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Awesome Hands – part 45

“ Let my son go, that he may serve me”

In the previous study, we saw that Moses was told how to serve the Lord though Moses doubted each step of the way what the Lord told Moses were His commandments.

By the end of chapter 4, Moses was told to go to the Pharaoh and deliver the message of the Lord in order to deliver God’s chosen people from the bondage of the Pharaoh.

Before Moses gets to that point in chapter 5, Moses is told how to handle the serpent which God has placed in the power of Moses’ hand. Additionally, Moses is instructed that he must first take care of his own household in order for him to be able to deliver the same message to the Pharaoh.

In today’s study, we are going to see that the Pharaoh is delivered a message from Moses which will cause the Pharaoh to make it extremely hard for the people of God is listen to God’s commandments to serve Him alone via a sacrifice.

As a recap to lead up to the study today, I will read a few of the ending verses of chapter 4 of Exodus.

Exo 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
Exo 4:23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
Exo 4:24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.
Exo 4:25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.
Exo 4:26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

Indeed, the circumcision or covenant that God makes with His chosen people is even one that our wife, typifying babylon of which we must “come out of,” will balk at the idea of what it is we must do when we listen diligently to the Words of our Lord.

Pharaoh and Moses wife are one in spirit when they rebel and confront us about the message we deliver to them when we say, “thus saith the Lord”.

“Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go”

 Exo 5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

Exo 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

Remember, God had already told Moses that He was going to harden the Pharaoh’s heart, so this response is not unexpected.

However, there are a few points that make the Pharaoh’s initial response telling about how it is for all of us when we are first presented with the “Word of the Lord”.

Notice, Moses and Aaron present the words of the Lord in such a way as to say that the Lord has said that He wants a FEAST held for Him in the wilderness, but I thought they were going to the wilderness to sacrifice?

Exo 3:18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.

Exo 5:8 And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

So, could it be that this sacrifice in the wilderness is one and the same as a feast held for the Lord?

1Sa 15:21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

What we are reading and learning about in chapter 5 of Exodus is that the Lord is very keen on having His commandments obeyed.

When we present the Words of the Lord, He expects them to be obeyed. Yet, we cannot offer our own version of the sacrifice He requires. Otherwise, we are NOT giving the FEAST unto the Lord that He requires.

The “feast” is none other than what we see given to us in type and shadow of the Works that the Lord puts in our hands to do. The works are His works, and when we go about doing things our way or not according to the exact specifications that He requires, then “our sacrifice” and “His feast” are not ACCEPTED.

Here are a few examples of this idea in type and shadow.

Exo 10:9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.

Lev 23:39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.

Lev 23:41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.

Num 29:12 And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:

Deu 16:15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

When we come delivering the message of the Lord, we are doing so because the Lord has spoken to US and has told US what it is He requires of us.

When we deliver this message saying the Lord will send us pestilence and/ or the sword, those we are speaking these things to will NOT be favorable at first or at all.

Exo 5:3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.
Exo 5:4 And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.
Exo 5:5 And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

“The Lord will send us destruction or fall upon us with the sword”. This doesn’t sound favorable to those who are delivering the message, and for the old man in us all, this is NOT a good prognosis.

Spiritually speaking, this is happening to ALL of us because the Lord is speaking His Word to the “king of Egypt” in us all.

The king of Egypt’s response is very revealing because it represents the flesh and the king which rules it!

“let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.”

In other words, let the flesh continue to do the works it does that satisfies itself and as for the messenger of God, “GO ABOUT YOUR OWN WORKS!”

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

The “king of Egypt” tells us that there are too many people being made IDLE by what we are telling him are the commandments of the Lord. The “king of Egypt” tells us that all we are doing is telling people to do NOTHING!

How many times have we been told, “So if God is doing it all, then what is there left for us to do, what is the point in doing anything?” This is the same mindset that blinds those who we are sent to deliver this message to.

