Tag: straw

41.k. “Why did you ever send me?”

 

 

Exodus 5:10  So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”

Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; and they said to them, “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.” Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “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.”

Moses went to the Israelites as directed by God and spoke what god directed him to say.  The people bowed and worshipped God because of these words. Moses went to Pharaoh and spoke the words God gave him to speak. Pharaoh was pretty upset that these slave people would even think to come to him with such a request. Pharaoh, in turn, says, “obviously you have to much time on your hands and because of that you are having too much time to think about anything other than serving me, so now you will gather your own straw to make the quota of bricks you are assigned. This was impossible but Pharaoh never withdrew this requirement and beat the foreman of those making the bricks for falling short. The foreman went to Pharaoh and said why do you treat us like this. Pharaoh said; “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD. Go now and work.”  The foreman saw they were in trouble and when they met Moses after speaking with Pharaoh they said to Moses. The Lord look on you and judge you for what you have caused upon us.

Moses turned to the Lord and asks why have you done evil to these people and why did you send him. You have not delivered them.

The foreman wanted judgment against Moses and Moses wanted to blame God. Both expected God’s promise of deliverance to be handled immediately and they reacted with doubt and blame. Would we have been any different? We might look at this and think in our hearts we would not, but we are not being treated harshly after being given the words of encouragement and the promise of deliverance by God through Moses. I wonder how close this lack of faith in God and His promises hits home in our hearts and minds. Any Christian who is walking with God and seeking and desiring to honor and glorify Jesus Christ will encounter times of trials and troubles as they are being led by the Holy Spirit. The point to remember is that we have been given the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide, direct, teach, and comfort us through these times. The problem is that far too many “Christians” are not seeking and desiring to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all they think, say, and do.  It would seem their hope is built on the comforts of life rather than the Word of God. They have no hope because there is no growth upon the foundation of salvation.  Shallowness, complacency, and neglecting God’s Word will never increase our reliance and dependence upon Him, but rather cause us to become judgmental and blaming. 

We are without excuse in light of all that has been given to this generation. We live in a time that knows with historical and biblical truth that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, sent to redeem mankind, die and rose again, and is coming again. We have been given God’s Word in written form and it has been made available through every means possible with technology.  No one has any excuse for the neglect it is given. No one has any excuse to live ignorant of it. 

We are to be a Holy people that live for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do, a light in the darkness, and able to give witness to the hope that is within us. How do we know what it means to honor and glorify Jesus Christ when we lack in desire for this very purpose? 

41.i. “And Pharaoh said”

 

 

Exodus 5:5  And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”

To punish Israel for the request and to give them more work (“You seem to have enough time to make these crazy requests – then you must have enough time to work more!”), Pharaoh commanded that the Israelites must gather their own materials (specifically, straw) for making bricks. (Guzik)

But Pharaoh would hear nothing of any worship. He believed that the wish was simply an excuse for procuring holidays for the people, or days of rest from their labours, and ordered the messengers off to their slave duties: “Get you unto your burdens.” For as the people were very numerous, he would necessarily lose by their keeping holiday. (Keil and Delitzsch)

Rulers are not always content simply to refuse inconvenient demands. Sometimes they set to work with much ingenuity and worldly wisdom to prevent their repetition. This is especially the case where they entertain a fear of their petitioners. Pharaoh now is not content to let things take their course, but devises a plan by which he hopes to crush altogether the aspirations of the Hebrew people, and secure himself against the recurrence of any such appeal as that which had been made to him by Moses and Aaron.  They had had to dig the clay and temper it, to mix it with straw, and mould it into the form of bricks; but the straw had been supplied to them. The king determined that this should be no longer done; the Israelites should find the straw for themselves. Pharaoh lost no time. Having conceived his idea, he issued his order at once-on the very day of the interview with the two leaders. (Pulpit Commentary)

Not every action required of us by God will be honored by those to whom it is intended. We can expect one of three reactions; acceptance, resistance, and possible retaliation. When you think about it these is exactly the kinds of responses to the Gospel that occur.  (Accept, reject, react)

Obviously, the request to Pharaoh was not the same as presenting the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is rejected.  However, it was confirming and eternity-defining request that was rejected, hardening his heart and damning his soul.