I think there may be room for several interpretations. They can see His amazing power at work, but also cringe at His destruction of enemies. I wonder how they will take the period of time that Pharaoh referred to as"your invisible God has forgotten about you". I haven't seen the first part yet, but will comment more on this as a whole when I do.
It was an extreme "Reader's Digest" version I thought (at least on the Moses part). I came in right as Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac so I didn't see how they portrayed that whole story. It's very easy to judge what happened back then by our standards today. If someone tried to sacrifice their son by putting him on a stack of wood and about to kill him with a knife, he'd be locked up as a psycho. But human sacrifice back then to pagan gods was not unheard of. Loved the special effects of the Red Sea parting, it was very powerful. Wished they had put in the pillar of fire that protected them from the Egyptians while they crossed. Also, the Bible states there were 600,000 men (NOT counting the women and children and animals). This didn't seem to show very many people at all. It would have taken some time to get everyone across, even if they did run. I guess that's Hollywood.
Like Susan, I missed the first part of the story, but I will watch it tonight. There were some small things that I noticed that were not exactly Biblical, but for what it is (a mini series on cable TV on a secular channel) I thought it was well done. I did not like the way Moses was portrayed. The show seems to make him out to be less about faith and more about revenge or power. He kept saying that he would lead his people free rather than God. What is interesting to me though is how some of that might have been true. When we write our own story we will never write ourselves in bad light. So I wonder if there was a hint of some pride and arrogance in Moses. Just interesting fodder for thought. I did like the older Israeli who kept grumbling about Moses' decisions and doubting the entire process. That was very indicative of the mood of so many of that generation, hence the 40 years of wandering without reaching the promised land!
I think is showed Moses temper pretty well, but no self doubt, which I always thought was a integral part of the Moses story. I did love the Abraham part. The actor was very good, conveyed the agony very well. If non-believers watched the first part and that part only, they would see a vengeful, protective God. The old part of the old testament. I do hope that they would stick it out to see God's love.
I really do not know a lot about the details of the Old Testament. I have heard the major stories that were touched on during episode one, but I learned about them when I was in elementary school! I was amazed at how much I DON'T know; even just the names of key people in these stories. I really did learn a lot, and it made me want to read scripture to learn more about it, and that is my hope for the 13 million people who watched it Sunday night. I haven't ever really envisioned in my head that the burning bush was as large as it was in the episode; I have always pictured a smaller version of that. One scene that made me think a little different also was when Moses went back to the Israelites to tell them that God was going to use him to lead them away from slavery. I guess I never really thought that there would be anyone who would question him or think twice about leaving; I mean look at the alternative!!! One question that I had....When Moses killed the Egyptian and he grabbed Moses's necklace did that really happen in scripture?
Hi Lauren, As we discussed last night in our Bible study, the necklace is not Biblical, but just makes for good television :) In Exodus 2:11, it begins to talk about where Moses murdered an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. It says that he looked around to make sure he was alone, and then killed him. On the show, he did it in a crowd of people! He did bury the body in the sand though. I wanted to put this out here on the blog just in case anyone else had the same question!
Lauren, you are right about one thing-there are a lot of good churched people who aren't as literate in the Bible as they think they are. That's the beauty of a show like this-that we are reminded and challenged in our knowledge. I watched it and then followed along in the corresponding Bible sections during commercials, just to make sure that what I saw and what I thought I knew was true or not. I am better for that time spent in the Word, as we all would be if we took advantage of this opportunity. All that to say this-you are not alone in needing to brush up on OT. Keep your head up as the Holy Spirit guides you through the rest of the series.
One of the things that isn't in the Bible but I really appreciated the show having in it was Sarah being included in the story of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac. I checked the story out again in the Bible, and it never references her being there or even having knowledge of it taking place. I wonder if she had been in the 'know', would she have been supportive of Abraham? Sarah never seemed like she had much faith at times... i.e. the Hagar set-up, laughing aloud at the thought of having a baby at old age... So maybe God just kept her out of the picture altogether! Regardless, it did make me think of my role as a wife and mother. Am I supportive of my husband when he makes decisions for our family (especially God-directed decisions)? Also, would I be able to sacrifice my children (in whatever form that may take) if the Lord asked me? Although the show took some artistic freedom with adding Sarah to this story, it still gave me and the 'Big Guy' some good things to talk about! - Sarah
How will non-believers see our God after watching episode 1?
