Exodus 5:1-6:27

Notes for BSF.

Exodus 3:13-14

Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

MOSES TO PHARAOH: LET MY PEOPLE GO (Exodus 5)

Moses and Aaron requested to worship God where the Egyptians could not see them

To the Egyptians, the Israelites’ sacrifice was an abomination, and if the Egyptians saw it, they would stone the Israelites to death.

Pharaoh did not want to let them go

Exodus 5:2

Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?

The Pharaoh thinks himself as a god. Look what he has: beautiful land, people, power. To him, he's thinking, how powerful could a god of 2-3 million slaves be? The Pharaoh wanted the Israelites working. He was clearly not aware of God’s sovereignty: This was God’s command for the Israelites to go into the wilderness to spend time with God. This was not some random request by a group people who were lazy and just didn’t want to work.

Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you.

The Egyptians had kept the Israelites under cruel slavery labor. It will be only a matter of time it all comes back around to the Egyptians.

The slave drivers were Egyptians, but the foremen were Israelites

There are always the easy way to live. We can only guess why some of the Israelites could work for those who are keeping their people under cruel bondage – Maybe they needed to feed the family or fulfill some very realistic needs. Although as humans, we can understand why we make certain decisions when we are desperate and are pushed into a very tight corner. However, God’s love and grace teaches us that when we are in these situations, we need to look UP, not around. When we depend on ourselves to find solutions out of impossible situations, we only get us further into desperation. Only when we relinquish our desire for control and let God take charge would we be shown the way out and taste true freedom.

Revelation 14:9-11 
Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.

What is more important? Eternal life in Christ or brief luxury in the flesh? Sure, it sounds morbid and cold-hearted to say we need to stand for God even in the face of sacrificing our own lives or worse, the lives of our loved ones. However, if we hold our lives in the flesh more precious than God, what we are saying is, “God, I am more important than you; I don’t trust you are powerful enough to save me from this situation, which is why I must take things into my own hands.” Do we or do we not have an all powerful God? We do. Then we ought to act like it. Yes, it sounds horrible to have to sacrifice our lives, to sacrifice the lives of our loved ones – But what is what is the value of living in the flesh without eternal life with Christ?

Matthew 18:9
It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

The Israelites blamed their suffering ONLY on the Egyptians

While the Egyptians should were in the wrong for taking advantage and horribly mistreating the Israelites (and God will judge them for it), they weren’t the only reason the Israelites were in bondage. Due to their lack of faith and their inability to walk with God, they fell away from the Way and ended up where they were. Their unfaithfulness led them to their own bondage. When they cried to God, they blamed their suffering on only the Egyptians, not once did they take responsibility for their actions.

Moses questioned his role once again

When we are stuck in a corner, and things look worse before they get better, it is very easy for us to lose hope especially when we’re on that downhill slide. As the Pharaoh loaded on an even heavier load onto the Israelites, Moses couldn’t help but ask the Lord two questions (Exodus 5:22):

1. Why have You brought trouble on this people?

2. Why is it You have sent me?

God had promised Moses and Aaron deliverance from oppression. Moses and Aaron also did as God had instructed them do and asked the Pharaoh to let them go in private to worship God. However, obeying such commands had only made their lives tougher. This was why Moses asked his first question. And since the lives of the Israelites were made harder, they blamed Moses for leading them into this situation. Moses never thought he was qualified for this job anyway (Exodus 3-4), and now being in this position, he thus asked God his second question.

Every time we follow the will of God, people whose goals are different from God would fight against it. We need to always remember that God loves us and would never put us in impossible situations. We might have to struggle through difficult situations, but He is always there to guide us through. We may have to go through valleys before we reach the mountain tops – But, we will always get to the mountain tops!

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good tot hose who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose.

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

GOD’S SEVEN I WILL’S (Exodus 6)

In response to Moses’ questions, God reminded Moses that He is God who remembers His promises and fulfills His promises, with emphasizing statements of, “I am the LORD.”

God is above all things. Instead of complaining and feeling entitled, like God should of course deliver them from Egypt, the Israelites could have humbled themselves and be thankful for God’s grace. They could have remembered that they put themselves in this situation. They chose to walk away from God and wanted the luxurious life of a human kingdom, and they fell into bondage. Instead of taking responsibility for their actions, they cried and remembered God only because they were suffering. And even in their suffering, they were never thankful that God still reached out and helped them. Instead, they continued to complain, complain, and complain. Everything is always about “me, me, me” and “What can you do for me?” Never once did they ever think, “How do I live for God?”

It is always easier to criticize. Hence, we shouldn’t just point our fingers at the Israelites and say what they could have done better. We should take this opportunity to reflect. When we are in a horrible situation, God is here to help us. He loves us like a daddy! Why would he ever hurt us? We must also remember that we are responsible for many of the bad situations that we get ourselves in.

To further comfort Moses, God reassured him with the following promises:

1. I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

2. I will rescue you from their bondage.

3. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

4. I will take you as My people.

5. I will be your God.

6. I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

7. I will give it to you as a heritage.

Always approach God with humility. We get ourselves into bad situations, and we need help. If we’re going to ask for help, at least have a grateful heart, and at least take responsibility for the fact that we got ourselves in a bad place and at least recognize that we can’t get ourselves out of a bad situation, and that’s why we need help. To just expect God to reach in and take us out is prideful and ungrateful.

Don’t just think about God when we are in a bad place. God is here to be a part of every part of our lives. If we include Him more in our lives, more in our decision-making, we would less likely end up in bad situations in the first place!