Making Bricks Without Straw
5:1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”
10 So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. 11 Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” 12 So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” 14 And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”
15 Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” 19 The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” 20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; 21 and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” (ESV)
Ex 5:19 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.”
There is a cost to following Jesus. Everyone must pay, not to be saved, that is a free gift, but a cost none the less. Moses saw it and gave up the life of power and luxury as a son of Pharoah’s daughter: Heb 11:24-28
24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
Lord, thank You for the chance to live with purpose for You even though I will have trouble and difficulties. Keep me from complaining by a focus on Your promise and the future with You in Heaven! Help me to endure whatever You allow to come my way, even homework or obeying knuckleheads You’ve placed over me. Thank You for loving me while I was Your enemy.
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.”
What Pharoah just did was not a good move at all. Now God is mad at him. That’s bad. Really, really, really, REALLY bad. As i was reading this, i didn’t even notice something, but i found it now. Moses and Aaron are not taking things into their own hands. They’re waiting for God to take His revenge on the Egyptians. They say “May the Lord look upon you and judge you!”, instead of saying “We’re going to kill you!” There’s a big differance. We need to be able to do this. We have to wait for God to take His revenge on people who wrong us. It’s not our place to take it into our own hands. God is a just God, and He will always punish those who deserve it. He may not punish someone right away, but He will punish them eventually, and when He does, it won’t be pretty.
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.”
Not a good response from the King of Egypt huh?! The Pharaoh know doubt knew who the Israelites God was but he was prideful and arrogant and completely rejects Him and His power. Boy is he in for a surprise! Much of the world responds to God like Pharaoh does because of their own selfish ambitions and pride…we as ambassadors of Christ need to share the good news with the Lost that they might fall to their knees in humility before Him.
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.”
As I read these verses I became frustrated with Moses and thought, “How can he accuse God of failing to resuce the Israelites?” But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I can act the same way toward God. When I ask Him for something in prayer and He does not answer in my timeline or in the way I imagined I can become frustrated and doubt God’s faithfulness. This is sin! Right now I am discouraged as I have been evangelizing to my grandpa over the past several months. He is very ill and could die any day, yet his stubborn heart is not understanding what it means to repent of his sins and put his faith in Christ. These verses encouraged me not to give up on my grandpa. God works in His way and in His timing, as He says in Isaiah 55:8-9…”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Thanks for sharing that, Beth! That was great!
This passage reminded me that even though God promises to be with his people, that does not mean we will never face adversity! Moses gets rejected by Pharaoh, and then his own people complain that he is making their life harder. I think an important thing to remember is that God rarely works on our preferred time table. He often makes us wait and go through adversity in order to refine us and increase our faith. AND even though we may face trials, he is still with us!!! I’m excited to see what we continue learning through Exodus!
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.”
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.”
It looks like Moses got more than he bargained for. Yes, he knew part of Gods plan but he had no idea his own people would turn against him. The circumstances for the Israelites have gone from bad to worse. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever moved forward in Gods will just to be sideswiped by some unforeseen problem? Have you ever found yourself crying out to the Lord and asking why? Do we let this kind of detour hinder us from moving forward? When Moses questions God it reminds me of when Job questions God. I love Gods response in Job 38:1-41, it silenced Job when God started asking the questions! In light of who God really is, knowing that His ways are above our ways, it is better to trust Him rather than question Him. We need to stop expecting to understand every difficult situation but rather rely on God, who has everything under His complete control!
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.”
Moses shows no sign of faith here. The Lord tells him that he will use him to set his people free yet Moses doesn’t believe it will happen. We are not to question God. His timing is not always our timing and we need to remember that. When God says He will do something, HE WILL! I’m excited to see how God will work it all out!
Ecclesiastes 3:11
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.
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.”
Clearly this is evidence that doing the right thing and obeying God will not necessarily be easy. In fact as we obey God more we are more likely to get opposition from those around us. It is important for us not to be overly swayed by our circumstances. If circumstances are good in our life that does not necessarily mean that we have God’s favor or if circumstances are bad that does not necessarily mean that we don’t. We have God’s favor when we do what he says to do (John 14:23) regardless of circumstances.
