The Story Isn't Over Yet
I was reading Exodus this morning and I feel lead to share my thoughts and take-aways with you...
Let me set the stage: Moses encountered God in the burning bush --> God sends Moses to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt --> Moses says pick someone else because he doesn't have the skill set to do what God is asking him. God is patient and breaks through Moses' insecurities by promising to be with him, teach him, and God sends Aaron to accompany him (I'm paraphrasing of course).
So this is where I started reading this morning...
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.’”
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.”
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.”
But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”
That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 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.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.” Exodus 5:1-9
Basically what happens is: Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh, he says no. Not only does he say no, but he increases the work for the Israelites, making their lives even more miserable.
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.” When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 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.” Exodus 5:19-21
Aka: The Israelites were really ticked off with Moses and Aaron...
Now insert that scenario into your life - Has God ever asked you to do something, but when you obeyed, it seemed to backfire? This is when doubt and fear rush in, "What if I heard God wrong? Did He really ask me to ____ ? Now look at the mess I have created!" If I had to guess, Moses had some of these thoughts. So lets see what he did...
Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? 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.” Exodus 5:22-23
Moses asked God WHY. God answered...
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.” ...
“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’” Exodus 6:1, 6-8
A couple of things stand out to me... This first is, God says twice, "because of my mighty hand." God is doing the heavy lifting. And He is doing it for His glory. (I have a follow-up post regarding this.)
Then God says "I will" seven times. He doesn't say "I might, if I'm in the mood" NO - He says HE WILL.
So here is my Stephanie commentary - If you have obeyed God, and things seem to have backfired, or if you are in the middle of a confusing situation, and you don't understand why things have turned out the way they have - Wait and watch God. THE STORY ISN'T OVER YET. He is still at work. Hold onto His promises, His faithfulness, His goodness. He is writing a story in your life, to show His great power, for His glory. He WILL complete the work He started in your life. Philippians 1:6
...we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28
Let me set the stage: Moses encountered God in the burning bush --> God sends Moses to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt --> Moses says pick someone else because he doesn't have the skill set to do what God is asking him. God is patient and breaks through Moses' insecurities by promising to be with him, teach him, and God sends Aaron to accompany him (I'm paraphrasing of course).
So this is where I started reading this morning...
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.’”
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.”
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.”
But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”
That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 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.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.” Exodus 5:1-9
Basically what happens is: Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh, he says no. Not only does he say no, but he increases the work for the Israelites, making their lives even more miserable.
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.” When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 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.” Exodus 5:19-21
Aka: The Israelites were really ticked off with Moses and Aaron...
Now insert that scenario into your life - Has God ever asked you to do something, but when you obeyed, it seemed to backfire? This is when doubt and fear rush in, "What if I heard God wrong? Did He really ask me to ____ ? Now look at the mess I have created!" If I had to guess, Moses had some of these thoughts. So lets see what he did...
Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? 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.” Exodus 5:22-23
Moses asked God WHY. God answered...
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.” ...
“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’” Exodus 6:1, 6-8
A couple of things stand out to me... This first is, God says twice, "because of my mighty hand." God is doing the heavy lifting. And He is doing it for His glory. (I have a follow-up post regarding this.)
Then God says "I will" seven times. He doesn't say "I might, if I'm in the mood" NO - He says HE WILL.
So here is my Stephanie commentary - If you have obeyed God, and things seem to have backfired, or if you are in the middle of a confusing situation, and you don't understand why things have turned out the way they have - Wait and watch God. THE STORY ISN'T OVER YET. He is still at work. Hold onto His promises, His faithfulness, His goodness. He is writing a story in your life, to show His great power, for His glory. He WILL complete the work He started in your life. Philippians 1:6
...we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28
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