Original: August 3, 2007
Cancun, Mexico
13 "In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling. Exodus 15:13
In the 80’s the band Huey Lewis and the News came out with the hit song “The Power of Love.” The title of this song brings out the truth that love adds strength to one’s life. The love of my wife brings the confidence in my manhood (because she is a good woman), the love of my boys strengthens my resolve to stay fit. The love of my students and youth staff strengthens my desire to persevere through attrition. The love of my parents strengthens me to press on and make the right choices. The love of my friends strengthens my desire to sharpen and be sharpened by those most like myself.
Like the 70’s song by the Blues Brothers “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” (what’s up with the song titles?), the Song of Moses begins in Exodus 15:1 and goes all the way to verse 21. Verse 13 is the first mention of strength and Moses uses classic Hebrew parallelism to accentuate his point. In the Hebrew form of poetry known as parallelism one line describes or repeats another line using different words. In line one Moses says, “In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed”, but the second line compliments or defines the first by restating, “In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.”
See the parallel phrases, words and meanings? Pretty cool, huh?
Yes, God led them. Yes, God’s strength smote the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. Yes, God led them by a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of smoke during the day. But something much more powerful led the people.
It was the power of love.
Above all things the Israelites (at least at this point in their exodus) knew God’s love led them. It was this love that inspired and motivated the people to follow God, but I am sure the miracles didn’t hurt much either.
As a man I am called to love and lead my wife and my three boys. Recently, I had a run in with some parents who were angry at a comment I made about the extreme drinking habits of their son. This family is a big time party family that attends our church on an irregular basis. Admittedly, my comment to their son was flippant, irresponsible, and not done in a spirit of love, but my hope is that this so-called Christian family would cease to let their children lead them and instead choose the path of love and discipline.
We read in scripture, “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him” (Proverbs 13:4).
As a man and a father I must love my wife and boys enough to bring discipline and leadership motivated, of course, by love. My boys do not have to worry abut the peer pressure of dating, for example because their strength comes from the statement “my parents won’t let me.” Just as God’s strength through his loving kindness led Israel by loving strength leads those God has entrusted to my care.
