Monday, March 30, 2015

Exodus 6: It Took God

It's a wonder that the Israelites were ever freed from their slavery in Egypt!  Certainly the text shows that it was nothing short of a miracle from the hand of God.

The Israelites themselves were too dispirited and discouraged to believe in the words of hope offered by Moses.  After the first round with Pharaoh ended with their workload increased, they were no longer interested in empty promises of deliverance.  "Moses told this to the Israelites; but they would not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery" (vs. 9).

Pharaoh surely wasn't going to budge.  He was operating out of a position of fear and loathing of the Israelites.  He was only interested in keeping them subjugated and working hard.  He didn't want them even dreaming of leaving, much less actually escaping his grasp!

Even Moses seemed ready to throw in the towel.  "But Moses spoke to the Lord, 'The Israelites have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?'" (vs. 12).

There is only one person in this whole episode who wasn't ready to quit: God.  It took the determination of the Lord to keep His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (vs. 4).  The Exodus is not a man-made event; it was manifestly the will of God and it required the power of God to be realized.

It took God.

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