ReplyDeleteI think there may be room for several interpretations. They can see His amazing power at work, but also cringe at His destruction of enemies. I wonder how they will take the period of time that Pharaoh referred to as"your invisible God has forgotten about you". I haven't seen the first part yet, but will comment more on this as a whole when I do.
DeleteMakes me glad that I am not one of His enemies!
DeleteHow will non-believers see our God after watching episode 1?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering how everyone felt about how Moses and Abraham were depicted in the first episode.
ReplyDeleteIt was an extreme "Reader's Digest" version I thought (at least on the Moses part). I came in right as Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac so I didn't see how they portrayed that whole story. It's very easy to judge what happened back then by our standards today. If someone tried to sacrifice their son by putting him on a stack of wood and about to kill him with a knife, he'd be locked up as a psycho. But human sacrifice back then to pagan gods was not unheard of. Loved the special effects of the Red Sea parting, it was very powerful. Wished they had put in the pillar of fire that protected them from the Egyptians while they crossed. Also, the Bible states there were 600,000 men (NOT counting the women and children and animals). This didn't seem to show very many people at all. It would have taken some time to get everyone across, even if they did run. I guess that's Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteLike Susan, I missed the first part of the story, but I will watch it tonight. There were some small things that I noticed that were not exactly Biblical, but for what it is (a mini series on cable TV on a secular channel) I thought it was well done.
ReplyDeleteI did not like the way Moses was portrayed. The show seems to make him out to be less about faith and more about revenge or power. He kept saying that he would lead his people free rather than God. What is interesting to me though is how some of that might have been true. When we write our own story we will never write ourselves in bad light. So I wonder if there was a hint of some pride and arrogance in Moses. Just interesting fodder for thought.
I did like the older Israeli who kept grumbling about Moses' decisions and doubting the entire process. That was very indicative of the mood of so many of that generation, hence the 40 years of wandering without reaching the promised land!
I think is showed Moses temper pretty well, but no self doubt, which I always thought was a integral part of the Moses story. I did love the Abraham part. The actor was very good, conveyed the agony very well.
ReplyDeleteIf non-believers watched the first part and that part only, they would see a vengeful, protective God. The old part of the old testament. I do hope that they would stick it out to see God's love.
I really do not know a lot about the details of the Old Testament. I have heard the major stories that were touched on during episode one, but I learned about them when I was in elementary school! I was amazed at how much I DON'T know; even just the names of key people in these stories. I really did learn a lot, and it made me want to read scripture to learn more about it, and that is my hope for the 13 million people who watched it Sunday night.
ReplyDeleteI haven't ever really envisioned in my head that the burning bush was as large as it was in the episode; I have always pictured a smaller version of that. One scene that made me think a little different also was when Moses went back to the Israelites to tell them that God was going to use him to lead them away from slavery. I guess I never really thought that there would be anyone who would question him or think twice about leaving; I mean look at the alternative!!! One question that I had....When Moses killed the Egyptian and he grabbed Moses's necklace did that really happen in scripture?
Hi Lauren, As we discussed last night in our Bible study, the necklace is not Biblical, but just makes for good television :) In Exodus 2:11, it begins to talk about where Moses murdered an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. It says that he looked around to make sure he was alone, and then killed him. On the show, he did it in a crowd of people! He did bury the body in the sand though. I wanted to put this out here on the blog just in case anyone else had the same question!
DeleteLauren, you are right about one thing-there are a lot of good churched people who aren't as literate in the Bible as they think they are. That's the beauty of a show like this-that we are reminded and challenged in our knowledge. I watched it and then followed along in the corresponding Bible sections during commercials, just to make sure that what I saw and what I thought I knew was true or not. I am better for that time spent in the Word, as we all would be if we took advantage of this opportunity. All that to say this-you are not alone in needing to brush up on OT. Keep your head up as the Holy Spirit guides you through the rest of the series.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that isn't in the Bible but I really appreciated the show having in it was Sarah being included in the story of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac. I checked the story out again in the Bible, and it never references her being there or even having knowledge of it taking place. I wonder if she had been in the 'know', would she have been supportive of Abraham? Sarah never seemed like she had much faith at times... i.e. the Hagar set-up, laughing aloud at the thought of having a baby at old age... So maybe God just kept her out of the picture altogether! Regardless, it did make me think of my role as a wife and mother. Am I supportive of my husband when he makes decisions for our family (especially God-directed decisions)? Also, would I be able to sacrifice my children (in whatever form that may take) if the Lord asked me? Although the show took some artistic freedom with adding Sarah to this story, it still gave me and the 'Big Guy' some good things to talk about! - Sarah
ReplyDelete