Knowing the Lord - Part I

Well this morning we press on now in the book of Exodus and we're going to do all of chapter 5 this morning and this is if you look at your bulletin you'll notice it says part 1. So this is a two-part focus on ways that we are meant to know the Lord and it'll be somewhat broad in a specific way this morning and the next week it'll be a little more particular as we look at chapter 6 verses 1 through 9 but this is all under the umbrella knowing the Lord.

And as we think about knowing the Lord I hope we'll pick up some some good things that will carry us not just through chapters 5 and 6 but really all the way to chapter 15 especially what we're talking about this morning.

There are essentially two demands that Exodus 5 gives to us. The first demand is let the people go and the second demand is let the Lord judge. Those are going to be the two poles that drive us through the text this morning.

Let the People Go and Pharaoh's Refusal

Let the people go and let the Lord judge. So first let the people go. Beginning in verse 1. Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh thus says the Lord God of Israel let my people go that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.

And Pharaoh said who is the Lord. That I should obey his voice to let Israel go. I do not know the Lord nor will I let Israel go. The scene begins with Moses and Aaron going into. Pharaoh were reminded that Moses has essentially forfeited his right to be the main spokesman for the Lord between Pharaoh and Moses.

Now we have Aaron. That's a reminder that because of his lack of faith he forfeited this great privilege. And now wherever he goes Aaron goes with him to speak on his behalf. We're gonna see that again in chapter 6 we're also reminded of the boldness of Moses though he's been stepped down and is reliant on Aaron to be his mouthpiece.

He is still a very bold man and he's going in to confront Pharaoh. Just a reminder. Pharaoh is not like a modern-day politician. He's the ruler of Egypt. This is not a ruler that if he walked into some restaurant in Ohio the waiter could refuse to serve him.

You know we don't welcome you. You know rulers of the GOP party in our establishment. Pharaoh comes into your restaurant. You serve him. The whole populace serves him. He has supreme authority. He's divinized in the people's eyes.

He sits in the realm of the gods as it were. He himself is a living God. And Moses and Aaron go into him to declare the true words of the true and living God. And this presumption this arrogance is shown in his response who is the Lord.

That I should obey his voice. People obey my voice. Pharaoh says I don't obey anyone's voice. Who is this Lord. Who is Yahweh. I don't know him and I'm not going to listen to him. It's a rhetorical question.

Who is the Lord. He's not asking for information. Oh who is this Lord that you speak of. Now tell me more about him. I've never heard of Yahweh. Now. This is a rhetorical question and it's expressing indignation.

So it's not like Paul in Acts 9 when the great brightness shows up on the road to Damascus and he says who are you Lord. The Lord says Jesus whom you persecute. No no. This isn't that kind of encounter.

It's not that kind of question. Who is the Lord that I should obey him. I don't recognize his authority. This response is not only the response of Pharaoh to Moses. This is essentially the response of everyone whether spoken or unspoken who doesn't believe upon the Lord for salvation.

That might as well say as arrogantly as Pharaoh says it who's the Lord. That I should obey him. Who's the Lord that I should listen to his word. Why should I change my way to the way of the Lord. I will not do it.

I do not recognize his authority. So if you find Pharaoh stubborn and you're not a believer in the Lord maybe even if you are a believer in the Lord take a look at the mirror very carefully. In chapter 3 verse 11 Moses says who am I.

That I should go into Pharaoh. And here Pharaoh says who's the Lord. That you should come in to me. So again we see this contest between Pharaoh and the Lord God. Of course the answer to the question is what we saw in the burning bush chapter in chapter 3.

Who is the Lord. He's the Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. He's Yahweh. He's the great I am. He's ah say of himself transcendent self-subsisting self-existent the Creator God the God of Israel who visits the affliction of his children and by his mighty hand moves forward his people from bondage to liberty from misery to freedom as he reveals his salvation to them.

That's who the Lord God is a Pharaoh may not know the Lord at chapter 5 but he will know the Lord by chapter 15. Throughout the Exodus story Pharaoh will come to know the Lord and he'll come to know the Lord of the most fearful way imaginable.

Moses and Aaron press forward. They said the God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go three days journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.

You can see some of the bargaining tactics here. They make it something rational something easy to give permission toward. They even give sort of a veiled threat. But they do it in a way that they combine themselves to it lest he fall upon us with pestilence in sorts he would be in this boat together.