Just like it is a lot right now, in this chapter, it’s not looking good for the Israelites. Moses and Aaron go talk to Pharaoh, telling him to let the Israelites go so they can follow where God wants them to go, but instead of releasing them, Pharaoh makes their work painfully harder. They’re probably all in despair right now, because instead of just making a ton of bricks each day, they have to travel abroad just to find some of the components they need. It would very easy for Moses to lose his faith right now, because it totally seems like God is accomplishing the opposite of what He sent Moses to do. But, Moses does not give up.
And neither should we! When the going gets tough and it looks very dismal, we should never despair, but always remember to persevere and press on toward the ultimate goal. God, help us to do this!
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.”
Wow this is a really good example of FEARING The LORD. We should fear the LORD with such vehemence that we would do something like doing a three day pilgrimage.
Beth Lauder I will pray for your grandpa! oh and Hosfords nice comment! :D
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!”
Right when I read this I was just soooo into I was like, “Oh! pwnage! Pharaoh just showed them! And then I was like, “Oh wait, WRONG! Pharaoh and his people get totally owned by Aaron and Moses!” It reminded me of how sin at the time seems so right, but then God shows us otherwise later on. Something like, telling off your parents, or lying. We get punished for it later and God knows that it is wrong. We need to remember that every sin we commit makes God sad and we are going to be judged for every single one of them someday in Heaven. Let’s live our lives for Christ today! :D
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.”
The egyptians are getting kind of harsh now… i found this response kind of funny! haha it was interesting to see how in the last chapter in the last verse their response to Moses and Aaron was worship, but it quickly seemed to turn to anger and complaining! Their emotions and actions took the best of them. Instead of letting myself fall into a sinful response when things don’t go “my way”, I pray that God may give me self control that i may continue to worship and please him! :D
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.”
2 Thessalonians 1:8 “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” Wow so Pharaoh doesn’t know who the Lord is and 2 Thessalonias verse tells us that people that do not know God and do not obey the gospel, who do not hold on to it firmly and respond by repentance and faith will be punished with everlasting judgment as 2 Thessalonians 1:9 says! It sounds like Moses and Aaron might have evangelize to him. Pharoah doesnt know the Lord and will not Israel go, so God is going to reveal Himself to Pharoah through the plagues and miracles God does.
9 Make the work harder for the men so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
So after Pharoah heard the news from Moses and Aaron, Phoroah makes the Israelites work harder! That’s persecution!
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.”
Moses is going to be patient with God here, God told him in yesterday’s chapter that He is going to harden Phoarah’s heart. Be patient Moses, Pharoah will not the Israelites go for a lot of more chapters.
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.”
Even though we are not living as slaves, sometimes we are treated unfairly like the Israelites were by Pharaoh. However, like the Hebrews in this chapter its very easy for us to complain when things get tough. Yet God has promised us eternal life like He promised the Israelites deliverance, and we should be looking forward to that instead. Even though we can’t see it now, Heaven is going to be way worth it, and instead of having a bitter heart here, we need to trust and rejoice in God because He is taking care of us.
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.”
As you can tell, God is using Moses for a big plan. Moses isnt quite sure on what God is trying to do at this point, but he keeps it up and though he questions it once in a while, Moses sticks with God and does what He says.
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.”
Pharaoh says “I do not know the Lord.” This is where the problem lies. He does not know the Lord as Moses does. How do you explain to a non-believer that something is right because God says so. This happens in everyday life. All we can do is pray for the right words and pray that God softens their hearts.
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.”
I really like Mechell’s comment. I totally agree Moses was obeying God and things were not going well for him or his people. This is called persecution. I have learned that when you are being persecuted you know that you have been making a differrence for Gods name and are also obeying what he has commanded. Moses may feel burdend like normal, but this does not mean give up. This is a great remnder and example to live for God even through the times it is not easy or there is persecution involved.
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.”
