Exodus 5
Today's Passage: Exodus 5
Have you ever been obedient to do what God asked you to do and things just didn’t really go well for you practically? That’s similar to where Moses finds himself in Exodus 5.
Moses has completed his time in the wilderness and has been directed by God to go to Pharaoh to perform signs and request that Pharaoh let the people of Israel go. To begin, Moses is asking Pharaoh to allow the people of Israel to go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices. Predictably, not wanting to sacrifice production (and because his heart is hard towards God in unbelief) he refuses to allow the Israelites to do this. And on top of that, he actually makes the work way harder for the Israelites to complete.
Some of the leaders of the Israelite slaves even came to Moses and Aaron to complain about what their obedience to God had led to for them.
Then Moses turned to God and said in verses 22-23:
22 “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 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.”
God expects and desires obedience from his people. But we often equate obedience to God with ease and comfort in this life. We must discipline ourselves to believe that the true motive of our obedience is from gratitude for who God is and what he has accomplished for us in Christ, not what we get in return for our obedience. And on top of that, we must understand that just because God calls us to do something it isn't necessarily going to go the way we think it should.
Spoiler alert: Pharaoh will eventually let the people of Israel go. And while Moses is obedient to do the things asked of him by God, it is not necessarily an easy process. But God still honors the obedience of Moses, and he honors your obedience as well.
Seek to be obedient to God, not because of what it brings to you, but because of who God is and what He has does for you in Christ.
Written By: Graham Withers
Have you ever been obedient to do what God asked you to do and things just didn’t really go well for you practically? That’s similar to where Moses finds himself in Exodus 5.
Moses has completed his time in the wilderness and has been directed by God to go to Pharaoh to perform signs and request that Pharaoh let the people of Israel go. To begin, Moses is asking Pharaoh to allow the people of Israel to go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices. Predictably, not wanting to sacrifice production (and because his heart is hard towards God in unbelief) he refuses to allow the Israelites to do this. And on top of that, he actually makes the work way harder for the Israelites to complete.
Some of the leaders of the Israelite slaves even came to Moses and Aaron to complain about what their obedience to God had led to for them.
Then Moses turned to God and said in verses 22-23:
22 “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 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.”
God expects and desires obedience from his people. But we often equate obedience to God with ease and comfort in this life. We must discipline ourselves to believe that the true motive of our obedience is from gratitude for who God is and what he has accomplished for us in Christ, not what we get in return for our obedience. And on top of that, we must understand that just because God calls us to do something it isn't necessarily going to go the way we think it should.
Spoiler alert: Pharaoh will eventually let the people of Israel go. And while Moses is obedient to do the things asked of him by God, it is not necessarily an easy process. But God still honors the obedience of Moses, and he honors your obedience as well.
Seek to be obedient to God, not because of what it brings to you, but because of who God is and what He has does for you in Christ.
Written By: Graham Withers
No Comments