Moses the Archetypical Nationalist

Last Saturday, ABC Network did a showing of the 1956 classic epic film The Ten Commandments , starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner. It tells the story of how Moses freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as told in the Biblical book of Exodus. ABC often does a showing of this film every year around Easter time. It’s actually quite surprised me personally that they still do this (considering how multi-culturalists despise when Christianity is imposed on non-Christians, especially on television). But thank God they still do, for this has to be one of the greatest films ever made. Of course it’s also a great personal favorite of mine ever since I first watched it at the age of seven.

Of course why shouldn’t it? It’s based on one of the greatest and influential stories ever told. The story of Moses and the Exodus has served as a story of inspiration for millions around the world across history. Of course we hear about how Black slaves in America looked to this story to inspire hope in their eventual freedom from slavery. Sadly this is the only paradigm allowed when discussing this story, an ancient tale promoting a Marxist-style agenda of master vs. slave class warfare. Certainly there is that element to the story, but the major message of the story is lost when we look at it that way.

The Exodus is not a story of slaves rebelling against their masters (at least not per se), but the story of the birth of a nation from oppression. Moses is commanded by God to free the Israelites so they may live free and build a great nation under divine guidance in the Promised Land. Moses is not some ancient Marxist but is really an ancient forefather of modern nationalist leaders. Indeed, the story of Exodus and the model of Moses have served as examples to nationalists throughout history. When Bogdan Khmelnytsky freed the Ukrainian nation from Polish rule in 1648, he was hailed as the “Ukrainian Moses” who liberated his people from captivity. When the Boers made their Great Trek across southern Africa, they constantly invoked the Exodus story to explain their situation; how they fled from the “British Pharaoh” into the wilderness to find their own “Promised Land”. Jean-Jacques Rousseau paid homage to the example of Moses as a model nation builder in his Considerations for the Government of Poland, when lecturing the Poles on how to become a nation themselves. Even Niccolo Machiavelli paid his respects to Moses as one of the models for his ideal prince who would unite Italy. Yet sadly we never hear about this today when learning about the story of Exodus and its impact on the world. Moses can easily be considered the archetypical nationalist and nation-builder, whose example has shaped the world. A very good book that deals with the topic of the influence the story of Moses had on the development of nationalism is Anthony D. Smith’s book Chosen Peoples: Sacred Sources of National Identity, which features Rembrandt’s painting Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law on its cover.

Many of the nationalist components of the story are certainly portrayed in The Ten Commandments. Moses (played by Charlton Heston) is raised in the luxury of the Egyptian royal household, far away from his original Hebrew roots. Yet sooner or later he discovers his true heritage and immediately sets out to know the ways of his people. In the process he ends up killing an Egyptian official who he knew personally for the sake of protecting a fellow Hebrew from being killed. Fortunately Pharaoh (Yul Brynner) spares his life and sends him into exile. There he lives contently among Bedouins and even among them takes a bride. Of course he is later called upon God himself to go back to Egypt and free his people from bondage. Throughout the movie, Moses is compelled by the devotion to his own people to give up his comfortable existence for their sake. He does this twice; first when forsaking royal privilege (even the chance to becoming Pharaoh himself!) to live among his enslaved people and then forsaking his content life as a common shepherd to liberate them. Is this not what we would expect from a man truly devoted to the well being of his nation? So certainly Ten Commandments is a must-see movie for any nationalist who seeks historical role models to emulate; a story of how, as the narrator in the movie states, “a nation arose and freedom was born into the world”.

Recent news has come out of a remake of this great classic. While many Christians are happy with this news, I really cannot join them. I just can’t think of the ways in which Hollywood political correctness will ruin not only the legacy of a great movie, but the legacy of a great story from antiquity as well. It’s really sad when you think about it!