When Things Aren't Going Well

As I read this passage, I couldn’t help but sit back in my chair and think sheesh, this one is almost stickier than the last passage, you know, the one about God seeking to kill Moses and the whole circumcision situation. If you thought it would only get easier from here, it's not…

Let's dive into this Exodus 5:1-21

Exodus 5:1–21 NASB95

And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, 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, otherwise He will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labors!” Again Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!” So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying, “You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves. “But the quota of bricks which they were making previously, you shall impose on them; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are lazy, therefore they cry out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ “Let the labor be heavier on the men, and let them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.” So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I am not going to give you any straw. ‘You go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, but none of your labor will be reduced.’ ” So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters pressed them, saying, “Complete your work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw.” Moreover, the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not completed your required amount either yesterday or today in making brick as previously?” Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants? “There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people.” But he said, “You are lazy, very lazy; therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ “So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the quota of bricks.” The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble because they were told, “You must not reduce your daily amount of bricks.” When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were waiting for them. They said to them, “May the Lord look upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Moses walks into Egypt, most likely thinking that this is going to be a quick (ish) ordeal and that he will be home by the end of the month. We might remember that God has ordained Moses, after all, to go to Egypt and confront Pharaoh with the words, “Let my people go!.” Out of all the characters in this story, Moses should be the main one who keeps cool and understands everything that is happening. But here is the thing: we know what is going to happen to Moses if we have read or heard the story of Exodus, but Moses doesn’t know what is next except what God has told him.

To understand what is happening, we must start at the beginning with the first word of this Chapter, “Afterwards.” The word “afterwards” is an implied recap, reminding the reader to recall everything that has happened before this point. So, let's recap. But to save us time, I won’t get into how, at the beginning of the Exodus story, the Egyptians began to fear the Israelite people because of the sheer volume of the people. I won’t get into how, because of this fear, the Egyptian Pharaoh forced the Israelites into slavery. I won’t get into how, even under the pressure of oppression, the Israelite people still grew in number because God had blessed them. I won’t get into that the Israelite people's numbers didn’t grow because of an excellent libido at the end of a torturous work day but because God made a promise. I won’t get into that Pharaoh, out of fear of how the number of Israelites kept growing, did what any world leader does when they are concerned about population control, and he ordered the midwives to enter into a practice of murdering babies to control the masses. I won’t get into how the midwives feared God, so they didn’t comply with Pharaoh's orders. I won’t get into how, since the midwives wouldn’t abort the babies, the pharaoh instead ordered his own men to commence a campaign of murder by throwing all the Hebrew baby boys into the Nile.

I won’t get into how a mother, out of motherly instinct, or silent rebellion or both, chose life for her precious baby boy. I won’t get into how, with a lump in her throat, she turned her little boy over to the waters of the Nile, the very tool that was being used to abort the baby boys of Isreal, trusting God to save her baby boy. I won’t get into how this baby boy in his Ark of papyrus, tar and pitch would find his rescuer to be the very daughter of Pharaoh, and as she lifted that crying baby out of the little ark, she fell in love with him. I won’t get into how she named him Moses, which is an Egyptian word for drawn up out of. I won’t get into how Moses’s sister was sent to keep a watchful eye on her brother, and that as she witnessed all that was happening, a thought came to her mind that she could walk right up to Pharaoh's daughter and suggested that one of the Hebrew women could be Moses’s wet nurse.

I won’t get into how Moses’s mom, after releasing her baby boy to the Nile, walked up to Pharaoh's daughter and was able to take Moses back home in her arms again, maybe not as her son, but as an answer to prayer. I won’t get into how Moses, immersed in Israelite culture, grew up knowing he was the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter. I won’t get into that because of his attachment to the Hebrew slaves, that Moses had a soft spot for the slaves. I won’t get into how this probably played a part in Moses killing an Egyptian guard. I won’t get into how it got out that Moses was an “Egyptian” killer and how this turned Pharaoh against Moses. I won’t get into how Moses ran away to Midian and by a stroke of luck, ran into some Midianite women being mistreated by some shepherds not letting them water their sheep. I won’t get into how Moses rescued these Midianite women and how he watered their sheep for them. I won’t get into how these women's father was the priest of Midian, how Moses would be invited to stay with them, or how later Moses would marry Zipporah, one of the daughters. I won’t get into how Moses stayed and dwelled in the wilderness of Midian for forty years, taking care of his father-in-law's flock.

Instead, I will recap that it was only after these forty long years that God approached Moses. In Exodus Chapter 3. God first confronts Moses on the Mountain of God, Mt. Sinai. In Exodus chapter three, we hear everything that Moses is to say to Pharaoh. But it is also here for the first time we see something important that Moses should remember, but the Israelite people do not know. In Exodus 3:19-20, God says this to Moses,

Exodus 3:19–20 NASB95

“But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion. “So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.

