HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 426
EX O D U S 6
7 “Do not supply any more straw for making
bricks. Make the people get it themselves! 8 But
still require them to make the same number of
bricks as before. Don’t reduce the quota. They
are lazy. That’s why they are crying out, ‘Let us
go and offer sacrifices to our God.’ 9 Load them
down with more work. Make them sweat! That
will teach them to listen to lies!”
10 So the slave drivers and foremen went out
and told the people: “This is what Pharaoh
says: I will not provide any more straw for you.
11 Go and get it yourselves. Find it wherever you
can. But you must produce just as many bricks
• Adversity
E XO D U S 5 :4 -9
Moses, faithfully obeying God and
returning to Egypt, encounters adversity
as soon as he arrives. It didn’t take
Moses long to realize that Pharaoh wasn’t
going to just roll over and play dead. In
fact, after Moses’ first meeting with him,
Pharaoh forced the Hebrews to work
even harder. But God had a plan in mind.
Adversity often gives us an opportunity
to watch God’s power at work. If Pharaoh
had let the people go right away, there
would have been no plagues, no mighty
witness to the world of God’s great
power, and no story of God’s dramatic
rescue of his people to be told and
cherished by millions over the centuries
who have gone through great trials. When
you face adversity for being faithful, trust
God to use it to demonstrate his mighty
love and power.
• Patience
E XO D U S 5 :2 2 -2 3
Impatience usually has its roots in our
personal agendas. We have plans, we
are running late, we are in a hurry, we
want something and we want it now.
Having to wait frustrates us. Moses had
reluctantly accepted the assignment to
deliver God’s message to the pharaoh:
“Let my people go!” From his reaction
to Pharaoh’s rebuff, we can assume that
Moses had expected a more cooperative
response. His impatient outburst directed
at God reflects our tendency to obey only
so long as things go the way we expect.
The beginning of patience is surrendering
our agenda to God’s will and committing
ourselves to obedience over the long haul.
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as before!” 12 So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt in search of stubble to use
as straw.
13 Meanwhile, the Egyptian slave drivers continued to push hard. “Meet your daily quota
of bricks, just as you did when we provided
you with straw!” they demanded. 14 Then they
whipped the Israelite foremen they had put in
charge of the work crews. “Why haven’t you met
your quotas either yesterday or today?” they
demanded.
15 So the Israelite foremen went to Pharaoh
and pleaded with him. “Please don’t treat your
servants like this,” they begged. 16 “We are given
no straw, but the slave drivers still demand,
‘Make bricks!’ We are being beaten, but it isn’t
our fault! Your own people are to blame!”
17 But Pharaoh shouted, “You’re just lazy!
Lazy! That’s why you’re saying, ‘Let us go and
offer sacrifices to the Lord.’ 18 Now get back to
work! No straw will be given to you, but you
must still produce the full quota of bricks.”
19 The Israelite foremen could see that they
were in serious trouble when they were told,
“You must not reduce the number of bricks you
make each day.” 20 As they left Pharaoh’s court,
they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were
waiting outside for them. 21 The foremen said
to them, “May the Lord judge and punish you
for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands,
an excuse to kill us!”
22 Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble
on your own people, Lord? Why did you send
me? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your
spokesman, he has been even more brutal to
your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!”
Promises of Deliverance
Then the Lord told Moses, “Now you will
see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he
feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the
people go. In fact, he will force them to leave
his land!”
2 And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the
Lord.’* 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and
to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’*—but I
did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. 4 And
I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its
terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners.
5 You can be sure that I have heard the groans of
the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the
Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant
with them.
6
6:2 Yahweh is a transliteration of the proper name YHWH
that is sometimes rendered “Jehovah”; in this translation it is
usually rendered “the Lord” (note the use of small capitals).
6:3 El-Shaddai, which means “God Almighty,” is the name for
God used in Gen 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3.