Exodus 5
1After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, for they must go out into the wilderness to hold a religious festival in my honor.’”
2“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the LORD that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
3But Aaron and Moses persisted. “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared. “Let us take a three-day trip into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the LORD our God. If we don’t, we will surely die by disease or the sword.”
4“Who do you think you are,” Pharaoh shouted, “distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work! 5Look, there are many people here in Egypt, and you are stopping them from doing their work.”
6That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the slave drivers and foremen he had set over the people of Israel: 7“Do not supply the people with any more straw for making bricks. Let them get it themselves! 8But don’t reduce their production quotas by a single brick. They obviously don’t have enough to do. If they did, they wouldn’t be talking about going into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to their God. 9Load them down with more work. Make them sweat! That will teach them to listen to these liars!”
10So the slave drivers and foremen informed the people: “Pharaoh has ordered us not to provide straw for you. 11Go and get it yourselves. Find it wherever you can. But you must produce just as many bricks as before!” 12So the people scattered throughout the land in search of straw.
13The slave drivers were brutal. “Meet your daily quota of bricks, just as you did before!” they demanded. 14Then they whipped the Israelite foremen in charge of the work crews. “Why haven’t you met your quotas either yesterday or today?” they demanded.
15So the Israelite foremen went to Pharaoh and pleaded with him. “Please don’t treat us like this,” they begged. 16“We are given no straw, but we are still told to make as many bricks as before. We are beaten for something that isn’t our fault! It is the fault of your slave drivers for making such unreasonable demands.”
17But Pharaoh replied, “You’re just lazy! You obviously don’t have enough to do. If you did, you wouldn’t be saying, ‘Let us go, so we can offer sacrifices to the LORD.’ 18Now, get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you must still deliver the regular quota of bricks.”
19Since Pharaoh would not let up on his demands, the Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble. 20As they left Pharaoh’s court, they met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them. 21The foremen said to them, “May the LORD judge you for getting us into this terrible situation with Pharaoh and his officials. You have given them an excuse to kill us!”
22So Moses went back to the LORD and protested, “Why have you mistreated your own people like this, Lord? Why did you send me? 23Since I gave Pharaoh your message, he has been even more brutal to your people. You have not even begun to rescue them!” (Exodus 5:1-23, NLT)
The Daily DAVEotional
If you’re a Christian you’re certainly familiar with the Exodus story which was popularized by the 1956 movie, The Ten Commandments.
The story chronicles the interaction between Pharaoh and Moses, whom God commissioned to act as His representative in an appeal to Pharaoh to let God’s people go.
This chapter highlights the initial volley between Pharaoh and Moses.
Moses has just met with the Jewish leaders and announced to them that God has indeed heard their cries and intends to rescue them from their Egyptian overlords.
In the ensuing interchange, Moses submits his request to Pharaoh who promptly tightens the screws on his Israelite subjects. Pharaoh doesn’t know the Lord and he doesn’t know Moses, and he’s certainly not going to take orders from some nomadic recluse who has just arrived on the scene.
Pharaoh responds as all tyrants do – he exerts his power in a cruel and forceful way. He demands that the Israelites meet their daily quota of bricks but without the provision of straw that is needed in order to make said bricks.
This tactic of retribution is as old as time – if you get out of line in any way, you are made to suffer even worse conditions. It’s an effective deterrent to keep people from organizing any kind of coordinated resistance.
The conditions for the Israelites are now even worse than before Moses showed up. They’re expected to make bricks but they’re given no straw. When they cannot meet their quotas, verbal and physical punishment follow.
To say that the Israelite foreman aren’t happy would be a gross understatement. They’ve been put in an impossible situation. There is no denying it. When they see Moses, the lay into him. Wouldn’t you? If someone promised to rescue you but then their initial efforts made your life even worse, wouldn’t you be upset?
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Moses then goes back to the Lord and protests:
Why have you mistreated your own people like this, Lord? Why did you send me? Since I gave Pharaoh your message, he has been even more brutal to your people. You have not even begun to rescue them!”
I’ve probably read this story a hundred times and yet missed the impact of Moses’ response.
You see, for most of us, we know how the story ends. We’ve seen the movie and we’ve read the chapters that follow. We know that this is just an opening scene in a larger story. This isn’t the climax and this is not how the story ends.
But Moses doesn’t know that. He didn’t have the benefit of a movie and he was seeing these events play out in real time. From his perspective, God seemed to be reneging or possibly unable to follow through on His promise to rescue His people.
Everything Moses said was 100% true. Pharaoh WAS more brutal to God’s people after Moses’ initial interaction and the people WERE worse off.
So what’s the point?
The point is that we have limited perspective on God, His motives and His plans.
God promised to rescue His people and He sent Moses as His representative to Pharaoh to coordinate the rescue effort.
When things don’t go well initially, Moses barks back at God. But if Moses knew the rest of the story, he would understand that God’s purposes and His plan to rescue His people was much more complicated and complex than any plan Moses would create. That’s because God’s purposes include elements that we haven’t considered.
God’s rescue plan is multi-faceted and includes a spiritual component. It’s not just about moving a large group of people from one zip code to another.
Moses didn’t see that and so he complained.
And we often don’t see it in our own circumstances either. How often have I complained to God when He failed to do what I wanted in the way I wanted or in the time frame I expected?
When God fails to act, do I attack His character or question His motives?
The question then is this: for God to be a deliverer (rescuer) must he deliver in the way I expect or in the time frame I expect?
The answer is obviously no. My perspective is limited. God’s perspective is not. God’s purposes will not be thwarted, but He does not execute His plans to fulfill His purposes on my timetable. God doesn’t operate by committee.
The next time you’re tempted to question God or His motives or wonder why He’s not acting, remember Moses’ protest to God that He had not even begun to rescue His people. The truth is that God was laying the foundation for a rescue that was far beyond anything Moses could have dreamed.
God is always at work, even when we don’t realize it.
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Reflection
When have you questioned God’s work in your life? When have you thought to yourself that maybe God was not doing something that He promised to do?
What is an example of how you’ve seen God work in a way that was different than what you expected?
Why do you think we so easily doubt God or question Him even when we have mounds of evidence that He is powerful, true and able to accomplish all that He desires?
What is a current situation in your life where you are tempted to respond as Moses did? How can you adopt a big picture approach, recognizing that God’s perspective is greater than ours?
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