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Moses asked God a Question
Why Did You Send Me?
"And they [Israelites] said to them [Moses & Aaron], 'Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.'"
Bible Study Article Covers : Exodus 5:22-23
In the last article, we saw how the Israelites had gone and requested an audience to meet with Pharaoh. They wanted to get him to ease or eliminate the work decree he had placed on them, but Pharaoh would refuse their request. And to make matters worse, Pharaoh told the Israelites that this work decree was levied against them because of the request that Moses and Aaron had made a short while ago:
"So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, 'You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. 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." Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.'" -- Exodus 5:6-9
Needless-to-say that at this moment, the Israelites weren't too happy with Moses and Aaron at this point: "Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. And they said to them, 'Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.'" -- Exodus 5:20,21
It amazes me how people will turn against or retreat so quickly from their moral positions when it involves the risk of causing their situations to get a little bit more complicated or intense. And to be honest, it's also these types of circumstances that would cause a Christian leader to give pause, in regards to being bold and fearless, when it comes to making a stance on what they know to be true, as well.
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I Don't Want Any Trouble
So, we have what would be considered a double-edged sword since the individual believer doesn't have enough faith in God to take a chance to stand by their beliefs in the face of opposition. Then you have the Christian leader who has a deep concern (perhaps love) for their flock and so, therefore, avoids controversies that will bring them unwanted social issues that may bring problems to their flock's personal lives.
We also have to keep in mind that most Christians don't want to see themselves as causing problems, or being controversial, simply because they have good hearts and a mindset of trying to help people. And because of pride, most people resist the help or advice that's being offered, and so, therefore, believers would somewhat mind their own business and deal with their personal lives instead. They simply want to be left to themselves, and they don't want any trouble or be the cause of any.
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God Wants the Best For Us
And this is the position that we now find the Israelites in, for we see that they had grown accustomed to their slave labor lives and their low standing from within the Egyptian kingdom. They had been in this position for so long that their horrible situation had become the norm for them. It's all they knew. But God had something far better for them, and the Lord had made a promise back in the days of Abraham that He will make Abraham's seed into a great nation, and rest assured, a great nation they will become because God keeps His promises.
But the Israelites were limited when it came to their expectations about themselves, and they had no clue when it came to their connection with God and the type of future that He had planned for them. So in other words, they didn't know the process that God was orchestrating on their behalf. This is why I can't fault them for being faithless.
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Moses Approaches God?
But now it's revealed that Moses had gone to go and have a little talk with God after he and his brother were approached and confronted by some angry Israelites: "And they [Israelites] said to them [Moses & Aaron], 'Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.'"
Now let's move forward and take a look at what Moses had said to God: "So Moses returned to the Lord and said: "Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? 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." -- Exodus 5:22,23
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My Lord! Why Me?
Here we find that Moses didn't know God's process either, and this is why we find him questioning God at this time. For you see, Moses thought things would get better for the Israelites, not worse. Now, generally at this time, Christian leaders and Bible teachers will hit Moses on a faith issue at this point. And when you look at this text from the surface, the criticism would seem warranted.
I mean, after all, Moses, did you not see or remember the signs that the Lord has done through you while you were at the burning bush? You know, those signs that convinced you to move forward with God's calling? Again Moses, those same signs that convinced Aaron and the Israelite elders to follow you as well? Moses, do you not remember, and if you do, then why are you asking God: "Why is it You have sent me?"
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Moses' Faith? - I'm Not Touching It?
You see, I guess I could hit Moses when it comes to his lack of faith at this point if I were to look at it, just from the surface. However, those of you who have been following me throughout God's Word know that I don't look at the surface; I like to go beyond the text. So let's do that real quick, shall we?
First off, as you may have guessed by now, I disagree that this is necessary a faith issue for Moses at this point within his ministry. Yeah, I can see how most would cringe at that statement. But when it comes to "faith," the Sacred Text tells us that: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." -- Romans 10:17
And rest assured, Moses was able to do more than hear; he saw. And this is why I believe that Moses had tremendous faith at this early point within his ministry. Seriously, stop shaking your head in disgust and take a look at what he has done up to this point.
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Well To Begin With?
Keep in mind that it took tremendous faith for him to go back to a country that had perhaps, a bounty on his head for his past crime of murder. Moses heard God's Word, and through this "Word," he acted. Second, he had enough faith to be able to face his people. Perhaps this may sound easy to some, but remember that his own people mocked and ridiculed Moses when he had tried to help them once before.
Know that it took not only courage for him to do this but also enormous faith in God. Next, it took great faith on his part when it came to Moses coming before the mighty Pharaoh and putting forth the request, which eventually made Pharaoh angry.
As you can see, I don't think Moses had a faith problem at this point per se. And to be honest, most of us today (including Christian leaders) wouldn't have done near the things that Moses had done up to this point. Heck, we're afraid of offending somebody, being called some kind of a name, or being labeled in some type of negative way. Something tells me that perhaps we should examine our own faith level before slam Moses' - Amen.
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Moses' Loving Heart?
His problem was that he had a tremendous amount of love for his people when it came to Moses. Now read that again if you have to. Moses's love for his people caused him to grieve when he saw them being severely punished for something he had done. Understand that Moses was only trying to help while obeying God. You see, in Moses' mind, this wasn't supposed to happen.
This man wasn't on some self-serving type of mission, for if he was, he would have said: "Damn the torpedoes of affliction and persecution. Full speed ahead!" No, what you have here is Moses reaching out to God because of the tremendous amount of love that he has for the Israelites. And who knows, maybe it was Moses' loving heart that caused God to choose Moses in the first place?
Bible Study Online - The Creation Stage
In the next Bible Study Online Article:
In the following article, we will learn what God had to tell Moses, and we will see if Moses will be encouraged to continue forth in his ministry. What about Pharaoh? Does he get away with treating God's people this way?
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