God is Greater Than Our Problems
Exodus 5:1-21
- We’re continuing our study through the book of Exodus, and as we study, we’re asking the question, “What can I learn from this passage about honoring God?”
- Last week, we looked at three ways in which we should be obedient to God.
- Our obedience must be bold and courageous, it must be complete, and it must be precise.
- We saw this as Moses took steps to obey God’s call on his life to return to Egypt and free His people.
- However, he had neglected to circumcise his own son, so God almost killed him for his negligence.
- When he finally made it to Egypt, he and Aaron spoke to the elders and showed them God’s signs as God had commanded, and now, they were ready to go before Pharaoh.
- That’s where we find them today, going forward in obedience to stand before Pharaoh, but as we’ll see, they’re going to face some problems.
- I’m reminded of a time years ago when I faced a problem, one that I thought was bigger than it actually was.
- When I graduated from my training as an Army Chaplain Assistant, I went home on leave to spend time with family before going to my first duty station.
- Well, things started out just fine.
- I had received my orders to go to Ft. Bliss, TX to work with an aerial reconnaissance unit that did work down in South America.
- I was looking forward to it, but then about a week into my leave, I received a phone call from a Sergeant Major who informed me that he was changing my orders.
- Instead of being assigned to Ft. Bliss, TX, they were reassigning me to Ft. Sam Houston, TX to a military intelligence interrogation unit.
- I found out later that this was because they were sending me to Iraq instead of South America, but that’s another story.
- Okay, no big deal, right?
- It’s not like I had already gone down to Ft. Bliss and gotten settled in…
- So I continued my leave, and then the day came to head to the airport and fly down to my duty station.
- I had a huge folder that was filled with my orders…
- The orders explained where I was supposed to report, who I was supposed to contact, and all sorts of other important paperwork that I needed to have with me.
- Well, my family drove me to the airport, and we said our goodbyes.
- Off I went, on my way to Texas.
- I was nervous, but I thought I’d read a book and enjoy my time on the plane.
- Then, about halfway through the flight, I realized something…
- I didn’t have my orders with me…they were all the way back in Portland, Maine…
- At that point, I started to panic because I couldn’t contact my family while on the plane, I couldn’t just fly back to Maine, and of course, I couldn’t snap my fingers and make them appear out of thin air.
- So I didn’t know what to do, and I was overwhelmed by this problem I was facing, but all I could do at the moment was stay seated and try to remain calm.
- I said a prayer, asking God to help me calm down and figure this out.
- When we made it to the next airport, I was going to stop at the ticket counter and ask the agent if she could reach out to the Portland airport and see if maybe I had left them at the airport somewhere.
- However, when exiting the plane and entering the airport, there was an agent greeting us, and she asked for me by name.
- I hoped that this was a good sign, and it was…
- After I left, my family left the airport and started on their way back to Washington County…
- Somewhere along the way, they realized that I had left my orders sitting in the car.
- Immediately, they turned around and went back to the airport, knowing I had already left, but hoping there was a way to somehow get them to me.
- Luckily, there was another flight headed my way, and the agent wrapped it up and sent it to me.
- I only had to wait about an hour in San Antonio before my orders arrived and I was so relieved to have them back in my hands.
- So the entire time I was being a worry wart, God was smiling down on me…
- While I was focusing on my problem, He was bringing to the attention of my family that I had forgotten my orders, He was getting them back to the airport in time to send my orders on the next flight, and He was making sure they arrived back in my hands.
- I look back now and realize that this wasn’t an earth-shattering problem I was facing, but it was huge to me…
- Yet it was small to God, and He showed me that He was greater than my problem.
- That’s where we find Moses and the Children of Israel today…
- They face some problems, but God shows them that He is greater than those problems.
I. Pharaoh Resists Moses- Vs 1-4
- Pharaoh was a powerful man, the most powerful man in Egypt, and perhaps in that part of the world.
- He and his people considered himself to be a god.
- No one messed with him.
- But he was about to meet his match and the world would see that he was nothing, and that God was the True One who had the power!