It defiantly takes guts to state that statement. Pharaoh obviously wasn’t walking near the LORD at all. He didn’t realize that it was because of the LORD that he woke up in the morning and that he had the ability to take his first breath of the new day. If Pharaoh had the slightest idea about who God is, he would of never treated God with such disrespect. God is the creator and destroyer of all things. We don’t deserve to live, God gives us the ability to live. God only gives us the ability to live so that we may glorify him while living here on this earth. When we get our mind caught up in this world we think that we DESERVE everything! God tells us in the Bible that we don’t deserve anything, it is by Gods grace alone that we have been saved and given the ability to live today. We are not supposed to live on this world to please ourselves, but instead we need to please the one who created us. We need to turn away from the ways of this world. We need to give up our self-centered thoughts and actions, we need to live our lives showing Glory to God.
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.”
This is a typical response many nonChristians have. The God of the Bible is not the God that they want to worship. He seems too harsh and demanding, and they refuse to believe that such a God could exist. Therefore, they seem to think that that means they dont have to obey Him. But Pharaoh found out the hard way that what you think God should be like does not change Who He is. Just because you don’t believe in Christianity doesn’t mean that you are not going to be subject to judgement one day; so we need to take every opportunity to tell people about the one True God and His plan for salvation through Jesus Christ!
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.”
I’m really glad that the Israelites were responsive to Moses and Aaron’s message. They feared God and believed that He would free them from slavery. They know God’s almighty power and wanted to offer sacrifices to Him.
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.”
Now in these verses, Moses is doubting the Lord even more. I think God has a great sense of humor knowing that Moses will be a great leader who will free his own people. We have to stay strong knowing that through our hard times and trials, we will eventually come to a place where we will question ourself and God. To prepare for this, we have to continually try to strengthen our faith by prayer and reading His Word. I remember when I wasn’t really a Christian and I went through some really hard times. Instead of falling back on God, I depended on myself which caused some really bad choices and consequences I made in my life. After, I still questioned God but I know He knows what’s best for me and that he understand suffering even more than I do and He gave me a peace. I think that we will watch Moses develop from this timid, nervous character to a man fearing the Lord eventually having the privelege to meet with God and get the 10 commandments. Somehow this reminds me of Joshua 1:8 “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” The first time I read it, the words that stuck out the most was meditate day and night. That’s 24/7! Too many times I’m constantly thinking about other things but not godly things and if we concentrate on the Word of God, we will have more of a lasting peace and fellowship with Him.
i think that God was seing how persistent they were in following Him. We should all be persistent at following Him. God work through me in sports because i am always around my team mates.GOD IS SO GOOD!!
This chapter reminds me a lot of how I was at the beggining of my walk with God. I had expected everything to be perfect and that I would no longer face struggles. I was impatient with God and wanted Him to deliver me from my hardships right away. I soon realized though that God’s plans are always what is best. Through out trials we learn the different morals that God wants us to learn. Patience, love for others, and forgiveness are a few I’ve learned lately and it is all thanks to the tirals that God has put in my life just for such a reason.
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.”
It seems that a lot of the people at my school respond in this same way. Just as pharaoh does they are in disbelief towards God. Their heart is hardened and beligerant towards the truth, and they refuse to believe. As we can see in the future Pharaoh is punished greatly for what he does. God is a just God.
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.”
These verses stuck out to me because I honestly was not expecting this from Moses right now! He has a huge responsibility and all of his people will be devestated if he were to give up. Also, Moses shows such impatience with God when he says “you have not rescued your people.” God has awesome promises for us, but He is going to do things His way. Duh… He’s GOD! Trust is all we can do! But that’s okay with me because I’d rather have no one else in charge than God!
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.”
Our response to oppression or hard times should not be complaining like the Israelites, but rather we should look to the Lord for his deliverance. 1 Peter 5:7 instructs us to cast all of our cares on the the Lord! Just like Bobby said in his sermon a few weeks ago, God answers prayer! We should be like the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. God will bring deliverance in his timing!
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.”
Lets not forget that doing what God says is not going to be easy. Look at Jesus and he didn’t have it easy and he is God. We as Christians will be treated just like christ was.
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.”
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.”
