Bring your tambourine

It's the one thing you should never leave behind.

Most Americans move during the summer months. That’s probably not a surprise to you.

But it might surprise you that 3 million people move each month. Most of these people make the move across town – or across the street. About 18 percent move to a new state. Very few – about 1% – move to a new country.

Can you imagine how stressful that move must be?

Moving is a lot of work – even if the move is from one apartment to another. It’s a bigger deal to move to another state. You can cram a lot of stuff into a car or moving van. But not everything. So you have to decide what you’re going to keep and what you’re going to get rid of.

Once all those decisions are made, it’s time to collect a bunch of boxes! You scrounge for newspaper or other kinds of padding. Then you carefully pack things into boxes in a somewhat logical manner so that you can easily get to what you need before you are unpacked. You also want to have a pen handy to label the boxes! Preferably a Sharpie. This is a very important step!

If you have your act together, you stage the boxes so all the kitchen stuff is in a pile, and all the bathroom stuff is in another pile. If you’re like me, you’re scurrying to tape up the last few boxes at the last minute.

Moving got me thinking about one of the biggest moves ever in the history of the world.

The Israelite exodus from Egypt.

The Israelites hurriedly packed so they’d be ready to go! What to take? Pots and pans. Clothes. Lanterns. Bedding. What would they need? What should they leave behind? We don't really know - except for the account in Exodus 12: 30-34:

During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.” So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing.

Some of you know the Bible story. They left. The Egyptian army followed. The Red Sea parted, allowing the Israelites to walk though on dry ground. But when the Egyptians pursued, the waters closed, drowning the entire army.

But that's not what leaves me in wonder. What amazes me is what follows in the narrative.

Exodus tells us that Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. Where did all the women get the timbrels?

Timbrels are similar to tambourines. They were played by women of that day to accompany praise songs. When packing up to leave Egypt, apparently the women prepared to praise God. When oppression was greatest, when surrounded by plagues, they anticipated a time of praise. They planned for praise.

And I wonder… do we plan for praise?

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a tambourine to pack.

Photo by Yurii-mr - CC BY-SA 4.0.