The Fortunate Son and The Tragic Hero
I must start by admitting that I now retract my previous statements about the bible being a bore. The story of Moses is both compelling and beautiful. I feel a large portion of my personal shift in opinion has to do with the increased complexity of characters in Exodus. Portions of Exodus allowed me to feel like I was in the story, rather than being informed about it. Though, I’m sure, an engaging narrative is far from the bible’s main intention, it helped me focus on the content. As readers, we get to know Moses better than any other character, thus far. I could relate to Moses’ doubt in himself, and that he could set it aside for his belief in a greater power. Even more interesting, to me, than Moses, was the Pharaoh. For me, the Pharaoh came across as a perfectly tragic figure. Yes, he does bad things: He won’t let the people go. But does he have a choice? Or is he simply at the mercy of God’s will? If in fact, “The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh” then who’s really responsible for what’s going on? I can understand the Pharaoh going up against God when flies and frogs are all that’s on the table, but the immanent death of his own son? No man, who possesses free will, could ever allow that. Seen from a certain perspective, the story presents an interesting tragic scenario. A man forced to challenge God, by God himself.
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