Exodus 5 – May 9

Introducing Pharaoh

When Moses and Aaron arrive back in Egypt, they don’t waste any time getting to the point. At the very outset of the chapter we see that they have gained an appointment with Pharaoh and made the Lord’s demands clear. “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” I find it interesting that when I come across references to this moment in most books, people seem to shorten it to nothing more than, “Moses said, ‘Let my people go.” The point is that these are not Moses’ people. They are not Pharaoh’s people. They are God’s people and they belong exclusively to Him.

Pharaoh demanded to God’s command with the rhetorical question, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” God is going to spend the next several chapters showing Pharaoh exactly who He is. It is worth noting that at this period in Egyptian history, every Pharaoh was believed to be a god by their people. We have the true God of the universe in one corner, and the someone who has overestimated himself in the other.

The arrogance and pride that we see pouring out of Pharaoh throughout this narrative all flows from this central sin of self-idolatry. But, this is not just a Pharaoh problem. This is exactly how every human heart initially responds to God. We act as though we are in charge. We don’t think God has the right, or authority, or power to actually enforce His commands. Like Pharaoh, we harden our hearts against the Lord and operate just like He did, with a “who does He think He is” attitude. It is certainly a miraculous grace that the Holy Spirit softens the hearts of God’s people to receive the truth and bow their knee to Jesus. Sadly, we are going to see that Pharaoh is an example of what happens when someone does not submit to the Lord.

Division and Disunity

Pharaoh was evil, but he was not stupid. He made the work of the Israelites harder by requiring that they keep up their daily output, even though he did not provide them with the necessary materials. When the people were unable to produce as many bricks as they were required, they were punished and told that it was their fault. Notice where the anger of the people was aimed – not at Pharaoh, but at Moses and Aaron.

They people said, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” (This is pretty ironic since when Moses was just a baby, the sword of Egypt was on full display as they killed all of the Israelite children.) The ire of the people was hot toward Moses, even though he was doing the right thing. It would have been easy for Moses to condemn the people of Israel. Instead, notice how Moses responds. He prays. He asked the Lord, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” I perceive the tone of Moses to be one of pleading for understanding, not one of accusation. Moses is trying to reconcile in his mind that God said He would deliver, and the result was actually increased hardship in slavery. God always keeps His promises, but He does not always do things in the timing or style that we expect. Moses likely expected to march into Pharaoh’s courts, demand liberty for God’s people, and march out immediately. Instead, God is going to do exactly what He promised in chapter 3. He is going to display His power in a mighty way before leading His people out. Sometimes when we pray for the Lord’s help and do what we know we are called to do, things seem to get worse. But, God always knows what He is doing. His timing is never accidental. As we will see, He does deliver His people in dramatic fashion – and by doing so He displays to all of Egypt His great power.