Ever felt like you were oppressed to the point that you believed life was without purpose, meaning or profit. God calls us out of such a situation. But we must be brought to that point. In the case of the Israelites it was done through slavery and making bricks without straw.
Exodus 5: Making Bricks Without Straw
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'"
2 But Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go."
3 Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword."
4 But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens."
5 And Pharaoh said, "Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!"
6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen,
7 "You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, 'Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.'
9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labour at it and pay no regard to lying words."
10 So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, "Thus says Pharaoh, 'I will not give you straw.
11 Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.'"
12 So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
13 The taskmasters were urgent, saying, "Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw."
14 And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, "Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?"
15 Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, "Why do you treat your servants like this?
16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, 'Make bricks!' And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people."
17 But he said, "You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.'
18 Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks."
19 The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, "You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day."
20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh;
21 and they said to them, "The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
22 Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, "O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all."
Exodus 6: God Promises Deliverance
1 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."
2 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 the LORD I did not make myself known to them.
4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.
5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.'"
9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
10 So the LORD said to Moses,
11 "Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land."
12 But Moses said to the LORD, "Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?"
13 But the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron
14 These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon.
16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years.
17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans.
18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years.
19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations.
20 Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years.
21 The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
22 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23 Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
24 The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites.
25 Eleazar, Aaron's son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites by their clans.
26 These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said: "Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts."
27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.
28 On the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
29 the LORD said to Moses, "I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you."
30 But Moses said to the LORD, "Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?"
Things to think about…
In Exodus 5 things get harder before they get better. The Israelites were told to make bricks within being supplied straw after God had told Moses to tell Pharaoh to release His people. I remember when I left recruitment with a huge tax bill, no income, a house mortgage and a $1000 per month car payment wondering where God was when I had no money, only obedience. It didn’t take long before He miraculously answered. If God tells you to do something then do it. As we have heard if it’s God’s will, it’s God’s bill. He will provide.
Pharaoh criticises Moses and the Israelites for wanting to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Have you ever been criticised for giving your finances and offerings to the church. I certainly have. Our response to God’s goodness is worship. It should be personal through our devotional life as well as the way we live, but it should also be corporate as we gather as a church every week. Never make an excuse for ignoring either one. The most powerful Pharaoh is the one within. Rebuke him sharply, he does not speak on God’s behalf.
God said He didn’t reveal Himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by His name, Ex 6:2,3. The Lord has revealed Himself to Moses by name, “I AM”. Jesus of course used this title in John 8 and the Pharisees wanted to stone Him. They knew exactly what He was saying. Jesus was proclaiming Himself as the Lord, the same One who revealed Himself to Moses and delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt after performing many signs and wonders. This is worthy of meditation.
In Ex 6:1-13 God says that the time has come for His promises to be fulfilled for Israel to inherit their land. Moses still has doubts and reservations, Ex 6:12,13, 30. We have promises in Christ that He will build His church. He simply says “go therefore and make disciples” Mt 28:19. Let’s not make excuses why we shouldn’t go.
Did not judge people if they are too broken to listen to you. The children of Israel didn’t listen to Moses because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery, Ex 6:9. Sometimes we need enough space and peace in our lives to move in a healthy direction from the Lord. Often the first ministry to broken people is healing and peace before we give them the gospel of repentance and salvation. The children of Israel needed to see the Lord’s mighty hand on display before they could believe that He would deliver them from their bondage.
Moses says he is of “uncircumcised lips”, Ex 6:13, 30. He still has doubts about God’s preparedness of him for this ministry. We can often doubt in the same way, especially when we have had some bad news and things don’t seem to be being blessed as the Lord had promised. It’s in these times where we need to be disciplined enough to wait and see the Lord’s salvation.
I am amazed at the testimony of the scriptures. Look at the ages of some within the genealogy of Israel. Two guys lived to 137 (Levi and Amram) and one to 133 (Kohath). No-one lives this long now, but these were the last remnants of those who were recorded as living well beyond 900 years. Why do we doubt God’s word? No-one doubts that Abraham lived. Does anyone doubt he lived to 175? Where do we start and stop once the scissors come out against the scriptures? Better leaving them in the drawer.
VisionPoint! For cell groups from Sunday morning’s message.
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell group’s on break for 2 weeks.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for our “Beirut Blessing” fund. Will be sent off this week. $1200 raised.
2. Continue to pray for Victoria and clusters around Ipswich, numbers of infections are going down, but the increased lockdown will see many businesses go under and depression and mental health to be a problem in the state.
4. Continue to pray for our government for wisdom and economic management.
6. Sunday’s messages. The message this week – “Whose that you say?” Exod 3– Pr Jay.
7. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
8. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
Praise Points.
1. Luke’s preaching from Matt 22. Thanks Luke!
2. Wonderful worship led by Dan, Suzanne, Jean, Rod, Zac. Thanks guys!
3. Finances continue to be maintained.
4. Wonderful spirit of joy in our church. Thankyou Jesus.
5. Donations to Café roof ($5,175) and Blessing Beirut ($1200). Thankyou!
6. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
7. Praise God for all those who serve at CBC.
Announcements
1. Prayer meetings on break for 2 weeks. Please continue to pray for CBC however.
2. One service at 9:30am Every Sunday morning. This service will also be live streamed on Youtube. No kisses, hand-shakes or hugs are allowed. Hand sanitizer is to be used, tables will be wiped and chairs arranged for appropriate distancing. Families can of course sit together. CBC is allowed up to 50 people inside, then we have an overflow in the cafe.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Kids Church will be run in the house when the message starts.
