Louie Zamperini And The Ten Commandments

When you have the time, read Exodus 19-20. It's a fascinating passage of Scripture. The Israelites are told to consecrate themselves for two days. They are given explicit instructions to stand at the base of the mountain where the glory of God will be revealed and they are warned repeatedly against going up the mountain or even touching it out of curiosity. Now I don't know about you but one of the thoughts that pops into my head when I read this passage (and it's one of those thoughts you usually don't tell anyone else) is that God comes across like He's afraid of crowds, like He's a germaphobe. It's like God is the little guy in the "Wizard of Oz" who's afraid that people will see him and not be impressed so there's a lot of thunder, shouting, and blustering in general. Why the separation? Why the distance between God and man?

     Yahweh descends onto the mountain in a mighty display of power. He descends amidst thunder, lightning, smoke, and with a voice that echoed throughout the valley. One thing is clear, the Almighty has an "unapproachable holiness." Even in this controlled state where His glory is only partially revealed, the Ancient of Days is so Holy, so pure and mankind so sinful, so fallen--that God's pure and holy presence would mean instant death for any creature. Why though? Why death? Well, the story of Louie Zamperini, I think, gives us an understanding.

       Louie would've been the first to break the four minute mile if not for WWII. He served as a bomber on a B-24 and was one of three survivors when his plane crashed at sea. Louie then proceeded to set the record for survival in a life raft in the open ocean (47 days). During his time on the life raft he and a fellow crewman survived repeated shark attacks and strafing by Japanese fighter pilots only to be "rescued" on 47th day by the Japanese navy. The next two years he endured a nearly impossible imprisonment at the hands of a man who would later be listed as one of the top 40 war criminals. The description Louie gives of life in a POW camp is horrifying to say the least. Beaten mercilessly and nearly dead from starvation Louie had perhaps days to live when the war finally ended. He describes how their first relief came from aid packages dropped by U.S. planes. He and the other prisoners had for so long lived on two cups of seaweed that many nearly died from eating real food. Their bodies weren't used to the nutrients and vitamins in such large doses and their stomachs had trouble digesting the substantive food. For so long they'd lived on a counterfeit that the real thing could have killed them.

     Louie's story is a good (albeit limited) example of what was taking place at the base of the mountain there in Exodus. God created us to be in His presence in the garden but sin so deteriorated our bodies, so marred the image of God in us, so destroyed our purity that to be in the presence of true holiness--true purity would kill us. The text clearly shows us the massive gulf between God and man and the need we have for someone to bridge that gulf. Here again we see how the Ten Commandments drive us to Christ. When you fully comprehend the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man you begin to look around for someone to help. Fortunately there is One who is worthy, who has met all the requirements and who can lead us on an exodus from slavery to salvation.