It is chilling to read that Pharaoh was a slave-driving force that sounds very similar to the force that held the same people group captive thousands of years later during World War II. Pharaoh made incessant demands on God's people and he made them work. They were tasked with making bricks and Pharaoh put slave drivers over them. So great was the Israelites suffering that they cried out to God for help. Pharaoh even tried to kill their babies. In all of this, the Israelites continued to multiply and stand up under the heavy load. Yet upon request that they be allowed to travel three days journey into the desert to worship Yahweh, the request was denied and they were shamed for trying to escape working. They were told they were lazy. Work must be done. WORK SETS YOU FREE is carved into heavy metal on the front gate at Dachau, one of the very first "work camps" that was opened before the war began. How these words must have mocked them as they walked through the gates and into the enemies hands.
The enemy has always wanted to keep Gods' people in chains- captive- and tell us that we must work harder to be free. He shames us and tells Gods precious people lies that cause grief and despair. We become stuck in an endless cycle of trying to give ourselves our own freedom, a respite from the enemies onslaught of defeat. But just like the day when time began, when we struggle for our own freedom the enemy entrenches us further; he drives a hard bargain.
Moses was tasked by God with the job of being His mouth to Pharaoh and the person He was going to use to bring freedom from the oppression His people were enduring. Hope was on the horizon. Yet when Moses asked Pharaoh to let them go into the desert to worship the Lord, Pharaoh refused, then proceeded to make the labor forced upon the Jews more severe. He would no longer supply the straw that they used to make their bricks, yet the same quota of bricks must be met each day. When the foremen could not succeed in this impossible task because the Israelites were "scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw" they were beaten. When they stood up for themselves to Pharaoh, he again accused Gods people of being lazy. The choke-hold around their necks got tighter as he reiterated his demands: they would be given no straw, and the same daily quota must be met. I imagine this must have been a bit like expecting construction to continue without any lumber mills. The already almost impossible task of producing large quantities of bricks just became impossible.
How could God promise freedom for this people and yet all earthly signs point to even more hopeless defeat than before? They told Moses, " Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people and you have not rescued your people at all." Hopelessness. Defeat. And did you catch the accusation in their voice? They had dared hope...but then sorrow crushed their hearts yet again. How could they know that Gods ways are not their own? How could they know that their eyes would see the mighty hand of God freeing them from impossible situations? We know because we read ahead...but these were real people with real heartache and real battles they fought daily both physically and mentally.
Exodus 4:31 says "And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped him." What is it about the Lords great compassion for us that just undoes us? And oh the struggle of human nature that doubts the Lords goodness when trial and tribulation overtake us...when we don't understand why the Lord would promise good but we just walk through life's storms. We become like the Israelites stuck in captivity who don't realize that the LORD fights for us. When we struggle in our own strength to overcome the enemy hold on our lives we forget that work is not what makes us free. Our natural tendency to strive to become something that we can be in man's eyes, whether it be skillful or admired, powerful or be seen as good enough can become stumbling blocks as we stand in full view of the Lord. He knows our hearts and He knows how we struggle...our God is a God of standards and He is Holy, but He is also a God of mercy.
There are battles in our life that we fight against an enemy just as real as the Pharaoh we read about in times past. There is a war that rages for our soul, and a God who already paid the price to win it. The enemy will always cause defeat and shame to rage unhindered in our souls... while the Lord beckons us to His side to find the forgiveness and quiet peace that only He can give. Oh how He longs for His children to have freedom in Him and to be set free from the chains of sin that entangle. This is the gospel message- this is the hope that is held out for us because He lived on this earth, died taking on the full dead weight of human sin of all mankind for all time, and then triumphed over the grave when he rose three days later. This is our victory! I hope with all my heart that if you are reading this, you know the Jesus who loves you and died to free you from your captors chains. I hope that we who know and love Jesus as our Savior choose daily to throw off the chains and dare to walk forward in hope even when our hearts are broken and we cannot see how to walk forward in freedom...when trial overtakes us, when sin chokes us and when the enemies taunts are real enough to cause our hearts to tremble with fear.
Sometimes we wait...and wait for the Lords answer. I don't believe that just because we are eternally saved that we will be saved from all life's trials. Time and again we read in Scripture about hero's of the faith who went through heart-crushing times, and they had their own failures (big ones). But time and again we see a heavenly story unfold and it tells the same tale of a God who sees, who loves, and who saves. As the Israelites were fleeing Pharaoh and were trapped against the sea...no going forward and no going back...the Lord moved.
"The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
Exodus 14:23-25
"In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling."
Exodus 15:13
This is the song of Moses, recorded after the Lord threw the enemy army into confusion and then proceeded to part a wall of water, allowing the Israelite people to walk free to the other side. Tests of faith were still to come for the Israelites but they had a God who was fighting for them. And He fights for us too. His love is unfailing and He is faithful to lead us, His people. He is a God of eternity who has always faithfully walked among His people and is still moving among us today, reminding us of stories just like this one to give us faith when our hearts doubt. He is good. He sees. and best of all- He redeems.
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