Only God can judge us not man. Moses is obeying God’s commands but is being hated for it but he knows he is obeying God. It takes time sometimes to really get to people but if you keep working on it like Moses does maybe it will be successful maybe it wont. F
22 Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me?
Like Beth, as I was reading this I started to get mad because I was like “Really Moses, you’re really going to start questioning the Lord?” After, I started to realize that I question Christ all the time, and its wrong! But God has his reason for EVERYTHING and it is all in his perfect plan! Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you”, I think this is such an encouraging verse and helps me trust the Lord in all! God is good and faithful, he knows what he is doing![:
22 Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me?
This is the exact response that most of us have to trials, we always question God, when we definatly should not be questioning him. he knows what is best for us and he has our life planned out. We need to just trust in Him. Always!
Wow Moses wrong response. He needs to have a little more faith in God but its true that this is exactly the way we respond when we are going through trials today. Cant wait to see what God says in the next chapter!
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.”
I totally agree with shelby and mechell, the Lord does things that dont always make sence or seem right for us, but we can never know how his plan is supposed to work out. Even if what your doing is something your doing for God or one of his commands, you could be turned completly around while doing one of your acts but it might be going to work out in a better way down the road! So make sure to keep that in mind if you ever get discouraged when acting for the Lord and theres an obsticle that occurs!!
Spencer, I agree with you; rather, it is not only the people at your school, but the world.
we, as a whole, have been so used to hearing that we can get through life with our own power. A “handful” of the human race thought otherwise and repented of their sins, trusting God with all their heart, mind, body, soul, strength.
But the people of the world persecuted them because of their beliefs.
We have it so good here in the States; yeah, sure, the economy’s bad right now, but all-in-all, we have it ok here. Everyday everywhere else in the world, many die because of persecution to Christians. We get mocked and laughed at because we tell people about Christ. Paul got hurt so many times in so many ways just because he proclaiming the Good News…why should we back down just because of disagreements? REVIVE the person next to you! He/She is dead in sin; we need to bring that person back to life~to Christ.
Revive Orange County!
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.”
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.”
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!”
Geez, king of Egypt needs to let up. I mean the Pharaoh already gives himself away in these verses. From not believing in the ONE and ONLY God to bossing and ordering around “his” people. I would say that the right thing is to always to follow God no matter what it takes. Also, Moses begins to doubt in the last two verses when he really should keep striving to do God’s will.
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.”
We often doubt that the lord has sovereignty over all that occurs. This is something i used to struggle with and have prayed a long time to partialy understand. No matter what we do, or how we do it, God will do what he wants to accomplish. end of story. no matter how bad we may want change (unlike Obama), we wont get an inch past God’s will. He is in control. We are just along for the ride.
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.”
Because the Israelites disobeyed God, they were put into slavery by Egypt and treated miserably for a very long time. Next time i’m about to sin i should remember that i’m not just going to get off the hook…
3Then 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.”
This verse reminds me of how God controls everything and He could end our life at any second. I like in the verse too how the people are fearful of the Lord because we all need to fear the Lord.
If anyone was lazy it was Pharaoh. The Isrealites had been working for generations in obedience to Pharaoh’s authority in their lives, while he just sat in his palace telling them what to do. Let’s not be like Pharaoh, and instead follow Christ when He says not to be a hypocrite (Luke 6:41-42).
Echoing Alec, Many of the Israelites didnt not fully trust God! They did not believe that He was working things for good. They were shortsighted and went and complained and blamed their suffering on moses. Sadly, this is just the beginning of a continuous lack of faith in the Almighty God. We should always be trusting God and waiting on His timing and will!!
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.”
Sometimes things take a turn for the worse… what Moses hadn’t figured out yet was that God was in control and was working out His plan on His OWN time, not Moses’, not the Israelite people’s, not Pharoh’s. We can have complete faith that God will fulfill his promises and not forsake us.
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.”
I definitely agree with Beth on this! I felt like Moses was completely blind to what the LORD kept telling him over and over. It seemed so obvious that he wasn’t acknowledging that God had it all under control and yet, when I examine my own life, I see that sometimes I can doubt God in the same way. It’s like I have this idea in my head of how God will work when really it’s all in his perfect will and timing.
