Virtual Exodus

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:6 that the story of the Exodus is a typology (“example”) of our spiritual experience in this world. In particular, the story of the Exodus with all the carping and rebellion was preserved for us so that we could learn from Israel’s mistakes. The prophets made it clear the Lord was protecting His revelation and glory, and Israel was simply the means He chose. He came very close to destroying them all and starting from scratch with Moses, as He had with Noah. We learn from the broader scope of Scripture it wasn’t so much God was anxious to kill them in the wilderness, but He gave Moses the option.
Moses was a true shepherd. He understood from forty years of experience that sheep are stupid. Starting from scratch wouldn’t solve anything. His own brother Aaron, as well as his sister Miriam, were of the same DNA as Moses, and they were as bad as the rest. Starting fresh from Moses’ own children was unlikely to make that much difference. As it was, they all did die in the wilderness, eventually. It was a totally new generation that conquered Canaan. It made enough difference that Moses wasn’t leading a nation of whiners, but of young and vigorous desert nomads; warriors instead of former slaves.
Future generations were unfaithful so long as things were easy. Only when they were living at the gates of Hell were they faithful. The Martyr Stephen was right: They were incredibly stupid about obeying the Covenant. God gave them all the truth anyone could use in this world, sent His personal angelic attendant to walk with them through every trial, and they still kept wandering off at every opportunity. People are like that — only when they have nothing to lose will they push themselves hard enough to do what’s right. Do you know how I can tell when my body isn’t being driven hard enough to please God? I start having episodes of tachycardia. As long as I am careful with my diet and workouts, those episodes never come. It’s not that I care so much about living that much longer, but I have a mission and those episodes really put a damper on my work. They serve as a warning I can’t afford to take it easy, ever.
Paul says the central meaning of the Exodus was the necessity of embracing difficulty and sorrow in exchange for something far more valuable. If you aren’t having trouble in your Christian life, it’s because you already are in trouble, enslaved to some comfort that will hold you back from seeing God’s glory. You can stay on the Nile Delta and suffer the eventual wrath of God meant for others, or you can wander the more difficult places in this world because that’s where God stands and beckons to those who want to see His face.
America is under God’s wrath. Sure, if you can leave to other lands, by all means, go. Most of us are called to stay physically even as we leave in spirit. America represents the highest level of luxury and worldly comforts, but like Babylon, she must fall from her vast mountain of sins piled up in God’s face. If you don’t understand how America has sinned, then stay here and enjoy the plagues. Your slavery will continue until you are ground into the sand on the banks of the Nile. You won’t simply make bricks, but you’ll be turned into bricks for some fruitless and frivolous purpose aggrandizing mere humans.
The Exodus is not so much about facing a prepper’s apocalyptic future; that’s thinking on the wrong level. Take your wilderness refuge in the mountains of Idaho or Montana or wherever you think you can hide out; that’s fine. Meanwhile, the more important point is to divorce yourself from the meaning of American Babylon. Restore the standards of God’s Justice as Jesus taught it. Turn from the sins that bring the decadent luxuries; turn from the Western materialism. Turn from the intellectual legacy of the West and return to where God stands ready to meet you in the wild lands of Hebrew Mysticism.
How easily we forget that the Ancient Hebrew intellectual culture was the one God specifically built for His revelation. You don’t get the full light of His glory without going back to that.