Read with Me
Exodus 5:6-14 (HCSB)
That day Pharaoh commanded the overseers of the people as well as their foremen: “Don’t continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves. But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers—that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words.”
So the overseers and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not giving you straw. Go get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’ ” So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The overseers insisted, “Finish your assigned work each day, just as you did when straw was provided.” Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s slave drivers had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why haven’t you finished making your prescribed number of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”
Listen with Me
Pharaoh responded quickly to the strong words and threats of Moses and Aaron. Far from giving in to them, he saw them as being a challenge to his authority. Pharaoh believed himself to be, in a spiritual sense, a god in his own right. But he also believed that he had become Pharaoh through the favor and the direct action of the gods themselves. So, for Pharaoh, there was much more at stake here than just a battle of wills. If he gave in to Moses’ demands, he would be seen as weak by the people – not divine and not even favored by the gods. And that could easily result in anarchy, coup attempts, and even assassination.
His immediate response was to discourage the people by drastically increasing their workload. His intention was not only to discredit Moses and Aaron by keeping their promise from coming true, but to push the whole Israelite community into survival mode so that they would have no energy to even think about freedom.
His methodology was to stop providing straw for the brick makers. Bricks made of clay alone are not very strong. They tend to crumble as pressure on them increases. So, a binder of some kind, like straw, is added to the clay before it is formed in bricks. The fibers in the straw hold the clay together, thus making the bricks many times stronger.
The Israelites could not just switch to making weak bricks. Those wouldn’t pass inspection. So, they had to get their own binder by going into the fields around the clay-making centers and gather the stubble left behind after the harvest. This took extra time, and it took workers off the casting lines. And that put them far below their production quotas. Their biggest problem was the Pharaoh refused to lower their quotas. The workers were punished for not producing as much as before, even though their circumstances had changed drastically.
Pray with Me
Father, throughout history, the fulfillment of Your promises has taken time, and it has often faced obstacles from the forces of darkness. Now, just as much as then, our job is to stand firm even in the hard times between Your promise and its fulfillment, because if we stop, You stop, and the fulfillment won’t come. Help me to be patient and faithful in all the waiting times, Lord. Amen.