Scripture: Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'” But Pharaoh said, “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.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” 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.”
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.”
Exodus 5:1-31 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Yesterday’s Daily Focus, Moses first recalls how Zipporah acted swiftly to circumcise their son and appease God’s wrath. Moses adds a strange detail that Zipporah placed the foreskin on Moses’ feet and declared (referring to the circumcision), “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” Appeasing God, Moses and his family continued their journey to Egypt to begin the Lord’s mission of rescuing Israel from Pharaoh’s oppression.
Today’s reading introduces the conflict with Pharaoh and pushback from Moses’ kin. Here, Moses respectfully asks Pharaoh to let his people go on a three-day journey into the wilderness to hold a feast and make sacrifices to their God, lest pestilence and sword fall upon them. But, as Pharoah arrogantly contends, he does not know the Lord, nor will he oblige. Moreover, he instructs his taskmasters to increase the Hebrew slaves’ workload by making them gather straw for brick-making to teach them not to be idle or believe Moses’ lying words regarding Yahweh’s command and consequences.
So when the Hebrew supervisors ask Pharaoh why the added burden, he tells them they are idle, as evidenced by seeking to go and worship their God. Thus, when they return to Goshen, they meet with Moses and Aaron and rant at them for the trouble they have brought upon their people. Indignant, they add that Moses and Aaron have made them a stench to Pharaoh, who is bent on killing them. As one reaction sparks another, Moses then turns to the Lord, complains that his plan only worsens things, and questions why Yahweh sent him, for he has not delivered his people.
Takeaway: Moses constructs this passage around the question, “Why?”
- Pharaoh to Moses: Why did you distract the people away from their work? (v.4)
- The Hebrew foremen to Pharaoh: Why did you treat your servants with this added burden? (v.15)
- Moses to Yahweh: Why did you provoke evil against your people? Why did you ever send me? (v.22)
The accusations and blame escalate as the outcome does not meet the expectations. Consequently, Moses impatiently dares to call God out for failing to deliver his people as promised—a dangerous place to be! Still, Moses wisely took his complaints to God rather than responding to the foremen’s vitriol and allowing the conflict to escalate further.
Out takeaway? It’s easy to let the tension mount when we are scared or angry. In the above story, anger primes the pump, beginning with Pharaoh, who then riles the Hebrew foremen who vent on Moses and Aaron, leading to Moses complaining to and questioning God. And underlying their hostility is fear:
- Pharaoh feared he would lose control of his slave labor.
- The Hebrew supervisors feared the increased workload would lead to their demise.
- Moses feared that he would fail.
These men demonstrated either no knowledge of God (Pharaoh) or a poor understanding of God (Moses and his fellow Hebrews). That said, Moses at least trusted he could speak candidly to God—albeit impertinently. Nevertheless, all contributed to a destructive dynamic of allowing their emotions to rule over reason, which sparked a chain reaction.
Our part? We must develop a larger view of our Triune God to break the chain reaction of fear-mongering and consequential anger-response. For his perfect plans unfold in his timing and entail sacrifice and suffering. Indeed, at just the right time, the Son of God came into our world and dwelled among us as our suffering servant to bring us deliverance. And as his disciples, we should expect nothing less for ourselves. Setbacks and suffering very much characterize the Christian journey. Hence, if we want to break the chain reaction, refusing to escalate fear and anger, we need to deepen our understanding of the sacrificial love of our Father and Brother and appropriate their grace and peace that calms our emotions and facilitates rational problem-solving.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for sacrificing your beloved Son to deliver us from the penalty of sin. Still, sin’s power lingers in us in this post-resurrection era, stirring us to blame others when life doesn’t go as planned. Instead, please help us refocus on your sacrificial love and appropriate your grace and peace to break the chain reaction of our fear and anger responses and promote rational problem-solving. Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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