- Notice that God doesn’t have Moses and Aaron immediately stand before Pharaoh and say, “Let my people go, permanently!”
- No, He starts by saying, “Let them go to the wilderness to hold a feast to Me…”
- In vs 3, they explain that this feast will involve them making sacrifices to God.
- The reason they start by asking to go to the wilderness is because this was a very reasonable request…
- The animals that the Israelites would be sacrificing were held sacred by the Egyptians.
- There was no way for them to hold this feast and make these sacrifices in the presence of the Egyptians because the Egyptians wouldn’t stand for it.
- Going to the wilderness would give them enough distance to sacrifice without causing a riot in Egypt.
- But why start with this instead of just saying, “Release them from slavery?”
- Some would say that Moses and Aaron were being dishonest here, or that God was trying to deceive Pharaoh, but that’s just not the case…
- Rather, God was giving Pharaoh a chance to obey a simpler, more appealing command…
- But Pharaoh’s refusal to grant this shows you just how stubborn and unreasonable of a man he was.
- God knew he’d say no to this, and He knew he’d say no to letting His people leave Egypt permanently…
- But God still gave him the option to obey, first in this small request, which would have been a step in the direction of obeying the larger request, to release His people from slavery.
- You might say, “Yeah, but that’s pretty unreasonable, to expect Pharaoh to grant approval for all those Israelites to leave their work for 3 days. No wonder he said no.”
- Well, there’s something else interesting about God’s command here, though…
- Vs 3 says, “…that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God lest He fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword…”
- This is also a very simple and appealing command for Pharaoh…
- It was a reasonable request for Pharaoh to grant because he and his people were very superstitious…for one thing, they believed he was a god.
- If someone in his kingdom refused to worship him, he could have them executed.
- So, he understood that what they were saying was not a lie…
- They truly believed that they would be judged by Adonay with either pestilence or the sword if they willingly neglected the worship of Him…
- Pharaoh obviously didn’t believe in the One True God, but he could understand that Moses and Aaron weren’t being malicious or deceptive here.
- Their request was very reasonable.
- On top of that, Moses and Aaron don’t come to him with threats…
- Obviously, Moses already knew that God said He was going to judge Egypt and Pharaoh would not let them go…
- But he didn’t go running in there on their first meeting and say, “Pharaoh, if you don’t do this, you’re going to regret it and you’re going to pay!”
- No, God sent them to Pharaoh gently the first time, and even had them say, “If we don’t get to go and sacrifice to our God, our people might face pestilence or the sword…”
- But Pharaoh didn’t care.
- So Pharaoh says, “Who is the Lord that I should listen to Him?”
- Chief Rabbi Dr. J.H. Hertz in his commentary on the Pentateuch says, “…[Pharaoh] turned to his seventy scribes, who knew all the tongues spoken on earth, and asked them: ‘Know ye a god who is called Adonay, the God of Eternity?’ They answered, ‘We have sought in all the books of all the peoples among the names of all the gods; but we have not found Adonay among them.’ They spoke the truth. It was a new revelation, a new conception of God that Moses brought to the children of men…”
- So basically, Pharaoh was mocking Moses and Aaron and their God…
- “I don’t have to listen to Him…He doesn’t exist…See, not even the scribes have heard of Him…He’s nothing!”
- But oh, how wrong Pharaoh was!
- So, at this point, Moses and Aaron can see that Pharaoh is resisting and will not budge.
- What about you and me?
- Are there times when we as Christians meet resistance?
- The answer is yes.
- For example, we sometimes face resistance when we are trying to be obedient to something God wants us to do.
- Let’s say God has convicted Vance about witnessing, and he feels God wants him to be more active spreading the Gospel in our community.
- So he comes to me, excited and pumped up, and says, “Pastor Bobby, I have felt lately that God wants me to be witnessing more. Will you help me out and go with me?”
- And I look at him, and say, “No. I don’t think you’re ready for that, Vance.”
