A Consideration of Exodus 5:1-9 As It Applies To Today (Originally written 11-28-2020)

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said,

“This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’ ”

Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord , that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”

Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”

But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!”

Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”

That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people:

“You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
Exodus 5:1‭-‬9 NIV

To all of the children of God.

This has been quite a couple of years, from 2020 to present.

So much has happened in the world up to now that I have found myself on several occasions reviewing the Israelites in Egypt.

So imagine my surprise as early this morning while discussing Gods Word with my adult children we were led to read Exodus ch 3 and ch 4.

My son read on into chapter five and when I heard the above it amazed me because I recognized that  these verses are being fulfilled today.

Let me show you:

We love our Heavenly Father and we love Jesus Christ.

But in this world we live in (as aliens) the rulers of this land does not have the same respect for God; and therefore, they don’t have no more respect for us Christians than Pharoah had for the Israelites.

I began to notice how the things we are experiencing today (with the time stealers) is the same thing that happened to the Israelites in Egypt. (Notice the scripture on the attached picture above – Exodus 5:6-9)

Pharoah said for the workload of the Israelites to be increased because they had too much time on their hands that they would ask for time to go worship their God. And then he stopped supplying them with straw.

Pharoah said,
They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
Exodus 5:8b,9 NIV

Today, for those of us who love the Lord…
This looks like work requiring overtime.

Omg I got to show a portion of this next scripture that the Holy Spirit is reminding me of now, Matthew 13:3-23 (You might want to read the entire verses but I’m only going to share a portion of them.)

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:

19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away

22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” – Matthew 13:18-23 NIV

Check this out…

The seed that fell among thorns was choked by the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth.

That is the same thing that happens when people are so tired from work and the long hours spent working that they are too tired to spend time with God. Too tired for bible study.

They reason that they attend services on Sunday so they are good. But they don’t realize that we are really supposed to spend time with God every day (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2).

So, when we don’t spend quality time with the Lord we are being depleted of our strength.

You see, the bible study is to help remind you to take time to stop and increase your reserves of strength when you have allowed things to distract you from regularly daily reading from God’s Word.

When you choose to not attend bible study, if you are already not daily taking time out to be in the presence of the Lord, you will slowly begin to feel tired and weakened (physically, emotionally and spiritually drained), and you’ll find yourself asking people to pray for you when what you really need is to get into the presence of the Lord and let him fill you back up.

We take our cars to the gas station regularly, sometimes 2 or 3 times per week, to fill them back up. We fill and refill our refrigerators. But for some strange reason, we think Sunday service is all we need to get by. This is not what Gods Word tells us that the secret to success entails. (See Joshua 1:8)
So, yes, wealth is deceitful.

At the end of the day, all those long hours have a purpose that is found in Exodus 5:9. That purpose is to keep us so distracted that we won’t have time to pay attention.

Ironically, this is the goal of the adversary – to keep us not paying attention. He doesn’t care what church we go to. He doesnt care what denomination we belong to. He just wants to get us out of the presence of the Lord.

When we are not in Gods presence, we are easily weighed down, easily entangled.

So my last scripture that I’m going to share is found at Hebrews 12

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son?

It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children.

For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”

The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Hebrews 12:1‭-‬29 NIV

Now that is some power and encouragement and I’m not going to let Pharoah take that from me by keeping me, or making me, too busy.

This is my exodus…