Confronted By God (Part 3 Exodus) Series

Exodus 5:1-2, 22-23 NRSV

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”

22 Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people.”

Exodus 7 1-7 NRSV

The LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and I will multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 When Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring my people the Israelites, company by company, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.” 6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the LORD commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Two weeks ago, we talked about the birth of Moses. Long before anyone knew, we discovered that God had a plan.

Last week, we talked about the call of Moses. We explored the prophets and were reminded that when God calls, God goes with us.

Today we will explore these moments where Moses, Pharaoh, and God interact. And out of this exchange we will realize with the Egyptians AND the Hebrews, that God is powerful enough to do what he says.

Before we start, we need to be reminded a bit about what has gone on before.

The Israelites have been enslaved for four hundred years. They do not remember ever being free. Their priests still hold worship and ceremonies, but no one really believes that God can save them, much less will save them.

Moses, himself, raised in the court of Pharaoh made an aborted attempt many years before when he saw an Egyptian guard beating an Israelite. But after killing the guard and hiding the body, Moses ends up going on the run, hiding from the consequences of this action.

In the background, we have Pharaoh, and the gods of Egypt. Here are a few that the Israelites were surrounded with, and whom they felt had more power than the god the priests wanted them to worship.

It is obvious in these passages the Pharaoh himself believes that this “god” whom Moses speaks of has no power whatsoever. As it says in 5:2, Pharaoh does not know this God and will not let the people go.

Pharaoh and the gods worshiped by the people of Egypt are placed against the God of creation. The Egyptians will watch. The Hebrews will watch. And only as one after another is defeated will all people come to recognize that this is not some god created by people, that this is the God who created all people.

1) About the Plagues and the gods they defeated:

Let’s have a rundown of some of the Gods that will be defeated – because you can’t understand the plagues unless you understand these Gods.

There are many gods and goddesses as well as plagues I won’t mention, all have a direct relationship in freeing the people, not only from slavery, but also from worship of other gods. Because God will present them with a covenant, that He alone will be the one they worship.

First of all, we have the god Hapi. He was believed to control the Nile, bringing the flooding each spring that spread the fertile soil over the area, allowing for the crops to be sown. While not seen as a major God, he was the one most celebrated, because without his protection, no crops could be grown.

Contrast that with the first plague – when the Nile is turned from a river of life into a river of death. Hapi cannot intervene. God is more powerful than the Nile itself. It is HIS hand that brings the nourishment to the land of the Egyptians.

Another God that comes into play early on is the goddess Heqet. She is the goddess of fertility and is often portrayed with the head of a frog. When her husband Horus creates people on his potters wheel, she breathed life into them before placing them in the womb of the mother. Women often wore amulets with her depiction for fertility.