The Story of Moses : From Bad to Worse
Exodus 5-6 (Part 2)
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
04-27-2025
The Darkness
When we came back from Florida, I was in a very dark place. I thought I had done what God called me to do but it went from bad to worse…to even worse.
We lost everything. I felt like a failure. Darkness enveloped me like a cloud. And I became irrational. I truly believed that Maxine and the boys would be better off without me.
It’s hard to say those words out loud. But I knew I needed to. I contacted five men that I respect and either on the phone or in person, and poured out my pain and dark thoughts.
What did they say? You’ll have to wait to the end of the sermon for…the rest of the story.
Review
Three weeks ago, we witnessed Moses’s day go from bad to worse. He finally responded in obedience and he went to Pharaoh and said, “Let my people go!”
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.’” (Ex 5:1)
Notice that it is not Moses saying “let my people go,” but God, Yahweh Himself, commanding Pharaoh to release His people from their bondage.
This was a declaration of war, an opening salvo in the showdown between Pharaoh and God.
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)
In Egypt, the Pharaoh was considered a god. In fact, he was known as the “neter nefer,” the perfect god. So Pharaoh hears this request for what it was - a challenge to his authority.
Also, think this through from Pharaoh’s point of view. So, you worship this God, Moses? Sounds like a pretty puny God? His people are my slaves so what does that teach us about who is the more powerful god around here?
God had already told Moses that Pharaoh wouldn’t let the people go unless he was compelled by a mighty hand. So this is going exactly how God said it would go.(Ex 3:19)
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.” (Ex 5:3)
They needed that space because the animals that they would sacrifice were considered sacred to the Egyptians.
They then give Pharaoh the possible results of not letting the people go. God may decide to kill his entire labor force for their disobedience. He’s not to be trifled with.
But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.” (Ex 5:4-5)
Pharaoh wasn’t having any of this nonsense. He saw this in a purely economic way. Moses, Aaron, and the elders of Israel were standing in his palace instead of working.
He used to be annoyed that the Israelites kept multiplying. But now it has provided free slave labor for all his building projects.
And Moses and Aaron are messing with the bottom line. What do you want to do, cripple the Egyptian economy? Back to work!
That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.
The same day. This is about to go from bad to worse.
Pharaoh is going to retaliate against this bubbling rebellion. He thinks he is playing chess while Moses and Aaron are playing checkers. ?
The slave drivers and the overseers were summoned and given a direct order. No more straw. Let them find their own. But the quotas remain the same.
The overseers knew this would be trouble.
They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.” (Ex 5:6-9)
It’s obvious, at least to Pharaoh, that the people are lazy, idle, like George McFly, slackers. The cure? More work. Harder work. The Hebrew reads, “Make the work heavy.”
The slave-drivers carry out Pharaoh’s instruction and take away their straw but demand the same number of bricks.
The bricks that Egyptian slaves made were bigger than today’s bricks and were made with clay and straw. Straw would help the brick to dry in the sun and make it strong.
Now, the people scattered in a panic to collect stubble, chaff from the fields. The problem with chaff is that it doesn’t have the same qualities as straw and would produce fragile bricks that would break easily.
But, the quota for bricks was not reduced. This was an impossible situation.
Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? 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 5:10-16)
Now, you may say that Pharaoh wouldn’t give Israelite slaves an audience. But remember, he is trying to pit the Israelite people against Moses and Aaron.
They make their complaint, a loud appeal, and make the case that the Pharaoh is being unreasonable. And he is! But they don’t understand why the sudden change.
This has to be one of the saddest verses in the whole story of the Exodus!
They realize they are in trouble and who do they run to? To the Lord? Nope. To Pharaoh, the one that has enslaved them.
Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”
Can you imagine them listening to this rant and saying, “Wait, first we aren’t lazy. Second, we didn’t say we wanted to go and sacrifice to the Lord. Where did you get that idea?”
