Exodus 5:19
The ‘god king’ Pharaoh issued the order that the workers must now get their own straw to make the bricks, whereas in the past, they always had the straw delivered to them. And oh yes! They still had to meet their quota. Let’s face it, under a god King you have no Union and no grievance committee!
But they did find someone to whom they could grieve. When Hebrew foremen met Moses and Aaron on the path they said to them, ”May the Lord look upon you and punish you for making us loathsome to Pharaoh and his courtiers Putting a sword in their hands to slay us.” And if we were in their very same position we would not have liked Moses and Aaron either, because they had only made matters worse!
Moses was in a predicament! He loves the Lord but he also loves humans and is torn to see them suffering. This predicament made Moses cry out to the Lord, “O Lord, why did you bring harm and pain upon the people”, and “Why did you save me”?
We can bring Moses attitude right down to us. As mad as we may get concerning the sufferings of human beings we must love the Lord and direct our anger at the human who is causing the pain – and in this case it was Pharaoh!
Truth be told, Moses is having a hard time reconciling why God would send him on this mission that would turn out so badly. We just have to remember when God sent Moses He told him Pharaoh would refuse to let the Israelites go.
It is human nature to want good things to happen immediately and to lose patience when they take more time. But God was patient with Moses and he did not get angry in return.
He patiently told Moses, “You shall soon see what I will do to Pharaoh: he shall let them go because of a greater might! I AM the Lord.”
Moses believed Him and so should we.
But human beings have a tendency to be very impatient, especially when they are waiting for something good to happen, and Moses is no exception to that rule.
He said to God, “Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has dealt worse with this people and still you have not delivered Your people.”
The Lord had an answer for Moses, He reaffirms what he will do. He said, “You shall soon see what I will do to Pharaoh: he shall let them go because of a greater might; indeed, because of a greater might he shall drive them from his land.”
God continued, “I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself know to them by My name, YHVH But remember early in Exodus He did reveal His name to Moses.
He continued telling Moses, that Moses can trust his promise because He “remembers” the promise He made to the patriarchs. And when God says He remembers, He means He is ready to act.
That fact is affirmed by what telling Moses, “I have now hear the moaning of the Israelites because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, And I remembered my covenant.
Tell the Israelites: I am the Lord. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with extraordinary chastisements.
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