So they're trying to put themselves up on Pharaoh's level if we don't. If we don't obey God in this matter disaster will fall upon all of us. We don't want that for the Egyptians or the Hebrews Pharaoh and by the way it's just a three-day journey to go and celebrate him.

It's something very reasonable to give permission toward it simply three days journey. It's not saying we want to go three days time but rather to a place that's about three days away. The point seems to be not that they could make it back to Horeb in three days unless they were all like Usain Bolt or something.

The point would be to get into the desert to get out of the land of Egypt. When we get to chapter 8 Moses says one of the reasons he wants to go into the wilderness is because the way they will sacrifice would be an offense to the Egyptians.

So he looks to remove himself and remove his offense from the Egyptians to go into the desert just a three days journey to sacrifice to the Lord. Isn't that a reasonable request. And of course Hebrews as slaves whenever the Egyptians had any sort of festive occasion they would have been free from work just like their masters were free from work.

This is not a request that had never been granted before. For many religious occasions Hebrew slaves were allowed to be free for a period of time. And even with the veiled thread of pestilence and sword which to a superstitious polytheist would be something to hedge your bets against.

Well if you're saying there's this God and it's a God of your people and there's this kind of threat on the line. Well then I'm not gonna risk anything with that. Go and feast come back and we'll smooth things over.

But Pharaoh refuses. The king of Egypt. We of course know he's the king of Egypt. But again we're giving this language to show the contrast the king the Lord God versus the king of Egypt. Moses and Aaron.

Why do you take the people from their work. Get back to your labor. And Pharaoh said look the people of the land are many now and you make them rest from their labor. So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers saying you shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before.

Let them go and gather straw for themselves. You shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it for they are idle. Therefore they cry out let us go and sacrifice to our God.

Let more work be laid on the men that they may labor in it and let them not regard false words. Now this response already shows Pharaoh becoming unhinged. He's already slowly moving toward this stubborn position this incalcitrant view toward the Hebrews and their poverty.

Already we see he's devising a punishment. Perhaps as a strategy. Perhaps he wants to alienate Moses from the people. But either way he commands that the same quota be demanded from the slaves. Yet without straw being provided.

Now they would have to go and gather straw for themselves. Straw and mud bricks. How does that work. The best that I could come up with. Of course this is mud that was taken from the Nile banks a sort of red clay like mud.

And they would chop up straw as a way not only of binding the clay together but once the the clay and the straw was put together as the straw began to decay it would basically become humic acid which would fortify and strengthen the bricks.

And so it was a necessary component for the building projects. And yet it was a lot more work to gather up straw. Already they were as slaves working to the uttermost to get the brick production up to quota.

By the way I came across what I think is perhaps the best exposition or enlarging of the Eighth Commandment that I've ever read. And I don't know where it came from. Some of it is companies from a catechism but the rest of it I think is just ad-lib.

And I don't even know where I came across it but I had it in my notes. The Eighth Commandment here applies the Eighth Commandment. Of course being you shall not steal. So you have Pharaoh saying I'm no longer going to supply you straw.

You have to make the same quota. Your life's gonna be incredibly difficult now because you have to gather the straw and make the bricks lest you be beaten or worse. Well how does the Eighth Commandment.

You shall not steal. Apply to this. Listen to this. You shall not steal. Not only prohibits the violation of our neighbor's private property it also means we are not to willfully impede our neighbor's success.

We are not to restrain his progress. We are not to restrict his development or to take advantage of any of his circumstances. That's the Eighth Commandment. That's a beautiful exposition of the Eighth Commandment always seeking the good of the other not putting undue burdens that would prevent your neighbor from succeeding or getting ahead or in any way taking advantage of their circumstances to your own benefit.

That is a violation of the Eighth Commandment. It's stealing as it were their means of labor their means of provision. And that's what we see in verse 9. Let more work be laid on the men. This wasn't a nine-to-five gig.

This wasn't 40 hours. And they punch out. They were slaves. They were already working around the clock working their fingers to the bone as it were. Now it's let more work be made laid on the men. That's a translation.

The Hebrews literally let the work be heavy. Make the work miserable. Make it intolerable. Make them groan. Make them weep. Make them despair of life. Make the work heavy. And don't let them back. Force them into it drive them into it.

There almost is becoming unhinged here. But there's also a strategy. If the workload of the slaves is made even more burdensome they'll be so exhausted. They just don't have time to daydream about Moses in the Word of the Lord.

