Exodus 5:1-6:1: Yahweh versus Pharaoh, Round 1

First, one of the things I have to do, for biblical stories to hit me the way they should, is try to put myself in the shoes of people involved in the story. And I assume you are like me. Today's story is about a people-- the nation of Israel-- who are worked ruthlessly as slaves. They are called lazy. They're criticized. Their requests are rejected. At the start of the chapter, life was already hard for them. But it's going to get worse.

For this story to grab you the way it should, you need to try to imagine what that would be like. Maybe, some of you had a really bad boss at some point, and you can immediately sympathize. You had a boss who didn't appreciate you. Who belittled you. Who was actively looking for reasons to discipline you. Who never listened to you. Who tried to make life as difficult as possible for you.

And if you've never had a boss remotely like that, I feel sorry for you this morning. Everyone should have a truly horrible boss, at one point or another, just so they can appreciate Exodus better. And if you've never experienced this, you're just going to have to work a little harder this morning.

The second thing I want to do, before we start, is reread Exodus 4:21-23:

(21) and Yahweh said to Moses,

"When you go to return to Egypt, see all of the wonders that I have set/put in your hand,

and you shall do them before Pharaoh,

while I shall strengthen his resolve/heart,

and he will not send out the people,

(22) and you shall say to Pharaoh,

"Thus has said Yahweh: My firstborn son [is] Israel,

and I said to you, send out my son so he may serve me,

and you have refused to send him.

LOOK! I am killing your firstborn son.

Verse 22 serves as sort of a summary of everything that will happen from chapter 5, up through chapter 12. This verse tells Moses everything he will say, big picture, over the coming weeks (?). It anticipates Pharaoh's refusal to let Israel go, as well as the killing of the firstborn son.

What I want you to focus on, though, is the first part of what God wants Moses to say to Pharaoh. "Send out my son so that he may serve me."

That's really where the (main plotline of the) story leaves off.

This brings us to Exodus 5, verse 1:

(1) And after this, Moses and Aaron came,

and they said to Pharaoh,

"Thus has said Yahweh the God of Israel:

"Let my people go, so that they may hold a feast for me in the wilderness,"

A few people reading verse 1 are really bothered by the fact that what God commanded in Exodus 4:22, isn't exactly what Moses says in 5:1. "Serving" isn't exactly the same thing as "holding a feast in the wilderness." But I'm inclined to give Moses the benefit of the doubt. I assume that Moses is obedient, and that he speaks the words God teaches him to say (Exodus 4:12). And the slight variation here I think maybe is just good story telling-- it's part of keeping readers engaged, and interested.

So Moses says to Pharaoh, in very formal language, "Thus has said Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Let my people go." And this formal language, is something you're going to want to try to remember.

Verse 2:

(2) and Pharaoh said,

"Who is Yahweh, that I should heed his voice to let Israel go?"

I don't know Yahweh,

and, what's more, Israel I shall not let go,"

Pharaoh responds to Moses with a double "no," basically. First, he doesn't know this God "Yahweh." And so he has no reason to obey Yahweh.

Now, this will change. Pharaoh is going to get to know Yahweh a lot better than he'd like. But, for right now, he is ignorant.

The second part of Pharaoh's "no" here, is that he won't let Israel go.

In verse 3, Moses and Aaron try again:

(3) and they said,

"The God of the Hebrews has appeared to us.

Let us go, please, on the road three days into the wilderness so that we may offer sacrifices to Yahweh our God, lest He strike us with pestilence or with a sword,"

In this verse, Moses and Aaron soften their language, saying "please," and they clarify their initial command in four main ways:

(1) They clarify that Yahweh is "the God of the Hebrews." Now, we maybe find ourselves wanting to say that Yahweh is "the God of the heavens and the earth, the God of all people." But they describe Yahweh in a way that Pharaoh will understand, and maybe accept. Yahweh, their God, has appeared to them, and He wants something from them.

(2) They clarify that they are asking for roughly (at least?) a week off. They want to journey three days into the wilderness.

(3) They clarify that this feast is designed as a time to offer sacrifices to Yahweh. We tend to think of sacrifices as something legalistic, and depressing. But the highlight of the average Israelite's year, was the time when you got to go offer sacrifices to God as a family. It was a feast. It was something you'd look forward to, in the way we maybe look forward to a big vacation.