“Building the tower of confusion”

Exo 5:6 And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,
Exo 5:7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
Exo 5:8 And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
Exo 5:9 Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

When the old man feels threatened and knows he is thrust into was with the new man Christ, the Word of God, the old man instantly makes things harder for us in order that we not “regard vain words”.

The true vanity however is in the actions and words of the old man! Not only are we going to be required to do what we always have, but the amount of energy and work it took to get the same result before is going to double or triple!

We are going to “gather straw” just to be able to build this false house we are constructing within ourselves as the tower of bable, the tower of confusion!

Gen 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
Gen 11:2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
Gen 11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
Gen 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
Gen 11:5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
Gen 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Gen 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
Gen 11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Gen 11:9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Indeed, what we are seeing told to the new man within us by the old man as this spiritual war takes place is:

Luk 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Luk 14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Luk 14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

When we try to actually do the work the Lord commands of us, such as going “3 days journey into the wilderness to hold a feast/ sacrifice unto the Lord,” the old man will make it as hard as possible for us because the old man in me and in those around me wants me to “build my own tower” and claim it is “God’s house”.

Exo 5:10 And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.
Exo 5:11 Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.
Exo 5:12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
Exo 5:13 And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.
Exo 5:14 And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?

When this situation took place for the Israelites, it must have been very hard. Not only do they have to provide their own straw, all they could find is stubble.

So, not only did they have to find a material that had already been provided for them before, they now have to work with something they hadn’t previously been required to work with.

Stubble is not straw so it would be harder to keep on task for the king than ever before.

This can and is likened to the result our family, friends and peers have when we tell them the Truth of scripture. When we present the Light of the Word to those in darkness, there is nothing they can do but be taken aback and dismayed at what they are hearing.

Next, they will make our lives a “living hell” so to speak, because now we have set the standard of “we must go and serve the Lord who has appeared to US,” and when we claim such things, they will CALL US OUT on it and how us to a much higher standard, just as the “king of Egypt” can be seen doing to the Israelites.

The “king of Egypt” and the Israelites are direct types of what happens with the old and new man in ALL OF US.

“Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants”

As this is playing out, we will have extreme doubts about what the Lord is doing in our lives. “What if I am wrong? Am I not being compassionate enough about my beliefs affecting others? My family doesn’t deserve my beliefs forced on them by my none- participation, etc”

This can be seen in type in the elders of Israel petitioning “the king” for this injustice; only the flesh has NO ANSWER for the ways the Lord works out His own counsel.

Exo 5:15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?
Exo 5:16 There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.
Exo 5:17 But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.
Exo 5:18 Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.
Exo 5:19 And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

Now if you are paying attention, this is a desperate situation for the Israelites. They have to keep up with the same pace of making bricks as they have always had to.

They have now went directly to the king to try to get some relief, and the response of the king is basically, “if you have time to day dream about worshipping your God, then you have plenty of time on your hands.”

This is the same spiritual for us when we FINALLY figure out that we can of ourselves DO NOTHING to help our plight. We can NOT gain relief from “working this out on our own”. So, we go to the “messenger” to seek relief and to complain.

Exo 5:20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
Exo 5:21 And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
Exo 5:22 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
Exo 5:23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

Those we are sent to eventually get back to the same mindset we all have at one time or another.

This mindset is one of, “I wish I hadn’t known the truth I know now or this is too hard for the flesh so I want to turn back to what I once knew and did”.

Additionally, there is a time when we experience the despair of knowing we have been used to deliver the Truth of the Word of God to someone only to learn of the work of the Lord in that person’s life.

In other words, when the Lord starts burning away the “wood, hay and stubble” we have accumulated with the old man, it isn’t going to be a “pretty sight” or an enjoyable experience for anyone involved.

As messengers of the Lord, saviors who have the Words of Life, we need to be praying to the Lord to strengthen us with the Faith of Christ to know God is working out all things for good.

Next study, we are going to hear the response by the Lord to our lack of Faith. He is going to remind us of who He is and the covenant He has made with us as our Lord and confirm with us that we need a “new heart and a new mind,” His mind!

Exo 6:12 And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?