John McKay points this out. If they're exhausted they will not be favorably impressed by what Moses or Aaron say. And that's true. Exhaustion has that effect on people. We're not just souls. We're not just attached to brains.

We're bodies and souls. That's what a human being is. And exhaustion has a profound effect on our spiritual receptivity. If you are exhausted physically it is that much harder for you to receive the Word of the Lord or to have any hope in the Word of the Lord.

People despair of life itself. When they're exhausted they become devoid of hope. Even the hope of living even the will to live. Because of that sheer profound exhaustion with life. And that seems to be perhaps Pharaoh's desire.

They're gonna have no hope in the words of Moses. Because I'm gonna drive out all hope from them bodily. Let them not regard false words. Verse 9. Let them not regard lies. That would be another possible translation.

So here's Pharaoh saying Moses Aaron you are liars. I do not recognize your God. I do not believe in your God. I do not believe this word of your God. I do not believe your words. And let all the Hebrews know not to believe these lies these false words.

So you have the showdown not only between the Lord and Pharaoh between the Word of the Lord and the Word of Pharaoh. And what is the truth. God's Word. What is the lie. Pharaoh's words. They're idle. They're idle.

They're idle. And he refuses to give rest to the people of God. So the Lord is going to act and give his people rest from Pharaoh. You can see this is all about the contest all about the showdown. God will come and give his people the rest.

That Pharaoh refuses to give his people. Interesting case right now before the Supreme Court. Gerald Groff from Pennsylvania who is a retired postal worker. He had been a missionary and parts of Africa I believe maybe some other places as well.

And when he came back he just wanted a simple job and a simple life. And so he worked for the Postal Service. No problem then as an evangelical Christian to have the Lord's Day free from work. Nice cushy government job.

Until they signed a contract with Amazon for Sunday deliveries and Gerald Groff made it clear I don't work on the Lord's Day. Of course every day he went in for two years he did what he could to not make that burdensome on his co-workers taking Thanksgiving's or other holiday shifts.

And he always felt like he had this sort of axe hovering above his neck. And eventually I don't know if he was dismissed or he just was on leave or retired. But now there's this case by Groff going before the Supreme Court over this very issue.

Will there be religious accommodation. You should look into this case. They they're saying it's very significant and I think the response to it at a cultural level is very telling of what we might be heading toward especially in the legal realm.

This is something that we happen to have a concert of a majority on the Supreme Court with. That's a good thing. But the tide the generational tide is shifting in a pretty alarming way. And really where is our culture going.

They're going after the way of Pharaoh. Yes who is Gerald Groff. He's idle idle idle. Let him work. We all have to work seven days a week 365 days a year. Pharaoh does not want to give the people rest.

Oh that's where we are today. There used to be even in the state blue laws. This wasn't an option. Gerald Groff wasn't in the headlines as some anomaly. This was just culturally accepted. You couldn't go anywhere.

You couldn't do anything on the Lord's Day. How that has shifted now to this hurried rat race where the idea is we always must be working. There cannot be rest. There cannot be anything like restoration.

And in fact your marriage your family your livelihood everything must be sacrificed on the altar of commerce. So the way of God comes against this rebellion spirit. That's what it is. It's a spirit of battle reincarnate.

The Word of God comes and it says no there's a different way for life. Because I did not make man for labor I made labor for man. And man is not made for the Sabbath. But the Sabbath is made for man. So the Word of God comes and it calls the world back to its rightful order back to the logic of creation through redemption.

And it urges people to live in an entirely different way. And when that way when that word of that way comes to the pharaohs of our culture what do they say. Lies false words. It's just idleness. You've got a buck up just like the rest of us.

And where that word is not heated as we'll see through chapter 15 judgment follows. Judgment follows nation that whittles itself to the bone. Thinking this will be the key to economic integrity will find the surprising judgment of God imploding their economic integrity.

What does Moses do. He makes the Nile a stench before the Lord the very source of the wealth and prowess of Egypt becomes an abomination in the land. Nevertheless the order of Pharaoh goes forth. The taskmasters of the people and the officers went out spoke to the people saying thus says Pharaoh I will not give you straw.

Go get yourself straw where you can find it. Yet none of your work will be reduced. So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. Finding anything and everything they could.

And the taskmasters forced them to hurry saying fulfill your work your daily quota as there was when there was straw. And now we're introduced in the text to these officers these would have been representatives among the Hebrews.

