When things go from bad to worse!
Reading: Exodus chapter 5
Question:
• Have you ever had one of those days that started out bad;
• And only got worse as the day wore on?
• Some of you are thinking days…
• I have weeks (or months) like that!
ill:
• I like the story of the couple who had been married a few years;
• When arguments and disagreements seemed to be constant in their relationship.
• They had been at each others throats for so long;
• That counselling seemed to be their only hope of making the marriage work.
• He was incredibly insensitive and dull;
• She was hyperactive and dominant;
• And that is never a good mix!
When they arrived at their first counselling session, things did not start well:
• The husband slumped in the chair, stared down at the carpet;
• And gave the impression he would rather be somewhere else!
• The wife however launched into a 90mph conversion;
• Describing all the wrongs within their marriage.
• Every problem could be traced back to him,
• His failures, his insensitivities, his failure to communicate, and she went on & on & on.
• After 15 minutes of the wife talking non-stop;
• The counsellor stood up and without saying a word,
• Walked around his desk and bent over in front of the wife;
• He picked her up by her shoulders, gave her a big hug,
• And kissed her passionately for several minutes on the lips,
• He then sat her down….
• Looked at the husband and said,
• “That is what your wife needs at least twice a week”
• The stunned husband thought for a minute, scratched his head and said;
• “Well I could bring her in on Tuesdays and Wednesdays”
• When we miss understand what’s going on;
• We can often make a situation worse and not better!
Now Cecil B. DeMille did not write the script for Moses’ life - God did!
• And contrary to popular belief Moses did not look like Charlton Heston!
• He was just an ordinary human being, like you and me;
• And he was driven by the same impulses, that each one of us experience;
• The same highs and lows, the same kinds of ups and downs.
• And Moses, like each one of us;
• Had to learn to cope with days, weeks, months – when things went from bad to worse!
We are picking up the story in chapter 4 verse 29:
• For Moses this particular day started with him riding the crest of a wave of confidence:
• He had called together the Hebrew elders (leaders);
• And he has received their full support.
• He had also performed miracles (supernatural acts) to support his call from God;
• And he had spoken powerfully (something he thought, that he had forgotten how to do).
• Verse 31: He got the Leaders of the Hebrews to spontaneously worship the Lord;
• For Moses and his brother Aaron, things could not have gone any better than they did!
But…
• Then they encountered a stubborn, arrogant, and cruel individual named Pharaoh,
• He would start a chain of reactions that would mean life for Moses and his people;
• Life suddenly going from bad to worse.
• For Moses and Aaron this would turn into the type of day:
• That they wished they could have just pulled the covers over their heads & stayed in bed.
• Moses was about to encounter two problems;
• These two problems would not be mere inconveniences,
• They would turn out to be colossal struggles!
Problem no 1: Pharaoh (vs 1-14).
“Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh”.
Those words in verse 1: are so simple and easy to read but remember:
• Pharaoh was at this time and in this setting the most powerful man on the planet.
• Among the Egyptians he was more than a man – he was a god.
• He was worshipped;
• Colossal structures and sculptures bearing his name and image were everywhere!
• Note: What this man said was law – and there was no appeal;
• He held life and death in the casual snap of his fingers.
• He was not a man to be messed with;
• There was a name for people who messed with Pharaoh – ‘Corpse!’
Ill:
• I suppose a modern equivalent of what Moses and Aaron are doing;
• Would be like you or me standing before Zimbabwe tyrant Robert Mugabe;
• And ordering him to give back all the white-owned farms that he had taken!
• And to do it immediately!
• It’s only a guess but I don’t think you would get very far;
• And it would take a modern day miracle if you escaped from his presence unharmed!
Maybe Moses and Aaron:
• Expected Pharaoh to respond to their request;
• The way the Hebrew elders had done in chapter 4 verses 31.
• If that was the case they are in for a rude-awakening!
• Because no-one, and I mean no-one ever told Pharaoh what to do!
Ill:
• Now if you are ever summoned to Buckingham palace,
• You will be told two things.
• One dress for the occasion (e.g. best cloths affair);
• Two you don’t start the conversation - the royal personage always does that!
• Royal protocol is around today;
• And it was around in the days of Moses and Aaron as well.
