It's Gonna Get Worse Before...

So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the staff of God. And the Lord told Moses, “When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles I have empowered you to do. But I will harden his heart so he will refuse to let the people go. Then you will tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. I commanded you, “Let my son go, so he can worship me.” But since you have refused, I will now kill your firstborn son!’ ”

Exodus 4:20-23

Harden his heart?

What does God mean by harden Pharaoh’s heart?

What would be the point of making his heart hard? (Answer in following passages)

Firstborn?

God reveals to Moses that Israel is His “Firstborn son”.

That escalated fast!

Moses goes to see Pharaoh

Exodus 5:1–5 NLT

1 After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.” 2 “Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” 3 But Aaron and Moses persisted. “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared. “So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.” 4 Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work! 5 Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.”

Exodus 5:1-5

Bricks without straw

Have you ever been shot down before you even started asking for what you wanted?

Exodus 5:19–21 NLT

The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.” As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them. The foremen said to them, “May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!”

Who’s fault is it that the brick makers have no straw? Who is being blamed?

Exodus

Have you ever tried to improve an area of your life? Did things get better or worse?

Who is the victim here? Why does this scene seem backwards?

Exodus 5:19–21 NLT

19 The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.” 20 As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them. 21 The foremen said to them, “May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!”

Did I do that?

Moses, what have you done?

What do you think about the foreman’s statement to Moses? How would you reply to them?

Have you ever tried to help someone and you seemingly made things worse?

Moses cool under pressure

Exodus 5:22–23 NLT

22 Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!”

Just Kidding, Moses freaks out! (God, it’s your fault!)

What do you think about Moses statement to God? What would you say to God?

God Reaffirms His Promise

Exodus 6:1 NLT

Then the Lord told Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the people go. In fact, he will force them to leave his land!”

Exodus 6:1

Go tell the people

Exodus 6:6–8 NLT

6 “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. 8 I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!’ ”

Exodus 6:6-

Too scared to listen!

Exodus 6:9 NLT

So Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.

Exodus 6:9

Just Kidding!

Have you ever tried to help someone that was too scared or too hurt to receive your help? What did you do?

God sends Moses back to Pharaoh

Exodus 6:10–13 NLT

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go back to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and tell him to let the people of Israel leave his country.” 12 “But Lord!” Moses objected. “My own people won’t listen to me anymore. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen? I’m such a clumsy speaker!” 13 But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders for the Israelites and for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt.

Exodus 6:10-

“The Pharaohs had a favorite and effective strategy to keep their slaves in bondage: keep them fighting among themselves. The divide-and-conquer technique has been a potent weapon in the arsenal of oppression. But when slaves unite, the Red Seas of history open and the Egypts of slavery crumble.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (Where Do We Go from Here? Chaos or Community [New York: Harper & Row, 1967], p. 124) puts it this way: “The Pharaohs had a favorite and effective strategy to keep their slaves in bondage: keep them fighting among themselves. The divide-and-conquer technique has been a potent weapon in the arsenal of oppression. But when slaves unite, the Red Seas of history open and the Egypts of slavery crumble.”