Moses, not sure of any of this at all, needed some convincing as well, so God showed Moses two signs: the staff into a snake, and the hand turned leprous. Moses, being the bargainer that he is, saw an opportunity to maybe get God to give Moses what he wanted. Which was to send anyone else but him. So, in Exodus 4: 14-16, it says that the Lord’s anger burned against Moses, but God appointed Aaron to speak for Moses, to act like Moses' mouth. You will remember if you were here for our last sermon on this topic, Moses then asked Jethro, his father-in-law, if he could go, and Jethro gave his blessings. Then Moses packed up his sons and wife, and while on their way, God abruptly reminded Moses of the Abrahamic covenant and it is Moses' wife who does what needs to be done to appease this covenant. Also in Chapter 4, verse 21, God says for a second time since chapter 3 some familiar words that Moses would do well to remember, “And I will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will not let the people go.” After this, Moses met up with his brother Aaron, and Aaron and Moses did what is said in Exodus 4:29-31

Exodus 4:29–31 NASB95

Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; and Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. He then performed the signs in the sight of the people. So the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped.

Now we are caught up again. Afterwards, after all that, after God had told Moses twice that Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to him the first time. After Moses and Aaron brought together the elders of Israel, and they believed what Moses had said and had bowed low and worshiped. After they all had expressed belief and excitement over what they had just learned, Moses and Aaron marched up to Pharaoh feeling pretty good about the day before, and they said, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go… that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.” But Pharaoh, believing that he is a deity himself, most likely is thinking, who do you think you are? That you can come and stand against me, a god among the gods of Egypt, this is our jurisdiction! So instead of listening, Pharaoh blasphems Yahweh.

If we were to look closely at all that has happened, we would notice a few differences between what God tells Moses to do in Exodus 3:18 and what Moses and Aaron actually do in Chapter Exodus 5:1.

God told Moses to take the elders (Moses and Aaron went alone)

God told Moses to say “Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews” (Moses said “Yahweh the God of Israel”)

God instructs Moses to say, “God has met with us” (there is no mention of this meeting to Pharaoh)

God tells Moses to say, “Let us take” (Moses demands, “Let my people go!”

God tells Moses to say, “A three-day journey… to offer sacrifices” (there is no definitive timeline given to Pharaoh)

This is not to say that if Moses had followed what God had asked him to do to the letter, that Pharaoh would have listened. We know that Pharaoh, instead of listening to what Moses demanded, on the same day punished the Israelites, to the point that the elders a couple of days later went and begged for mercy from Pharaoh without Aaron or Moses in tow. This suggests even further that maybe Moses and Aaron did not tell the elders that “Pharaoh's heart would be hardened.” Instead of Pharaoh listening to the elders, he doubled down and held his ground. The Bible then says that the elders went and found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, and the elders said, “May the LORD look on you and judge you!”

Moses, forgetting that God warned him that Pharaoh wouldn’t listen, gets upset at God in the final two verses of this chapter. If I were to give you a spoiler, I would say that we know that because of Pharaoh's stubbornness, God was going to send 10 plagues. What is interesting is that each plague systematically attacks and destroys the sovereignty of 10 of Egypt's gods. Hapi, the god of the Nile (Blood plague); Heket, the goddess of fertility with the Frog head (frog plague); Geb, the god of the Earth (lice plague); Khepri, the god of creation with a fly head (swarms of flies); Hathor goddess of love with a cows head (death of cattle + livestock); Isis goddess of peace and medicine (Boils and sores); Nut goddess of the sky (hail and fire); Seth god of storms and disorder (Locust); Ra the god of the Sun (darkness); Pharaoh king and god among the gods (The death of the Firstborn).

If we knew the whole story and why things needed to happen, we would see that God needed to show the Israelite people who had been enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years, that Yahweh was indeed the one true living God, and there is no other God but Yahweh. If I were going to be a spoilsport, I would tell you that in order for the Israelites to fully trust Yahweh, for Moses to fully trust Yahweh, Yahweh would have to put to death the false gods of Egypt, systematically, and one by one.

The reality is that most adults have stories in their lives, such as when we tried to walk in the way God was directing us, things got harder before they got somewhat easier. But most of us wouldn’t trade what happened to us during the hard times for the world because of the experiences that we gained from the tough times, especially as we learned to trust in God’s sovereignty. Some of us took a hard fall away from Christ, and through him pursuing us in the storms of life, we have found our way back to God, and our faith has been strengthened because of the growing pains that we went through.

