Sometimes we think that battling for the Lord ought to be easy. I mean, here’s a Guy who created the universe by talking! It’s like Bill Cosby said to his son once on The Cosby Show "I brought you into this world and I can take you back out!" We like have a powerful person on our side.
The problem is we don’t see God often just step up, say a few words, and change the world so that it suits us. There’s this little nuisance called faith that muddies the waters of our battles all up. We say "okay, God - I’m fighting for you so here we go and we step out and start fighting for the Lord - and nothing happens except that we make our enemies really really mad.
That’s sort of the situation in which Moses finds himself in Exodus chapter 5. He’s grown up in Pharaoh’s court - stood up for his people and had to run for his life - spent 40 years in the wilderness before God called to him from the midst of a burning bush to go back to Egypt - not just to save his own skin but to save an entire people. God had to practically twist Moses’ arm behind his back to get him to agree - at one point it says that God got pretty miffed at Moses - but in God’s patience Moses finally relented.
So now he’s gone back to Egypt and told the leaders of the people what God had said and showed them the miracles and they accepted him - at least so far. Now he’s going to go to Pharaoh and watch God work - with the first order of business: diplomacy.
Verse 1
This is kind of like saying "this town ain’t big enough for the two of us so I give you until high noon or it’s pistols on main street!" Moses thinks - I’ll just use the name of God and that oughta do it! It doesn’t.
Verse 2
Pharaoh says - I don’t take orders from anyone - I’m a god after all. Who is this other pipsqueak god you speak of - YAHWEH? Who is that? Let the people go - are you crazy? I detect a faint chuckle here.
Verses 3 - 5
So Moses changes his speech a little bit - saying "the God of the Hebrews" told us to do this. Not only that but He met with us - that ought to impress you, Pharaoh. Moses demand "let my people go" has turned to "please!" And not only that but Moses says God might hurt them if they didn’t obey Him.
But far from sympathetic, Pharaoh reacts even more strongly at this upstart Moses. He recasts the request as an excuse for a holiday - a time for laziness - not productivity. Once again, Pharaoh is thinking in both political and economic terms. He’s succeeded in protecting his country from the Hebrews siding with a foreign invader or leaving and hurting Pharaoh’s labor force by forcing the Hebrews to build him cities. He is not about to give up that - he thinks he holds all the cards.
Often the enemy or the world thinks it holds all the cards - and they won’t budge an inch until forced. But two things are going on here - faith building on the part of Moses, Aaron and the people - but also case building against Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. God wants to give them ample opportunity simply to obey without being forced. Pharaoh refuses - and brings about retribution for Moses doing this.
Verses 6 - 9
What Pharaoh is trying to do here is more than just punish Moses and the people - and it’s a pretty smart move - he’s trying to wipe out this fledgling opposition leader by putting a wedge between him and his people. And it works.
Verses 10 - 14
The orders get passed on to the taskmasters and then on to the Israeli foremen who reacted to this unjust demand. What was left out was the "why" of it and the context. Just an observation here - Jesus said that Satan is the "father of lies" and when he lies he speaks his native language. But lies are often nothing more than a grain of truth hidden in a sack of falsity. The enemy will use anything and everything to his advantage - including withholding key pieces of a story so that the reaction is what he wants.
So the Israeli foremen ask an audience with Pharaoh.
Verses 15 - 19
Pharaoh calls them "lazy" - that’s his conclusion. The foremen blame Pharaoh but Pharaoh, again holding all the cards - seemingly - turns the blame right back on them with this withheld piece of knowledge of the feast. It seems that they didn’t know anything about the interaction with Moses - so their argument is overcome by Pharaoh.
Then they turn their anger on Moses.
Verses 20 - 21
Moses apparently got wind of the meeting and knew just what Pharaoh would do so they go to meet the guys coming out. What they might not have realized was the reaction. The foremen go from bowing down and worshiping Moses to accusing him - wanting the very God who sent them to judge Moses & Aaron for ruining their reputation and putting their lives at risk.
Some people just get upset when the true cost of discipleship is revealed. They think God would never allow me to undergo such pain - doesn’t He love me? And yet - we are sometimes called to undergo persecution.
Acts 5:41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name NIV
Moses - didn’t react to the foremen, but he sure reacts to God!
Verses 22 - 23
Pretty strong words - Moses doesn’t actually accuse God of personally causing this trouble - the Hebrew is "allowed it to happen." So he says "why’d You even send me if You weren’t planning to do anything!"
Isn’t that our complaint too when we don’t see immediate and total surrender from the enemy.
The trouble is that Moses doesn’t know all that God is doing here - and neither do we when we step out for Him. We’re the soldiers in the field - not the general watching the satellite and AWACS feeds coming in - seeing the whole picture. Would our response simply be: "All right, God - I’m not sure what You’re doing here, but I’m trusting You - what next?"
