I see the parable of the sower and the seed in beginning in chapter 4 and culminating in chapter 6. In chapter 4, verse 31 we see that the people believed and bowed in worship to God. We can assume they were so convinced that they were all leaving that they stopped working already, which is what prompted Pharaoh's reply in chapter 5, verse 4. Yet so quickly the people give up. In chapter 6, verse 9 we learn that the people had a broken spirit. They did not listen to Moses. There was God's seed sown into their hearts but no fertile ground upon which it could grow. Any broken spirits reading today? It is hard for God's promises to endure the heart of the broken. I believe that God walked the Israelites through the trials of being promised by Pharaoh and then repeatedly repealed because He was helping them help, re-build their spirit, but even then we see the pattern continuing once they arrive in the wilderness, ultimately an entire generation lost to their own unwillingness to grow in spirit so they could live in promise.
In reading 4:31 compared to the opening of chapter 5, I was convicted of my own impulsiveness. Chapter 5 begins with the word, "later." At the end of chapter 4, we see that the people now have a leader, there is supernatural power at work, everyone is ready to leave! Yet, the word "later" appears. I would have been the one in the room who said, "Okay, let's go wake up Pharaoh right now, what are we waiting for!" Pastor Carter Goolsby, a spiritual mentor of mine always said that when God is moving, speaking, we must ask three question: what is God saying, how is God saying it should be accomplished, and when is God saying..." We so often forget the the third.
I am always intrigued by the difference between what God promised the Israelites and what God instructed Moses and Aaron to request of Pharaoh. The two are very different. God promised them freedom and a return to the promised land. Yet, their request was a three days journey into the wilderness for a time of worship with the implication that they would return. I know there is a rich reservoir of truth in there that I have yet to fully discover and all the research I have done still leaves me lacking...that is the joy of reading every year...the depths of Scripture will always leave more to be found! One is however the great juxtaposition of Genesis 23, the story of Abraham negotiating with Ephron for the purchase of property and now Moses negotiating with Pharaoh. May we be reminded that God honors the upright, Ephron, but His judgment upon the openly rebellious is severe. I believe that when we read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, what we are to understand is that He will give us over to our depravity if we demand it and then, we become an instrument of His will to our destruction. We are all an instrument of His will, but may it be to life and not death!
Pastor Fred
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