- Or, “No, that won’t work around here. Others have tried before and failed. There’s no point.”
- So I would be giving him resistance, even trying to convince him not to do it.
- Just think about how that would make him feel.
- He was willing to step outside of his comfort zone and do something for the Lord, and wanted help, and I said, “No, don’t do it. Don’t waste your time.”
- That resistance on my part would be a serious sin, and God would judge me.
- The world gives us as Christians a lot of resistance.
- We try to share the Gospel with some folks and they get defensive…
- “No, I don’t want to hear that! Your God offends me!”
- There was video recently of an African American gentleman street preaching, and he was surrounded by a group of Muslims who were talking over him, laughing at him, talking back to him, and shooing people away so they couldn’t hear him…
- The gentleman kept his composure and kept preaching, but those men wouldn’t back down…they did not want Jesus to be preached at all.
- Satan and his minions will use a lot of different methods to resist the spreading of God’s Word…
- You and I must stay committed, just like Moses, and keep moving forward…
- We must remember, just like Moses did, that God is greater than any resistance we encounter…a big problem for us is not a problem for Him.
II. Pharaoh Punishes the Israelites- Vs 5-18
- When I was in the Army, discipline was an essential part of the lifestyle, and if you didn’t have it, you stood out, and not in a good way.
- One of the funniest but also the most dreaded and back-breaking ways to teach discipline to undisciplined troops was with a toothbrush.
- If you saw your sergeant pull that thing out of his or her pocket, you knew you were in trouble!
- They’d say something like, “Private, take this toothbrush, and start scrubbing the floors, right now! I want this floor to be so clean that I can see my reflection and eat off of it if I wanted to.”
- Obviously, this was an impossible task, because a toothbrush is so small, and no matter how much you scrub and wash the floor with it, it’s impossible for the floor to get clean.
- All you end up doing is scrubbing the dirt in even deeper because a toothbrush isn’t made to be used as a scrub bush on the floor!
- Most civilians would probably look at this technique as a cruel and unusual punishment!
- And to the person on their hands and knees, it would probably be viewed that way too.
- Yet the Sergeant giving the order is using this to train their soldier and has their best interest in mind.
- Here in Chapter 5, we see Pharaoh do something similar, only he wasn’t trying to teach the Israelites a life-lesson for their benefit…
- No, he was trying to teach them a lesson the hard and unloving way for his own benefit…
- Notice in 6, it says that the same day, Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters and their officers to no longer give straw to the Hebrews to make bricks…they’d have to get it themselves.
- That doubled their workload, but they were expected to make the bricks in the same amount of time.
- So Pharaoh didn’t waste any time punishing the Israelites for what Moses and Aaron said to him.
- He was trying to send a message to them…
- “Don’t even think about trying to get away from me! I’m going to work you so hard that you won’t have any energy left for time to yourself.”
- Let’s stop for a minute now and think about what might be going through Pharaoh’s mind…
- He obviously was a power-hungry man with a pride problem.
- For Moses and Aaron to approach him and make such a request was an insult.
- After all, he believed the Israelites belonged to him, not God.
- Pharaoh didn’t care if they worshipped him as the god of Egypt or not…
- He just cared about controlling them and working them to death.
- When Aaron and Moses stood before him, he probably felt like he was starting to lose some of that control.
- And when a power-hungry tyrant feels threatened, they always respond with harshness and use unthinkable methods!
- Tyrants like Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, just to name a few…
- So I believe Pharaoh gives this order, not just as a way to discourage the Israelites into submission, but also as a way to punish Moses and Aaron…
- He knew very well that when they returned to camp, their people were going to be really upset with them!
- It was a way to take the heat off of himself and place it on Moses and Aaron, probably hoping that the people would either reject them and kick them out, or perhaps kill them.
- So what’s the story with straw being used to make bricks?
- Eastern bricks were made in a special way, different from ours today.
- Adam Clarke explains, “…They were made of clay and straw kneaded together, and then not burned, but thoroughly dried in the sun.”
