2017, February 26 ~ Exodus 24:12-18 & 2 Peter 1:16-21

Exodus 24:12-18

The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible, and covers the period from the slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh (around 1250 BCE, if the account is historical), the Exodus itself, and the early months in the Wilderness.

Today’s reading recounts Moses’ first time going up Mount Sinai to receive the Law written by YHWH. While there for 40 days and 40 nights, Moses had a “theophany” – a direct appearance of God (v. 17).

In the Chapters that follow today’s reading (25 to 31), God gave explicit instructions about actions for Moses and the Israelites to take to enable them to travel with YHWH to the Promised Land.

But because Moses was away from the Israelites for a long time (in both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, the number “40” is a euphemism for a “long time” – whether in years or days), the Israelites built the Golden Calf (Ch. 32). When Moses came down, he smashed the tablets of the Law given to him by God. When Moses went up the mountain a second time and had a face-to-face meeting with God, his face shone so brightly that it had to be covered with a veil when he came down (34:33), a story that forms a basis for the Transfiguration of Jesus in today’s Gospel.

2 Peter 1:16-21

In the First Century, it was not uncommon to write something in another person’s name so that the writing would have extra “authority” – particularly when the writer believed he knew what the “authority” (in this case, Peter) would have said. This practice is called “pseudepigraphy.”

The Second Letter of Peter was likely written around the year 100 CE (Peter died much earlier) and it is written in the popular Greek rhetorical style of the age. The letter is presented as a “testament” by Peter based on his own experiences.

In today’s reading, “Peter” claims he was an eyewitness to the Transfiguration of Jesus where he heard the voice of God declare that Jesus was God’s Son and God’s Beloved. “Peter” concludes that prophesy comes from God to humans who are moved by the Spirit to speak for God.