Introduction:
A. Have you ever had a truly bad day?
1. Have you ever had a day that went from bad to worse?
2. Imagine this guy, parachuting into a beautiful lagoon populated by alligators!
3. How about this guy, being rescued by helicopter, only to be eaten by a shark! (probably a doctored picture)
4. Or how about this guy escaping one cesspool only to end up in another.
B. If you have ever had a bad day gone worse like these guys, then you will be able to identify with Moses.
1. Moses had accepted the call of God, was released by his father-in-law, and began his journey back to Egypt.
2. On the way Moses met up with Aaron whom God had sent out to meet his brother.
a. It is always encouraging to note how God works from both ends to make His plans come into being.
3. When Moses and Aaron arrived in Egypt, they summoned a meeting of the elders where they revealed all the words that God had given and showed them the signs of God’s power.
4. The people believed and threw their support behind Moses.
a. Perhaps those Hebrew elders thought it was going to be a quick-and-easy “slam-dunk.”
b. They imagined Moses marching into Pharaoh’s court, amazing Pharaoh with his miraculous signs, and then the gates of liberation would swing open and they would be on their merry way.
C. But it wasn’t going to be that easy.
1. If they had stopped to think about it, they should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.
2. Moses certainly knew it wouldn’t be that easy, for God had clearly told him that there would be major difficulties with Pharaoh.
3. But you know how it is, most of us block out the part of the plan we don’t like, and we focus on the part of the plan we like.
a. We skip over the part that says we are going to get in the car and drive 1000 miles, and all we focus on is the part that says: “We are going to Disney World.”
4. God had told Moses that Pharaoh would not let them go until a mighty hand compelled him by striking the Egyptians by the wonders He would perform, then, and only then, Pharaoh would let them go.
5. So now with the easy part being over and it was time to confront Pharaoh with the message of God.
6. Moses’ bad day began when he gained an audience with the King!
I. The Story
A. The opening scene of today’s part of the story is decidedly dramatic as two eighty year old men stand before the most powerful man on earth.
1. Although it may be hard for us to imagine, let’s try to sense the power and presence of Pharaoh.
a. He was considered a “god” in his land – so he was literally, worshiped.
b. Colossal structures and sculptures bearing his name towered into the blue, Egyptian skies.
c. What Pharaoh said was law, and there was no court of appeals.
d. He held a person’s life and death in the casual snap of his fingers.
2. But as awesome as was the presence of Pharaoh, we must keep in mind that Moses and Aaron had just been in the presence of someone even greater – Yahweh the King of the Universe.
a. Moses and Aaron had received instructions from the mouth of the Living God.
3. Chapter five begins with: 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.’” (Ex. 5:1)
B. That was the start of the bad day and it all went down hill from there.
1. In verse 2 we find Pharaoh’s response: 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.” (Ex. 5:2)
2. Pharaoh’s response was completely negative.
3. Pharaoh response was characterized by cynical arrogance.
4. It is not that Pharaoh had never heard of the name of Jehovah, he undoubtedly had (he had millions of Jewish people living in his country), it is that he refused to recognize the name or the request brought in that name.
5. The point for Pharaoh lied in the word “obey.”
a. He understood that these men were not presenting him with a request but rather a mandate from one greater than himself.
b. Listen to this quote from biblical scholar F.B. Meyer: “To appreciate the audacity of the demand we must remember the unbridled power and authority claimed by the Egyptian monarchs…For him great Egypt existed. For him all other men lived, suffered and died. For him the mighty Nile flowed…For him vast armies of priests and magicians and courtiers wrought and ministered.” [F.B. Meyer. The Life of Moses. (Lynnwood, Washington: Emerald Books, 1996) p. 47]
C. Moses took Pharaoh’s hard rebuff on the chin, shook off the blow, and came back with a modified proposal, which was the actual proposal that God had given him in chapter 3, verse 18.
