Taught by Philip de Grey Warter at UCCF South West Team Days, May 2009
Life can at times seem like a series of inescapable disasters.
Up to this point, it’s been preparation, and now we get to the action. “Let my people go!”, says Moses. Pharaoh’s response: “who is the Lord?” Fair enough – if I walk up to you and say, ‘You must give Kenny ten quid’ – who’s Kenny that you should give him ten quid?!
This question of Pharaoh is a question that continues over the next ten chapters, in a tussle between the Lord and Pharaoh – “Let my people go”/”No I won’t”. But it starts off badly for the people. They are told to forget about it and get back to work, so that they’ll have no time to listen to Moses (5v9). So, v10, the new orders are given, and much pressure (v13-14). So in this chapter the slavery intensifies – it gets even worse. They’re beaten for not meeting their impossible quotas, and are accused of being lazy. Verse 19 is an understatement – they were in trouble. At the end of chapter 4 the people were delighted to see Aaron & Moses but now they call on God to judge them. So Aaron & Moses go back to God in v22; “Thanks a lot God – all we’ve got is more trouble and no sign of rescue.”
What are we to make of this chapter? Why does God do things in this way? 3 things to learn here:
1. There is no such thing as spiritual Switzerland.
There is no neutral zone when it comes to God – you’re either for, or against. This is hinted at; there’s a similarity between words of Moses & Aaron in v1 and the taskmasters v10 – they are they mouthpieces of God and Pharaoh respectively. The narrator lines up God and Pharaoh to answer this question: who is the Lord? Maybe it’s the God of Israel, but he doesn’t seem like much – his people are slaves and his spokespersons are in their 80s. Maybe it’s Pharaoh – representing all the might of Egypt (each plague tackles a particular god of Egypt). Neither side pulls its punches.
Absolute power always by definition sets itself up against God, and that’s why Christians always end up being persecuted.
But fighting God leads to disaster.
2. Don’t play fast and loose with God’s word.
Moses and Aaron should have expected it not to be easy – they were warned in chapter 4. The root of failure in the Christian life is the failure to hear all of God’s word and act accordingly. Moses is told what to do in chapter 3 but gets it wrong:
- he brings the wrong delegation: 3:18 they were meant to bring the elders but didn’t.
- he was told to explain that he had met with God, but he goes straight in with the direct challenge.
- he goes on to threaten plagues and slaughter – adding to what God had told him to say.
These points put Pharaoh’s back up. When we subtract from God’s word or add to it, we are dooming ourselves to reap failure and disappointment.
3. Realise that we are utterly helpless.
This chapter sets up 6:1. Now the Israelites are going to see how great God is. They need to see how helpless they are before they can be rescued, so that they know it is only by God and by his grace that they can get out.
We are lost, dead, blind, enslaved. Ephesians 2: we are dead, disobedient, doomed. There is no way out. Dead people can’t do anything to help themselves. Our slavemaster was sin, and he wasn’t letting us go anywhere, and we were only released by God’s mighty hand being stronger.
It is only the Lord who saves us from slavery; not us and him – just him.
Sometimes in life we recognise that we can do nothing and we are utterly dependant on the help of another. That’s partly why we are so grateful to medics. It should also be the same with our eternal salvation and the God who gave it to us.
If this is true, there are two attitudes that will show if we’ve really grasped this:
(i) Thankfulness.
Scottish minister Alex White always found something in his prayers to be grateful for. One day the weather was so gloomy that his congregation thought this would surely be the one time he wouldn’t be; but he stood up and prayed,
“Thank you Lord that it’s not always like this!”
Gratitude is the distinctive quality of Christians. But gratitude to whom? The non-Christian can’t be truly thankful because they haven’t got anyone to be thankful to. But we know that what we enjoy is totally a result of God’s grace. And thankfulness is immensely attractive. If we’re thankful, then we can’t be backbiters or gossips, or stingy or complaining or perpetually bitter. It’s very compelling and attractive. It can be learned – we are told to be thankful and rejoice – we can do it, and as we do a habit will form. This is the difference between a ‘rights’ mentality and understanding we are not owed anything.
(ii) Humility.
When we are utterly helpless there is no room for pride or posturing. The lifeboatmen in Fowey say that being rescued is humbling for people. To say “I can’t do anything, I need your help” is humbling – even excellent sailors, if they need to call, will do it, and it is humbling to ask for help. Humble people are far more attractive than the proud.
“God created the world out of nothing, and as long as we’re nothing, he can make something out of us.”
- Martin Luther
What is biblical humility?
“Don’t think less of yourself, think of yourself less.”
“When you walk in the room, is it me in the room, or other people in the room?”
We are utterly helpless, and we are utterly reliant on God.
In the first 8 verses of chapter 6, the most common word is “I”. It’s all focused on God – the only thing the Israelites do is to know!
One problem with this passage: in v3 it says he didn’t make himself known – but it seems that he did (see previously, referring to Genesis 4:26). Maybe Moses wrote it back in; or more likely, he appeared as himself but didn’t reveal himself as ‘who he is by what he does’, as he does here.
The rest of chapter 6 is about showing how Moses & Aaron are ordinary blokes. One of the purposes of this chapter is to show the power of Pharaoh contrasted with the weakness of the means of God’s deliverance – Moses & Aaron. Pharaoh is massively powerful; but Moses & Aaron are not. The conflict is brought up again, yet Moses & Aaron are utterly brought low through rejection by the people – so that the hero will be neither Moses nor Aaron but God himself.