(4) They clarify that they are trying to avoid Yahweh killing them off through disease or a sword. Now, we read this, and maybe find ourselves smiling. We know that, much later in Israel's history, Yahweh will strike his people with exactly these two things-- Ezekiel has a lot to say about pestilence and a sword. And God's judgment, in general, is a scary, terrifying thing. But we smile here, because we know that God is planning to rescue his people, not kill them.

So why do Moses and Aaron talk about pestilence and a sword here? If we give Moses and Aaron the benefit of the doubt here, what are they trying to communicate to Pharaoh? Maybe, it's that Yahweh is not the kind of God/god you want to ignore. If Yahweh commands you to do something, you do it, or you risk serious consequences. Or maybe, talking about pestilence and a sword is a way to try to persuade Pharaoh in a different way. If Yahweh goes through with his threat, and kills a lot of Israelites, Pharaoh is going to lose a significant part of his work force. No one wants to see their workers die, when they could still be working. That'd be a true tragedy for management.

Verse 4-5:

(4) and the King of Egypt said to them,

"Moses and Aaron, why have you taken the people away from their work?

Go to your forced labor!,"

(5) and Pharaoh said,

"LOOK! Many now [are] the people of the land,

and you have made them rest from their forced labor,"

Pharaoh looks at what Moses and Aaron have already done, and know that they are dangerous. When many people quit working, they become dangerous. Keep them busy, and they will have less time to think about their oppressive government, or organize in opposition, or rise up against you. So a smart leader will make sure, if nothing else, that his people keep working. He won't encourage them to stay home. He won't fire them for stupid reasons. He will make sure they continue being productive, tax-paying members of society.

And if you give the people a single week off, who knows what else they'll demand? A 40 hour work week? A 2 day weekend? Paid vacation? Give in a little, and there's no end to the insanity.

This brings us to verses 6-9. Here, Pharaoh tightens the screws. Sometimes, you stick it to the man. And sometimes, the man sticks it to you:

(6) and Pharaoh commanded on that day the taskmasters over the people and his foremen, saying,

"No longer give straw to the people to make the bricks as before.

They shall go and gather for themselves straw,

(8) while the quota of bricks that they were making before, you shall require of them.

You shall not lessen from them,

because slackers/lazy, they [are]."

That's why they are crying out, saying,

"Let us go.

Let us sacrifice to our God."

(9) It shall be heavy -- the work-- upon the people so that they will labor with it,

and may they no longer pay attention to deceptive words,"

Pharaoh looks at this dangerous situation, and he knows the fault lies with him. He's been too lenient. He's been soft. He's been too good of a boss-- the kind who gets taken advantage of. And so here, he fixes that.

A few weeks ago, I talked about how Pharaoh acted foolishly in oppressing the people. But here, in some ways, I think he shows wisdom. If you want to make sure that people don't rise up against you, work them longer hours. You work 40 hours a week, or even 50, and you might have a little energy at the end of the day. You can try to start up a union. You can make promises to a neighboring nation to fight with them against your oppressor, if that nation invades. You can do a little rioting, maybe. A little burning and looting. But if you're working 55 hours a week, or 60, or 70, you very quickly find yourself in survival mode. You stop caring about anything else in life. The only things you look forward to, are the first cup of coffee in the morning, and the moment your head hits the pillow at night.

Verses 10-16:

(10) and the taskmasters of the people and his foremen went out,

and they said to the people, saying,

"Thus has said Pharaoh:

"I am no longer giving you straw.

(11) You, go! Get for yourselves straw from wherever you find [it],

because nothing shall be lessened from your work,"

(12) and the people scattered across the land of Egypt to gather stubble for bricks,

(13) and the taskmasters urged [them], saying,

"Finish your daily work on its day,

just as when they was straw,"

(14) and the foremen of the sons of Israel were struck/beaten-- [the ones] who the taskmasters of Pharaoh appointed over them--

[and they were] saying,

"Why do you deal in this way with your servants?

(16) Straw there isn't any being given to your servants,

while bricks [they are] saying to us, Make!,

and LOOK! Your servants [are] being struck/beaten,

and the sin of your people,"

I just want to focus here on verses 14-16. The way Pharaoh set it up, he's on top. He's the man. Then, he had taskmasters under him. Call them managers. Then, under them, he had Israelite foremen. And under the foremen, you have your worker bees.

So these Israelite foremen are put in an impossible situation. When your boss takes away tools and resources that help you be productive, and then still expects the same amount of production, what can you do? It's unreasonable. It's hopeless.

