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Thoughts from Exodus 4 & 5: Signs and Bricks
By daniel | January 31, 2007
Exodus chapter 4 begins with God giving Moses several miracles with which to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go and worship away from Egypt. At this point, we've been watching the Lord eagerly, waiting for what He's going to do next. He's already picked an unlikely hero (and we still wonder whether he'll make it through this), and now He's given Moses some cool miracles to do in order to show God's power.
I think the most interesting part of chapter 4 is the doubts of Moses. God was angry with Moses for his doubting and unbelieving heart — what would God have to do to convince Moses to just go and do what He said? He ends up telling Moses to have Aaron speak for him, though it wasn't God's best and original plan. Later on, we'll see that Aaron really wasn't the strongest moral compass to be placed in a leadership position, but that comes later. The point here is that Moses in a moment of unbelief set a course that may have worked out, but didn't turn out best as it could have.
Chapter 5 is all about how Pharaoh took away the straw to make the bricks. The Israelites had to work harder than before. The response from the Israelites (and Moses) is typical and disappointing. There's something huge going on, God is moving behind the scenes, and a bit more difficult work causes them to cry and lash out at Moses. We know already that the Israelites aren't characterized by their faith, and the Bible doesn't exactly paint them in the best light. It does, however, paint God in a good light. God is faithful here.
The real surprise is Moses' response. Our 'hero' hears the people crying out and turns it back on God: Why did you send me? You have done evil here, God — I wish you hadn't sent me. In fact, I spoke to Pharaoh, and he didn't agree with you AND you didn't deliver your people at all. Thanks a lot, God. This was a dumb plan.
Come on, Moses. He already told you that Pharaoh would not listen. We'll have to wait until next time to see what happens!
Topics: The Word |
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