One of the predictable patterns for the Israelites throughout the book of Exodus (and throughout their history, for that matter) is this: 1) IT GOT WORSE BEFORE IT GOT BETTER, 2) AND THEY COMPLAINED TO (OR AGAINST) MOSES, AND 3) MOSES ASKED THE LORD. If we think that the best indicator of being in the center of God’s plan is that things are going well for us, then this is an important lesson to learn: Sometimes, the mark of God’s favor is a holy setback. And sometimes, that setback looks exactly like it does when God has abandoned you.
IT GOT WORSE . . .
Moses has finally obeyed the Lord and convinced the elders of Israel, and he comes to Pharaoh and tells him that God says, “Let my people go.” Exodus 5:4-14 describes the scene in all its complexity that almost looks humorous from a distance:
Pharaoh: "Let them go on a three-day vacation? Who would make bricks then? Tell them to get back to work."
The king thinks back for a moment, taking note of the millions of people who now fill that region called Goshen, which had originally been assigned to those 75 nomadic shepherds some 400 years before. Now they quite literally fill the land. That’s a lot of work done by all those hands. (Or it could be a significant military force, come to think of it!) Pharaoh continues, "The way I see it, there are so many of you now that no one has to work hard any more to meet your quota. You have it too easy, that’s your problem!"
Pharaoh then calls in the slave drivers and the foremen. He says, "You’ve always given the people straw to make bricks, but no more! Let them go and gather their own straw for themselves! . . . But still require the same number of bricks that they made in the past. Am I making myself clear here? Do not reduce their quota by any means, for they have too much time on their hands. That’s why they’re crying, 'Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.' Lay it on them heavy, so they won’t have time to daydream."
So the taskmasters and the overseers go out and say to the people, "Thus says Pharaoh, 'No more Mister Nice Slave Driver Guy! No more straw! Go get your own straw wherever you can find it! But—and let me be clear—your work will not be reduced in the least!'"
So the people scour the entire land of Egypt, looking for stubble to gather. The slave drivers yell, "Hurry up! Get your work done! Every day, remember, do the same amount as before, back when there was free government straw." And they beat the Israelite foremen, who had been promoted by Pharaoh's taskmasters, and asked, "Did we not make it clear that you are to make the same number of bricks every day as you did before? Why have you not met your daily quota?"
This, dare I say, is NOT plundering the Egyptians to go to a land flowing with milk and honey. What happened to the promise? It won’t be their last disappointment with God’s ways.
. . . AND THEY COMPLAINED TO MOSES . . .
Of course, the foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they heard every day, "I can’t say it often enough: No straw, same bricks, every day." You know what they should do about it right then, don’t you?
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6
But you know what they do, instead, don’t you? They blame their leader, of course. They come straight out of the meeting with Pharaoh and his men, and start taking out their anger on them. They yell, "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."
It turns out, Egyptian culture despises shepherds! Egyptian men shave their heads and bathe every day to stay away from stinky animals. That’s how the family of Israel ended up tucked safely away in Goshen, by the way. Back then, Egyptian hatred for Israeli lifestyle was to their advantage.
When Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?' you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,' in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians." Genesis 46:33-34
Let’s face it: sometimes it’s nice to be an abomination to someone. They give you space, you know? But that was 400 years ago. I think maybe someone in the family of Israel should have taken note about the “abomination” part about 375 years before, and decided that it would be wise to move back home before “another Pharaoh who knew not Joseph” came to power. Because, somehow between then and now, they ended up as slaves instead of guests. And now, things are getting even worse.
Moses reminds them all of the promise of deliverance from God. It is all going to work out in the end! But before it gets better—way better, it’s going to have to get worse—way worse. Stay the course in the middle of the storm, and you may still end up where you intended to go.
Moses reminds them of the promise, and reminds them of The Name, the LORD, in which that promise was delivered. But the people will not listen to Moses, because their spirits were broken by their harsh circumstance.
It wouldn’t be the last time in Israel’s history that they would be treated harshly.
. . . MOSES ASKS THE LORD
Notice that Moses does not simply put on a happy face and repeat his optimistic message to the people. He also turns to the LORD and asks,
"O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 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." Exodus 5:22-23
This is how Moses models a right response to the LORD. He complains, just as surely as the people had complained to him! He pounds his fists on God’s chest and tells Him the he is disappointed and confused. God had put words in Moses’ mouth, and those words made things worse, not better. From his perspective, it looks as if God has hung Moses out to dry, thrown him under the bus, and lied to him about delivering Israel.
So the LORD says to Moses, "How about this as a Plan B? Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land."
“Uh, that sounds just like Plan A, Lord.”
“Yes. Yes, it does. Plan B is exactly the same as Plan A.”
Moses complains, "Have you not seen how the people of Israel are not listening to me? If I have no credibility with my own people, how do I get Pharaoh to listen to me, since I have these uncircumcised lips?"
“So, circumcise you lips, son. I am YHWH! Go tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything that I tell you."
Moses replies, "See, when You talk to me, I feel confident and sure about You. But when I try to pass Your message along, no one listens to me. And I can’t circumcise my lips!”
“Then circumcise your heart, and say whatever you like. Now go!"
God doesn’t answer Moses’ question. But be certain that He heard it and took it to heart. This was simply that dark season when Moses needed to trust that God had this, and all Moses needed to do was slog through the muddy reactions and be a faithful messenger.
YOUR ENCOUNTER
Being a faithful messenger is a very difficult and important role, you know.
Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters. Proverbs 25:13
Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips. Proverbs 25:19
The great challenge to delivering someone else’s message is that you have to believe it, deep down. Because when you receive push-back from those to whom you deliver the message, you have to improvise an answer that is so in line with what your master would say that your heart is one with his. The temptation at a moment of pushback is to throw your master under the bus. “I know that sounds bad. Look, it’s not my choice. I’m simply delivering whatever it was my master told me to say.” That is not being a truly faithful messenger, if you only deliver the first sentence of what you were sent to say. Moses, in taking several trips back to Pharaoh to deliver these hard words, eventually learned to speak with the authority of God Himself, to stand up to uncircumcised Pharaoh and confidently declare God’s will, with the tone of voice, deep conviction, and unwavering confidence that comes from speaking the words of God Almighty.
Think of times in your life when you had to deliver a message that was not your own. Maybe you had to reprimand a child or a co-worker, or deliver bad news to someone. Did you distance yourself from the sender, to protect yourself? Now, how about when God has given you a message to deliver? Yes, that’s right; He still sends humans to deliver messages to people that come from His Spirit to them. Confess to God the times when you have thrown Him under the bus and softened His word. Pledge yourself to be a faithful messenger.