Read with Me
Exodus 5:1-5 (HCSB)
Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: Let My people go, so that they may hold a festival for Me in the wilderness.”
But Pharaoh responded, “Who is Yahweh that I should obey Him by letting Israel go? I do not know anything about Yahweh, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”
Then they answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God, or else He may strike us with plague or sword.”
The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your work!” Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from working.”
Listen with Me
After the elders of Israel were convinced of the reality of Moses’ encounter with God and of the genuineness of the message of hope he had brought to them, the next stop for Moses and Aaron was Pharaoh. Aaron delivered Moses’ message unhesitatingly: release God’s people, the Israelites. The form of the verb used here does not indicate a leave of absence, but a complete release. Once the Israelites had gone, Aaron’s clear words indicated that they would not return.
Thus, Aaron’s indication that the purpose of the release was to hold a festival in the desert east of Egypt was not dishonest. In fact, since Egypt’s territory encompassed the entire Sinai Peninsula, God was informing Pharaoh that the intent was to travel a three-day journey beyond that – all the way to Mount Horeb in the land of Moab. That was the intended destination where the feast would be held and the sacrifices made. It was also entirely outside of Pharaoh’s authority and his ability to bring them back once they left!
Pharaoh was not impressed by Moses’ words spoken through Aaron. For one thing, Pharaoh had never heard of this God, Yahweh. There were many gods worshiped in Egypt, but Yahweh wasn’t one of them. And as far as Pharaoh was concerned, he owed no allegiance to this foreign God.
Aaron’s counter argument was that the Lord was such a powerful God that they did not dare to disobey Him. He was capable of bringing a plague on the whole nation of Israel if His commandment was ignored. This also heavily implied that He could bring a plague or the sword against the whole nation of Egypt if Pharaoh did not comply with His demands.
But again, Pharaoh was unimpressed. He saw this as a distraction to the people from their work at best, and as an incitement to discontent and rebellion at worst. So, his immediate response was to crush any hope of rebellion before it could get started.
Pray with Me
Father, I am impressed by the fact that You gave Pharaoh fair warning of Your demands as well as helping him to understand what You are capable of if those demands were not met. Thus, he became completely responsible for all that happened to his country after he hardened his heart against You. Jesus did the same with the religious leaders in Judah, giving them fair warning of the destruction that would be unleashed against both them and the nation if they didn’t abandoned their opposition to Him. And there are plenty of other dire warnings throughout the Scriptures that should be sufficient to warn anyone away from opposing You and Your offer of salvation. Lord, help me to always heed Your warnings and reform my ways if I ever do go astray, even a little, so that I can live in Your blessings, not under Your punishment. Amen.