“It’s extraordinary, taking away the authority of the powers that be and demonstrating that to the whole nation, maybe most of all to the Hebrews, who themselves had been under Pharaoh’s power. Here is a huge wrecking ball: smash, smash, smash, smash, and after eight months there’s nothing left of Pharaoh’s power.
Then out of this highly technologized world of Egypt—the pyramids, the statuary, the temples—they (the Hebrews) go into the wilderness, which is supposed to be empty. Yet they are all provided for, and they live by the providence of God in a most unlikely place. You can bet that they gained an appreciation for the fertility of the world they were living in—that they did not need all of Pharaoh’s technology to be provided for. That’s a great environmental text, even though I don’t think it’s ever been used that way.”
Exodus Environmentalism
Eugene Peterson
The Joyful Environmentalists: Eugene Peterson and Peter Harris
Interview by Andy Crouch
The All Saints Exodus series is underway. Catch up here.