They would have been like foremen and a construction site. They go between the directives of the taskmasters to the people as intermediaries of the work. And so these foremen have a certain position within Pharaoh's court a certain established authority.

And we see these officers now are going to carry us through the rest of chapter 5. The officers of the children of Israel whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them you see these were appointed by Pharaoh's taskmasters.

You could put it this way. They were in cahoots with Pharaoh's court. We'll see that in more ways than one. The officers of the children of Israel whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them were beaten and were asked why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today as before.

So then the officers of the children of Israel came and they cried out to Pharaoh why are you dealing this way with your servants. There's no straw given to your servants. And they say make brick. And indeed your servants are beaten but the faults in your own people.

But Pharaoh again maybe they thought it would be a sympathetic audience what my taskmasters are doing. What. Well that's insane. Of course you need straw. How else could the bricks be made. Of course you couldn't fulfill your quota.

If you're gathering straw. Maybe they thought he would be sympathetic to them. Maybe they thought there was this a big miscommunication. And if only Pharaoh could hear them like in the Soviet Union people that were being rounded up to be summarily executed or at least shoved into the gulag camps they often would cry out for Stalin.

This is a huge misunderstanding. If only Joseph Stalin could be here he would know meanwhile what is Stalin doing. He's the one that's actually orchestrating it all tragic. Of course Pharaoh responds you are idle must have been a shock idle.

Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord. You say because you're idle. Therefore go now and work. No straw will be given to you. And you shall deliver the quota of bricks. And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble when it was said to them you shall not reduce any bricks from your quota.

So again we have this contrast the Word of the Lord and the Word of Pharaoh. Moses and Aaron had said in verse 1 this is what the Lord says. And here we read verse 10 this is what Pharaoh says. That's the great showdown in the passage.

And by the way there's always a contrast like this. There's no shortage of pharaohs in our day. There's always a contrast between the Word of the Lord and the Word of Pharaoh. In whatever form Pharaoh may be rarely and I mean rarely does the Word of the Lord and the Word of Pharaoh line up almost always throughout history the Word of the Lord goes against the Word of Pharaoh.

And now that this contest is in motion now that there's this burdensome demand bricks without straw and not one less leading to a disgruntled and worn-down workforce. We're almost led to wonder who's the winner here.

What's the endgame of this. Pharaoh is seizing his power in a brutal cruel way. He doesn't want to let his labor force leave his empire not even for a three-day journey to celebrate a feast in the desert.

And as he grasps his power with this animistic malevolence you can see that Pharaoh is already becoming irrational. And if he was trying to preserve the power of his empire he's maneuvering in a way that now he's undermining it now he's maneuvering to his own ruin.

To put this kind of burden this kind of work and to alienate the workforce in this way will not lead to his success or his longevity. It will lead to his downfall. And so here already in Exodus chapter 5 we see the beginning of what I would call civilized irrationality.

Civilized irrationality. Listen. This makes no sense. This makes no sense. Pharaoh. What is your endgame. What is your goal. What are you doing. How is this gonna lead to your success. In any way. How is this gonna further your power or your kingdom.

It might momentarily it's gonna crumble from the inside out. The officers cry out why are you dealing this way with your servants. And they're expecting a reasonable reply. They're expecting a reasonable response.

Oh now that you raise this concern now that I see clearly how irrational this is. Let me deal with you in a right way in a just way. Well listen to me believers wake up. That's not gonna happen. Look very carefully here at the beginning of civilized irrationality.

When you go to those in power and you lay out a very just sound case and you expect a reasonable response and a just treatment in response. Is that coming to the Hebrews. No. Is that coming for Christians in certain first world nations and in Western civilization at this time.

No. Pharaoh had a hardened heart of unbelief. And the thing about a hardened heart of unbelief is that the hardening moves you not only away from what is righteous and good as defined by God but in tow with that eventually what is sound what is reasonable what is self-evident it becomes so irrational that evil is called good and good is called evil.

That is civilized irrationality. And you cannot think well of course they were so primitive so many thousands of years ago. You see how highly evolved we are. Look at our technological sophistication.

These kinds of things couldn't happen now not in the age of of news media spread so far and wide instant news around the world. These kinds of things could not happen. Just say open your eyes. Germany was the leading nation heading into the 20th century.

It was premier among all first world nations among all European nations in science and engineering technology literature philosophy theology in the civilized irrationality in Germany after World War one led to the systemic murder of the Holocaust.

