Exodus 6:1 Then the Lord told Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the people go. In fact, he will force them to leave his land!”
At this point, Moses must be feeling conflicted. On the one hand, everyone knows that you can’t really see God and live; yet, God has been speaking to Moses. And now God claims that He will do something to Pharaoh that will convince him to force the Hebrews to leave Egypt? Moses doesn’t want to be rude, but God’s statement strains credulity. Egypt has the most powerful army in the Middle East and Pharaoh is one of the most powerful rulers in the Middle East. The Hebrews are slaves, although they continue to herd animals. Frankly, Moses has no idea how God intends to pull this one off.
2 And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the Lord.’ 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’—but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. 4 And I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners. 5 You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them.
6 “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. 8 I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!’”
9 So Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.
What’s keeping Moses from quietly laughing are the legends about God cutting covenant with Abraham, giving Isaac to his parents in their old age and delivering Isaac from being sacrificed, and later wrestling with Jacob. Hebrew fathers have been repeating these stories to their children for 400 years; now the God of those stories is showing Himself. But nobody is listening except Moses and Aaron.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go back to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and tell him to let the people of Israel leave his country.”
12 “But Lord!” Moses objected. “My own people won’t listen to me anymore. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen? I’m such a clumsy speaker!”
13 But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders for the Israelites and for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt…
28 When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord! Tell Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, everything I am telling you.” 30 But Moses argued with the Lord, saying, “I can’t do it! I’m such a clumsy speaker! Why should Pharaoh listen to me?”
(Exodus 6:14-27 gives the ancestry of Moses and Aaron, as well as listing their children.)
God knows human hearts, and God knows exactly how much pressure it will take before Pharaoh is ready to throw the Hebrews out of Egypt. But meanwhile, Moses and Aaron are stuck. God is ordering these two reluctant men to return to Pharaoh and COMMAND him to lete the Hebrews go. Moses figures Aaron and he are going to get thrown out of the palace and be laughed at by everybody, including their own people. Once more, Moses tries to worm out of the assignment by giving excuses.
There are many times when following God’s commands will not bring peace but conflict. Jesus himself warned his disciples that they would be persecuted.
Matthew 10:6 “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. 17 But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. 18 You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. 20 For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. 22 And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.
At this point, Moses must be longing to be back in the wilderness with the sheep. Pharaoh is furious, the Israelites are complaining bitterly, and even Aaron is looking confused and perplexed. Where is God’s peace in the midst of this chaos?
We expect peace to come with a state of perfect calmness; however, many times, God’s messengers must confront, rebuke, and suffer the consequences. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
We read these words and immediately picture lying down on a feather bed while someone else takes care of our problems. Sorry! Jesus isn’t offering to take away all our burdens but rather to bear them with us. Oxen yoked together pull equally. We might find ourselves in a mess, but if God is with us, it’s a holy mess. We can face adversity, knowing that we are in the middle of God’s will for our lives. God needs Moses and Aaron to keep returning to Pharaoh and confronting him because that’s the only way God can advance the situation. But God wants Moses and Aaron to know that they are doing what He wants them to do. God uses our struggles to perfect us, just as a skilled diamond cutter studies a stone for months and then with a few strokes, creates perfect gems. What we don’t read in the Bible are the messages God gives to the two brothers to encourage them. Those messages are private and holy and not for general publication.
Are you caught between a rock and a hard place? If God has placed you there, God can keep you there and give you peace that you are in the center of His Will. Ask God to help you.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, please give us Your peace, even when we are in the middle of chaos. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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