06/19/2008 Exodus 5:15

06/19/2008

Exodus 5:15 - 6:1 (HCSB) ¹⁵So the Israelite foremen went in and cried for help to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way? ¹⁶No straw has been given to your servants, yet they say to us, “Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but it is your own people who are at fault.”

¹⁷But [Pharaoh] said, “You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, “Let us go sacrifice to the LORD.’ ¹⁸Now get to work. No straw will be given to you, but you must produce the same quantity of bricks.”

¹⁹The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You cannot reduce your daily quota of bricks.” ²⁰When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood _ëwaiting_û to meet them. ²¹“May the LORD take note of you and judge,” they said to them, “because you have made us reek in front of Pharaoh and his officials—putting a sword in their hand to kill us!”

²²So Moses went back to the LORD and asked, “Lord, why have You caused trouble for this people? And why did You ever send me? ²³Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in Your name he has caused trouble for this people, and You haven’t delivered Your people at all.”

^6:1But the LORD replied to Moses, “Now you are going to see what I will do to Pharaoh: he will let them go because of My strong hand; he will drive them out of his land because of My strong hand.”

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Moses had presented himself (with Aaron) to Pharaoh, requesting that the Israelites be allowed to take a respite, a three-day journey away to present sacrifices and offerings to God. Pharaoh responded by refusing their request and forcing the Israelites to collect their own straw for the bricks they were required to make and not reducing the quota of bricks.

I think the Bible is a wonderful book because we get to see people who are so much like ourselves. We can see typical human behavior in the patriarchs and hopefully, learn from their experiences.

Moses sees Pharaoh’s response and complains about the situation. If God had only just let things be, then the Israelites would not have had this additional work imposed on them. In fact, things have gotten worse now that Moses has tried to do what God commanded him to do.

Don’t we sometimes prefer to sit in our current state rather than “rock the boat”? Do we dread standing up for things because we are afraid things might get worse? Do we fail to see what God has in mind?

After Moses complains, God answers. In essence God replies: “ok, now, stand back and watch this! Not only will Pharaoh let them go to worship, he will drive them out of Egypt forever.”

What appeared to be a set-back was only temporary because God’s plan was bigger than that. We need to remember that when God is at work, he will not always make things good for us right away. Things may get worse for us. But if we are willing soldiers in His kingdom, then we will rejoice that our God is in command and His ultimate plan will unfold—just as He has planned.

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