Exodus 5 “Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore, they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.” So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” So, the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?” Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”
This last week, Pastor Kyle continued in our church’s sermon series through the book of Exodus. He states that just when we think that things cannot get any worse, they often do. This year, 2020, has been so weird, difficult, painful and challenging for everyone in the world, but the truth is this: it could be worse. We have a fighting chance and there is hope that things are going to get better. In Exodus 5, Moses and Aaron invoke the name “the Lord, the God of Israel” to Pharaoh, but Pharaoh does not know God and obey the Egyptian gods. People that do not know God don’t understand why Believers do certain things. They do not know why we go to church and worship, why we pray, why we go to Bible Study, why we observe a Sabbath day of rest on Sunday or why we tithe our income or give offerings to the church. They cannot wrap their minds around it.
No matter how Moses and Aaron thought that their encounter with Pharaoh to “Let my people go”, things got a lot worse. It felt like God wasn’t delivering His people at all … yet. Sometimes, things getting worse before they get better can be a reality. How are we to respond when things seem to get tougher from an earthly perspective? In John 16:33 Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Tribulation is defined in the 1828 Webster’s dictionary as: the troubles and distresses which proceed from persecution. The Lord said that in this world we would have trouble, but for the Christian most days should be pretty good. We tend to expect a quick and sudden end to our troubles, but that is often not what usually happens. But, Jesus is saying that the Christian should always have “His peace” in trying circumstances, even though trouble will always be around us. Know in your heart that the Lord has overcome the world, by His power defeating sin and death and you are His. The days are not good because of the bad things that are going on around us. But, the days are good because today is the day that the Lord and we shall rejoice in it. As Christians, we cannot let a tough season deprive us of our joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Joy despite the circumstances. This world is not the Christian’s home; they are citizens of Heaven. We shall overcome through Christ.
The Lord Jesus left us here to point others to their greatest hope in Himself. Disappointing circumstances create Divine opportunities to point disappointed people to God. Let’s not miss our opportunity today.
Let's continue Pastor Kyle's message in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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