EXODUS 6 - JOY IS COMING

Exodus 6

Chapter 6 of Exodus is a hard chapter to read. We find Moses hitting rock bottom. With great fanfare and excitement he has introduced himself to the people of Israel. With great fanfare and lofty pronouncements he has introduced himself to Pharoah. But Pharoah’s reaction was not as expected. Things did not go as Moses planned, but that does not mean they did not go as God planned.

In chapter 6 we find Pharoah has not only rejected Moses’ demand (from God) that he let the Jews go, but he has increased their work load and eliminated the straw that is essential in making bricks. In chapter 6 we find a defeated Moses and a despondent group of Israelites— ”Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.”

What a picture of all of us when things go badly.

So often we can’t believe when things are going poorly that we are in God’s will. And yet, our circumstances do not define our relationship to God or our place in this world. Throughout the bible, we find where God’s people are the most distressed, is often when they are most where God wants them. And we must all learn to not do what the Israelites have done; close their ears to the words and wisdom of God. When we are struggling we most need to remind ourselves of the promises of God and we most need to be in His word and open to His teaching. And then, when we see God’s promises come to fulfillment, we will more eagerly and enthusiastically give Him praise and glory.

In the midst of our crisis, God is not despondent, and never is he shaken by our circumstances.

But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” Five times in this Chapter God will declare, I am the Lord. Five times he will remind Moses. It is the message we need to hear and understand most when we become blinded by the difficulties in our life. God has not lost his seat on the throne, he remains the Lord and he remains in control.

In the middle of chapter 6, beginning in verse 14 there is a strange shift. In the midst of describing this difficult situation, the Bible suddenly begins to recount the names of the leaders of the house of Israel. It is a strange and abrupt digression. But God wants us to know that His deliverance of Israel (like His deliverance for us) was not indifferent and detached. God new the name and history of every single leader of Israel. They were not suffering in anonymity to God. These were real individuals that he cared for individually and personally; and so are you.

You are not a nameless, faceless, human to God.

As David reminds us in Psalm 139, each of us was formed by God and knitted together by Him in our mother’s womb. David praises God because he is fearfully and wonderfully made. So are you. None of us are a mistake and each of us is personally known by God. God knows you and he sees you. He knows and he sees your suffering. He has not forgotten you and his redemption is at hand. But we must learn to cling to Him and seek Him during our darkest moments. He is the only true source of salvation. As God promises in Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”