- It took a lot of work to make these bricks, and now, Pharaoh was giving them double the work to do in the same amount of time.
- Just in case you might think this never happened, we can look at a source outside of the Bible to confirm that this did indeed happen in Egypt.
- In his commentary on the Pentateuch, Chief Rabbi Dr. J.H. Hertz says, “In two papyrus documents, found in Egyptian tombs of the time of the Exodus, one passage says: ‘I have no one to help me in making bricks, no straw, etc.’; and another tells of twelve laborer’s punished for failing to make up their daily tale of bricks.”
- So Israel was facing Pharaoh’s wrath, his punishment, all because Moses and Aaron were being obedient to the Lord.
- Many of them at this point were probably shaking their fists at God, and probably at Moses and Aaron.
- So at this point, Moses could have said, “The trouble is way too much for me! I can’t do this anymore, Lord.”
- And then, he would have walked straight out of the will of God, all because Pharaoh’s punishment was too much for any of them to bear.
- And if Moses gave up and left, Aaron probably would have followed him, and then the Israelites would be even worse off than before.
- Notice next where the officers of the children of Israel go to…
- Instead of going straight to God, who was with them, or to Moses, who was God’s representative to them, they instead went to the source of their troubles, Pharaoh.
- As you can see, early on, the Israelites were already showing their lack of faith in God, and their lack of support of Moses.
- Yet God was still greater than their problems and was with them.
- What about you and me?
- Are there times when it seems like we’re being punished just because we’re Christians?
- The answer is yes.
- We need only look at the last 100 years in America to see what I’m talking about.
- Public schools used to teach Creationism, which of course is our belief that God created the Heavens and the Earth.
- Sadly, in 1925, things changed in favor of the evolutionists…
- One step at a time, and eventually, they were able to have Creationism banned from being taught in public schools.
- Today, evolution is widely taught in every public-school classroom, and it dominates the science departments in most of the secular colleges.
- One teacher who dared to put a Bible on his desk and teach Creationism was fired from his public-school job and the Supreme Court ruled that his firing was justified.
- Prayer also used to be a normal part of public school.
- Along with the pledge of allegiance, it was done every morning before classes.
- Students were at least exposed to God through these prayers.
- Sadly, prayer was taken out of school, and ever since, things have gone way down-hill…
- Just turn on the tv and watch the news…you’ll see what I’m talking about.
- Those are just a couple of examples of the problems Christians have faced, being punished for our convictions and beliefs.
- But those examples are nothing compared with the punishment Christians face in other countries…
- Many have been martyred, just for being Christian.
- Many have been thrown in jail because they wouldn’t deny Christ.
- Many have had their families turn their backs on them because of Christ.
- Our problems are small compared with theirs.
- But we still face problems.
- I like what John Newton says about the problems every Christian faces.
- He says, “The advantages of afflictions, when the Lord is pleased to employ them for the good of his people, are many and great.”
- That’s not always easy for us to accept, but just like Moses and the Israelites, we must remember that God has not forgotten us, even when the world is beating us up.
- He is greater than our problems, always.
III. Pharaoh Causes Division- Vs 19-21
- Back in High School, a new guy came to school, and I became friends with him.
- He was friendly, easy to get along with, and we had the same interests.
- So, I was comfortable talking to him about things.
- Unfortunately, there was one problem…he was attracted to my girlfriend.
- I didn’t know this at first.
- So, I’d tell him about some of my frustrations with her or things she did that annoyed or angered me.
- I’d tell him about our arguments and I’d tell him some of our secrets.
- I should have known better, but at the time, I was young and didn’t have a lot of life experience.
- So, the more I told him things, the more my girlfriend and I would have arguments.
- I didn’t understand…how was she finding out what I was saying?
- Then one day, she broke up with me.
- Within a week, this same friend was dating her.
- Finally, I put 2 and 2 together and realized what had happened…
- He was telling her everything I was saying and doing.
- By doing this, he was causing division between me and her, and he knew it, but he didn’t care if it hurt me because he wanted to date her.
