In yesterday’s reading Moses went to investigate a burning bush in the desert, then suddenly found himself standing on sacred ground, confronted by the angel of the Lord. When he heard this was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he hid his face.

God told Moses it was time to go back to Egypt. He also told him that God’s name from then on would be “I AM THAT I AM”, the Almighty, eternal God. When Moses got back to Egypt some big things were going to happen. (from Exodus 3:14-22)

• He was going to gather the elders of Israel and tell them that God was concerned for his people, was watching over them and was preparing to bring an end to their misery
• Israel was going to leave Egypt and go to Canaan, the land God promised to their forefathers.
• Moses was going to go directly to Pharaoh and demand that he release Israel.
• Pharaoh was going to resist so God would have to compel him with his mighty hand.
• When Israel left Egypt the women were going to carry off great wealth in the form of silver, gold and beautiful clothing . . . simply by asking for it from the Egyptians they had served. In this way Israel would plunder their masters.

Jethro’s blessing

With all of this in mind, Moses went to talk with his father-in-law Jethro. It was the concise kind of  conversation men like to have with each other.

“Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, ‘Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.’

Jethro said, ‘Go, I wish you well.’” Exodus 4:18

With Jethro’s blessing secured, the moment for departure had come and God gave Moses the signal.

 “Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, ‘Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.’” Exodus 4:19

God Lays Out the Plan

In Exodus 4:21-23 God laid out the plan for Moses. Pharaoh had a hard heart and God planned to harden it more so that Pharaoh wouldn’t be moved even by miracles and wonders. God knew that the more Pharaoh resisted him the harder his heart would become.

For four hundred years the people of God lived and worked in Egypt, but this Pharaoh refused to recognize their God. He abused and oppressed the Israelites and had no fear of the Almighty. Pharaoh believed he was the divine ruler over Egypt and sparring with him was going to be a tough assignment

Moses’s Mistake

Moses packed up his wife and children and set off to meet his brother Aaron at  Mt. Horeb. Along the way God confronted Moses and threatened to kill him, but Zipporah saved her husband’s life by circumcising their son. It was something Moses was supposed to have done when the child was eight days old and Zipporah was angry with him for neglecting something so important to God. Maybe she was also upset that Moses was taking her from her home to a culture where shedding a child’s blood was part of obedience to their faith.

Moses and Aaron Together Again

For forty years Aaron had lived in slavery in Egypt while his brother Moses lived as a fugitive from the law in Midian. Now God brought the oppressed slave and the escaped criminal together and gave them one of the greatest missions in history. We can only imagine the stories they told each other as they trekked back across the Arabian desert to Egypt.

The Elders Gather

When they arrived in Egypt they called together all the elders of Israel. Remarkably, after 400 years of being scattered all throughout Egypt and living as slaves, the Israelites still knew who they were and each tribe could readily produce its elders. When Moses called them, they were ready to represent their people and make decisions.

Meeting with Pharaoh

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh with their first request.

“[they] said, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’

Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.’” Exodus 5:1-2

Moses and Aaron made the case for obeying Almighty God, but Pharaoh only saw a slave uprising. He pointed out how many slaves there were throughout Egypt and that Moses and Aaron were stopping them from work. What they proposed to do would cripple Egypt’s economy.

Pharaoh Doubles Down

Pharaoh’s solution was to make the work harder. Perhaps he could turn the Israelites away from Moses and Aaron if their suffering increased. The Israelites protested to Pharaoh about the injustice of doing the same work with reduced supplies, but he didn’t relent.

Crisis of Faith

Moses had a crisis of faith when he saw his people’s suffering increase. He went to God with some questions.

Why, Lord, have you brought this trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me?” Exodus 5:22

The vision God had given Moses was so spectacular that he wasn’t prepared for the difficulties that accompanied it. He didn’t understand what a monumental task it was to free people from slavery.

God’s Answer to the Crisis

God’s answer to his people’s distress was to remind them of the promises he had already made.

“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with an uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’” Exodus 6:6-8

Even today, when God promises to take people out of bondage, they expect instant relief. The thought of being free is so sweet that they overlook how long and how deeply they have been enslaved. Sometimes it’s a long process freeing a slave from thinking and living like a slave.

God was going to get his people ready for freedom by sending them a series of spectacular events that only God could create. If they were going to follow him, they would need to know that he was greater than Pharaoh and greater than Egypt’s gods. They needed to understand who IAM really was.

The miracles God performed progressively hardened Pharaoh’s heart and that made him more cruel. But the same miracles convinced Israel that God was God and that they should follow him. God was able to win his people’s hearts while he demonstrated to Pharaoh that he didn’t stand a chance of winning this cosmic battle.

Party Trick?

God started with a miracle that Pharaoh regarded as a party trick, turning Aaron’s staff into a snake. Pharaoh scoffed until Aaron’s snake swallowed up the snakes his sorcerers threw down. But  Pharaoh still hardened his heart.

Check Your Heart

Reading the Bible everyday gives you many opportunities to check your own heart. If you really want to know God, these stories will move and transform you. If you are just checking off “Bible reading” as an item on your To Do List, it may feel dry and boring. Take a little time to meditate on part of the reading each day and see how God speaks to you.

And may your heart be moved by the awesome power of God as you read the book of Exodus!