I remember when I was working at the OSB mill in 100 Mile House. In my best year, I made $80,000. It was good. I did my job well enough. They would ask me to come and help on my days off, while they would accidentally forget to ask other guys with more seniority. I remember it was in 2017 when Chelsea and I were praying, and we both felt like God had placed the calling on our hearts to enter into full-time ministry. So, we dutifully began to keep an eye out for opportunities. Finally, an opportunity came for me to go to Hermosillo, Mexico, to explore the opportunity to be a Bible Camp director just east of Hermosillo, deeper into the Sonoran desert. While there, I saw God at work and fell in love with that hot, desolate place and its people. And my heart broke for what I saw. But when I got back, the mission office said, “We think you are meant for ministry, just not here, not yet.” So I went back to work at the OSB mill, and soon enough, I began thinking this is a good-paying job. I make lots of money. Maybe this is my ministry. But as soon as I started relaxing at my job, we were suddenly told that they were closing down.

It was just after my previous night's shift. I was dozing on the couch when Chelsea came over all angry, asking, “When were you going to tell me?!”

Being confused, I asked, “Tell you what?”

She responded, “That you are losing your job!”

Alarmed, I said, “What!”

She then showed me her phone, and the announcement was right there on Facebook. My wife knew before I did that I was jobless in a few months. I hit my knees and started praying; Chelsea did, too. All we got from God was “trust and wait.” I worked until the closing date, and continuously, all we got was “trust and wait.” I lost my job in the late summer of 2019, and still, we got “trust and wait.” In the meantime, I would apply for jobs, but for no good reason, I wouldn’t get the jobs. When I would pray, I continued to hear “trust and wait.”

Then I got a word from God to apply for associate pastor jobs, and Chelsea got the word to be patient and wait on Jesse. I applied for several associate pastor positions, most of which I turned down later. Two turned me down. Nothing really came of anything. Time and money seemed to be running out. Eventually, Chelsea got tired of me and kicked me out of the house to go and do something… anything. So I started visiting congregants from our church in the hospital, going over to help fix things at our widow's houses, and I would spend hours a day getting ready to coach five and 6-year-olds how to play hockey (I was the most prepared hockey coach ever for that league that year in our area).

Finally, in early 2020, we heard from Melville Baptist Church. I had no idea where Melville was. When I searched it up, I saw more about Australia than I did about Saskatchewan. Once Covid let up, we came, and for the first time in a long time, we felt God was pushing us instead of saying wait. For the first time in a long time, we felt that God was blessing us despite our financial woes of having no job. I remember after our visit here, we were heading back to BC, all through God’s providence. Chelsea looked at me and asked, “So what do you think?” I looked at her. I said, “It doesn’t feel like we should be leaving.” God put me and Chelsea through a hard time to teach us to trust him and wait on him, and then when it was time, God directed me and told Chelsea to follow. It was hard on both of us, and I think Chelsea definitely wanted to kill me at times. But when God finally directed us in a direction, we both knew without a shadow of a doubt God was directing us.

It makes me think that if Moses and the Israelites had thought of their forefather, Joseph, they would have remembered Joseph's faith even though everything seemed to be going wrong. Joseph kept his faith after his brothers sought to kill him and threw him into a well. Joseph kept his faith after his brothers relented and sold him into slavery. Joseph kept his faith, though his master's wife lied and had him thrown into prison. Joseph kept his faith even though the cupbearer had forgotten him in prison for two years. Joseph kept his faith when he told Pharaoh what his dreams meant. Joseph kept his faith when he was elevated to a position only second to Pharaoh. Joseph kept his faith when he saw his brothers for the first time. Even after Joseph was betrayed, and everything that could go wrong did go wrong, Joseph kept his faith. Even after Joseph was elevated to the position above all his brothers and his own dad, Joseph kept his faith. Even after Joseph's brothers begged for their lives, Joseph kept his faith. In fact, I have always admired Joseph for these words at the end of Genesis, in Genesis 50:19-21

Genesis 50:19–21 NASB95

But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. “So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

If Moses and the Israelites only remembered the trials of their forefathers who brought them to Egypt, maybe they would remember that those words… what was meant for “evil against me… God meant it for good in order to bring about (good) results.” So instead of turning on one another, Moses, Aaron, the Elders, and the Israelites should have taken note of their father, Joseph, and sought to keep their faith despite all that was going wrong through the trials around them.

Hindsight is 20x20, so maybe that's something we should keep in mind when going through our life trials. Like Joseph and Moses, we don’t see the whole picture as we are living through difficult times. Still, like Joseph and even like Moses, when things are going hard, instead of turning on those around us, maybe we should keep our faith and turn to God, even when our words are like Moses’ and we ask honestly, “WHY LORD! WHY DID YOU SEND ME?” God can take our honesty and shoulder our hurt even in our darkest hours.

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