With a wicked smile, Pharaoh says, “Oh, my bad, I thought Moses and Arron spoke for all of you.”
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.” When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 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.” (Ex 5:19-21)
When they meet Moses and Aaron, they are furious at them for making things worse than they were before!
They actually call God to action to judge them, probably meaning they wanted them dead.
“Made us obnoxious,” in the Hebrew actually means to “emit a foul odor.” You have made us a stench in the nostrils of Pharaoh and now they are going to kill us all.
Moses’s message, his signs and wonders, they were forgotten as the day went from bad to worse.
How did our hero react? Well, actually not very well.
The Despair of Moses
Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” (Ex 5:22-23)
About the only thing we can say positively about his reaction is that he did pray. But in his prayer, his questions are really accusations.
Why, Lord why have you brought trouble on your people?
In other words, You are responsible for this catastrophe!
Is this why You sent me?
I told You I was the wrong person for this mission but You wouldn’t listen to me!
“…and You have not rescued Your people at all.”
You have failed. You have not kept Your promise. You have made things a thousand times worse!
God had made it clear that Pharaoh wasn’t going to let the people go until he had a showdown with Yahweh.
Moses, as he has done in the past, is getting ahead of God’s timing and plan. He will rescue the people, in His way, in His time, for their good and His glory.
Moses is on dangerous ground here. He’s questioning God’s goodness, grace, and faithfulness. He is accusing Him of being a promise breaker.
How did God respond? Is it finally time for God to hit Moses with a lightning bolt and deal with his whining once and for all?
Turn with me to Exodus 6.
Prayer.
God’s Response to Moses - Six Promises
Again, with extraordinary patience and grace, God doesn’t destroy Moses but encourages his heart to strengthen his purpose.
Pharaoh will let you go
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.” (Ex 6:1)
His words begin with “now.” God reminds Moses that He has a specific timing for His plans that are for our good and His glory. It will not be because of anything Moses does or doesn’t do. It will be by His mighty hand that he will let them go.
The verb tenses in these verses are all past tense. God looks at it as if it already happened. It’s that sure.
It will be Yahweh that will bring them out and Pharaoh will know that he is not a god on that day. Just like Shedeur Sanders found out he wasn’t as “legendary” as he thought he was this past week when he wasn’t take in the NFL draft until the third day in the fifth round.
Jonathan Edwards, in his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” said this:
“All the kings of the earth, before God, are grasshoppers; they are nothing, and less than nothing; both their love and hatred is to be despised. The wrath of the great King of Kings, is as much more terrible than theirs, as His majesty is greater.”
He is Still God
“God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them.” (Ex 6:2-3)
He is still God and He is Sovereign, in charge and everything is going according to plan, even though it may not look like it from the human viewpoint.
Abraham knew the promise maker. Moses would know the promise keeper.
God will Keep His Promises
“I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.” (Ex 6:4-5)
God’s covenant with Abraham was not dependent on the people’s obedience but God’s holiness. He hadn’t forgotten them, He has heard their groaning. He knows their misery.
We know that God is near to us and hears our cries:
David wrote:
In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. (Psalm 18:6)
And
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:17-18)
The Israelites may have felt like God didn’t care. Moses may have felt like he made a mess of everything. You may feel like God has abandoned you or isn’t listening or doesn’t care.
But notice the verbs. God appeared. God established the covenant. He remembered His promise.
When we think of the word “remember” it’s in the context of forgetting something. But, in the Bible, when referring to God remembering, it means He honors His promises.
God is working behind the scenes. Let me assure you that He is working out everything for His glory and our eternal good. He is good and can be trusted.
God expressed His love for them. He had a plan. He would “come down.” This means He will be directly involved, and it usually involves judgement.
He had come down to confuse the language at the Tower of Babel. He had come down to deal with the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now He was planning to come down and rescue His children out of slavery.
He would lead them to a new good and spacious land. It would be good in quality and size. There would be grass, fruit trees, cows, goats, and bees.
He would drive out the other nations that live there.