That's civilized irrationality. Evil called good good called evil. Are we not in those days today. Could we not look around and say we are living in a day when evil is called good and the most educated and sophisticated and well cultured among us do things that are evil and they celebrate them as if they're good when mutilation and the dehumanization of what God has made is seen as a moral good affirmation we are living in these days.

I was reading there's a man that died out in Nebraska. Maybe you read that this week look Leroy Carhart well known he was a physician that provided late term abortions one of the pioneering physicians if he's worthy of that name to give third trimester abortions even what at least we would call partial birth abortions.

I was reading an NPR article that was sort of functioning as an obituary for Carhart. At some point in the article they referenced the the animus that pro-life activists had against Carhart for obvious reasons and though charges were never filed and the investigation was inconclusive they they noted that when he was receiving a lot of threatening letters his family farm was burned down.

We don't condone that kind of violence. But it was said in this article in a way that really struck me. Remember this man was a lightning pole of controversy in this sort of pro-life pro-abortion struggle.

And he was notorious a target for activists because he condoned and practiced up until he could not in Nebraska third trimester abortions and partial birth abortions. And this is what the NPR article said.

Carhart's farm burned down the fire killed 17 horses a cat and a dog. This article was not very long and they felt it necessary to say think of how horrific and tragic this is. A farm was burned down and 17 horses and a cat and a dog were lost in that fire to have the gall to think that is something that we should shed a tear over for a man who was butchering children as they were being born.

That is civilized irrationality. But no one deceive you with empty words. Paul says because of these things the wrath of God comes upon sons of disobedience. Pharaoh has a lot of empty words. Idleness idleness idleness idleness.

But no one deceive you with empty words. Because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Here are the Hebrew foreman and they're crying out. And Pharaoh in his pride in his cruelty is almost laughing giving you no rest.

I'm not reducing the quota. I'm not relenting. And the more you grovel and the more you fight against it the more I will add the more I will take from you. He's almost laughing. But as Christians were meant to see even the midst of that affliction it is actually the Lord who is laughing.

Never the tyrant never the oppressor but always the Lord. Psalm 37. You could also look at Psalm 73. But Psalm 37 I'll just begin in verse 12 the wicked plots against the just gnashes at him with his teeth.

What is the Lord doing. What does Pharaoh think the Lord's doing. He doesn't even recognize the Lord's authority. Who's the Lord. I'm the one who has the power. I'm the one who gets to laugh. I'm the one who does what I want to do.

What does Psalm 37 say. The Lord is the one who's laughing. The Lord laughs at him. Why he sees his day is coming. Pharaoh thinks he has all this power and his cruelty is almost unrestrained. Why is the Lord laughing.

Because he sees his day is coming. Verse 16. This is a good reminder. I think these are the things that we need to remind our children of in this sort of climate today where there's just a time it's funny.

I was getting a haircut in the hairdresser was going on about her 22 year old son and she was just saying oh you know he's just mopes around and he's full of despair. And I just can't figure out what it is.

And I said you know I think we live in a day of instant gratification. We just want everything now. We expect to have everything now. And if we can't have it now it's not worth doing anything to obtain it.

And so this 22 year old boy you know everything's instantaneous and given to him. And he looks around at other people. And you know they just record themselves on tic-tac and make a hundred thousand dollars.

It's like instant gratification. Did I say tic-tac. I'm at tick-tock. My white hair is showing yet. So we look at that and we say we live in this day of instant gratification. And I think we need to warn our children that the things that the culture says are worth aspiring for are not worth aspiring for the things that you ought to labor long and hard for the things that often are worth laboring long and hard for.

And I love this wisdom from Psalm 37. A little that a righteous man has is better than many riches of the wicked. That's wisdom. The little that a righteous man has is better than the many riches of the wicked.

Why. The arms of the wicked will be broken. But the Lord will uphold the righteous. He knows the days of the upright. Their inheritance is forever. That's wisdom. So secondly beginning in verse 20 we we go from.

Let the Lord Judge: Moses, the Foremen, and Rejection

Let the let the people go to now. Let the Lord judge. Verse 20. We're still looking with these Hebrew officers these foremen as they came out from Pharaoh they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them.

And they said to them what the Lord look on you and judge. You've made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. You put a sword in their hand to kill us. You see how defeated these four men are.

They thought they would gain a rational hearing. They got the opposite sent away dejected. They see Moses and Aaron. And though it's Pharaoh who's made of the burden intolerable it's the foreman who say not to Pharaoh but to Moses and Aaron.

