A Study of the Life of Moses
Sermon # 6
“When A Bad Day Only Gets Worse”
Exodus 5 - 6
Have you ever had a truly bad day? Have you ever had a day that went from bad to worse? I want to read you a children’s story entitled “Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst.
I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. At breakfast Anthony found a Corvette Sting Ray car kit in his cereal box and Nick found a Junior Undercover Agent code ring in his cereal box but in my breakfast cereal box all I found was breakfast cereal. I think I’ll move to Australia. In the car pool Mrs. Gibson let Becky have a seat by the window. Audrey and Elliott got seats by the window too. I said I was being scrunched. I said I was being smushed. I said, if I don’t get a seat by the window I am going to be carsick. No one even answered. I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. As school Mrs. Dickens liked Paul’s picture of the sailboat better than my picture of the invisible castle. At singing time she said I sang too loud. At counting time she said I left out sixteen. Who needs sixteen? I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I could tell because Paul said I wasn’t his best friend anymore. He said that Philip Parker was his best friend and that Albert Moyo was his next best friend and that I was only his third best friend. I hope you sit on a tack, I said to Paul. I hope the next time you get a double-decker strawberry ice-cream cone the ice cream part falls off the cone part and lands in Australia. There were two cupcakes in Philip Parker’s lunch bag and Albert got a Hershey bar with almonds and Paul’s mother gave him a piece of jelly roll that had little coconut sprinkles on the top. Guess whose mother forgot to put in dessert? It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. That’s what it was, because after school my mom took us all to the dentist and Dr. Fields found a cavity just in me. Come back next week and I’ll fix it, said Dr. Fields. Next week, I said, I’m going to Australia. On the way downstairs the elevator door closed on my foot and while we were waiting for my mom to go get the car Anthony made me fall where it was muddy and then when I started crying because of the mud Nick said I was a crybaby and while I was punching Nick for saying crybaby my mom came back with the car and scolded me for being muddy and fighting. I am having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, I told everybody. No one even answered. So then we went to the shoestore to buy some sneakers. Anthony chose white ones with blue stripes. Nick chose red ones with white stripes. I chose blue ones with red stripes but then the shoe man said, We’re all sold out. They made me buy plain old white ones, but they can’t make me wear them. When we picked up my dad at his office he said I couldn’t play with his copying machine, but I forgot. He also said to watch out for the books on his desk, and I was careful as could be except for my elbow. He also said don’t fool around with his phone, but I think I called Australia. My dad said please don’t pick him up anymore. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. There were lima beans for dinner and I hate limas. There was kissing on TV and I hate kissing. My bath was too hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble went down the drain, and I had to wear my railroad-train pajamas. I hate my railroad-train pajamas. When I went to bed Nick took back the pillow he said I could keep and the Mickey Mouse night light burned out and I bit my tongue. The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not with me. It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia. [Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1972]
Have you ever had a truly bad day? Have you ever had a day that went from bad to worse? If so you will be able to identify with Moses.
Moses had accepted the call of God and had secured the release of his father-in-law and began his journey back to Egypt. On the way Moses met up with Aaron whom God had sent out to meet his brother (4:27). It is always encouraging to note how God works from both ends to make his plans come into being. When Moses and Aaron arrive they summon a meeting of the elders where they revealed all the words that God had given him and showed them the signs of God’s power (4:28-30). The people believed (4:31) and now the easy was over and it was time to relay to Pharaoh the message of God. The acceptance of the people was very reassuring but confronting Pharaoh was another story. In fact Moses’ bad day began when he gained an audience with the King!
1. WHEN YOU HAVE A BAD DAY RECOGNIZE THAT
THE PRESENCE OF PROBLEMS IS NOT ALWAYS AN INDICATION THAT WE ARE NOT IN GOD’S WILL
The scene is decidedly a dramatic one as two eighty year old men stand before the most powerful man on earth. Chapter five begins with, “Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”
That was the start of a bad day and it all went down hill from here. In verse two we find Pharaoh’s response, “And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.”