So what the foremen do, is go over their bosses' heads, to Pharaoh. In verses 15-16, they tell Pharaoh what's going on. They are faithful servants to Pharaoh. But they are being badly mistreated-- beaten, not given what they need. And so they call on Pharaoh to look, and see the situation (contrast Exodus 2:25).

And what does Pharaoh see? Verse 17:

(17) and he said,

"Lazy/Slackers, you are.

Lazy/slackers.

That's why you are saying,

"Let us go.

Let us sacrifice to Yahweh,"

and so then, go! Work/serve,

while straw shall not be given to you,

while the quota of bricks you shall give/deliver,"

Sometimes, you'll hear horror stories about big companies. You'll hear that the production standards are unreasonable. That people aren't even given time to use the bathroom-- they use bottles, or even wet themselves. And you wonder, when you hear stories like that, if they're actually true. Are the companies being unreasonable? Or is it that the employees simply don't know how to work hard? They want to be able to peek at their smart phones every 2 minutes, and they can't do that without falling behind. Unless you work there, and actually see the people working (or not working), it's hard to know.

In Exodus 5, what's the truth? Are the taskmasters being unreasonable? Or is that the Israelites are simply lazy?

Pharaoh is confident he knows the answer. They're lazy. And so, in a bit of irony, he commands them to "go." And he commands them to "serve." But they will go, and they will serve him. Not God. Him.

Verse 19-21:

(19) and the foremen of the sons of Israel saw they were in trouble/evil, saying,

"You shall not lessen from your daily quota of bricks,"

(20) and they met Pharaoh and Aaron-- [who were] standing to meet them when they came out from [being] with Pharaoh--

(21) and they said to them,

"May Yahweh look upon you,

and may He judge/exercise authority over you,

because you have caused our odor/scent to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants

to put a sword in their hand to kill us,"

Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh, and what's the end result? The people are no longer given straw. They're forced to work longer hours, with no overtime. They're unable to meet the production quota. They are despised. They are being beaten. And now there's a real risk of death. What happened to the Israelite baby boys, may happen to any or all of them.

And so, in another bit of irony (again, Exodus 2:25), they call on Yahweh to "see" Moses and Aaron, and judge them.

So who wins, in Exodus 5?

Let's reread Exodus 5:1:

(1) And after this, Moses and Aaron came,

and they said to Pharaoh,

"Thus has said Yahweh the God of Israel:

"Let my people go, so that they may hold a feast for me in the wilderness,"

Now, let's read Exodus 5:10:

(10) and the taskmasters of the people and his foremen went out,

and they said to the people, saying,

"Thus has said Pharaoh:

"I am no longer giving you straw.

Yahweh and Pharaoh both make formal, authoritative statements in Exodus 5. Who has more authority? Who has more power? Who wins?

If this was a boxing match, you'd have to give the first round to Pharaoh. He's successfully rejected Moses and Aaron. He's turned the Israelite people against them. And, as a bonus, he's squeezing even more production out of the Israelites. Pharaoh is the kind of boss who deserves extra year end compensation.

So far, what Pharaoh says, goes. What Pharaoh wants, Pharaoh gets.

And so far, from what Pharaoh knows about Yahweh, Yahweh doesn't seem like much of a threat.

So, the Israelites have lost. Moses and Aaron have lost. And they've been rejected. All in all, it's been a crushing defeat. If you were Moses, and you had the worst possible day ever, what would you do?

Moses knows there's really only one thing you can do. Verse 22:

(22) and Moses returned to Yahweh,

and he said,

"Lord, why have you done evil to this people?

Why have you sent me?,

(23) and from the time I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has done/brought evil to this people,

and you haven't actually rescued/delivered your people."

What has God actually done in chapter 5? 4 things:

(1) He sent Moses and Aaron.

(2) He brought evil to this people?

(3) He's made things worse for Israel.

(4) He hasn't actually rescued them, at all.

When things go bad in your life, what do you do? Do you ask God why? Do you point out to God that what He's actually done, up to this point, is nothing? That you needed rescuing, or someone else needed rescuing, and God hasn't actually done anything?

If you have a genuine relationship with God, you will find yourselves asking God the tough questions sometimes. "Why?" Maybe your "why" questions look like this:

"Why did you do nothing, when I took a step of faith, and took a courageous stand for you?"

"Why didn't you actually rescue, when you've made promises that you would rescue?"

"Why is there nothing to eat in this house, when I've sought you and your righteousness first?" (Matt. 5).

