Exodus 5; Luke 8
Daily Catechism
QUESTION 29: HOW DOES CHRIST PERFORM THE OFFICE OF A PRIEST?
Answer: Christ performs the office of a priest by once offering him- self as a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and to reconcile us to God; and by making continual intercession for us before God.
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 2: 17; 7:25; 9:28; Ephesians 5:2; Romans 8:34.
Exodus 5
Ready:
Yesterday I read Moses’ account of his difficult conversation with God and his wrestling with his own perceptions of himself. God gave him powerful signs and worked to convince him that it would not be him accomplishing this work and to simply trust him. Aaron is assigned to work with Moses and they approach the Israelites with the message of God’s plan to deliver them from Egypt…and it is received with gladness.
Seeing What’s There:
Now Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh with the request that the Jews be allowed three days travel into the wilderness to sacrifice and worship the Lord. Pharaoh not only refuses but he reacts with anger and works harder to suppress them by taking away the straw used for making bricks and expects them to keep producing the same quantity while having to go our an scavenge for their own straw. This is clearly impossible and he is looking to break their will regarding going into the wilderness to worship the Lord. The chapter concludes with Moses praying to God with a very straightforward and honest prayer. God uses this episode to teach Moses and the people that they truly are more desiring of comfort than of worshiping their God. Like always, God acts for the sake of his name and in favor of the elect remnant within Israel but the over-all message here is directed and the whole of Israel and they are pegged by Pharaoh in this case. They prefer a lighter load to a hope of meeting God in the wilderness and they are ready to bail out immediately. Pharaoh means to break them and God means to test them. Moses serves to learn an important lesson at the outset of his leadership of this people and he must know the challenge before him and how it is he will overcome. Perhaps this Exodus begins with God shaping Moses as a leader more than anything else?
Key Verses:
Exodus 5:1-2, 4, 7-8, 14, 17-18, 20-21, 22-23
Theme:
Comfort is not always part of God’s plan in this life but he works his goodness even through hardship for those that trust him.
Thinking About the Message:
v1-9. Moses and Aaron make a plea to Pharaoh first based on nothing but their religion and a desire to honor God. The Pharaoh’s response is that he does not know this God and he will not let them go. Moses responds with an amended plea that is now based on his personal experience of meeting with God and receiving this specific direction so that Pharaoh gets the picture that the living God is personal and knowable but that he also holds people accountable for their sinful actions with judgement. Now Pharaoh reacts with more zeal against them. Having never met with God before he is likely getting uncomfortable now and he moves to cut them off before this conviction in them becomes a major problem, as he tried to do with their burgeoning population. He accuses them of simply trying to get out from under the burden and he cruelly reacts by increasing the expectations to an impossible degree. He determines to break their will by making them labor and strive without hope of accomplishing what he demands and then he beats them for not achieving what is required of them. I see a couple of things here. First, Pharaoh tells the task masters to not listen to their lying words about wanting release so they can worship when Pharaoh contends this is a lie and the truth is they want relief from the labor only and God is their excuse (Ex 5:8-9). Second I see a parallel between what Pharaoh does here and what the law does. The law (taken alone and apart from the promised offspring) requires something impossible from the people of God without supplying the ability to accomplish it (Rom 7:14; Rom 10:4) and their response should be to run to God for mercy with a trust that he will accomplish the impossible for them and in them by the promised offspring (Rom 8:3-4, Gal 3:18-19).
v10-14. Here the taskmasters carry out the order of Pharaoh and the test is set to the people of God. Will they trust the Lord and hope in his promise or will they prefer comfort and abandon hope? Will they rejoice in all circumstances due to their trust in God's goodness? This is a people still learning about God without our advantages of even the OT scripture at this point. God uses his people to teach the coming generations. Moses will get a glimpse at the challenge that is before him in leading this people.
