Exodus chapter 5

EXODUS

CHAPTER

 5

1. Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "Thus says the LORD the God of Israel, 'Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.'"

(Exodus chapter 5 verse 1)

Moses faces one of the biggest crisis of his life. The person who assumed that he was not able to undertake such a role went before the Pharaoh and insisted that he would let God;s people leave Egypt in order to go and offer sacrifices to God in the wilderness.


At times we may also think that we are not able to do this or that. Moreover other people such as relatives, teachers or maybe friends or employers may give us the impression that we lack in this or that skill, however when we open ourselves to God, he will change our so called weaknesses to strengths. God is able to change us into a new person so that we can fulfill His will.


2. But Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go."

(Exodus chapter 5 verse 2)


On reflecting the Pharaoh raises a very important question. He did not know who the LORD our God is. As Christians we are also faced with two important questions that it is very important for us to ask ourselves and answer? The first one is 'Who is God?" and the other one is very similar; "Who is God for us? We might get away with the first question by citing the teachings of the Church, however the second question is more intimate and personal.


When a survey was carried out in relation to the identity of God the respondents had the following responses: please click on the following link:


Survey on issue Who is God?


3. Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us go a three day's journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword."

(Exodus chapter 5 verse 3)


When sharing our testimony with people who do not believe in God or his son Jesus our testimony needs to be genuine so that others will believe us. Citing verses from the Bible is not enough. At times our good deeds manifested by positive actions speaks louder than words. When doing so Moses and Aaron made the Pharaoh shared the consequences that would befall them if Pharaoh would not obey the will of God. However the Pharaoh percieved the warning as a threat and not as a good word of advice. At times this may also happen to us. We might encourage people to change their ways in order to be saved from the negative consequences of their actions, however when doing so we can easily be misunderstood.


4. But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors! 5. Pharaoh continued, "Now they are more numerous than the people of the land and yet you want them to stop working! 6. That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, 7. "You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves.

(Exodus chapter 5 verses 4 to 7)


This is one of the greatest dilemmas of our lives. We might want to intervene in order to see a situation improve, however as a consequence of our intervention the same situation may backfire and even become worse than it originally was. Therefore before we intervene it is best to consider the consequences of our interventions and analyze the short and long term related consequences. Moreover as Christians we are to compare the consequences with the values and teachings of God in order to assess what Jesus would have done in such as situation. In this case Moses had been warned that the Pharaoh would show resistance, however the situation was still under God's control. At times when we receive a negative response such as the loss of a job or a failure in an important exam, God might be trying to speak to us by means of the situation. It might be His way of saying "NO" or maybe "It is not yet the time please wait!"


8. But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, 'Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.' 9. Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will labor at it and pay no attention to deceptive words." 

(Exodus chapter 5 verses 8 to 9)


In order for the people to appreciate God's intervention in the process of their salvation god permitted the Pharaoh to make the conditions of work more severe and demanding. The people of God were being put to the test in order to see whether they remain faithful to Him or not. God's prophecy to Moses was being fulfilled because when in dialogue with Moses, He told Moses that the Pharaoh would resist God's request.


At times although we may intervene the situation does not improve at all. It could also mean that we are being tested by God in order to see if we are still faithful to Him. At times we all need a little testing because in time we might star taking God for granted, so in order for us to remain on track we may need to be tried by tribulations for our own good.


10. So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, "Thus says Pharaoh, " I will not give you straw. 11. "Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you can find it; but your work will not be lessened in the least.'

(Exodus chapter 5 verses 10 to 11)


As a consequence of Moses's intervention before Pharaoh the conditions of work became more demanding for the Hebrews. In order to make Moses' task more difficult the evil one was hardening the heart of the Pharaoh thus making him more demanding in order to cause rebellion against Moses.


At times as leaders or parents even though we are totally convinced that we have sound arguments and reasons to impose restrictions such as time limitations, that limit the time that our children stay out late, maybe during the week end in order to ensure their well being, we are bound to be met by resistance.


12. So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13. The taskmasters were urgent, saying "Complete your work, the same daily assignment as when you were given straw."

(Exodus chapter 5 verses 12 to 13)


This is what I call value added stress. When the demand becomes greater than our coping abilities we say we feel stressed. During such moments we have a loving father who is ready to welcome us in his arms and give us a big daddy hug.


14. And the supervisors of the Israelites whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, "Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before?"

(Exodus chapter 5 verse 14)


Apparently the demand became so great that it became irrational. The people of God were beaten without no justification, not that violence can ever be justified in its own domain. On reflecting criticism when applied to the extreme can also become a life threatening means, because the recipient may be able to take it no more and lose hope, value and esteem of oneself and easily resort to suicide or acts of self harm thus labelling oneself as deserving to be abused.


15. Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, "Why do you treat your servants like this? 16. No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, 'Make bricks! Look how your servants are beaten! You are unjust to your own people."

(Exodus chapter 5 verses 15 to 16)


 It seems that the Administration of the Pharaoh started to crumble The servants of the Pharaoh were also beaten by him and they complained with him. They shared with him that the situation had become totally unreasonable and that this was not fair treatment. However God continued to harden the heart of the Pharaoh.


17. He said, "You are lazy, lazy, that is why you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.' 18. Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks." 19. The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, "You shall not lessen you daily number of bricks.  20. As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron who were waiting to meet them. 21. They said to them, "The LORD look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."

(Exodus chapter 5 verses 17 to 21)


As in previous chapters we see the blaming game in action. The Israelites blamed Moses for having brought misery on the Israelites after having spoken to the Pharaoh. What the Israelites were not realizing is that all that was happening was according to the will of God, and that in time He would deliver them from the bondage of Egypt. However when we are suffering an injustice or a terminal illness, we might become so deeply and emotionally stimulated that we turn our focus on ourselves instead of on God and start blaming others in order to make sense of our misery.


 22. Then Moses turned again to the LORD and said, 'O LORD, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? 23. Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people."


(Exodus chapter 5 verses 22 to 23)


Moses refers to God as if it was his fault that the people were being treated badly. When we find no sense in blaming each other for our wrong doings we decide to place the blame on God. Instead of remembering God's promise and the signs that HE had given him Moses turns against God and judges God for having ever called him to go and free His people.


I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:


Oh God loving father. Life places us under alot of pressure. Most of the times we place pressure and stress on ourselves by accepting great demands on ourselves due to wrong decisions. During other times the situations such as problems of illness, unemployment and family breakdowns and other stressors pressure us beyond our capacity. Please help us to remain aware of your promise that You will be always with us and that you are close to us more than our own skin. 


I pray for my friend who is passing through a hard time. He has failed his exams and is fearing that his academic life or future is over. He loves you alot and even Your Holy Word the Bible. Please help him in this great moment of tribulation. He wishes to know you better and is still a toddler in the spiritual life. Please help me to help him.  I pray that the readers of this chapter will offer a prayer for my friend who is currently under alot of pressure. Please help my friend to place all his trust in You my loving father.    

Thank You God