In chapter 5 verse 1: Moses and Aaron come face to face with Pharaoh:
• Picture the scene:
• Into the magnificent throne room of Pharaoh:
• Stood two old Hebrew men (one eighty and the other eighty-three);
• They were dressed in the robes of desert shepherds;
• Their appearance was totally under-whelming;
• And the impression they made before Pharaoh was zero (probably minus points)
If their appearance left little to be desired:
• They start telling Pharaoh what to do!
• I guess Pharaoh might have wondered if this was April the first!
Notice: that the request of Moses and Aaron was highly offensive to Pharaoh:
• It was offensive because of their first six words of their message;
• “The Lord God of Israel says”.
• Straight away they are challenging Pharaoh who was considered to be a god;
• With a greater deity - they are challenging Pharaoh with their God.
As well as offence, this must have seemed quite comical to Pharaoh:
• After all he was on the throne – the most powerful ‘being’ on the planet.
• Moses and Aaron could see him – unlike their God Pharaoh was visible before their very eyes;
• Pharaoh held all the power;
• If anyone was going to give any orders it would be Pharaoh – and no-one else!
• To him, these Hebrew people were his slaves – therefore they were losers!
• It was visible evidence that their God was unable to protect and look after his people.
• That is why Pharaoh responds the way he does in verse 2: “Who is this Lord?”
• To paraphrase his response he says:
How dare anyone else claim to be a greater god than I am,
and do you think I would give in to the requests of some invisible, unseen foreign God.
The answer is no, a thousand times no!”
As follow-up to Pharaoh’s rebuff in verses 3-5:
• Moses and Aaron rephrase more specifically their request:
• We just want to go into the desert for a few days to worship our God.
• The three-day journey would take the Hebrews out of sight and sound of the Egyptians
• They would have privacy to adore and worship God;
• And they would be out of range of contamination of any contaminated Egyptian influences.
Notice: in verse 3b: Moses tries a little psychological persuasion:
• He says if we don’t go and worship God;
• Then he might get angry with us and he might take retribution on us and kill lots of us.
• He is implying to Pharaoh that if that happened;
• Pharaoh would then have fewer slaves to do his work;
• In other words it makes good sense to let us go!
Pharaoh (to paraphrase) says (verses 4-5):
“Do you think I was born yesterday?
You want to steal my slaves away from me and disrupt my building programme.
Now get back to work and don’t disturb me again!”
• Pharaoh is obviously annoyed and angered by these two foreign slaves;
• Note: the phrase in verse 6 ; “That same day”
• This incident has been nagging away, niggling away at Pharaohs mind all day.
• So in verse 6-9: Pharaoh decides to show his authority, & show the Hebrews whom is boss!
Verse 10 shows us the three-level command structure that was in operation:
(a).
• Egyptian section leaders were at the top of the ladder;
• They would have had over-all control of the project before them.
(b).
• The task-masters were labour gang bosses;
• Who no-doubt cruelly cracked the whip and made sure that the slaves worked hard.
(c).
• The foremen would have been turn-coat Hebrews,
• Pulled out of the ranks of slaves, and given an easier-ride,
• Just as long as they liased well between the two groups & kept things ticking over.
Verse 10: Pharaoh calls these last two groups to him and delivers the news:
Ill:
• Over the years we have all told good news – bad news jokes;
• For example:
• Doctor to patient: “I have some good news and some bad news”.
• Patient replies: “What’s the good news?”
• Doctor: “The good news is they are naming a disease after you!”
I don’t think there was any hint of humour when Pharaoh makes his announcement;
• There was no good news in his message – only bad!
• In verse 8b: Pharaoh accuses the Hebrew people of being lazy;
• He denounces them as being idle and simply wanting time off work;
• Then he delivers his hammer blow; news that would cause every Hebrew slave to lose heart!
• Pharaoh decides to increase their work load.
• Remember chapter 3 verse informs us:
• They were already “miserable, groaning and crying out because of their sufferings.”
• Pharaoh’s plan is to break their spirits even more;
• And he will do this by refusing to give them a vital product.
• Ancient documents from Egypt show that straw was used as a necessary component of bricks;
• It would help bind the clay together.
• That was bad news, but then it got even worse:
• But he insisted that they still reach their assigned daily quotas.
• For these Hebrew slaves;
• A difficult task has suddenly become an impossible task!
Verse 13-15: tells us:
• That the Hebrew slaves just could not keep production of bricks;
• Up to the level it was before the straw was taken away;
• The Israelite foreman’s job just lost its shine!
