Exodus 6:9  And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
10  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
11  Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
12  And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?
13  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Bible teaches us that there is a war between God and the devil. God is the winner, but the devil foolishly assumes there may be some way to trick the LORD. The devil uses people as the pawn to try to win. As we see in our text, he is quite successful in keeping people from knowing God’s peace and blessing.
We see again how important it is for a God-fearing person to be just that. We cannot adjust our beliefs or our walk according to what others say. We cannot put our finger to the wind and act accordingly. A Godly leader serves God. He honours God and he hopes and prays that others will see the benefit of following God’s way. Those who are saved should see the importance of following God’s way. A Godly leader will teach the truth and help the carnal believer to understand that way is not acceptable to God, nor in the local church. The same would be true in a Godly home.
Moses was told to remind the children of Israel who was in charge. We see here that they did not hearken unto him. Their tolerance level was quite low. They wanted things done their way and they wanted the results they wanted, now. There was no room for God to be in charge and to be glorified in their lives and minds.
We read here that the children of Israel were in anguish of spirit. The word translated as “anguish” speaks of “impatience”. God also stated they were facing cruel bondage. God knew all about that. They needed to understand the consequences of a careless lifestyle. God had already instructed Abraham of the importance of walking faithfully with Him. He had also taught Isaac and Jacob this. We do not read of much of a spiritual life for the children of Israel at this time. It did not seem as though they lived in any significant way that was different from that of the Egyptians. We know that when Moses was born that his mother had faith in God. We know that she and her husband did not obey the wicked decree of the Pharaoh. We know the Hebrew midwives did not fear Pharaoh either. However, the demand for the nation to be able to go and worship God seemed foreign to Pharaoh. God was going to bring Israel out of bondage, but He wanted them to understand the importance of knowing Him and serving Him. They needed a true and living walk with Him.
In verse 10 we see that God was not deterred by the actions of the children of Israel. He was going to do what He said He was going to do.
In verse 11 Moses was told to go and speak to Pharaoh. Pharaoh needed to be confronted and dealt with. He needed to understand he was not in charge. We see again that Moses was not to go and plead with Pharaoh. He was to go and tell him to let the children of Israel go.
In verse 12 Moses demonstrated his continued reluctance to trust God. He needed to learn that God knew what He was doing. Moses used the response of the children of Israel as his grounds for arguing with God. If they would not listen to him, then why should Pharaoh listen to him.
Moses continued to argue from the basis of his inability to speak eloquently. It is important to learn to communicate properly. Obviously God did not see Moses as having a problem communicating. God had already told Moses that He would give him the words to speak. God had also given him Aaron to speak in his place. Moses had no valid argument here. He just needed to get over himself and submit to God’s will.
In verse 13 we see that God did not entertain Moses’ futile excuses. He gave Moses and Aaron a charge. A charge is a command. God had already made it very clear to Moses that He would bring the children of Israel out of bondage and they would meet with Him at the very mount where Moses first met with the LORD at the burning bush.
Moses had no reason to back out of God’s calling for him. God was not going to listen to his whimpering. He was God’s child and as such was chosen by God to be the vessel for this task and he needed to humble himself and obey God. Aaron also needed to hear this charge. It was important for both of them to understand Who was in charge. As Moses and Aaron would humble themselves before God, they would be able to show the children of Israel the need to submit to God. They would also be able to show Pharaoh the power of God.
Both the children of Israel and Pharaoh were hesitant to believe in God. The children of Israel did become somewhat obedient and they did as they were told regarding the Passover. Pharaoh never submitted to God. He did let Israel go, but before they were very far away, he changed his mind and went chasing after them.
We see here that Moses was not in charge of the results. He was responsible to obey God. God would take care of the rest. God is not asking any of His children to produce the results. In John 15 Jesus taught about the importance of producing fruit that remains. The only way we can do that is when He is in charge. Fruit that remains is fruit that He provides.
In our text, and as we look at the developments within the nation of Israel after their exodus, we find that there were very few of them that actually believed God. Most were quick to complain and to murmur. Most were quick to get on the side of those who were more vocal in their rebellion against the LORD.
God was preparing Moses for his task as leader. Godly leaders will not often be very popular. The reason being that God is not very popular. Jesus taught His disciples that the world would hate them. Jesus exposed the Pharisees as those that hated Him. It is quite likely that in any true church, there will be those who hate God and thus will hate the pastor. Sometimes it will surprise the pastor to see who turns out to be the enemies of God.
God calls on His chosen leaders to obey Him. He has His ways of exposing the rebels for who they are. He cannot bless them. He will bless those who obey Him. Moses would be protected all through his confrontations with Pharaoh. The magicians would be able to duplicate some of the signs that Moses would do. However, only Moses could stop the plagues that God brought about. God would separate the children of Israel from the Egyptians and show His power to control His judgments. The magicians would see the hand of God at work. Pharaoh was far too stubborn to admit this. Sadly many in the nation of Israel also failed to realize God’s hand at work.
Today is another opportunity for God’s people to be in a good local church to learn of Him. Don’t miss out on His blessings. There is nothing more important for any true child of God than to be in a true local church today.

Psalm 122:1  I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

Why not let God make you glad today.
Pastor Bartel