Let the Lord look on you and judge. I find this to be the height of irony. Let the Lord look on you and judge Moses let the Lord judge. Who do you think. Sent us. Let the Lord judge. Why do you think we're here.

Why do you think in the last chapter you were bowing down and worshiping when we share with you the Word of God. Did you forget that already the Israelites are the ones speaking here like they don't know the Lord either.

Pharaoh doesn't know the Lord. He doesn't receive his word. And now the Israelites these foremen they don't know the Lord. Let the Lord look and judge. How could this be happening. They don't even recognize their own irrationality.

They're going after Moses and Aaron instead of Pharaoh who's causing all of their misery. They were so concerned they wanted just to grovel back to the way things were. And that's always the temptation.

Isn't it to go slinking back to the way things were. Oh it was nice when we had that little daydream about liberation and God moving in a mighty way. Well we got a taste of what that might cost us. And no thank you we'll go back to slavery please.

These officers again are basically foremen in the court of Pharaoh. And as such I think they were very concerned about their position in their rank before Pharaoh. It's kind of that sad phenomenon. You see it if you ever seen Schindler's List certain attendants in the work camps or in the Polish ghettos even though they were sort of the off scouring to the Nazis or to the SS they held this position of authority and they basically lorded it over their fellow captives.

And I wonder if these four men were something like that. And now their position is threatened and they feel the heat of Pharaoh's anger. And it enrages them against Moses and Aaron. It shows who they're actually giving deference to Pharaoh not Moses Pharaoh.

That's why they go to Pharaoh to beg and not to the Lord in prayer. Chapter 4 ended with this beautiful reception. We read there the people believed. And when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that he looked upon their affliction they bowed their heads and they worshipped.

But now what are they doing. They're not bowing their heads. They're not worshiping. They're murmuring. They're complaining. They're saying to Moses and Aaron the Lord judge you let the Lord judge you.

And so chapter 5 opens with not only discouragement but ultimately rejection. It's the first foretaste of them rejecting the leadership of Moses. Remember pliable and Pilgrim's Progress rate early on in Pilgrim's Progress when Christian is alarmed by what he has read and he flees from the city of destruction.

And he goes out with such a haste and alarm calling for them to flee from the city that two neighbors come out after him. Remember obstinate and pliable. And pliable of course unlike obstinate pliable is actually quite pleased with what he hears.

Oh well what is this land like that you're going to. And how will you get there. And oh this all sounds so wonderful. I guess I'll go with you. And what happens as soon as they hit the slow of despond.

It's just like the Hebrews here at the end of chapter 5 as soon as the difficulty comes this is what pliable says. It says. Pliable began to be offended. And he angrily said to his fellow is this what you told me of all this while if we have such ill speed at our first time out what can we expect between now and our journeys end.

And we read he went away. Christians saw him no more. I wonder if Bunyan in the 17th century met a lot of men that could have been called pliable. You know here I am in the security of the Anglican Church.

But what you're preaching and what you're saying is true. And I I guess yeah I guess I just need to go with you. And I need to stand out for my faith. And as soon as that difficulty comes this isn't for me.

That's what the Hebrew foremen are like here. And Moses like genuine Christians had to press on. He had to bear that sense of rejection. It was one thing for Moses to be rejected by Pharaoh. He knew that he was going to be rejected by Pharaoh.

God told him that he was going to be rejected by Pharaoh. Remember that wasn't really his concern. His concern back in chapter 3 was what if the people don't receive me. What if they don't believe that you sent me.

And then we read at the end of chapter 4 when he came and he said the words of the Lord to them and he did the signs of the Lord to them. They all believed and they all worshipped. He was on a spiritual high.

Let Moses reject me. I'm here with my people and we're waiting on the Lord. But now look at Moses. Now the people have rejected him. Now he's on his own and this directly affects him. Verse 22 and 23.

Moses returned to the Lord and said Lord why have you brought trouble on this people. Why have you sent me since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name. He's done evil to this people. Neither have you delivered your people at all.

Moses now is filled with doubt and that's not a good look on a leader. Moses is filled with doubts and it's not a good look. You almost want to jump back into the page and you know charlie horse's shoulder and say you of little faith.

Did you forget what God said he would do. But even though doubt is not a good look on a leader we can at least appreciate this. He takes his doubt to the right place. We read. Moses returned to the Lord.