Well, God does respond:
Chapter 6
Verse 1
"Now you shall see" God has Moses and Pharaoh and the people of Israel right where He wants them - Moses feels helpless, the people feel hopeless, and Pharaoh feels angry and powerful.
It’s not until God strips away everything that we can truly see His work for what it is. And it’s not until we stir the pot that we see how bad the flesh is and how awful the enemy really is.
Notice that God predicts - not only will Pharaoh let them leave, he will actually "drive" them out. God’s solutions are always perfect and adequate.
Verses 2 - 8
God brackets what He says to Moses and the people with this phrase: "I am the Lord." And He uses the name He gave them - YAHWEH - what’s what the capital LORD means.
He is self sufficient - He can do whatever He wants. He is the Lord - and not us. And when He says something we ought to pay attention.
Notice that He says that even though He appeared to Abraham and the others - He didn’t give His personal name until now. God is gradually re-introducing Himself to His people and revealing more about Himself to them. This is the next step.
He then lays the groundwork for what He is doing: "I have an agreement I made with you to give you the land - and I’m going to perform it." Just because God doesn’t work in the way we would do it doesn’t mean His work won’t get done.
But notice the reaction:
Verses 9 - 13
The people did not listen because of "their broken spirit and harsh slavery." Sometimes people will not hear the gospel at first because the enemy has whipped them around and they are slaves to sin by nature. Sometimes it takes time and seeing God’s hand work in others before who God is really sinks in.
In a way Moses probably thought the mission was a complete failure - and God has to convince him all over again to do the job he was commissioned to do. Do you ever feel that way? After you step out to obey God’s call - you fall on your face and think - "I knew it, God shouldn’t have chosen me." Think about the illogic of that. Who knows more about you and about how to accomplish the task, you or God?
Moses says that he is a man of uncircumcised lips - it basically means that he was not a powerful speaker. God will hear none of it and basically commands Moses and Aaron to get back to the task at hand.
I like this in one way - that is: God listened to them, and interacted with them about their worries - yet kept them "on task." God is not an unfeeling slave driver - He cares about how we feel and wants us to build faith and trust in Him. Sometimes that comes from simply obeying in the face of utter failure.
Verses 14 - 30
We won’t go through the genealogy here except to point out this: its purpose is in part to point out that Moses and Aaron are in the position they are in not because of anything they or their descendants did. Neither of them was the first born, and their ancestor Levi was denied an inheritance in the land.
God doesn’t choose us based on our abilities. So we shouldn’t rely on those abilities to get God’s work done.
Moses ends up repeating the same thing - I can’t speak so how can I get this done. So now God explains.
Chapter 7
Verses 1 - 2
Moses would be God in that he would speak with God’s authority. Aaron would then be the mouthpiece by which "God’s" word was spoken to Pharaoh.
Verses 3 - 7
God will supply abundant reasons to believe, yet those who chose not to will experience a hardening, not a softening of the heart. Not only will the signs to follow allow the Israelites to leave, it will also provide an opportunity for the people of Egypt to know who YAHWEH is, and His power.
Verses 8 - 13
I love this - the world can counterfeit but it cannot compete!
Verses 14 - 25
This is still very much a power struggle - and Pharaoh thinks that because his power seems equal to God’s that he is still in control. Of course - his magicians couldn’t undo what God had done - only make more death. Often the good Satan claims to do causes even more harm in the end.
The Egyptians thought of the Nile in sacred terms - it was what provided them their very life. In one act, God took away that upon which they depended - both spiritually and physically.
What do you depend on for your spiritual and physical well being? Is it your investments, your possessions, your power, your friends or loved ones, your philosophies or even your good acts?
God says that all the good you think you have is nothing but death. Listen to what God said through Isaiah the prophet:
Isaiah 64:6-8 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. 8 But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. ESV
Instead of realizing their wrongs and submitting to the molding of God, they dug around the edges of the Nile hoping to find drinkable water - we don’t know if they succeeded, but it’s doubtful they did.
What do you do when faced with the enormity of your own sin - do you try to find little good things and just focus on them while ignoring the bigger problem? In the power struggle with God - win by losing!
Conclusions
Look at the responses of those involved:
Moses - unsure of himself, doubtful of the cause
Pharaoh - self assured, powerful, ignorant
The People of Israel - beaten down, leery, angry
The people of Egypt - inconvenienced, but unaware
God’s answer to each:
Moses - keep going, I’ve sent you and will help you - obey
Pharaoh - you don’t know who you are messing with, but you soon will - obey
Israel - I’m the same God you’ve known all along, trust Me
Egypt - watch and see what I’m going to do
Next time - the frogs invade!
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