1. The Bible says: 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.” (Ex. 5:3)
2. But Pharaoh continued to say “no”.
3. The Bible says: 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.”(Ex. 5:4-5)
D. This was not going the way Moses had hoped - the bad situation was about to get much worse.
1. That same day Pharaoh communicated with the taskmasters of the people.
2. I want you to note that all these developments were taking place within one twenty-four hour period.
3. The Bible says: 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.” (Ex. 5:6-9)
4. Basically, Pharaoh said, “All this talk of sacrifice is just a smokescreen. I’m the only god these people need to deal with, and I’ve got a special word for these slackers – From now on, there will be no more deliveries of straw – you will have to find it yourself, but we will not reduce your quota by a single brick.”
E. And did you notice the word “harder” – the Bible has already told us that the Hebrews had already been sighing , groaning, and crying out in their cruel labors, how could it get harder?
1. Desperate as their situation had been, it was about to become much worse.
2. The Bible says: 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?” (Ex. 5:10-14)
3. This wasn’t simply a more difficult task that they now faced; it was an impossible task.
4. They couldn’t do it. Nobody could do it. And as a result, the foremen were beaten without mercy.
F. So the Israelite foreman went to Pharaoh and tried to do a little labor negotiation.
1. The Bible says: 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.” (Ex. 5:15-16)
2. Utterly bewildered, these Hebrews had no idea why they’d been deprived of straw, so they asked what was going on with these unreasonable demands.
3. So how do you think the negotiation went? You guessed it - management didn’t care a flip about what the rank-and-file had to say. (sounds a little like the lockouts happening in the NFL and NBA right now – the owners hold all the cards).
4. The Bible says: 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.”
G. That’s when the light bulb went on in their minds – It’s Moses and Aaron – It’s is because of what they did with Pharaoh that is causing us to take the heat.
1. The Bible says: 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.” (Ex. 5:19-21)
2. Can you imagine the way those men must have glared at Moses when they came from Pharaoh?
3. They used extremely strong and accusatory language in questioning what Moses had done.
a. They called for the Lord to judge Moses and they accused him of making Pharaoh hate them and giving Pharaoh a reason to kill them.
4. The bad day had indeed gotten worse for everyone, including Moses.
H. Moses did exactly what I would have done – He gave God a piece of his mind.
1. The Bible says: 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.” (Ex. 5:22-23)
2. Consider for a moment how the response of the people must have affected Moses.
a. All those memories of rejection and inadequacy must have come flooding backing to the heart of Moses.
b. He must have had a strong urge to again, run and hide - to escape back to the quiet life of a shepherd. He hadn’t wanted this job from the start.
c. So Moses did run!! But this time he ran straight to his source of strength. Moses poured out all his anxiety to the only one who could answer his questions.
d. When our bad day takes a turn for the worse, the best thing we can do is turn to God.
3. Moses turned to God with his questions.
a. Where had he gone wrong?
b. He had obeyed God.
c. He had used the exact words God had told him to say.
4. Nevertheless, now the wheels seemed to be falling off the wagon.
5. The very people he had wanted to help (for over 40 years) were now cursing him for making matters worse, not better.
I. Perhaps the mistake of the foreman, the children of Israel as a whole, and Moses was that they presumed how God would work.
1. He did not work the way they anticipated, and so they were offended, angry and disappointed.
2. As I said earlier, Moses should not have been surprised by Pharaoh’s reaction, because God had warned him what would happen.
J. In verse one of chapter six we find God’s wonderful answer to Moses: 1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”
2 God also said to Moses, “I am the LORD (Yahweh). 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty (El Shaddai), but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.’” (Ex. 6:1-8)
1. Did you notice that God did not reprimand Moses for asking questions?
2. God will not shame or slap us in the face when we come to Him.
3. What God did was to reassure Moses of His intent and purposes.
4. He told Moses who He was and what He was going to do.
a. God repeated the message from the burning bush, saying “I Am” 5 different times in Exodus 6.