He had told Abraham this would happen:
“Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions… In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” (Gen 15:13-14,16)
Go and Tell
God then commands Moses to remind the people of His promises:
“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. 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. 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 6:6-8)
This is evangelism - reminding people of the good news.
This past week, the PCUSA, the liberal part of the Presbyterian church, announced that they had fired their missionaries and was permanently shutting down their missions office.
Why have they done this? Budget cuts and a move away from the intolerant view that people need to be born again to go to heaven.
Contained in this message are three more promises:
I will free you and redeem you
This is the first time in the Bible that the concept of redemption is used. It means to “buy back,” and it has its origins in the slave market.
God has started the rescue mission and they can trust His power and presence to free them from bondage.
You will be my people and I will be your God
God promises to take them as His own people and to have an intimate relationship with them as their God.
I will bring you out of Egypt and into the promised land
The exodus isn’t just about getting out of Egypt but also getting into the land that He promised to give them.
Ronald Youngblood writes,
“The exodus therefore becomes an extreme example of God actually as Redeemer in the Old Testament. God’s plan and irreversible intention was to bring his people out of slavery in order to bring them to freedom in Canaan. So we are reminded that redemption is not only release from slavery and suffering but also deliverance to freedom and joy. Redemption for Israel. Judgement for Egypt.”
They have a destination. They have a destiny. And they have a choice to make. Are they going to trust Him and his message or remain slaves forever?
“Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.” (Ex 6:9)
Moses went back to the Hebrews and told them, really reminded them, of the promises that God had made to them. But they couldn’t hear the words because of their disillusionment and despair.
Now, Moses felt even lower than he did before. Things were not turning out the way he had imagined them.
FB. Meyer wrote:
“Out of the whole story of the exodus there comes to us this lesson: we must never suppose that the difficulties which confront us indicate that we are not on God’s path, doing His work. Indeed, the contrary is generally the case.”
That’s why I believe journaling is so important. Remember, a diary you write in every day. A journal you write in when you want to. Then you can go back and look at the way God made a way when you didn’t see a way.
Moses doubted God. We all do from time to time. When things do not go as we think they should go, we may shake our fist at heaven and say like Moses did, “You aren’t keeping your end of the bargain. You don’t seem to know what You are doing.”
We hear the preachers on tv saying that if we just had enough faith God would give us favor and everything would go our way. But things aren’t going our way. We are in pain. We experience fear. And we question God. And then we think, “What is wrong with me?!”
Nothing is wrong with you. You are human.
It is in these moments we forget.
We forget who God is.
In this passage, God says, “I am” three times. He is reminding Moses who He is.
In the Hebrew, there are no vowels, only consonants. So this is YHWH, where we get the name - Yahweh. Jehovah in Greek. The self-existence one, the Alpha and Omega, with no beginning and no end. The eternal and unchanging One. The personal God who is near to us. The One who is/will be. Nothing about me will ever change. This name for God is used 6,800 times in the Bible.
God is reminding Moses, and us, that He is good and full of love, grace and mercy. He is not like humans. He doesn’t lie. He doesn’t turn His back on us.
My first experience with a student dying was in Mississippi. Her name was LeAnne. She died in a car wreck. She had eaten dinner at our house two nights before she died.
Before the visitation started, the family asked me to pray. I kept looking at my 16 year old friend in a casket and began to cry. I prayed the only thing my lips would speak, “God, You are good.” I said it again and then again. Then the last time I nearly yelled it.
We needed to be reminded that God is still good even when the circumstances aren’t.
We forget what God has done.
God reminds Moses of what He has done. He cut a covenant with Abraham and turned an old couple into parents and then into a nation. He has been faithful in the past and we can trust Him to be faithful in our present.
I can get anxious about things but I rarely ever get anxious about money. Maxine and I have experienced God providing for us in extraordinary, even bizarre, ways. He has proven Himself faithful time and time again.
We forget what God has promised.
