God Speaks
5 After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.”
2 “Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”
3 But Aaron and Moses persisted. “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared. “So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.”
4 Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work! 5 Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.”
6 That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite foremen: 7 “Do not supply any more straw for making bricks. Make the people get it themselves! 8 But still require them to make the same number of bricks as before. Don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy. That’s why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God.’ 9 Load them down with more work. Make them sweat! That will teach them to listen to lies!”
10 So the slave drivers and foremen went out and told the people: “This is what Pharaoh says: I will not provide any more straw for you. 11 Go and get it yourselves. Find it wherever you can. But you must produce just as many bricks as before!” 12 So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt in search of stubble to use as straw.
13 Meanwhile, the Egyptian slave drivers continued to push hard. “Meet your daily quota of bricks, just as you did when we provided you with straw!” they demanded. 14 Then they whipped the Israelite foremen they had put in charge of the work crews. “Why haven’t you met your quotas either yesterday or today?” they demanded.
15 So the Israelite foremen went to Pharaoh and pleaded with him. “Please don’t treat your servants like this,” they begged. 16 “We are given no straw, but the slave drivers still demand, ‘Make bricks!’ We are being beaten, but it isn’t our fault! Your own people are to blame!”
17 But Pharaoh shouted, “You’re just lazy! Lazy! That’s why you’re saying, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.’ 18 Now get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you must still produce the full quota of bricks.”
19 The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.” 20 As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them. 21 The foremen said to them, “May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!”
22 Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!”
6 Then the Lord told Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the people go. In fact, he will force them to leave his land!”
2 And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the Lord.’ 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’—but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. 4 And I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners. 5 You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them.
6 “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. 8 I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!’”
9 So Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go back to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and tell him to let the people of Israel leave his country.”
12 “But Lord!” Moses objected. “My own people won’t listen to me anymore. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen? I’m such a clumsy speaker!”
13 But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders for the Israelites and for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt.
14 These are the ancestors of some of the clans of Israel:
The sons of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. Their descendants became the clans of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul. (Shaul’s mother was a Canaanite woman.) Their descendants became the clans of Simeon.
16 These are the descendants of Levi, as listed in their family records: The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (Levi lived to be 137 years old.)
17 The descendants of Gershon included Libni and Shimei, each of whom became the ancestor of a clan.
18 The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. (Kohath lived to be 133 years old.)
19 The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi.
These are the clans of the Levites, as listed in their family records.
20 Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she gave birth to his sons, Aaron and Moses. (Amram lived to be 137 years old.)
21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zicri.
22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she gave birth to his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. Their descendants became the clans of Korah.
25 Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she gave birth to his son, Phinehas.
These are the ancestors of the Levite families, listed according to their clans.
26 The Aaron and Moses named in this list are the same ones to whom the Lord said, “Lead the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army.” 27 It was Moses and Aaron who spoke to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, about leading the people of Israel out of Egypt.
28 When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord! Tell Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, everything I am telling you.” 30 But Moses argued with the Lord, saying, “I can’t do it! I’m such a clumsy speaker! Why should Pharaoh listen to me?”
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Exodus 5: After meeting with the elders of Israel, Moses and Aaron spoke with Pharaoh. At first, they seemed to be demanding that Pharaoh comply with the LORD’s command to “Let my people go . . .” He was irate. They asked a second time. Even though they were more polite and more exact as to what God had said, still Pharaoh refused. In fact, to discourage the Israelites from following Moses’ and Aaron’s lead, he made things even harder for them. Now the Egyptian slave drivers announced to the Israelite foremen that they were to make bricks without straw. They had to gather their own straw and still produce as many bricks as before or the foremen would be beaten. When they didn’t or couldn’t comply, the foremen were beaten. First, they went to Pharaoh and begged him to let up on his requirements. He refused, so they turned around and complained to Moses and Aaron. Moses brought their problem back to the LORD.
Exodus 6: During Moses’ private interaction with the LORD God, YHWH explained to Moses more of who He was and what His intentions were in this situation. He is the great I AM, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the God who keeps His promises (covenant). “God Almighty” was about to show Pharaoh His strong hand and bring great acts of judgment on the Egyptians. Thus, He would redeem the Israelites from slavery and lead them out of Egypt and to the land of Canaan as He had promised their forefathers. Verses 14-30 list Moses’ and Aaron’s lineage and descendants; this established their God-given right to positions of authority.
The Rational Bible: Exodus by Dennis Prager audio version: disk 3 tracks 3 and 4 greatly influenced my thinking on these chapters.
Prayer: Dear Sovereign LORD, thank You for loving people so much that You are willing to direct our human leaders. Like Moses and Aaron, guide the leaders You choose to speak with obstinate rulers like Pharaoh. May they not be demanding but polite and say exactly what You, LORD God, tell them to say. If this ruler still refuses and only makes things more difficult, help Your people to work hard and trust You even more. Don’t let us be discouraged from following Your chosen leaders. When leaders of large companies or government agencies announce that we must work harder for less value for our money, or to do things we think are immoral or unreasonable, may we strive for excellence anyway because we are working to please You not them or even ourselves. Help us to bless and curse not. When we don’t or can’t comply with overbearing, unreasonable regulations or restrictions, help us go first to our immediate supervisors, then work our way up to the top executive and politely but firmly ask him to let up on the requirements. If he refuses, help us turn things over to our legal and spiritual counselors. May we believers and these counselors bring our problems back to You, LORD. May Your chosen leaders have private interactions with You, LORD God. Dear YHWH, explain to them more of who You are and what Your intentions are in the situations Your people are facing. You are the great I AM, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the God who keeps His promises (covenant). “God Almighty,” show evil or weak rulers Your strong hand and bring great acts of judgment on the wicked. Please redeem Your people from slavery to sinful behavior, selfish motivations, and Satan’s schemes and lead us to the land You promised our spiritual forefathers. May our lives reflect Your glory and prepare us to rule for eternity in the New Heaven and the New Earth. For Your glory and our ultimate good, O LORD. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will strive to live in such a way that people will know at least a little of what God is like by how I speak and act toward them.
- I will determine within my heart to trust God even when things I’ve prayed about seem to be getting worse instead of better like I want.
- I will bring the problems of myself, my family, my church, and my nation to the LORD and wait for His answers.
- I will try to learn about and vote for leaders who will follow God’s plans and principles as they govern or lead, whether they know Him as their personal Savior and Lord or not. I will pray for all to do so.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.