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.”
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
The Israelites respond kinda harshly here to Moses, and Moses in turn respods harshly to God. They don’t know God’s plan, and they argue with God’s instructions. We should take this as an example, and not behave like them.
wow. i couldnt stop reading. i had to find out what happened next.
but for this chapter, Moses cant give up on the Lord. We ask God for things
everyday in prayer, but if we don’t get it right away or at all, its for a
reason. Things take time, and God knows what he is doing. God had
a plan to teach the Pharaoh, but Moses just didnt know when that was.
This relates to a lot of teenagers, such as myself. I know i ask God for
friends of mine to come to church, or for a revival to happen at our high schools,
and even though it hasn’t happened yet or at all, God has a reason for
all of it, we just have to wait and believe in God. ((:
Pray for me that i will continue to get on here and comment((:
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.”
Nice comment Mr. Snowmann, I totally agree, it is imperative that we remember God is sovereign and in control of our lives and we need to rely on Him.
I like this section cause neither moses or the people give up on the Lord they are persiatant and keep asking God to deliver them from Pharaoh and his people. This just shows me and gives me hope that when I ask for something over and over and it is the Lords will or it gives him glory then we will get it.
20When 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.”
The Israelites were NOT happy when Moses and Aaron started “standing up” for them. The only thing they saw was that they were making things harder for them in Egypt and before they came, they were “fine” in Egypt. We know for a fact this is not true because God even tells Moses that the nation of Israel cried out to Him to save them and deliver them from Egypt. Also, they see Moses as a hypocrit because of him killing the Egyptian soldier man when he was beating an Israelite. They don’t really view him as a good man, but they don’t know that he was doing that because he felt like he owed it to his people to stand up for them since no one else was.
Go Capo/Tesoro/J Serra Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
18 Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”
I agree with matt! when we sin against God, we should expect a punishment, because that it what we will get! God will not tolerate sin, and he will not let us go unpunished! Next time your about t sin, thunk about the punishment that will follow…
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.”
This is what a lot of Christians need to realize – we know what God says goes, but those who don’t believe in God or who don’t know Him probably aren’t going to respect His authority off the bat. And as for changing their view, we need to continue to do our job of evangelizing and speaking what we know to be the truth and then let God work in their lives and soften their hearts. We shouldn’t get discouraged when people reject God’s authority, because non-Christians just don’t understand the things we do as believers with faith in Him. God can give them understanding through time and trials (like with Pharaoh, the plauges and the repeated approach by Moses and Aaron) but if they don’t accept it after one try, we need to be persistent in doing our job and in doing what God calls us/tells us to.
Great comment hannah!! I too find myself questioning things. I need to not second guess God or his plan and just trust that he is leading me in the right direction.
Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me?
This is a good example of how God has a purpose for everything and we migfht not be able to see the plan but God knows what we are doing. Sometimes we cry out to God and ask him why he has done something to us, but really we have to wait and see his big plan for unfold! He knows what he is doing and though we might not see his plan, we have to trust him with our lives and our futures.
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.”
Moses is a little impactient right here it sounds like. But dosn’t this sound like all of us? Sometimes we too are impaticient of waitin’ upon the lord to answer our prayers. But God’s word reminds us that we need to seek him first and have faith that in his time our prayers will be answered if it’s in his will. My mom always tells me that good things come to those who wait :) So if we wait upon God we could see his awesome hand at work in our lives and in the lives of others.
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.”
Moses fully trusted the Lord. He carries out God’s will and continues to do the work of God, even when he questions the purpose.This a great reminder to us. Even when we don’t understand something, we should always commit our whole self to God and His will.
In this chapter is is obvious that sometimes obeying the Lord will bring worldly hardships. We might be humiliated for it, but we must keep in mind that God’s praise is more important. The treasures he has for obeying him are what we should be thinking about when we live our daily lives.
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.”