K. At this point, both Moses and the king needed a good dose of God’s power.
1. Too many times we allow ourselves to focus on the difficulties of the moment, instead of the God of the Universe.
2. God was telling Moses: “Get your eyes back on Me. Remember who I am!”
3. The New Testament reader is also reminded, “1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
4. Until our eyes are fixed on the Lord, we will not be able to endure those days that go from bad to worse.
5. And just who is God?
a. He is Yahweh, the eternal I AM, the sovereign Lord of the universe.
b. He cannot do what is unjust or against His nature.
c. He is always faithful, changeless, all powerful, all-knowing, good, gracious, wise and compassionate.
6. And what did God promise?
a. “I will bring…I will deliver…I will redeem…I will take…I will be…I will give.”
b. This was going to happen…they would come out from Egypt.
c. God knows what He is doing. He doesn’t make mistakes.
d. Whatever happens to us, whatever God allows is for our good in the long run.
L. In spite of all of this reassurance from the Lord things just kept getting worse.
1. The Bible says: 9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.” (Ex 6:9)
2. The Pharaoh had already refused his request, and now he found out he no longer had any credibility with the Israelites.
3. Surely, this was one of the lowest points for Moses, but God wasn’t through yet.
4. The Bible says: 10 Then the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”
12 But Moses said to the LORD, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?”
5. So what did Moses do when his bad day took a turn for the worse?
a. He came back to the Lord.
b. Moses was discouraged, he was frustrated, he felt helpless, but he kept coming back.
c. And the Lord met him every time.
II. The Application
A. Three timely and timeless principles come into focus as we wrap up this sermon.
1. Think of them as three standing dominos, each one falling into the next.
2. Circumstances that turn against us force dependence.
a. When we find ourselves in a situation that suddenly reverses field and begins going in a direction we don’t want, we are humbled, and that forces us into a position of dependence on the Lord.
3. Circumstances that force dependence teach us patience.
a. We dread that “P” word, but oh, how we need it.
4. Circumstances that teach patience make us wise.
a. Wisdom becomes the gold crown of our adverse circumstances.
B. Let me end with the remarkable story of the English poet William Cowper (pronounced: Cooper).
1. It is the remarkable example of a man coming to the end of his rope and finding God.
2. Cowper found himself so deep in discouragement and despair he tried to put an end to it all, first of all, by drinking poison.
a. But God graciously led someone to find him. His stomach was pumped, and he was spared.
3. As soon as he recovered, the despairing writer hired a carriage to take him down to the Thames River in which he intended to plunge himself into the dark, swirling waters.
a. The driver of the carriage, however, would have none of it.
b. He restrained Cowper, got him back into the carriage, and drove him home.
4. Frustrated with that attempt, he found a knife in the privacy of this house and attempted to fall upon it.
a. If you can believe it, the blade broke.
5. Still not deterred, he rigged up a rope in the basement, put his neck in the noose, and dropped into thin air.
a. But someone found him before he strangled and took him down.
b. He couldn’t even kill himself.
6. Finally, in the depth of sorrow, he turned to the Bible - the book of Romans.
a. In the pages of that book, he found a passage that brought him to his knees and to faith in Jesus Christ.
b. It was Romans 3:23-25: There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.
7. Years later, as a mature man of God, Cowper penned this now familiar hymn:
God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines, Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs, And works his sov’reign will.
8. Cowper wrote many other hymns including: “Oh for a Closer Walk with God”, and “There is a Fountain, Filled with Blood.”
9. What God did in Moses’ life and in William Cowper’s life, He can do in ours, but it isn’t always smooth and easy.
C. Our Scripture Reading is a suitable “Amen” to the things we have been discussing today:
1. James wrote:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (James 1:2-5)
2. When our days go from bad to worse, we must turn to God and trust Him.
3. Our dependence will lead to patience, which will lead to wisdom and maturity.
4. We all want to grow up, but we want to do so without experiencing any growing pains, but that is not possible.
5. So fasten your seat belts, the ride is often turbulent, but the destination is worth it.
Resources:
Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication, by Charles Swindoll, Word Publishing, 1999
When a Day Goes From Bad to Worse, Sermon by John Hamby, SermonCentral.com
