Gold for the heart - Exodus 5-7

Exodus 5

God delivers through difficulties

1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, The LORD God of Israel says this, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness. 2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.

Pharaoh considered himself a god.
The LORD is the Maker of heaven and earth.
Today God says to Satan, Let my people go.
If God’s people will listen to God through His word, He will lead them out of every bondage.
Pharaoh didn’t know the Lord because he chose not to know Him.

Romans 1:19 Because what may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has shown it to them. 20 For the invisible things about him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us: please let us go three days’ journey into the desert to sacrifice to the LORD our God so that he will not fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword. 4 And the king of Egypt said to them, Why do you, Moses and Aaron, release the people from their jobs? Get back to work! 5 Then Pharaoh said, Now look, the people of the land are many, and you let them rest from their work. 6 And the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers saying, 7 You will no longer give the people straw to make brick, like before: let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 And you will require of them the total number of the bricks which they made before; do not reduce any of it: for they are idle; so they cry saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. 9 Let more work be laid on the men so that they may labor in it; and do not let them regard empty talk. 10 And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spoke to the people saying, Pharaoh says this, I will not give you straw. 11 Go get straw for yourselves where you can find it: but none of your workload will be reduced. 12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

Excavations of the city of Python in Egypt show bricks of the lower strata contain lots of straw. Higher levels contain roots and other things as well. The top level is just rocks and clay with no straw.
That is physical evidence that verifies this historical record.
By application, when being delivered, Satan adds more trouble to try to keep us in fear and bondage.

13 And the taskmasters hurried them saying, Fulfill your works, your daily quota, like when there was straw. 14 And the officers of the children of Israel, that Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them were beaten and demanded, Why have you not fulfilled your quota in making brick both yesterday and to day, like before? 15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, saying, Why do you deal like this with your servants? 16 No straw is given to your servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and look, your servants are beaten but the fault is in your own people. 17 But he said, You are idle, you are idle: that’s why you say, Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD. 18 Get to work! No straw will be given to you, but you will deliver the total number of bricks.

Deliverance often comes through difficulties, especially deliverance from habits of our sinful natures.
God is not a harsh taskmaster; His burden on us is light.

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you that labor and are heavily loaded, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and low in heart: and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

19 And after it was said, You will not decrease any from your bricks of your daily task the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble. 20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came out from Pharaoh: 21 And they said to them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us. 22 And Moses returned to the LORD and said, Lord, why have you brought hurt to this people? Why is it that you have sent me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people; you have not delivered your people at all.

God had told them Pharaoh would not let them go except by a mighty hand.

1Samuel 24:12 The LORD judge between me and you, and the LORD avenge me of you: but my hand will not be on you.

Psalm 34:17 The righteous cry, the LORD hears, and he delivers them out of all their troubles

Exodus 6

God answers our prayers with mighty power

1 Andthe LORD said to Moses, Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand will he let them go; with a strong hand will he drive them out of his land. 2 And God spoke to Moses, and said to him, I am the LORD: 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH I was not known to them.

When God said, ‘I am the Lord’ He was reminding Moses that He controls all things. The title LORD means 1) eternal self-existence. God sustains all else. 2) He controls all things.
God’s name ‘God Almighty’ speaks of his infinite power.
Moses needed to be reminded of that.
God’s strong hand won’t be displayed without Pharaoh’s resistance.

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were foreigners. 5 I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. 6 So say to the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will snatch you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:

God’s covenant is life.
God repeated what they needed to hear and cling to.
God told Moses what to say.
He has also redeemed us out of the slavery to sin with great judgments.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

1Peter 1:18, 19 For you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold, from your empty/vain way of life received by tradition from your fathers;19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot

7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land, that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; I will give it to you for a heritage: I am the LORD. 9 And Moses spoke this to the children of Israel: but they did not listen to Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

God makes us His own.
He will bring us into the promised land of great blessing.

Revelation 3:21 To him that overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father on his throne.

Revelation 21:7 He that overcomes will inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he will be my son.

10 And the LORD spoke to Moses saying, 11 Go in, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. 12 And Moses spoke before the LORD saying, Look, the children of Israel have not listened to me; how will Pharaoh hear me, who am unskilled in speech? 13 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a charge to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

Moses was looking at his own ability again, not God’s ability. Remember it is the Creator, LORD of all that told him to do this.

14 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these are the families of Reuben. 15 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon. 16 And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were 137 years. 17 The sons of Gershon; Libni and Shimi, according to their families. 18 And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were 133 years. 19 And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations. 20 And Amram took Jochebed his aunt for a wife and she bore to him Aaron and Moses: the years of the life of Amram were 137 years. 21 And the sons of Izhar; Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri. 23 And Aaron took Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to be his wife; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 And the sons of Korah; Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites. 25 And Aaron’s son Eleazar took one of the daughters of Putiel for his wife; and she bore him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.