v15-21. Here there is interchange between the Jewish foremen who are leading the workers in the brick making and they plead with Pharaoh to understand that the task is impossible due to his new limitation. Pharaoh lays the argument before them that their request is a lie and that they are actually just wanting to get out of work. Straight in their face he challenges their faith and says they lie. The question now is this- Have the people of God been merely desiring a deliverance from hardship or are they desiring the coming offspring to deliver them from their sin? Do they want to be changed or do they merely want their circumstances to be changed (1 Pet 1:5-7; Rom 5:2-5)? Is their hope in what is seen or unseen (Rom 8:18; Rom 8:24-25)? God has promised them something very specific (Exodus 3:16-17)…will they trust him or will they take Pharaoh’s bait? Pharaoh is now slithering on his belly asking them if God really meant what he said and if they really trust him to be looking out for them and if maybe they don’t know better how to proceed with independence from this God. This is also the message that the television and the radio and the world around me send me incessantly day and night 24 hours a day. Wouldn’t you rather just be more comfortable? Are you sure about this? Are you sure you don’t want the blue pill (Matrix allusion)?
v22-23. Here Moses faces the troublesome condition of the people and this difficult test of God. Moses rightly responds by crying out to God. Moses comes to God in honest prayer. This prayer can be seen as a pretty bad way to speak to God but notice God’s response by reading ahead a little into the next chapter and it is clear that God is not offended by this prayer of Moses. Moses is honest with God and he lays his emotions down without filtering them. He refers to God with respect and honor as Lord but he expresses his confusion with the results of following God’s directions. He is asking God for help in understanding how this is good. He trusts the goodness of God and he is seeking from God some reconciliation between this goodness and what is now happening to the people of God. Moses teaches me that is is right and good to expect God to keep his promises and to work with a mighty hand. Moses is coming to God for help with what looks like God not behaving like God. The truth is that the people of God are not behaving like the people of God and this is what Moses needs to see and understand. Moses needs to get the picture that Pharaoh is right. The people of God prefer their own comfort. The people of God are not trusting him. The people of God are stiff-necked and sinful and Moses needs to know this. Moses also needs to know that when God made the promise to deliver them from Egypt…it was at that moment accomplished. They need to learn that God’s ways are not our ways but that he is trustworthy and true. They need the message to come later in Isaiah 55:6-11.
Meaning, Implications, and Significance
1. The message I hear is that God intends to deliver his people but that he will teach them and shape them along the way in order to grow them. The implication is that I can expect to be learning through adversity in live even as God is guiding and directing me and as he is indeed working all things according to the counsel of his will (Eph 1:11). The significance to me is that I can look for the lessons in my difficult seasons and I can praise God that he is at work even when I am uncomfortable and it seems like everything is going wrong…probably mostly when I am uncomfortable. Here Moses was being prepared to lead a difficult people and he needed to trust God supremely.
2. I also hear they message that God wants our hearts and not just because of what he can offer us (like deliverance from circumstances). The implication is that even today God does not seek a church that hopes for comfort and ease but a church that is prepared to die for the cause of Christ in this world. The significance for me is that I need to check my motives and desires and make sure that I am not disguising my desire for comfort and ease and a perfect little existence behind religious overtones and ideas.
Valuing the Message:
The message is valuable because it is very practical and gets down to the nitty gritty of all the circumstances I deal with in life. This begins to set the stage for a doctrine of rejoicing always in good and “bad” situations.
Reflecting to Feel the Impact of the Message:
I need to ensure that I have love for God and others that comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1 Tim 1:5). This means that I do not have messed up motives and I am honest and open with God and with others about my actions and I truly trust God to be at work in my life and in the church. This trust will lead me to “risk” for the cause of love. If I find myself hiding self-protective or self-seeking motives under a veil of Christianity then I can take that to God in repentance and ask him for the mind of Christ (Phil 2:3-5).
Questions to ask:
- Where am I seeking comfort as a priority instead of love for God and others?
- What is God teaching me right know through my tough situations?
- Is God preparing me for something ahead?
Responding to God & Reacting to His Lesson:
Tell God about your observations and your thoughts and your struggles with the chapter and determine how it will change or impact your thinking and your decisions. Be sure to react in some way to the truth rather than remain silent.
Proclaiming the Truth to Others:
Decide who you can share what you have learned with and ask for God’s help in reaching out to love others.
Luke 8
Not going to try to catch up...moving on.Soli Deo Gloria!