This verse just reminded me of a conversation i had with a non-Christian friend at school. I was trying to evangelize to them, and was pulling from the Bible. I was getting my evidence from verses, and my friend acted like Pharaoh saying that he didn’t believe in the Bible therefore he didn’t no believe any of the things i was saying. (just a side note)
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.”
We are not always shown the end results, and we don’t always know what God has planned for us. We need faith! We need to trust that God has everything in his hands, and we don’t need to worry about it. We are to do what we are commanded to do, and let the Lord take care of everything else. Sometimes we do not understand the meaning of the things that God is doing, but no matter what, we have to trust him with our ENTIRE LIVES.
(:
****keep your spiritual fervor****
It is so encouraging to see this many people reppin on SOTD!!!
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.”
Moses doesn’t understand yet that God doesn’t work on “our time.” We may ask God to help us and we may wonder why He isn’t there right then. God must think we are like little babies screaming at the dinner table for their baby food NOW. The Hebrew people faced trials during this time period where they may question God’s actions, but it will also test them to grow in faith and become closer to God than ever before.
It also made me think of my friend Rob who I have been evangelizing to. His heart is so hardened and he does not believe he has any sin to repent of, he literally thinks he is good enough to present to God in his current state (crazy right?). I have become very discouraged and wonder why God isn’t opening Rob’s heart before I graduate high school in 5 months. This verse has made me realize this may just be a seed and God may decide to open Rob’s heart later (or not :( ) and that it isn’t about “my schedule.” I need to realize God made Moses wait, so he may make me wait too.
22 Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me?
Great comment on this verse, Beth! It is so true how I can see areas in my life where I’m like, “Why, God? What’s the purpose of this? Why is this happening?” But this verse is such a great reminder that like Moses, our human minds are too tiny to understand the enormity of God’s great and PERFECT plan for our lives! Before we question why God has “sent us” or “chosen” us, we need to understand that it’s not up for debate, and Christ’s Will will always prevail. We are just His instruments!
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.”
Ok…now this verse is almost ironic…..It is so true. He doesn’t know the Lord! Therefore he sees serving him, worshiping him, through sacrifice as nothing. He thinks that the Israelites are just making excuses cause they are lazy. People who don’t know God cannot see the point in worshiping Him….
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.”
at first, it is easy to dismiss moses’s behavior as childish and immature, but when you think about his situation, it seems almost reasonable that moses would ask such a thing. being put in charge to deliver the nation of israel from the egyptians was not a small deal… God was testing moses’s faith and pushing him to the limit because He knew what moses could handle.
Moses’s frustration with God’s timing shows how quickly as humans we grow near-sighted when waiting upon God to answer. only seldom do we look past the temporary struggles to the true purpose of why we are here… it reminded me of a line from the song, “through struggle” by as i lay dying, which says, “only through struggle have i found rest, with a piece of me taken away…”
God’s trials will test us and see who we are really serving: Him or our flesh.
It’s great to see more people commenting on SOTD! Let’s keep it up!
I am with Jordan! It is encouraging!
And yes Janiel…let’s Revive Orange County!
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.”
Pharoah seems tough now but he will eat these words. People like to talk tough, but we should not fear them like the Israelites do here…we can trust the Lord with confidence he wins!
Great comment, Jordan! This whole chapter really reminded me that we don’t trust God because things we have good circumstances and things are really working out for us. We trust God because He has the ultimate master plan and we are His creation. I can see how easy it is for me to be like Moses in v. 22 and say “O Lord, why…” because he became so distracted by the circumstance instead of remembering the awesome encounter he just had with God in the burning bush telling Him about Himself. We can’t be so forgetful of who God is and the wonders He has done, our trust in Him needs to be constant.
Great to see all you Capo and Laguna Hills girls commenting on here. :)
Hope to see all of your girls and your friends at Girl’s Workshop on Saturday!
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.”
This is true that we don’t always see the end result. Just like heaven and Jesus’ return, we have to have FAITH to do it. When God asks of us we need to obey unconditionally. It may seem bad in the beginning, but iw will work out in the end for God.
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.”
Moses is lacking faith in God. he was expecting faster results and fewer problems. but God works at his own pace and knows what is right for us.