Welcome to Tuesday! 'Tis time for an escape into da vastness dat is da musicverse with a couple of curve balls thrown into da mix, just to spice things up a bit don'tcha know. We call dis special place of getaway gladness, Tuesday's Musical Notes!!! Welcome friend!
We welcome you! If you're new to da Notes, sit back and relax. Take a load off of dat covid-19/social distancing weary mind and just soak up da rays...You'll soon fade into da land where social distancing has been banished and handshakes and hugs are the norm...or if you don't dig dat jam, you'll find yourself all alone listening to the gentle surf as it caresses the beach like da gentle beat of a kettle drum in a favorite reggae song...
Let's face it, most of us don't have a beach we can escape to, so we hope dis day finds you body fit and your mind sound. Da times can bear down on us pretty hard when we are not used to da work/school from home routine. Have you found it beneficial? Have you discovered da place where you can escape to keep your sanity? Are the walls closing in?
Sounds like dere needs to be a movement of jah people...
Chart success varied for the single "Exodus" by Bob Marley and the Wailers (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Three Little Birds" (Bob Marley and the Wailers)). It went all the way to #1 in Jamaica, but peaked at #103 in the United States. In the United Kingdom, "Exodus" went to #13 .
"Exodus" takes the story of the Israelite people from the Bible and places it into the context of the Rastafarian, a Abrahamic religion that Bob Marley practiced. The album was conceived as an explanation/revelation to the world of the Afrocentric nature of Rastafarian and of their journey to the "Promised Land of Zion" which is the continent of Africa.
Bob Marley had moved to England due to an assassination attempt in his native Jamaica in 1976. He was grazed by a bullet and his wife, Rita, as well as one of the members of his band were shot, but survived. This attempt was made after the concept of the Exodus album had been derived and is somewhat based on the contentious election cycle going on in Jamaica at the time. (See, contentious elections have been going throughout history!) The Exodus album was thus recorded in England and its title track became the first single.
"Exodus", the song, would become the first Bob Marley track that would be receive heavy airplay on soul/r&B stations in the US. "Exodus" would be followed up by several other singles that were well received. So much so, that when Legend, the greatest hits package for Bob Marley and the Wailers AND the best selling Reggae recording of all time, was released, it included more songs from Exodus than any of Marley's other records.
In the multimedia stores that I used to manage and frequent, it seemed that this time of the year, Legend or Exodus could be found playing as background music. There is something about the transition between Spring and Summer that make folks feel like they are moving into a new time, region, or place in their lives. And it seemed that Marley's Reggae sound provided the perfect soundtrack for that transition.
Transition is where we find ourselves as world right now. We seem to be emerging from a season of oppression that fear and perhaps even pride have created (does mankind really have as much control over virus' or the environment as we give ourselves credit?). Our emergence has at its foundation a hope that while things will never be the same, they are at least getting better than what we have experienced in the last several months. The Biblical nation of Israel knew a little something about emerging from oppression.
As we continue our Tuesday's Musical Notes trek through the great stories of the Bible, we come to the book of Exodus. The stories found in the book are well known. Hollywood, has actually promulgated the Exodus narrative as there have been some really good interpretations of the lives and actions found in Exodus, some really good...some not so much. We report, you decide. There are some incredible stories of awakening, peril, escape, and redemption in this book. But the book as a whole has an overall point, in my opinion, to cause us to see a bigger picture.
The story of the Israelites leaving the slavery of Egypt is a picture of our own journey. Whether you wish to admit it or not, we are a slave to our own nature. Once we become weary of that servitude, we realize that God is in control. Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, chapter 1, verses 18-23 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel
We realize that while we may be morally good, we are not perfect. Romans 3:21-24 NASB/The Message/KJV
God, however, is perfect and has made a way of escape from our own personal Egyptians, our wrongdoing, our sin.
We can choose to remain slaves, or we can accept the gift of freedom that God provides, through Jesus, the choice is ours.
We trade our slavery for brotherhood by accepting Jesus' leadership over our lives. Leadership is significantly different than ownership.
This acceptance of Jesus leadership over all of our life is the ONLY way we can be free from the bondage in which we reside. Romans 10:11-13 NASB/The Message/KJV
You must determine with your mind, soul, and spirit to follow Jesus. Will you do that today?
Then celebrate and tell everyone about your freedom! Tell the Gospel, don't judge someone else's slavery.
Do you wish to experience that freedom right now? Ask God. He's there waiting for a visit. He's waiting to have a conversation with you about your life. Just start talking to Him. If you don't wish to be alone to do this call a friend who is a believer or a local pastor. Need help finding someone, email me at rawacr@gmail.com and tell me where you live. I promise I can find someone to talk to God with you. Your freedom is determined by you.
As we begin to see the relinquishing of social restrictions come about, let's celebrate the fact that we can begin getting back into a routine. Does that routine include making bricks with straw and mud, while evil taskmasters watch your every move? Or do you want more from your normal? Do you wish for this time of exodus from quarantine to be a celebration of the freedom that you now experience as a brother of Jesus? All you need do is ask Him and you to can experience a movement of jah people...
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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