Exodus 5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.
4 And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.
5 And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.
6 And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,
7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8 And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
9 Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.
Moses and Aaron were now going to confront Pharaoh with the message from the LORD. It was time for Pharaoh to understand that the Jews did not belong to Pharaoh. God stated here that they were His people. The nation of Israel was established by God through Abraham and Sarah. They were chosen by God to make His name known to all the nations. God promised Abraham that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. We know that the ultimate fulfilment of that promise was in Jesus Christ. God also blessed Israel with wisdom that was a blessing to other nations as well.
In verse 2 Pharaoh immediately scoffed at the suggestion that he should obey the LORD. In the pagan religions, the Pharaohs assumed the status of gods. They had false gods, but their gods were just made up in their imaginations. They had images of their gods and they worshipped them. Pharaoh admitted that he did not know the LORD. It seems that over the past number of years the nation of Israel was not that serious in trusting in the LORD. They did not seem to have a good testimony. Pharaoh dismissed Moses’ demand and declared that he would not let Israel go. He had become quite dependent upon the children of Israel. They provided cheap labour for him and they were good workers.
In verse 3 Moses and Aaron further reminded Pharaoh that the Hebrews belonged to God. They took a different approach than that of the LORD. The LORD simply stated the facts. Pharaoh needed to understand that he needed to submit to the LORD. In verse 3 Moses and Aaron were almost begging Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go for three days journey into the wilderness. Moses also warned Pharaoh that there would be dire consequences if he did not let the nation of Israel go.
In verse 4 we see that Pharaoh became more resistant as Moses and Aaron spoke with him. He accused them of keeping the children of Israel from their work. Pharaoh demanded that the people get back to their work. Keep in mind that Moses and Aaron would have had the elders with them.
In verse 5 Pharaoh took note of the fact that the nation of Israel was growing numerically. In his mind the people were not working hard enough. Thus his solution was to make more work for them.
Many people today think the solution to crime and other problems is to get people involved in some type of programs. Most people have no time or use for God and they look for ways to get their children to “behave” through secular things. It is important to be occupied in worthwhile ventures. It is also important to understand that without the fear of God in a person’s life, all their efforts are in vain.
In verses 6-7 Pharaoh determined to increase the work load for the people so that they would not have time to think about serving the LORD. Serving the LORD is not a side issue. It is important to know the LORD and then serving Him will be a blessing. Those who know Him will meditate on His Word and be led by Him in all things.
Pharaoh did not understand what a true relationship with God was. As we mentioned, it seems that the nation of Israel was not really following God very closely at this time. God would give them much instruction after they left the land of Egypt.
In verses 8-9 Pharaoh continued his instructions to his taskmasters. The Israelites would no longer be given straw to mix with the clay. They would now need to find their own straw. Pharaoh also stated that he expected the same number of bricks as before. He was quite a cruel man. He had no time for a God that would interfere with his plans. He thought he was in charge and he would call the shots. God would allow him to do that for a short time yet.
There is a saying that states: “those who do not want to learn from history are bound to repeat history.” God gave us the Old Testament for our learning. We noted yesterday that our current government is much like that of Pharaoh. The more resistance that our PM faces, the further he digs his heels in. He comes up with more threats and his MP’s are his goon squad. They love the money and the power and they could care less about the people. They don’t even really need the people for elections any more. We have such a corrupt system now. We will see further how the taskmasters ignorantly followed the evil dictates of Pharaoh.
Those who are saved need to understand that we belong to God. We do not need to bow to the wickedness of our system. Moses and Aaron needed to learn the fear of God. They then needed to remind the Pharaoh of the need to know the true God. He was a very stubborn man and he led his armies to their death. His own firstborn son was killed because of his wickedness. He also died in sin. We need to remember that God is still in charge. Those who want to defy Him will suffer. God makes that abundantly clear. The wise person listens to God’s Word and to the conscience that God has given him. The wise person follows the convicting work of the Holy Spirit and seeks out a good church where they can learn the truth and be saved. The devil has developed quite a smorgasbord of false religions for the gullible. Some of those who finally get tired of all the stuff, will follow the drawing of God to the truth.
Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Make sure you are one of those few. You will never be sorry. You will receive blessings you never thought about prior to salvation.
Pastor Bartel