Pharaoh’s response is completely negative. Pharaoh response is characterized by cynical arrogance when he asks, “Who is Jehovah that, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?.. I do not know Jehovah.” (v.2). How true and how tragic! It is not that Pharaoh has never heard of the name of Jehovah, he undoubtedly has, it is that he refuses to recognize the name or the request brought in that name. The point with Pharaoh lies in the word “obey.” He understood that these men were not presenting him with a request but rather a mandate from one greater than himself.
“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 priest and magicians and courtiers wrought and ministered.” [F.B. Meyer. The Life of Moses. (Lynnwood, Washington: Emerald Books, 1996) p. 47]
At once the situation worsened for the Children of Israel. That same day Pharaoh communicated with the taskmasters of the people (v.6), I want you to note that all these developments were taking place within one twenty four hour period. “So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, (7) “You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. (8) And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ (9) Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.”
As desperate as their plight may have been it is about to get worse. Pharaoh’s response was to make slavery more bitter, and the bondage heavier and the tasks more difficult. Pharaoh rather than release them tightened his grip upon them. Here is a wonderful illustration of what happens in the lives of some people with whom we share the life-changing message of Jesus. Rather than accept the message they become even more busy, more burdened and more bitter. The apparent hardening of attitude tells us something. Satan is worried. So keep on praying. Sometimes things have to get a whole lot worse before people are ready to hear the truth.
The answer to the request of Aaron and Moses came in the form of addition work in order that the people would no longer have the time to consider such preposterous ideas.
What had been difficult now became impossible. All day long all the people tried to carry out the order of Pharaoh (v. 12-14), to make the same quota of bricks, but having to gather their own straw.
Finally they could stand it no longer and decided to make a direct appeal to Pharaoh. Verse fifteen, “Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh,” The result was just what you might have expected, the Pharaoh refused to listen to the appeal made to him (vv. 17-19). Moses and Aaron waited outside to hear the news. Verse twenty says “Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. (21) And they said to them, “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.”
As the foremen came from their meeting with the Pharaoh they met Aaron and Moses. They use extremely strong language in questioning the propriety of the words that Moses and Aaron had used before Pharaoh and raised serious questions about their authority to do so. They accused Moses of making them a “stench” to the Egyptians.
2. WHEN YOU HAVE A BAD DAY RECOGNIZE THAT GOD DOES NOT HAVE TO WORK ACCORDING TO OUR PLANS OR OUR TIMETABLE.
The mistake of the foreman and perhaps the children of Israel as a whole is they presumed how God would work. He did not work the way they anticipated and they were offended. Christian can also experience uncertain if we have certain expectations of how God should work in a certain situation.
Moses should not have been surprised by Pharaoh’s reaction, in fact God had warned him what would happen (3:18). If he thought that he was to announce that Pharaoh should release the children of Israel and that Pharaoh would immediate consent, then he had not been listening to what God had told him. The Lord had warned him that it would be a difficult contest and that only after the maximum pressure (the death of the firstborn son) that Pharaoh would release Israel.
3. WHEN YOU HAVE A BAD DAY RECOGNIZE THAT WHEN PROBLEMS ABOUND BE CAREFUL WHICH WAY YOU RUN
But I want you to consider for a moment how the response of the people must have affected Moses. All those memories of rejection and inadequacy came flooding backing to the heart of Moses. He must have had a strong urge to again run and hide to escape back to the quiet life of a shepherd. 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. Verse 22 tells us, “So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?”
Moses is saying, “Where did I go wrong?” He had stood before Pharaoh and repeated almost word for word what God had told him to say. When things do not go the way we think they should, we begin asking the how and why questions: “Why me? Why me? Why now? Why did I ever get my hope up? Why did I ever accept this job? If God is on my side why has this happened to me? How am I going to get through this or out of this? ”
In verse one of chapter six we find, “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” (2) And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the LORD.”
