Exodus 5 - Driven By Ignorance

Public opinion rarely corresponds with God's truth.

Photo Credit: M abnodey, via Unsplash

SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF:  Moses has returned to Egypt, and upon hearing that the LORD had sent him to rescue them, the people bowed down and worshiped.

Exodus 5:1–21 (NIV)

5 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 wilderness.’ ”

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 wilderness 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 overseers 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 people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

¹⁰ Then the slave drivers and the overseers 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 And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”

¹⁵ Then the Israelite overseers 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 overseers 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 on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Belgic Confession

Article 7

We must not consider human writings—

no matter how holy their authors may have been—

equal to the divine writings;

nor may we put custom,

nor the majority,

nor age,

nor the passage of time or persons,

nor councils, decrees, or official decisions

above the truth of God,

for truth is above everything else.

For all human beings are liars by nature

and more vain than vanity itself.

Summary

Public opinion is a dangerous guide, and Moses experiences early on how quickly it can turn. Unfortunately, it's a lesson he'll have to keep on learning for decades to come as he leads God's rebellious people through the wilderness.

Moses had returned to a heroes welcome of sorts. Through his brother Aaron, he'd reported everything the LORD had said to him and performed the miraculous signs God had enabled him with. The people believed, and having heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped (Ex. 4:30-31).

It seemed like everything that God had promised was falling into place! The people were rallied in support, ready to be relieved from their oppression and worship the LORD. All Moses needed to do yet was to march before the Pharoah and demand that he let his numerous labor force take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD God.

Obviously the LORD had bigger plans than just a three-day festival in the wilderness; He planned to bring them back to the Promised Land. But Moses wasn't negotiating in bad faith here. It's not surprising that Pharoah wouldn't let his labor force go for good, but Moses' three day request wasn't without precedent. The Egyptians had let other slave populations go out for a few days for religious purposes before.

Notice that Pharoah's first objection isn't economic - it's not centered on how much productivity would be lost in these three days. Pharoah rejects this reasonable request because he does not know the LORD and therefore will not obey Him. People who do not know the LORD - the creator of reason and logic - cannot be expected to act reasonably or logically. Moses' initial limited, reasonable request demonstrates that.

  Dig Deeper  

The wave of popularity that Moses initially rode didn't last long. This wasn't the first slave revolt Pharoah had faced, and he knew exactly how to handle it. Turn the people against the organizers. Cause internal division. Dissolve the pent up anger and energy by having the people fight one another. It worked then, and the tactic still works today.

In twenty one short verses, the tide changed completely. By the end of the passage, the people are angrier at Moses and Aaron than they are at Pharoah. Moses quickly learned he wouldn't just be battling the forces of evil in freeing God's people, he'd be battling God's people as well.

Popular opinion is a powerful force, but it rarely leads people to the truth. This is one of the reasons why the Reformers were so adamant that Christians look only to God's Word for truth, not to human writings— no matter how holy their authors may have been.

So don't let the roller coaster of polls and fads manipulate you. Popular people may consider you obnoxious for holding to the truth of God's Word, but be reminded that the truth of God is above everything else.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who rescues His people from slavery;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will hold firmly to God's Word regardless of public opinion;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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