Exodus 5:1-23 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Exodus 5:1-23. Let’s go!
Exodus 5:1-23 (NIV)
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.'”
2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.”
3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”
4 But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!”
5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”
6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and foremen in charge of the people:
7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw.
8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’
9 Make the work harder for the men so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
10 Then the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw.
11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.'”
12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw.
13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.”
14 The Israelite foremen appointed by Pharaoh’s slave drivers were beaten and were asked, “Why didn’t you meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”
15 Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way?
16 Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
17 Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are–lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’
18 Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”
19 The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.”
20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them,
21 and they said, “May the LORD look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
22 Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me?
23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”
On verses 1-23: Moses and Aaron step out in faith and approach Pharaoh with God’s demand to let His people go. Pharaoh stone walls Moses and Aaron and, even worse, increases the workload expected of the Israelite slaves as a result. This in turn causes the Israelite foremen themselves to be angry with Moses and Aaron for getting the entire Israelite community in trouble with Pharaoh.
What can we learn from this? Whenever you step out in faith to undertake something great, don’t be surprised if at first you fall flat on your face. That’s what happened to Moses and Aaron. Moses tried to do what God asked of him, and yet rather than making the situation better for the Israelite slaves, at first things actually got worse!
That’s why perseverance is necessary whenever you step out in faith. There will be times after you step out and faith when you stumble and fall, but don’t give up. Instead get up and keep pursuing God’s calling. Remember that the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is not that successful people never experience failure and unsuccessful people always experience failure. The difference is in how they view failure and how they respond to failure.
If you or someone you know are struggling with a fear of failure, or are having trouble getting up after a failure, I hope you’ll check out this message “A Friend Called Failure” available at https://www.thrivechurch.
One of my favourite verses is Proverbs 24:16: “for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again”. Praise God! Because Jesus Christ has paid for your sins, you are righteous in God’s sight. And as a righteous person, you have the power to rise up after each time you fall.
So like Moses and Aaron, resolve not to give up. You will later see God do amazing things that made all the initial pain and hardship worth it!
Heavenly Father, may I not allow my failures to define me and destroy me. Rather may I learn from my failures, knowing that if I respond to my failures with the right attitude, You can use my biggest failures for good. Please give me wisdom to look at failure and respond to failure in the right way. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