"Why did that person die from their disease, when you promised you were the God who heals all of them (Psalm 103:3), and I asked/commanded in Jesus' name?"

Part of having an authentic relationship with God, is having tough conversations with him. And this is what God wants. If you have a problem with God, don't walk away from Him. Don't give up on Him. Don't decide that his inactivity, is his "will" for your life.

Go to him, and ask him why. Point out that He's not keeping his promises. Ask him if that's what kind of God he is. Challenge him to do more.

When we read Moses' words here, we should understand that this is what it looks like to have faith. And this is what it looks like, to have a true relationship with God. This prayer, is part of why Moses is rightly remembered as a spiritual giant.

How will God respond? I think the English Bibles here do us a disservice. We are supposed to read through Exodus 6:1, and stop there. So let's ignore the white space, and the heading, and read one more verse:

(1) And Yahweh said to Moses,

"Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh,

because with a strong hand he will send them out,

and with a strong hand he will drive them out from his land.

When Moses prayed, and said that God hadn't actually delivered his people at all, he spoke rightly about God. But now, that will change. Pharaoh struck the first blow, and it looked powerful, and effective. But now we will see what God will do. So as we keep reading, look to God. See what your God can do to tyrants, and dictators, and to his enemies.

Translation:

(5) And after this, Moses and Aaron came,

and they said to Pharaoh,

"Thus has said Yahweh the God of Israel:

"Let my people go, so that they may hold a feast for me in the wilderness,"

(2) and Pharaoh said,

"Who is Yahweh, that I should heed his voice to let Israel go?"

I don't know Yahweh,

and, what's more, Israel I shall not let go,"

(3) and they said,

"The God of the Hebrews has appeared to us.

Let us go, please, on the road three days into the wilderness so that we may offer sacrifices to Yahweh our God, lest He strike us with pestilence or with a sword,"

(4) and the King of Egypt said to them,

"Moses and Aaron, why have you taken the people away from their work?

Go to your forced labor!,"

(5) and Pharaoh said,

"LOOK! Many now [are] the people of the land,

and you have made them rest from their forced labor,"

(6) and Pharaoh commanded on that day the taskmasters over the people and his foremen, saying,

"No longer give straw to the people to make the bricks as before.

They shall go and gather for themselves straw,

(8) while the quota of bricks that they were making before, you shall require of them.

You shall not lessen from them,

because slackers/lazy, they [are]."

That's why they are crying out, saying,

"Let us go.

Let us sacrifice to our God."

(9) It shall be heavy -- the work-- upon the people so that they will labor with it,

and may they no longer pay attention to deceptive words,"

(10) and the taskmasters of the people and his foremen went out,

and they said to the people, saying,

"Thus has said Pharaoh:

"I am no longer giving you straw.

(11) You, go! Get for yourselves straw from wherever you find [it],

because nothing shall be lessened from your work,"

(12) and the people scattered across the land of Egypt to gather stubble for bricks,

(13) and the taskmasters urged [them], saying,

"Finish your daily work on its day,

just as when they was straw,"

(14) and the foremen of the sons of Israel were struck/beaten,

who the taskmasters of Pharaoh appointed over them, saying,

"Why do you deal in this way with your servants?

(16) Straw there isn't any being given to your servants,

while bricks [they are] saying to us, Make!,

and LOOK! Your servants are being struck/beaten,

and the sin of your people,"

(17) and he said,

"Lazy/Slackers, you are.

Lazy/slackers.

That's why you are saying,

"Let us go.

Let us sacrifice to Yahweh,"

and so then, go! Work/serve,

while straw shall not be given to you,

while the quota of bricks you shall give/deliver,"

(19) and the foremen of the sons of Israel saw they were in trouble/evil, saying,

"You shall not lessen from your daily quota of bricks,"

(20) and they met Pharaoh and Aaron-- [who were] standing to meet them when they came out from [being] with Pharaoh--

(21) and they said to them,

"May Yahweh look upon you,

and may He judge/exercise authority over you,

because you have caused our odor to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants

to put a sword in their hand to kill us,"

(22) and Moses returned to Yahweh,

and he said,

"Lord, why have you done evil to this people?

Why have you sent me?,

(23) and from the time I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has done/brought evil to this people,

and you haven't actually rescued/delivered your people."

(1) And Yahweh said to Moses,

"Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh,

because with a strong hand he will send them out,

and with a strong hand he will drive them out from his land.

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