit it. The sort of simple mistake anyone could have made. I tried to sort things out and look where it got me. Now if you don’t mind I’m running a bit late, Zipporah will have my cocoa on back home and my slippers warming.’
But the Lord said, ‘I am concerned about the people’s suffering.’
‘Yea,’ said Moses, ‘you and me both…’
‘And so,’ said the Lord, ‘I have come down to help them…’
And Moses said, ‘Oh good. Brilliant, Well done. They’ll appreciate that.’
And God said, ‘So go – I am sending you to confront Pharaoh.’
And Moses said, ‘Oh okay then… Er… hang on a minute! You just said you’d come to do that. I’m busy heading for retirement Tell you what – send my brother. He’s a bit gung-ho. See you round.’ And lo, Moses went back to his sheep and the slaves went on suffering in Egypt, and God’s heart continued to break.
You can read what happened in Exodus 3 & 4
Moses was brutally honest with God, what sort of honest prayer could you pray right now?
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Home
Moses stands there, stunned. He can’t quite believe what he’s just heard. They are about to get everything they ever wanted… freedom, bounty, land, and a good future. And yet… and yet… it seems it may not be what they want at all. Did he hear right? God won’t be going with them? What’s the point of that? What’s the good of having your dreams come true if you don’t have your God with you?
‘I can’t,’ he hears God say, ‘your people just wear me out.’
And so Moses, who is now close enough to his maker that he can be totally honest with him, says,
‘Then we can’t go. We don’t want the good stuff if you’re not part of it. We want you. With us. All the time. And…’ he reaches for a good persuasive argument. ‘… and… and… and… and … and… think of your reputation! And think of ours. What will people say of us, and you… if they hear you have abandoned us, left us on our own. Please come with us. We can’t do this on our own. You are our future. You are our home. You are our bounty…’
Exodus 33 v 1-14
What do you think of Moses prayer here? Have you ever prayed like this? Could you?
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Tents
They stand there beside their tents, watching, staring, willing something to happen. Will it be okay? Will the cloud fall once more? Will the sign arrive once more? As it did yesterday. And the day before. Moses has disappeared, gone inside the much bigger tent. The glorious tabernacle, the holy place. And now they wait. Because it’s no good him just being in there all alone. So they become still, and they watch and wait. Worshipping with their standing still. Quiet. Hopeful. Expectant. Open. A little fearful too.
And eventually they spot it. The air changing. The atmosphere becoming electric. And then… there it is. The cloud falling. Surrounding the glorious tabernacle. The Presence arriving. They breathe a sigh of relief. Exchange nervous smiles and nods. It’s okay. It’s happened again. The invisible God has arrived. He is with them, on their side. The God not formed of wood or stone or clay. The God who is living and speaking. The God who knows them and is leading them on. The encounter would be too much for them. But they know they need their God, and they need Moses to meet with him. Face to Face, as a friend. Inside that tent.
Exodus 33 v 8-11
Do you need to ask God for something today?
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From Heaven
It falls once more, and the adults smile as they collect it up, while the children laugh and chew on it as they catch it in their buzzing fingers.
It never fails, this morning bread, this heavenly feast. Each day it comes, and each day there is enough.
Yet even as they gather it up some are wondering, what about tomorrow? What if it doesn’t fall then?
What if the sky closes on us? How will this be enough for more than one day?
And so their hearts are heavier than their baskets of bread.
Even though each day they have enough, there is still that nagging doubt.
The kind of doubt that haunts us all at times.
Will it be enough? Will there ever be enough?
Am I enough? Perhaps I’ll do better tomorrow.
Trust is a hard thing, not necessarily easy, sometimes it's a rare currency. And so our thoughts race on, and the bread for this day is quickly forgotten.
Meanwhile, the children live in the moment, passing round what they have, and chewing in wonder.
Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you.’ Exodus 16 v 4
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and passed them out to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate until they were full.
John 6 v 11
Do you swing between faith and doubt? Do you ever talk to God about this?
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The Cloud
Moses dare not move, he doesn’t want to break the moment. There is a cloud around him, but no ordinary cloud. It has a texture he has never encountered before. This is the Ancient of Days, the one no one has ever encountered before, the one so many fear. The one who made the universe and everything in it. Including Moses himself.