• As they were beaten by their Egyptian oppressors for failure to produce enough bricks.
Application 1: In difficult times - Look up don’t give up!
Ill:
• John Wesley was a member of the Anglican clergy;
• He is largely credited with founding the Methodist movement.
• The Methodist movement began when Wesley took to open-air preaching
• But do not think that he was welcomed with open arms as he went outside preaching;
• This was considered a radical act - to preach outside of a Church building;
• And Wesley faced much opposition simply for doing what he believed was God’s will.
• A page from John Wesley’s Diary reads as follows:
• “Sunday morning, May 5, preached in St. Ann’s, was asked not to come back anymore.
• Sunday p.m., May 5, preached at St. John’s,
• Deacons said, "Get out and stay out."
• Sunday a.m., May 12, preached at St. Jude’s, can’t go back there either.
• Sunday p.m., May 12, preached at St. George’s, kicked out again.
• Sunday a.m., May 19, preached at St. somebody else’s,
• Deacons called special meeting and said I couldn’t return.
• Sunday p.m., May 19,
• Preached on the street, kicked off the street.
• Sunday a.m., May 26, preached in meadow,
• Chased out of meadow as a bull was turned loose during the services.
• Sunday a.m., June 2,
• Preached out at the edge of town, kicked off the highway.
• Sunday p.m., June 2, afternoon service, preached in a pasture,
• 10,000 people came to hear me.”
• Wesley learnt the important principle;
• Don’t Give Up! Look Up!
Doing the will of God may not always be easy:
• But stick at it because in the end, we will achieve his goal!
• Quote: “By perseverance the snail reached the ark!”
Ill:
• A shipwrecked man was once washed ashore on an uninhabited island.
• In the days that followed he painstakingly built a hut;
• Using the few things he had salvaged from the wreck;
• And from whatever he could find on the island.
• That little hut was the only protection he had from the harsh elements;
• And the only place he could safeguard his meagre possessions.
• Upon returning one evening from a lengthy search for food,
• He was terrified to find the hut engulfed in flames.
• The loss devastated him.
• He spent that night despondent, sleeping on the sand.
• He awoke early the next morning and,
• To his surprise, saw a ship anchored off the island.
• A crew member stepped ashore and told him,
• "We saw your smoke signal and came to rescue you!"
Things are not always as they seem:
• In life times that seem to be our destruction;
• Can in the end be turned around by God to be our deliverance.
• That will of course be seen in the book of Exodus as it unfolds over the next few weeks.
So in difficult times - Look up don’t give up!
• Stand fast,
• Trust in who he is and in what he has promised to do.
• We need to let difficult circumstances clamp us to God;
• And not allow them to be a wedge that separates us from God.
Problem no 2: His own people (vs 15-19).
Quote: Who can ever forget Winston Churchill’s immortal words:
• “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds,
• We shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.”
• One wit heard that quote and said:
• “It sounds exactly like our family vacation”.
In one sense Moses was among his own family – his own people:
• But he was about to discover that those who said they were with him in chapter 4 verse 31:
• Would soon turn against him!
• The reason for the change of mind was their work;
• It soon became unbearable because of the new rules;
• Verses 15-19:
• The Hebrews sent their foremen to plead with Pharaoh to show them leniency:
• But tyrants are not noted for their compassion and acts of kindness.
• And once again in verse 17, we read that Pharaoh is unyielding;
• He is adamant that these slaves are just lazy;
• And again he issues the same order; same amount of bricks – no straw provided!
Verses 20-21: Moses and Aaron meet the Israeli foremen:
• As you can imagine this meeting is not pleasant and cordial;
• The Israeli foremen make allegations regarding two things;
• They point-the-finger at Moses and Aaron;
• Regarding the propriety & authority of their words to Pharaoh!
• And for Moses who started the day on a crest of a wave of optimision;
• Is about to end the day on a slump of disappointment and disillusionment.
Moses must have wondered what he had done wrong;
• He had taken God at his word and look at the mess he was in!
• He said the right words, at the right time and he spoke them in the right way;
• Yet it all seems to have produced the wrong results!
• The very people that he had been longing to help (remember for forty long years);
• Where now cursing him for increasing their hardships and anguish.
• Moses was a misunderstood man.
• Pharaoh misunderstood him, but even sadder his own people misunderstood him!
Application 2: In difficult times – hold on to God’s word not mans!
