February 28, 2024 | Be God's Light
Israelite Labor is Intensified
Scripture: Exodus 5(NIV)
1 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.’”
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 wilderness 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!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”
6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
10 Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’” 12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” 14 And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”
15 Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? 16 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.”
17 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.”
19 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.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 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.”
22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? 23 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.”
Devotional
Leadership can be lonely. Moses knew that God had called him to convince Pharaoh to let his people go. Initially, he only asked for a three-day worship retreat, a long holiday of sorts. But Pharaoh would have none of it. Instead, he doubled down on the Hebrew workload, making Moses’ own people turn on him and his brother. Feeling totally alienated, Moses could only ask God why things were turning out so poorly.
Here’s a question worth pondering. Is God more interested in your success or your faithfulness? Don’t dismiss success out of hand. God certainly doesn’t call us to great things only to watch us fail. But along the path to success it sure can feel like failure. It didn’t work. Everyone says I told you so. You feel alone.
That’s when it is important to hang in there with faithfulness. Achieving great things for God is not like an easy Sunday afternoon drive. The decision to stay the course is tested when the road hits a dead end. It’s even harder when all the other cars are driving in your lane the opposite direction, with drivers honking horns and shaking fists and shouting profanities.
If the Book of Exodus ended with chapter 5, we would only have Moses making one attempt, failing, then questioning God for all the trouble that resulted. Maybe that would be more like how some of us try to do what God is challenging us to do. We volunteer to help with students at church, and fall flat on our faces. We invite a neighbor to church, and they say no. We offer help to somebody who is in need, and they take advantage of us. We openly express our faith, and are threatened with expulsion from our school or job.
James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” Persevere is a good word. Give it a try tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.
Poem
Slavery's Bricks
I'm building a pyramid
A tower to prove
The power of my master
Who beats me with chains
I'm covered with mud
My feet ache from bearing
My backs bent from carrying
Straw, which will blow away
With even the slightest wind
My sweat mixes with the murky muck
I'm bruised and beaten
From the drudgery of work
I have no time for You,
O Rock, O Living Stone
I have my own bricks to make
