Introduction
Chapter Four ended with something positive in the Hebrews in their anticipation of freedom. “So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped.” (4.31)
After 400 years, surely now God about whom they had heard so much, and along with his new appointed one, Moses, who had these miracles of snake, leprosy and water/blood, will get it done. It won’t be long, they thought. But chapter five tells us that it didn’t work out that quickly.
Sometimes our plans don’t work. In fact, things might go from bad to worse. Failures seem to haunt us. Case in point: When Jim Burke became the head of a new products division at Johnson & Johnson, he wanted to develop a children's chest rub. The product failed miserably. When he was called to see the chairman of the board, he met a surprising reception. "Are you the one who just cost us all that money?" asked Robert Wood Johnson. "I want to congratulate you. If you are making mistakes, that means you are taking risks, and we won't grow unless you take risks." Some years later, when Burke himself became chairman of that company, he continued to spread that word. (Reader's Digest, Oct, 1991, p. 62.) US President Theodore Roosevelt said, "The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
But I’m not talking about personal failure in this chapter or even the risk of such. We are moving into a dangerous realm of blame and accusation. No one knew that kind of "bad to worse" day better than Moses, our unwilling hero of this ancient story. Moses approached Pharaoh like God told him. He along with his brother Aaron delivered the message. He basically said, "We need the weekend off for a gathering out in the wilderness. We'll be back on Tuesday." Pharaoh declined his request. And Pharaoh made things worse. Work intensified. Pain increased. Complaints arose out of the Jewish camp. As today's story ends, Moses has a meeting with the Almighty and has this to say, “O Lord, why hast Thou brought harm to this people? Why didst Thou ever send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he has done harm to this people; and Thou hast not delivered Thy people at all.” (:22-23)
Moses' complaint is threefold. He says in no uncertain terms that this deliverance ministry is not working out. He says the people are complaining and that the Egyptians don't want any part of it either. These are the indictments:
1) God, you are responsible for the harm of the Jewish people
2) You failed by choosing me to deliver them
3) Pharaoh has made it worse since you involved me
4) You failed in delivering them (oh, right, that was also number 2!)
Things are going from bad to worse. God will answer in His timing. We often don't understand the timing of the Lord's deliverance.
Continued internal problems
The same situation arose in 165 BCE in the time of the Maccabees. Complaints about the mistreatment and demands by the Syrian-Greeks made living in Modi’in intolerable for most of the Jewish people. When they began the battle against Antiochus, the heat index rose. Antiochus, the Gentile ruler, made it worse for the Jewish people. Pressure mounted. Bellyaching ensued. Jews complained against other Jews. The Hanukkah miracle of the few conquering the powerful Greeks tells us that ‘bad to worse’ is not always the whole story.
Back to Exodus. What did the Jewish leadership say to Moses? “May the LORD look upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.” (:21)
Moses’ Answer includes faith
Against that backdrop of trouble, Moses’ indictments of the Almighty are clear. But even though it sounds like a ‘blame game’, there is deep seeded faith. Moses clearly trusts God. Moses said "v'hatsail lo heetsalta et amecha.' You have not delivered them, your people. He doesn’t say, “my people.” These are not interested in finding out what I have to say. But don’t miss this: Bringing the issue in prayer to God is honest and holy and helpful.
Moses is better than I am. His heart is more tender, and we have much to learn. Moses aches for the people of God to be redeemed, to be delivered. We need that heart for the Jewish people also. We can offer, and we must offer, them God's Gospel. We must reach out. We must try. And we must pray, and we must cry at many turning away. Some in disgust, some in ignorance, some with belligerence. It's painful to be sure. But we must pray. The end is not yet. Wait until you see God’s response in the next chapter.
Conclusion: what lessons do we learn from today's reading?
1) Complaining against God's anointed usually doesn't work and only makes matters worse
2) When you have a situation of real pain or anxiety, you should talk to God who is always willing to listen
3) Jesus is God's answer to our woes and our pains. He died for us to rescue us from sin and death at the right time.
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