And he hears a voice, the very voice of God, the holy voice of his creator. He strains to hear, and is surprised. He does not hear the proclamation about the way God is distant and powerful. He does not hear the judgment that Moses is insignificant and flawed and stupid. He is not quaking at the sound of a booming voice full of righteous indignation.
No. He hears God proclaim that he himself is gracious and compassionate. Slow to grow angry. Rich in forgiveness. This is the glory of God, this is the presence of the Almighty. Full of loving kindness and merciful understanding. Ready to draw close to us, hungry for relationship. And as Moses goes back to the people his own face will shine with that very message, grace and loving truth radiating from him.
Exodus 34 v 5-7
Do you struggle at times to believe God is gracious and compassionate? Do you pray about that?
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What If… The Spies
After exploring the promised land for forty days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron, and the people of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. This was their report to Moses: ‘We arrived in the land you sent us to see, and it is indeed a magnificent country – a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit as proof. But the people living there are powerful, and their cities and towns are fortified and very large. We also saw the descendants of Anak who are living there! The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.’
One of the spies, Caleb thought they should trust God and move into the land he had promised them, but he was worried about looking silly in front of everyone so he ummed and ahhed and shifted from one foot to the other. It was true that there were a lot of frightening and overwhelming problems. Then Moses turned to Caleb and asked him what he thought, looking perhaps for some encouragement. ‘Let’s go at once to take the land, God is with us, we can certainly conquer it!’ That’s what Caleb wanted to say. But he only thought it, and instead he joined in with the catastrophising of the other spies, who not only went on and on and on and on about the bad things but also presumed to know what their enemies were thinking! They said, ‘We felt like grasshoppers next to those people, and that’s what we looked like to them! They must have been thinking, “Ooh those Israelites look just like teeny spindly baby grasshoppers!”’ And Caleb looked at the distant mountains and saw a vision of himself climbing them in faith. But the negative noise of the other spies kept drowning out his hopes.
You can read what happened in Numbers 13 v 21-35
Do you find that the negative noise of others crowds out your faith at times? Do you pray about that?
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Imagine
Imagine a figure full of everything that makes life worth living, carrying the burden of everything that makes life dark and difficult.
Full of every memory, every regret, every joyful burst of laughter.
Every tear captured in the bottle of this person’s being.
Now imagine a hill, a trail of footsteps leading up it, to a cross and a crowd, some of them in tears, some indifferent, some antagonistic.
And imagine a figure on that cross, so large and full of life that soon his death will not hold him, and he will burst out of it like a thousand fireworks of hope.
And imagine that trail of footsteps containing my prints and yours, as we travel up that hill to lay everything at that cross.
And so to begin our quest for life in the son of man.
John 3 v 16
Imagine you are standing at the foot of the cross of Jesus now. What would you say?
Imagine you are standing in front of the open grave of Jesus now. What would you say?
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Surprise!
Hello! Anyone in?
Just a minute, I’m coming, I’m coming.
There is the sound of a door opening.
Hello Joanna.
Hello, can I help… What!!! Oh! OH MY GOODNESS!!! AGGGHHH!!!
There is the sound of a scream.
I’m sorry to scare you like this, I couldn’t think how else to do this. I just wanted to see you again.
What’s that in your hair?
Oh a few bits of twigs and some dead bugs and… well… ten years of dust I suppose. You know… from the grave.
But… but… but…
Sorry I didn’t come dressed better. I only had what they buried me in.
But… how can you be here… you’re…. dead!
I know. It’s been a long time. Nice to see you again.
What… what happened?
I don’t know really. One minute I was… wherever I was… the next I found myself coughing and yawning and spluttering, and I opened my eyes and found myself alive. I think I heard this distant voice in my head saying something like… ‘It is finished.’
I’m going to need to sit down.
Go ahead, I’m okay standing. I’ve been lying down for a decade so I’m okay.
It’s a miracle!
I guess so, has anything unusual been going on lately?
No. Oh! Er… well they’ve executed a carpenter from Nazareth.
Ah… maybe that has something to do with it. We should find out more.
Yes, just let me faint a bit for a while.
The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead after Jesus’s resurrection. They left the cemetery, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.
Matthew 27 vv 50-53
Hard to imagine what it must have been like, so many folk who were dead suddenly alive and walking around again. I think it is one of the great unexpected happenings of the resurrection story. Does it bring a smile?
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