[And He Walks With Me] Exodus 5
1 Religious festivals were common among the nations of the Ancient Near East. Such festivals were almost always held at the deity’s place of residence, generally a temple or the location of that god’s statue.[23] Consequently, Moses’ request to allow the Israelites to hold a festival for [God] in the wilderness made sense to the Egyptians.
By prefacing his words with This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, Moses made clear that his request was made on behalf of God.
2 Pharaoh scoffed at God’s demand for at least two reasons. First, it was commonly thought that deities were bound to certain geographic regions. This was Egyptian territory, with its own panoply of gods. In fact, Pharaoh himself was regarded as a god. Therefore, Pharaoh no doubt considered the God of Israel impotent and his demand moot. Second, this dismissal was affirmed by the Egyptian dominance over the people of Israel. It was assumed that the Egyptian gods were superior because the Egyptian people were superior.
3 Moses’ request is exactly what God prescribed in 3:18.[24] The three-day journey carried the idea of a pilgrimage, which was a familiar concept to both Hebrews and Arabs.[25] The need to travel to such a remote location is explained by the intent to sacrifice to the Lord our God. Because the Egyptians worshiped many different animals, they considered caring for live animals detestable, and slaughtering them even more so.[26]
4-5 Instead of acknowledging the Egyptians’ fear of the Hebrews (see 1:10, 12), Pharaoh takes the typical path of the bully. His words here have two effects. First, they remind the Israelites of their place in his order: they are the laborers rather than the rulers. Second, they present Pharaoh as the real victim: if Israel left, they would ruin Egypt’s economy.
6-9 Pharaoh’s response to the demand to release the Hebrews was to make things worse for the Hebrews. Specifically, he ordered that the overseers and foremen stop supplying straw for making bricks. Straw acted as an essential binding agent, dramatically improving the strength of the brick similar to rebar in a concrete structure today. The effect was that the Israelite slaves were forced to go and gather straw for themselves, doing all the work of the harvest, and still produce the same quota of bricks… as they were making before. Make no mistake. You may have a fantastic vision for a radically better future, but more often than not, realizing that vision will involve sacrificing even what you do have. Things will get harder before they get better, and any visionary leader must be willing to pay that price in order to reach the promised land.
Pharaoh’s response was hardly surprising. The loss of the Israelite workforce would have devastated the Egyptian economy. Worse, the establishment of a large, unified nation of Israelites would upset the power dynamic of the region. The people groups occupying the territory surrounding Egypt ranged from nomads with no meaningful military at all to independent city-states. These cities had kings, fortifications, and militaries, but they could never match the scale of the Egyptian army. The Israelites had that potential, and their experience as slaves in Egypt would incline them toward hostility. In fact, God predicted at the burning bush that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, even under force from a strong hand (3:19). It is funny how, even with obvious challenges and explicit warnings, we are nevertheless shocked when our plans do not quickly and easily come to fruition.
14 The added requirement to gather straw (6-9) made it impossible for the Hebrews to meet the stringent brick quotas. Consequently, the Israelite foremen… were beaten by Pharaoh’s slave drivers. This exacerbated the problem because it was even more difficult to harvest the straw and make the bricks when injured.
19-21 The hardships faced when working to realize vision will often place a significant strain on the relationships of those working. Often, this takes the form of people losing morale and is expressed through people questioning and even challenging leaders. Leaders should acknowledge this from the start, warning people that the task ahead should not be easy and anticipating the most likely challenges that will be faced. It is important to notice that people questioning the leader and even abandoning the cause does not necessarily mean the leader is not anointed or the cause outside of God’s will.
22-23 If the people will often question leaders when hardship comes (19-21), who does the leader question? Some will respond with self-doubt, but often, like Moses, the leader’s first response will be to question God. It is imperative to notice at this juncture that hardship did not mean God did not call, is not with the leader, or will not see the vision through to fruition. It is equally imperative to notice that God did not respond to Moses’ question with defensiveness or anger (see 6:1). When we come to God with sincere questions or even doubts, especially when we are in a posture of faithful obedience, he welcomes them!
[23] Wells 2016, Exodus 5:1
[24] Adeyemo 2010, Exodus 5:1-21
[25] Adeyemo 2010, Exodus 5:1-21
[26] Adeyemo 2010, Exodus 5:1-21