Ill:
• It does not take a lot to cause misunderstandings;
• Just listen to these misprints from local newspapers.
• From the Chichester Evening News:
• “Miss Hampshire ... is friendly, likeable, and easy to talk to. She has a fine, fair skin,
• Which she admits ruefully comes out in freckles at the first hint of sin.”
• Or this from the Dublin Evening Herald:
• “Fifteen churches have been closed in Dublin City because of swindling congregations”.
• From the Yorkshire Post: “Patricia Middleton sang ’Christians dost thou see them?’
• At the close of Sunday night’s service. Miss Middleton is a qualified vice instructor.”
• Or, even worse, from the Croydon Advertiser:
• “Born to Rev and Mrs David Wilson of St James’ Church, a git of a son”.
• Those of course are humorous misunderstandings;
• Some misunderstandings can be more costly.
Ill:
• Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd, in north-west Wales.
• Was born in the year 1123.
• As a man he was given the gift of a dog from King John of England.
• The dog proved to be a loyal and great help to Llwelyn;
• And he named his faithful dog ‘Gelert’.
• The ledged says that Llywelyn returns home one evening g having been away hunting;
• To his horror he find his baby’s cradle overturned,
• The baby missing and he sees his faithful dog with blood around its mouth.
• Imagining that it has savaged the child,
• He draws his sword and kills the dog, which lets out a final dying yelp.
• He then hears the cries of the baby and finds it unharmed under the cradle,
• Along with a dead wolf which had attacked the child and been killed by Gelert the dog.
• Llywelyn is then overcome with remorse and he buries the dog with great ceremony,
• After that day legend says that Llywelyn never smiled again.
Point:
• Llywelyn assumed his problems was caused by the dog and so he killed it;
• Only to find out in time that the dog was actually the hero!
Note:
• The Hebrew people assumed their problems was caused by Moses & Aaron;
• It would be later on in time (as you will see in future studies),
• That they too would discover that Moses was actually the hero & not the villain!
As believers there may be times when we may be misunderstood:
• And even deserted by friends and relatives;
• But never forget,
• The Lord is always with us to sustain, strengthen, and provide.
Ill:
• Campbell Morgan;
• “Ladies, what a wonderful promise!”
Quote: Annie Johnson Flint
• Yea, “new every morning,” though we may awake,
• Our hearts with old sorrow beginning to ache;
• With old work unfinished when night stayed our hand
• With new duties waiting, unknown and unplanned;
• With old care still pressing, to fret and to vex,
• With new problems rising, our minds to perplex
• In ways long familiar, in paths yet untrod,
• Oh, new every morning the mercies of God!
• His faithfulness fails not; it meets each new day
• New guidance for every new step of the way;
• New grace for new trials, new trust for old fears,
• New patience for bearing the wrongs of the years,
• New strength for new burdens, new courage for old,
• New faith for whatever the day may unfold;
• As fresh for each need as the dew on the sod;
• Oh, new every morning the mercies of God!
That would be one of the lessons Moses learnt from this type of incident:
• Misunderstood & even abandoned by people, friends and even relatives;
• Yet never forget,
• The Lord is always with us to sustain, strengthen, and provide.
Ill:
Dr Adoniram Judson;
• Was one of the first missionaries sent abroad by nonconformist churches;
• He arrived in India in 1813 and settled in Rangoon, Burma.
• Later when war broke out between Burma and the English Government of India;
• He was arrested, and put in prison and accused of being a spy.
• As he was lying in a foul jail with 32 lbs. of chains on his ankles,
• And with his feet bound to a bamboo pole.
• A fellow prisoner with a sneer on his face, said,
• “Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heather?”
• In other words;
• “Look at the mess you are in, how you gone convert the people now!”
• Judson’s reply was instant and insightful;
• “The prospects are just as bright as the promises of God.”
• In other words:
• No matter how dark and stormy our situation may be,
• God does not change and neither does his word!
Ill: Dr Judson went on to achieve an incredible amount in his life;
• Translated the Bible in Burmese, produced the very first Burmese dictionary;
• And left a Christian community of about half a million people.
• “Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heather?”
• “The prospects are just as bright as the promises of God.”
Moses, Aaron & the Hebrew people too:
• Will soon discover that out of hopeless circumstances;
• With an enemy as powerful and mean as Pharaoh,
• God has the resources and the power;
• To fulfil his will and to keep his promise!
