Moses obeys and … fails?!: Never give up on God’s plan
Well, it took some convincing (even more than a talking bush that was on fire without burning up!), but Moses does finally obey God!
Moses and Aaron begin by sharing God’s plan with the elders of Israel, just like God had commanded (Exodus 3:16, Exodus 4:29) (of course, Aaron does the talking!). Moses shows the elders the miraculous signs God gave him and they recognize that it is the One True God - the I Am, who has crafted this plan. All the people are excited that God has heard their cries and they worship Him (Exodus 4:31).
Now, the hard work begins.
Exodus 5:1a | 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...’”
Of course the leaders of Israel were on board with God’s plan. They wanted to go free and not be slaves, but what about the Pharaoh? His response to God’s order to “Let my people go?”
Exodus 5:2 | “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.”
Pharaoh isn’t going to make this easy. He doesn’t know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and frankly, at this point in his life, he doesn’t care what God has to say.
Moses and Aaron don’t give up. They ask Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt for three days so they can go worship God. But Pharoah is convinced that Moses and Aaron are just trying to distract the Israelites from their work. He punishes the Israelites as a result–
Exodus 5:6-9 | That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite foremen: “Do not supply any more straw for making bricks. Make the people get it themselves! 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.’ Load them down with more work. Make them sweat! That will teach them to listen to lies!”
Moses tried to obey God but it seems like it backfired! Now the Israelites are being treated even more harshly and they are mad at Moses for it.
Exodus 5:19a, 20-21 | The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble... As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them. 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!”
The accusations of his fellow Israelites send Moses spiraling yet again. He actually accuses God!
Exodus 5:22-23 | 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? 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!”
God simply reminds Moses who He is and what He plans to do. He sends Moses back to the Israelites to tell them that God promises He will deliver them to the promised land (Exodus 6:6-8).
Exodus 6:9 | 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.
The meeting didn’t go well and the discouragement of the Israelites has left Moses discouraged too. Once again, Moses doubts his own abilities (Exodus 6:12, 30). But God doesn’t get angry. He just reminds Moses and Aaron of His plan to show His power and again tells them exactly what to do–
Exodus 7:1 | Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like a God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron will be your prophet.”
Exodus 7:8-11, 12b | Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle!’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh’ and it will become a serpent.’” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded then Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic. But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.
Finally, Moses and Aaron have obeyed, Pharaoh has seen God’s power, and now, Pharaoh will let the people go, right?
Exodus 7:13 | Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the Lord had predicted.
Moses and Aaron leave the court of Pharaoh and the Israelites are still slaves in Egypt. How tempting it must have been to just give up.
While the meetings with Pharoah didn’t go as Moses and Aaron planned, they weren’t a surprise to God. God’s plan is still the same. The same is true for us. Sometimes we hit roadblocks as we obey God’s plan for our lives. It is important that we don’t give up. That’s our Timeless Truth for today: Never give up on God’s plan. God promises-
Philippians 1:6 | And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
If the plan is from God, He will work it out all the way to completion. Moses forgot this often, but we should learn from his mistake. Never give up on God’s plan. Instead-
Galatians 6:9 | So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
What struggles did Moses face as he obeyed God?
Moses’ frustrations when he fails show that he believed that since he obeyed, things should have worked out. Do you ever believe this yourself? Provide an example.
What struggles have you faced when following God’s plans?
Why is it important to never give up on God’s plans? What timeless truths can you remember when you are tempted to give up?