Exodus 5-8

God began to work out his plan of deliverance.  Moses would negotiate with Pharaoh for the emancipation of Israel.  The people must have thought that Moses’ argument would be so convincing that the Egyptian political structure would comply immediately.   What a plan!!!!  All the people of Israel believed in this plan.  I’ll bet they began packing.

But no sooner were the first words of the plan spoken that Pharaoh shut it down.  From the perspective of all the people of Israel God’s plan had failed.  Not only were they still in Egypt, but the workload they were facing had just become worse.  They had always been driven to make bricks and build.  But after Moses “interfered” Israel’s workers were insulted and forced to provide materials on their own.  The cuts in the government provisions became unbearable.  So much for the political solution that Israel, and maybe even Moses, had foreseen.  Not only did Pharaoh reject God’s plan so did the people of Israel.

The problem is the people’s plan was NOT God’s plan.  It was when Moses asked God why that God clarified his plan.  God had never expect mere words to do anything.  God had a plan of action.  Not action on behalf of the people, but his action.  His work would impact the lives of Israel, but it would also touch the sensitive places of Egypt.  Moses heard God’s plan and bought into it.  He didn’t hesitate this time like he did at the bush.  Moses rushed off and told the people what God was going to do.  But no one believed him.  Aaron may have been skeptical as well.  Moses wanted to know how he could convince Egypt if he couldn’t convince Israel to believe.  God had to straighten out Moses again; “You’re not going to convince anyone.  I am!”  Exodus 7:6 describes the reaction of the first two converts in God’s plan of redemption; “..Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the LORD commanded them.”  Out of over one million people in Israel God had found 2 people who believed in his plan.  Now God was ready to act.

Stuart