- Now, the odds are pretty good that we probably would have broken up anyways, because I was a punk kid and not a good boyfriend…
- But I tell you that story in order to illustrate what can happen when a person brings division between 2 people…
- In Latin, the phrase “Divide et impera” means to “Divide and conquer.”
- It is a military, economic and mathematical term.
- Its definition is ‘a method to gain or keep power from another”.
- This term and strategy has been used by many nations over the years.
- The British have used it, the Chinese use it, Mexico has used it, Russia uses it, and it works so well, that governments all over the world use it.
- Even our own government uses it.
- Basically, if you can divide a people over small differences, they are much easier to control or to overcome.
- I believe that’s what Pharaoh was attempting to do here with the Israelites, and at first, it looked like he was succeeding.
- Vs 21 tells us the officers of the children of Israel came to Moses and Aaron and said, “Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
- So, Pharaoh had succeeded in getting the officers of the people to turn against Moses, at least initially.
- After all, Moses and Aaron were the reason the people had to do extra work, and the reason why the officers of the people had been beaten.
- To a person on the inside looking out, it did look like Moses wasn’t doing Israel any favors, or at least that he was going about this the wrong way.
- Yet Moses was being led by God, and because the people are verbally attacking Moses here (and were possibly ready to physically attack him) he did the right thing by going before the Lord.
- Some people might be hard on Moses, because of the way he questions God in vs 22.
- “Why have you brought trouble on this people and why have you sent me?”
- It almost sounds like a doubt-filled attack on God Himself.
- Yet Moses was only human, and this was the beginning of his ministry.
- He still had a long way to go, so God was using this to help Moses grow in his walk with the Lord and become a better leader.
- G. Campbell Morgan says, ““Happy is the man who when he cannot understand the divine movement and, indeed doubts it, has yet faith enough in God Himself to tell Him all his doubt. Those who face men, having the right to say to them, ‘Thus saith Jehovah’ have also the right to return to Jehovah and state the difficulties, and expose openly their own doubts and fears.”
- By the way, Moses isn’t the only person in history who has had to come before God and ask Him, “Why God? What are you doing in this situation?”
- Many Christians over the years have fought against their doubts and inadequacies, including you and me, and those who turned to God are the ones who have gotten through it.
- That doesn’t make us weak Christians or mean that we have a lack of faith when we ask God, “What are you doing, Lord? Why is this problem so big?”
- No, it means that we are only human, and we know that God is the only One who is bigger than our problems, whatever they are.
- Vs 23 is interesting, because it’s almost like Moses is making an accusation against God.
- “…neither have You delivered Your people at all…”
- What’s up with that?
- Well I believe Satan was trying to cause a division in Moses heart between him and God by causing Moses to doubt.
- After all, back in Chapter 3:19-20, God told Moses, “I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.”
- Shouldn’t Moses have remembered that and expected this kind of resistance from Pharaoh?
- Oftentimes, when we’re in the thick of it, surrounded by our problems, we also forget the promises God has made to us…
- We might think, “God, why have you left me alone in this situation?” and yet He has said, “I will never leave your nor forsake you.”
- We might think, “God, I can’t handle this problem!” and yet He has said, “Cast all your cares upon me, for I care for you.”
- We might think, “God, I’m so tired!” and yet He said, “Come to me and I will give you rest.”
- Satan wants to cause division between us and God, and he will make his attempt every time we face problems.
- But we must never forget…God is bigger than our problems!
- In closing, I’d like to encourage you, Christian, to give any of your problems over to God today.
- He’s bigger than them, and just like He was with Moses, He will be with you too.
- Have faith and let Him do His work.
- If you’re here today and you’ve never believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and turned to Him, your problems will always be bigger than you can handle.
- You don’t have the strength or the ability to overcome your problems on your own.
- Jesus Christ will take all of your problems on Himself, all your sin, past, present and future, and He will give you new life.
- Yes, you’ll still have problems, and yes it will still be hard, but the God of the Universe who created you will hold on to you and get you through.
- Let’s pray.
