Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro and Dr. Jordan B. Peterson discuss the closeness of God, the consequences of idolatry, and what fearing God really means in the newest episode of “Exodus,” streaming now on DailyWire+.
Peterson, Shapiro, and a panel of nine renowned scholars continue their discussion of Exodus, the second book of the Bible and Torah. While the group has previously explored the Ten Commandments in-depth and other major topics, including the meaning and restrictions of an eye for an eye, part of this episode focuses on Exodus 29: 43-46, which references God dwelling among His people multiple times.
“The romantic and tremendous yearning that God has to be among His people is so clear from this language,” Shapiro notes. “He specifically says, ‘It’s not just I brought you into the wilderness to serve me,’ which is the language of a king to his subjects. It’s ‘I brought you out here to live with you, to dwell among you.’”
.@benshapiro on why God sends the Israelites into the wilderness: "It's not just 'I brought you out to the into the wilderness to serve me'…it's 'I brought you out here to live with you, to dwell among you.'" pic.twitter.com/GRT0mjTjFx
— DailyWire+ (@dailywireplus) April 5, 2023
Shapiro explains that it’s a “tremendous sin” against God to disregard Him, because of the significance of God’s desire to be with His people. In response, Shapiro says, God will withdraw from these people.
“You can see this as well, as an ennobling of human destiny,” Peterson said to Shapiro’s point. “In the nihilistic world, everything is gone in a billion years. Then what the hell difference does it make what you do now anyway?”
“There’s an insistence that, despite our fragility and limitations, there’s something so valuable about proper-ordered free-striving among free men and women, let’s say, that God himself takes an interest in that,” Peterson says.
Another topic discussed by the panel is wrongdoing and what it means to fear God — a concept that is hard to grasp for many. Shapiro notes that people are called to both fear and love God simultaneously, comparing the fear of God to love and admiration for family.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP
“You love them so much that you fear harming them, you fear hurting them,” Shapiro says. “When you love people, you know where all their vulnerabilities are, and that’s deliberately where you don’t prey on them,” he continues, saying that doing so can easily destroy a relationship.
Shapiro explains that to foster strong relationships, a person must love and fear someone else — something that is especially true of a relationship with God.
“You might ask, ‘Well, what’s the best way to live?’” Peterson proposes. “And then you might say, ‘Well, to manifest a personality rooted in love, that is the best way to live.’ And maybe that’s some balance between justice and mercy,” he adds.
“If you want to have great relationships with other people, that’s not a bad starting place, and so you’re likely going to thrive if that’s actually the way you conduct yourself,” Peterson says.
This is the fifth of eight new episodes in the series, which will be released weekly, exploring the importance of Exodus according to theological and literary scholars and showing why the book remains significant thousands of years after being written.
For a deep dive into the Ten Commandments and other important topics in Exodus, you can watch previous episodes here.
WATCH: