Moses
The Servant
of God
Ex 5-6: Let
my People go
Moses’ 1st request
Exodus 5:1-2
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in
and told Pharaoh, "Thus says the Lord
God of Israel: 'Let My people go, that
they may hold a feast to Me in the
wilderness.'"
2 And Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord,
that I should obey His voice to let Israel
go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let
Israel go."
Pharaoh will know who the Lord is
when God is finished with him!
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Moses’s approach
to Pharaoh
• This Pharaoh might have been Thotmes, the
grandson of the original persecutor of the Pharaoh
in Ex 1
• He was located in Tanis (or Zoan) – Psa 78:12, 43
This Pharaoh may have been in Zoan
Psalm 78:12, 43
12 Marvelous things He did in the
sight of their fathers, In the land of
Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
43 When He worked His signs in
Egypt, And His wonders in the field
of Zoan;
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Moses’s approach
to Pharaoh
• This Pharaoh might have been Thotmes, the grandson of
the original persecutor of the Pharaoh in Ex 1
• He was located in Tanis (or Zoan) – Psa 78:12, 43
• God designed this for 2 reasons:
– Let the Jews see Pharaoh’s mind about them leaving
– Test the Jews: to see if they have the faith that saves
• “who is Yahweh”: seems Israel was not using this name
for their God, or Pharaoh would at least have heard of
Him
• Moses asked for 3 days: this would not have been very
damaging to Egypt
• “Lest He fall upon us”: began with threat of punishment
of Jews, but soon became plagues on Egyptians
Moses’ request to sacrifice
Exodus 5:3
3 So they said, "The God of the
Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us
go three days' journey into the desert
and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He
fall upon us with pestilence or with the
sword."
3 days would not have
damaged Egypt much
Pharaoh’s Response
• Attempts to punish Israel for
asking
for 3 days off
• Tries to drive a wedge between
Moses & Aaron and the Israelites
• Taskmasters = Egyptian slave masters
• Officers [or foremen] = Jews (5:14) who recorded
the amounts of bricks made each day
• Many times God makes things worse for a while
before He brings deliverance
– Joseph charged by Potiphar’s wife (Gen 39)
– David finds Ziklag burned & families gone (1Sam 30)
The testing of our faith
produces patience (Jam 1:3)
Pharaoh’s response
Exodus 5:4-9
4 Then the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and
Aaron, why do you take the people from their work?
Get back to your labor." 5 And Pharaoh said, "Look,
the people of the land are many now, and you make
them rest from their labor!"
6 So the same day Pharaoh commanded the
taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying,
7 "You shall no longer give the people straw to make
brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for
themselves. 8 And you shall lay on them the quota
of bricks which they made before. You shall not
reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out,
saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' 9 Let
more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in
it, and let them not regard false words."
God tests their faith!
Taskmasters implement
Pharaoh’s demands
• Israelites must get their straw
– “to gather stubble instead of ‘for’ straw”
– Probably from harvested corn stalks
– May be around April (spring) – time of sand winds
• Israelites still had to fulfill the same daily quotas
as before
• When the production decreased, the officers
were beaten by taskmasters
Consider the work of God; For who can
make straight what He has made crooked?
In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in
the day of adversity consider: Surely God
has appointed the one as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothing that will
come after him. (Eccl 7:13-14)
Officers of Israel bear the blame
Exodus 5:10-16
10 And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went
out and spoke to the people, saying, "Thus says Pharaoh: 'I will not
give you straw. 11 Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it;
yet none of your work will be reduced.'" 12 So the people were
scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather
stubble instead of straw. 13 And the taskmasters forced them to
hurry, saying, "Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there
was straw." 14 Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom
Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were
asked, "Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both
yesterday and today, as before?"
15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out
to Pharaoh, saying, "Why are you dealing thus with your servants?
16 There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us,
'Make brick!' And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is
in your own people."
But Pharaoh doesn’t give in at all!
Israelites appeal for help
• Officers appealed to Pharaoh (v.15)
• They put the fault on Pharaoh’s
people (v.16): “but the fault is in
your own people” [NKJV]
• Pharaoh responds by claiming they were too idle –
didn’t have enough to do – so they thought up the
idea of a 3 day journey to sacrifice! No quota
reduction!
• Officers met Moses & Aaron as they left Pharaoh –
blamed Moses & Aaron for the trouble
When we don’t trust God’s
work in our lives, it’s easy to
blame others for our situation
Don’t play the
blame game!
• Take responsibility for your own mistakes
• Trust what God brings into your life
• Examine challenging situations to see what we
should learn from them
Blaming others
really amounts
to blaming God
Complaining about others
Numbers 14:1-4, 11-12
1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried,
and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of
Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole
congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land
of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why
has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that
our wives and children should become victims? Would it not
be better for us to return to Egypt?" 4 So they said to one
another, "Let us select a leader and return to Egypt."
11 Then the Lord said to Moses: "How long will these
people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me,
with all the signs which I have performed among them? 12 I
will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and
I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they."
Our complaints about others are really
complaints to God & lack of faith in His ways
Moses puts it back on God
Exodus 5:22-23
22 So Moses returned to the Lord and
said, "Lord, why have You brought
trouble on this people? Why is it You
have sent me? 23 For since I came to
Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has
done evil to this people; neither have
You delivered Your people at all."
Moses blames God for causing this
trouble and letting the people down
Notice God’s Patience!
• He could have blasted Moses
for blaming Him
• He could have given up on the
Israelites and just saved a few
out of Egypt
• He could have brought fire down
on Pharaoh and destroyed him & his palace
• He could have raised up a foreign nation to
attach Egypt
(Romans 11:33-34)
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments
and His ways past finding out! "For who has known the
mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?"
Moses
The Servant
of God
Exodus 6
God’s plan has another level!
Exodus 6:1-9
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to
Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong
hand he will drive them out of his land."
2 And God spoke to Moses and said to him: "I am the Lord. 3 I
appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by
My name Lord I was not known to them. 4 I have also established My
covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their
pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. 5 And I have also heard the
groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage,
and I have remembered My covenant. 6 Therefore say to the children of
Israel: 'I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you
with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 I will take you as
My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the
Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the
Lord.'" 9 So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not
heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage.
God’s plan involves defeating the gods of
Egypt & testing the faith of the Israelites!
God Promises to Redeem Israel
• Some time went by & the Israelites
were extremely challenged
– God needed to bring rough times on the
Israelites so they would want to be saved!
– John 13:6 “What I’m doing now you don’t understand,
but you will later!”
• Note the reasons God gives for redeeming His
people now:
– He remembers His covenant to Abraham (Gen 15)
– He hears the groaning of His people – what a
compassionate God we have! He
will redeem them from their bondage.
God is always faithful
to His covenants
God Remembers His covenant
• God Almighty = El Shaddai – means
power to both destroy & nourish.
God will nourish his people and
destroy their enemies
– God revealed himself to Abraham as El Shaddai because
He was beginning a family with Abraham
– At the time of the Exodus, God now had a family of
millions & He chose to be revealed as Yahweh: “He who
is and was and is to come”
– In the N.T., God is revealed by Jesus as “the Father”
• “I am the Lord” should be “I Yahweh”
– He will do it!
• But the Israelites were too
discouraged to appreciate what
God was about to do for them
Faith Endures!
Depression can ruin
our spiritual lives
• We lose our confidence and
trust in God
• We lose our motivation to more forward
• We lose our enthusiasm to be involved in God’s
ecclesia
• We become complainers and grumblers
• Our faith in God dissipates like smoke and leaves
us with no hope
Ps 37:23-24
When a person's steps follow the Lord, God is
pleased with his ways. If he stumbles, he will not
fall, because the Lord holds his hand. (NCV)
God wants us joyfully working in His
family, but for the right reasons!
Our Plans
Our Effort
Our excitement
Our success
God’s Plans
God’s Effort
God’s excitement
God’s success
Remember
Elijah!
God brings events into our lives to
help balance our understanding &
appreciation of God’s work
Our part & God’s part
Philippians 2:12-16
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always
obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now
much more in my absence, work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is
God who works in you both to will and to do for
His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without complaining and
disputing, 15 that you may become blameless
and harmless, children of God without fault in
the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16
holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice
in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or
labored in vain.
Complainers won’t be in God’s Kingdom
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Phil 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present
your requests to God. And the peace
of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
All our complaints are really against God
People later complain to Moses & Aaron
Exodus
16:1-8
1 And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the
children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between
Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they
departed from the land of Egypt. 2 Then the whole congregation
of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in
the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh, that
we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we
sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you
have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly
with hunger."
6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At
evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the
land of Egypt. 7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the
Lord; for He hears your complaints against the Lord. But what are
we, that you complain against us?" 8 Also Moses said, "This shall
be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in
the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints
which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints
are not against us but against the Lord."
Think before you complain!
God now makes demands
Exodus 6:10-13
10 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 11 "Go
in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of
Israel go out of his land."
12 And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying,
"The children of Israel have not heeded me.
How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of
uncircumcised lips?"
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron,
and gave them a command for the children of
Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the
children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
God now demands that Pharaoh let them go!
God now make demands (v.10)
• Tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go
• Moses doesn’t want to be involved
– The Israelites don’t listen to Moses
– How will Pharaoh ever listen to Moses
– He feels he is a man of uncircumcised lips (that he
cannot speak very well) – remember that he grew
up and was trained in Pharaoh’s palace!
• God issues a command:
– directed at the Israelites: to leave Egypt
– directed at Pharaoh: he must let them go
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And
He shall direct your paths. (Prov 3:5-6)
The genealogy of
Moses & Aaron
(vs 14-26)
• Recorded now, as God is about to elevate
Moses & Aaron above the Pharaoh of Egypt
• Clearly shows that Moses & Aaron had no right
by natural descent to lead
• God chose them and elevated them to lead His
people – He is the potter!
• This genealogy only lists “the heads of their
fathers’ houses” – not all the family members
God’s election in action!
How does Amram fit in?
Exodus 6:18-21
18 And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar,
Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of
Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three. 19
The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These
are the families of Levi according to their
generations.
20 Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his
father's sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron
and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram
were one hundred and thirty-seven.
Either the Amram of v 20 is a different
Amram, or he had other wives before Jochebed
Kohath’s family numbered 8,600
Numbers 3:27-28 (NASB)
27 Of Kohath was the family of the
Amramites and the family of the Izharites
and the family of the Hebronites and the
family of the Uzzielites; these were the
families of the Kohathites. 28 In the
numbering of every male from a month
old and upward, there were 8,600,
performing the duties of the sanctuary.
If ¼ of Kohath’s family were of Amram,
Amram would have already numbered 2,150
The 430 and 400 years
430 years from the Promise to the Law (Gal 3:17)
400 years Abraham’s descendants to be sojourners (Gen 15:13)
60
Somehow in this period Kohath’s
descendants came to number 8600
A solution with only one Amram:
from The Exodus of Egypt by T. R. Birks
[in HP Mansfield’s Exodus Expositor]
• Kohathites at Exodus numbered 8600 (Num 3:27-28)
• Amramites should have been about ¼ of the 8600,
or about 2150 men
– That would mean Moses had 2,150 brothers and
brothers’ sons
– It is possible that the Amramites were a smaller group,
but still numbered over 1,000
• So, it’s possible Amram had other wives before
Jochebed, and many children, and that Jochebed
was a late daughter of Levi – she may have been
younger than Amram
Lessons from Today
• God must test our Faith: to prove it
genuine and develop patience
• Don’t blame others for our lives – trust
God
• Appreciate the patience of God
• God is always in control – sometimes we
just can’t see it
• Depression is devastating – meditate on
God’s faithfulness & goodness
• All complaining is really against God, so
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Lessons from Today
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