At the burning bush, God promised Moses that he would see the Israelites delivered and the Egyptians punished. In the story of Moses, God has to remind Him of His promises again and again. Why? Because Moses gets scared and forgets.
Part of our job as fellow believers is to constantly remind each other of who God is, what He has done, and what He has promised.
Paul wrote that a lot of his ministry was just reminding his readers what they already know:
“Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me.” (Romans 15:15)
That’s really the whole point of preaching. Each week, my calling is simply to remind you who God is, what He has done, and what He has promised. That’s why it is so important to be in church every Sunday.
When we came back from Florida, I was in a very dark place. I felt like a failure. And I became irrational. I truly believed that Maxine would be better off without me.
It’s hard to say those words out loud. But I knew I needed to. I contacted seven men that I respect and either on the phone or in person, poured out my pain and dark thoughts.
Each one of these men reminded me of who God is, what He has done, and what He has promised. Some did it gently and others more forcefully. But each did it in love. And I ended that day still extremely sad but not in the dark place anymore.
For those of you who are struggling with why God has delayed or is doing it differently than you would, could I remind you who God is?
El Roi (Gen 16:13) - the God who sees.
He sees your pain, your confusion, your doubt. He is not on vacation. He sees and He cares.
Jehovah Jireh (Gen 22:14) - The God who provides
God knows your needs and He will provide for you in ways that will amaze you.
Jehovah Rapha (Exodus 15:26) - The God who Heals
God is the healer of our bodies and souls. Sometimes, He heals and restores our health and other times He heals us completely and take us home to be with Him.
Jehovah Nissi (Exodus 17:15) - The Lord is my Banner
God gives us the victory over temptation, sin, and death, not through our own strength, but through His. We can hide under His banner.
Jehovah Shalom (Judges 6:24) - The Lord is my Peace
God is the God of peace. He can provide you with the peace that passes all understanding.
Jehovah Raah (Psalm 23:1) - the Lord is my Shepherd
God is the Shepherd and we are the sheep. He leads beside quiet waters and restores our souls.
Jehovah Tsidkenu (Jeremiah 23:6) - the Lord is our Righteousness
For those of you silently questioning God’s faithfulness, can I remind you
“…the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” (2 Thes 3:3)
Jeremiah wrote:
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.” (Lam 3:22-23)
David wrote:
“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.” (Psalm 36:5)
And John wrote:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
And for those who from time to time forget His promises:
Joshua wrote:
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
Isaiah wrote:
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
Jeremiah wrote:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer 29:11)
David wrote:
“The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” (Psalm 37:23-24)
John wrote:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27)
Paul wrote:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Jesus said:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:28-29)
Preach the Gospel to Yourself
Jerry Bridges, his his classic book, “The Discipline of Grace,” writes that we need to preach the Gospel to ourselves every morning.
What does that look like:
“To preach the gospel to yourself, then, means that you continually face up to your own sinfulness and then flee to Jesus through faith in His shed blood and righteous life. It means that you appropriate, again by faith, the fact that Jesus fully satisfied the law of God, that He is your propitiation, and that God’s holy wrath is no longer directed toward you.
To preach the gospel to yourself means that you take at face value the precious words of Romans 4:7-8: “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
It means that you believe on the testimony of God that “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). It means you believe that “Christ redeemed [you] from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for [you], for it is written ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13). It means you believe He forgave you all your sins (Colossians 2:13) and now “[presents you] holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22).
It means that you dwell upon the promise that God has removed your transgressions from you as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), that He has blotted out your transgressions and remembers your sin no more (Isaiah 43:25). But it means you realize that all these wonderful promises of forgiveness are based upon the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
If you are in a dark place right now, can I remind you that God has promised to bring you out of that dark place with a mighty hand, that He is still God, that He is a promise keeper, that He was to redeem your darkness, to be Your Father, to bring you out of darkness into His marvelous light, and lead you home to be be with Him forever?
Ending Song: Great is Your Faithfulness
