Moses and Aaron had made their
first visit to the Pharaoh and things didn't turn out as they had
planned. In fact things got worse, much worse. Pharaoh gave orders
to the slave drivers and foremen:
Exodus 5:7-9 "Do not supply the
people with any more straw for making bricks. Let them get it
themselves! But don't reduce their production quotas by a single
brick. They obviously don't have enough to do. If they did, they
wouldn't be talking about going into the wilderness to offer
sacrifices to their God. Load them down with more work. Make them
sweat! That will teach them to listen to these liars!"
The poor Israelites scurried all
over the area and tried to find straw to still complete their
quota, but to no avail. It was impossible. They were treated
harshly and their situation deteriorated at a rapid pace! They were
worse off than before. They tried to complain to Pharaoh, but this
made him even angrier. They were desperate and in their
frustration, they turned on Moses and proclaimed God's judgment on
him.
Poor Moses. He was only trying to
do what God had instructed him to do, and now Pharaoh and his own
people were against him. And the only One he could turn to was
God.
Exodus 5:22, 23 "Why have You
mistreated Your own people like this, Lord? Why did You send me?
Since I gave Pharaoh your message, he has been even more brutal to
Your people. You have not even begun to rescue them!"
Obviously Moses didn't know God's
plan. Moses definitely expected faster results and fewer problems.
He didn't know that there will be 10 plagues; he didn't know that
God will open the Red Sea for them; he didn't know that God will
bring Egypt to their knees, he didn't know all that. All he could
see at this moment was failure. He did what God asked of him and it
resulted in failure. Full stop. And God knew this too. He didn't
reprimand Moses for talking to Him like this, no, He understood
Moses' heart. What wonderful grace! All He did was tell Moses
again, that He certainly will deliver them.
I think we can learn from this.
When embarking on a journey with God we expect it to be easy, and
that all things will go our way, we expect favor wherever we go and
we expect blessings to start flowing immediately, but it doesn't
always work that way. Sometimes God allows things to develop our
character, to test our faith, to grow patience in our hearts, or to
portray His power in our lives, we don't know, but one thing is
certain, we mustn't give up. Don't ever give up on the road that
God has laid on your heart. It might be hard now, but the glory
lies ahead, just push on a little more. I will end off with a
comment in my bible that sums it up beautifully:
Problems develop our character and
patience by teaching us to:
- Trust God to do what is best for us.
- Look for ways to honor God in our present situation.
- Remember that God will not abandon us and
- Watch for God's plan for us.
Father God, please help us through
the times when things look bleak and unpromising. Help us to still
go on with Your plan for us. Give us strength to go forward, step
by step. In Jesus Name. Amen