The First Encounter with Pharaoh
Notes
Transcript
Turn with me to Ex. 5:1-22.
At the start, we find Moses and Aaron obeying God’s instruction. They spoke the words the LORD told them to speak, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel”
They Were Following God’s Call
They Were Following God’s Call
They were following God’s call in Exodus 3:18
“18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’”
And so we come to v.1 and that is exactly what Moses and Aaron do. They do everything the LORD tells them to do and say.
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ”
YHWH God of Israel, says to you Pharoah, “Let My People Go.”
Understand this is the God of Genesis. He is the one who spoke all things into existence.
When He say let there be Light....there was light. The stars, moon and sun with all the planets are YHWH handy work. He speaks and the wind obey, the water, the mountains all of creation. And yet here is a man, standing in defiance against the creator.
Then Pharaoh asked, “Who is Yahweh?” (v. 2).
2 And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”
The creature saying to the creator, DO I KNOW YOU? Well he is about to.
The book of Exodus answers this question.
The question that is so important to you to know and understand… “I am Yahweh/the LORD” is a major theme in the book.
Pharaoh’s question shows not only an acknowledgement problem, it also shows an attitude problem.
The second part of the question is “Who is YHWH… that I should obey His voice?”
In other words, he asked, “Who is your god that I should take Him seriously?”
Pharaoh is about to experience firsthand why he should take Yahweh seriously.
Let me add right here what is about to follow is God’s soveren plan to show His glory and power.
Between Exodus 5 and Exodus 11 God will declare numerous times that the purpose of his actions are so that Pharaoh and Egypt will “know the Lord” (Ex. 7:5, 17; 8:10, 22; 9:14, 16, 29; 10:2)
Anthony T. Selvaggio
In fact Paul quotes from Ex. 9:16 when he says, in Romans 9:17
17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”
Despite his questions and audacity, Moses and Aaron persisted. They said, “God of the Hebrews has met with us” (v. 3).
3 So they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”
They made their plea, asking that they “may sacrifice.” Here we again see the language of worship being used.
They also added, “or else He may strike us with plague.”
It seems that they were implying that if Pharaoh did not let the people go, the consequences would be horrific for both Egypt and Israel.
This, of course, is manifested in the coming plagues.
Here Pharaoh received his warning! But he refused to obey the Lord’s word.
Moses and Aaron were bold with their request before Pharaoh. The phrase “God … has met with us” reminds us of a passage in Acts 4:13:
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and knew that they had been with Jesus.
Where did the apostles’ boldness come from? It came from being with Jesus.
Think of Hebrews 11:27
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
In a similar fashion, we endure by relying on Him who is invisible.
The early church gathered for prayer and as a result they “were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God’s message with boldness” Acts 4:31
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Does this not occur for believers today as well?
We have the Spirit of God living in us. This reality should bring holy boldness.
Unfortunately for Moses, after he spoke boldly and the results were not what he expected, he got dejected. And the Lord had to keep reminding him of the promises.
Do not forget the Lord’s promises.
The King Refuses to Listen (5:4–9)
The King Refuses to Listen (5:4–9)
Pharaoh would not listen, despite what Moses and Aaron had said.
Instead, he thought this whole thing was a distraction.
4 Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor.”
5 And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”
6 So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying,
7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8 And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’
9 Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.”
As a result, Pharaoh decided to make things worse for Israel.
He now said
(1) they would not be given straw (5:7), yet
(2) they must produce the same number of bricks.
Pharaoh did not think they were working hard enough, so he gave them more to do, thinking that they would not have idealistic dreams of going into the wilderness to worship if they were busy working.
In fact, he not only gave them more to do but also made the conditions worse. He told the taskmasters and the foremen to make it worse and to ignore their cries.
An Awful Situation: Bricks without Straw (5:10–14)
An Awful Situation: Bricks without Straw (5:10–14)
Israel was already in bondage.
They were slaves.
They had built great cities and worked on agricultural projects.
They were oppressed socially, economically, and politically. Now it went from bad to worse.
They were in great need of mercy.
In verses 10–13 we see the slave drivers doing as Pharaoh demanded.
10 And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I will not give you straw.
11 Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.’ ”
12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
13 And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, “Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.”
Now in verse 14 the foremen, who were apparently Israelites in middle management, were beaten because the people had not supplied as many bricks as before.
14 Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?”
Can you imagine this lifestyle?
I will say this Moses and Aaron were not going to be winning any popularity contest.
As the story continues, v15-21, the foremen turned to Pharaoh in protest because they did not understand why they were being beaten.
They were caught in the middle.
Perhaps they thought the slaves should be beaten instead of them. Pharaoh refused to listen, and the foremen were in despair.
You can see why the foremen would go to Pharaoh, but it seems like they should have instead turned to God for deliverance.
It was His face they should have been seeking, not the one who put them in bondage in the first place.
Do you take your problems to God in prayer? Cry out like the psalmist:
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; And attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me.
Not only did they go to Pharaoh instead of God, they also lashed out at their leaders.
Look at v. 21
21 And they said to them, “Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
The word adhorrent means = Stink or reek
They said, “You have made us reek in front of Pharaoh” (5:21).
The beat-up foremen were looking to blame someone, so why not Moses and Aaron?
Remember, Moses and Aaron are just the messenger…It is God, YHWH who they are really blaming. Instead of crying out for mercy to the LORD they cry and whine about their mistreatment.
When you do the will of God it is never the popular thing. It is counter intuitive to the worlds way of things.
Moses Cries Out (5:22)
Moses Cries Out (5:22)
Because the people rejected Moses, Moses cries out to God wanting to know why this was happening.
22 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?
He did not understand why obedience made things worse. Moses was rightly disappointed, but he should not have been shocked for God told him that Pharaoh would not listen (3:19; 4:21).
Did not God tell him in advance that this very thing was going to happen.
19 But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.
Nevertheless, he was discouraged because of the terrible situation.
From verse 22, notice how Moses is beginning to question
(1) God’s goodness (“why have You caused trouble for this people?”),
(2) God’s purpose (“why did You ever send me?”)
(3) God’s actions (“You haven’t delivered Your people at all”).
Moses reminds us of ourselves. Moses was an imperfect sinner, like us. He was a man in desperate need of God’s mercy and grace, like us. Here, he is at a crisis of belief.
On a positive note, at least Moses was addressing God. He cried out to God.
It was an honest groaning before the Lord.
Moses’ complaint is like the prayers in the Psalms, as people lamented and cried out (see Ps 77).
1 I cried out to God with my voice—To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me.
It is okay to cry out with questions. Even Jesus, while on the cross, cried out, “Why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:46).
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
These questions are not sinful. They just need to be humble, honest, and faithful. Ask God your questions!
But do not ask sinfully or rebelliously.
And remember, God does not have to answer our questions (He never answered all of Job’s!), but He does hear our questions.
So that is what chapter 5 is all about.
At times, life brings deep discouragement, pain, trouble, and questions.
It can be a stinking mess. Moses was following God, but things actually got worse.
How do you fight this discouragement?
You fight it with promises. That is what chapter 6 is about. Which we will look at closer next week. Let us pray.