These are the founding generations of the nation of Israel.
God made each of these in His own image.
He knows all their thoughts and ways.

Isaiah 41:4 Who has worked and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

He is the LORD

26 These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies. 27 These are they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron. 28 And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 That the LORD spoke to Moses saying, I am the LORD: Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you. 30 And Moses said before the LORD, Look, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how will Pharaoh listen to me?

Five times in this chapter God reminded Moses “I Am The Lord!” There are no higher credentials—anywhere.
He has the final say on absolutely everything in existence.
Pharaoh was under the control of God.
God proved who He was by the miracles.
Did Pharaoh do a single miracle? Have Buddha or Mohammed done any miracles like walking on water and raising the dead?
God is in a battle against evil.
He defeats evil by His word being believed by man on earth. It is a battle of the heart and mind.

Ephesians 6:12…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Therefore take to you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Exodus 7

God made the Egyptians know that He is the Lord

1 And the LORD said to Moses, See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. 2 You will speak all that I command you: and Aaron your brother will speak to Pharaoh, to send the children of Israel out of his land. 3 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 But Pharaoh will not listen to you so that I may lay my hand on Egypt to bring out my armies and my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.

Bringing the Israelites out from the Egyptian culture was an enormous undertaking because the children of Israel were more numerous than the Egyptians.
God knows our hearts; God knows the future.
Romans 9:17-22 explains that God made Pharaoh this way to show God’s glory.
Verse13 explains this hardening, “and he did not listen.”
God multiplied His signs and wonders.
God told us the reason for all this.
Egypt worshipped many gods. They worshipped the Nile River, even frogs and beetles. By the judgments God would sent He showed them the He alone is the Almighty God not what they worshipped.

2Peter 3:9T he Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance.

6 And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them; this is what they did. 7 And Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron 83 years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh. 8 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying, 9 When Pharaoh speaks to you saying, Show a miracle for yourselves: then you say to Aaron, Take your rod, and throw it before Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent. 10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron threw down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they did the same thing with their enchantments. 12 Every man his threw down his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13 And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said. 14 And the LORD said to Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuses to let the people go.

The New Testament reveals the names of some of these sorcerers.

2 Timothy 3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate (disreputable or immoral) concerning the faith.

15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning; behold, he goes out to the water; and you will stand by the river’s brink before he comes; and you will take the rod that was turned to a serpent in your hand.16 And you will say to him, The LORD God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and behold, until now you would not listen. 17 The LORD says this, By this you will know that I am the LORD: behold, I will strike with the rod that is in my hand upon the waters that are in the river, and they will be turned to blood. 18 And the fish that are in the river will die, and the river will stink; and the Egyptians will loathe drinking the water of the river.

Notice how detailed and specific God’s instructions are.
The Egyptian priests hated blood and were appalled that the Hebrews wanted to shed blood in animal sacrifice.
However, they were not vegetarian and therefore were hypocritical.
God is high and holy.
His love is so great that He was willing to give what was most precious to Him to bring us back to Himself.
God’s great love was poured out to the world by the shedding of the blood of His Son.

Hebrews 9:22 almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world.

Revelation 16:4 And the third angel poured out his vial on the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.

19 And the LORD said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take your rod, and stretch out your hand on the waters of Egypt, on their streams, on their rivers, on their ponds, and on all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. 20 And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded; he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

The Nile River was worshipped as life to the Egyptians because it was the water for their crops.
However, God is life, not the water that He made in a river.
God’s signs shouted at them in an amazing way to wake up.
He was trying to save them from an eternity in the lake of fire.
Fallen man does not like to acknowledge his sin or God’s holiness.
He does not like to acknowledge his need of a Savior.
All who refuse the Savior are condemned to the lake of fire forever.
Scripture says that hell is a lake of fire and brimstone inside earth.
Every time a volcano erupts the world has proof that hell is real because its fire and brimstone shower out onto the ground

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and male prostitutes, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, will have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

21 And the fish that were in the river died; and the river stunk, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 And the magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them; as the LORD had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not set his heart to this either.24 And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. 25 And seven days were fulfilled, after the LORD had struck the river.

The magicians made things worse.
Notice Pharaoh ‘did not set his heart to it.’ It is always a choice.

John 3:36 He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that does not believe the Son will not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.

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SUMMARY: Exodus 5-7

God delivers through afflictions
He answers prayers with mighty power
He is the LORD (controls all things)
He made the Egyptians know that He is the LORD