Notice that God does not reprimand Moses for asking questions. He never shames or slaps you in the face when you come to Him. In Chapter six God reassures Moses of his intent and purposes. Instead of criticizing Moses for asking, “Why” the Lord, just says wait and watch. God’s response was that it was time to impress Pharaoh. The king needed a good dose of God’s power.
4. WHEN YOU HAVE A BAD DAY RECOGNIZE THAT GOD’S PLANS AND PURPOSES HAVE NOT CHANGED
No matter how beat down we are, how crushed, or how broken and desperate we become God still cares. He has great compassion for us and for our need. No matter what our problem, sin or shame is he desires to help us. We are more important to God that what we have done or accomplished. This may be difficult to understand in a world that measures us by our accomplishments or the lack of them.
He reminds Moses that he is the LORD. Too many times we allow ourselves to focus on the difficulties of the moment instead of the God of the Universe. He is saying get your eyes back on Me. Remember who I am! The New Testament reader is also reminded, “….let us run with endurance the race set before us, (2) looking unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith…” (Heb 12:1-2) Until you fix your eyes upon Jesus you will not be able to handle those days that go from bad to worse. “When your schedule presses, when your prospect thin, when your hope burns low, when people disappoint you, when events turn against you, when dreams die, when the walls close in, when the prognosis seems grim, when you heart breaks, look at the Lord and keep on looking at Him.” [Charles Swindoll. Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication. (Nashville: Word, 1999) p. 166]
Beginning in verse six the LORD reminds Moses of his promises. “Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. (7) I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (8) And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.’”
Seven times, in verses six through eight, God says, “I will.” “I will bring you out…I will rescue you….I will redeem you…I will take you to me as My people….I will be your God…I will bring you into the land…I will give you as a heritage.”
In spite of all of these reassurance from the Lord things just kept getting worse. According to verse nine, when he told the children of Israel what God had revealed to him they would not listen. The Pharaoh had already refused his request, and now he found out he no longer had any credibility with the Israelites. The Israelites heard all of these words but could not believe them. Their “anguish of spirit and cruel bondage” (v. 9) stifled their faith.
So what does Moses do when his bad day takes a turn for the worse? You can’t beat Moses’ plan. He came back to the Lord. Moses had been discouraged, he was frustrated, he felt helpless, but he kept coming back. And the Lord met him every time.
Charles Swindoll tells the remarkable story of the English poet William Cowper as a remarkable example of a man coming to the end of his rope. “Cowper found himself so deep in discouragement and despair he tried to put an end to it all by drinking poison. But God graciously led someone to find him. His stomach was pumped, and he was delivered.
As soon as he recovered, the despairing writer hired a coach to take him down to the Thames River in which he intended to plunge himself into the dark, swirling waters. The driver of the coach, however, would have none of it. He restrained Cowper, got him back into the coach, and drove him home.
Frustrated with that attempt, found a knife in the privacy of this house and attempted to fall upon it. If you can believe it, the blade broke.
Still not deterred, he rigged up a rope in the basemen, put his neck in the noose, and dropped into thin air. But someone found him before he strangled and took him down. He couldn’t even kill himseld. Finally, in the depth of sorrow, he drove himself to the book of Romans. In the pages of that book, he found a passage that brought him to his knees and to faith in Jesus Christ.
Years later, as a mature man of God. Cowper penned this now familiar hymn:
God moves in mysterious ways
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.
[Charles Swindoll. Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication. (Nashville: Word, 1999) p. 168-169]
Conclusion
Moses, armed only with a piece of wood he had found in the desert to use as a staff and assisted by his brother Aaron, began waging war on the mightiest force in the world at that time, a war that ultimately left the throne of Egypt vacant, the pharaoh dead, all of Egypt in mourning and the children of Israel free.
