Devotional 6: Exodus 5-9

Exodus 5

How do you respond when you do the right thing and something bad happens? How do you act when you are doing the will of God and it does not go as you thought it would or God does not act when you were sure He was going to act?

At the start of the book of Exodus we see God talking to Moses and telling him exactly what to do and then he goes about doing it. However, Moses thought things would turn out differently than they did. He assumed that just because he was doing the will of God, that good things would happen – that Pharaoh would release the Israelites; that the Israelites would be thankful and that he would be feeling good.

But that is not what happened. Moses approached Pharaoh as God commanded and Pharaoh responded by making the lives of the Israelites harder. The Israelites went to talk to Pharaoh and it did not go well and they blamed Moses (5:21) and then Moses returned to God and asked Him “O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people…and You have not delivered Your people at all?” (Verse 22) – which is Moses way of blaming God. He is calling into question God’s character.

It is humbling to see how many times we blame God because things are not going the way we thought they would. Just like Moses we forget that God has made promises. In Chapter 6:1-5 we see God reminding Moses of who He is (v. 2; 3:14); the Promise to the Patriarchs (vv. 3-4; 3:6; 15-17) and I have heard your groaning (v. 5; 3:7). While we were made in the image of God, our character has significantly drifted from God’s and consequently, we do not see things the way God does and then we get mad at God when our plan is not working. Instead we need to remind ourselves of who God is. Yahweh is a God that does not lie, keeps His promises and is faithful even when we are not (cf. 2 Tim 2:13). It is not important what we think should happen. It is not important what we think God should do. Rather, what is important is that we be faithful to will of God despite any opposite and our own preconceived notions. What is important is that we always stay with God and let Him lead us and guide us to the “Promised Land.”