Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends on this first day of October 2021;
Do you remember what it feels like to take the first big step in a major plan you’ve developed? Of course the biggest question in your heart is… ‘What will happen as I take this first big step after so much thought and preparation and planning’? Remember the sense of anxiety that maybe something will go wrong, maybe you missed something in the planning, or maybe you’ll be blind sided by something so obvious you can’t believe you missed it. Or maybe, just maybe, things will go just as planned, just as you hoped.
Yesterday I left us walking with Moses and his family, and probably Aaron, back toward Egypt. Their plans were being developed as they walked. Today let’s join them, as they arrive in Egypt and engage in the first big step of this gigantic project which is so big, so preposterous, only God could have come up with the idea and the plan. Exodus 4:29 says: “Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses…”
Exactly who these ‘elders’ of the Israelites are, we don’t know. There is no registry given to us with a list of the names of those in this first meeting. Probably they were older, well respected men from each of the major clans and certainly good representation from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. Those ‘tribes’, you’ll recall’ are the descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob. Family lineage was very important to the Hebrews. It appears Aaron was well known among them. Perhaps he was considered one of the leaders of his tribe, the tribe of Levi. Moses was likely a legend in that Aaron may well have many times told the story of his younger brother when Moses was growing up in the royal family in the palace. Perhaps many people were watching to see what God would do with Moses, a Hebrew adopted into the royal family. But then when Moses was stripped of his royalty and exiled by the Pharaoh, all hopes of change were dashed for the Hebrew slaves.
Can you imagine, therefore, the amazement of these elders when Aaron got up to speak to them in this assembly. Look at them as I give you an idea of what Aaron may have said to them: ‘Thank you my fellow elders and leaders of Israel, for coming today at my invitation. I believe this meeting may be historic for us, our families, our descendants and our entire nation. The man you see sitting here among us may look like a foreigner, but he is one of us. His journey has been remarkable and he has had an encounter with our God, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He has a message for us which could change the future for us and our children. This man is none other than my brother Moses…” Now look around the room at their astonishment! I think Aaron just paused, maybe for a long time, allowing this moment to realize it’s full potential.
Perhaps all Moses said was something like this: “Yes, it’s true, it is me, Moses. Drawn up out of the Nile river as a baby by Pharaoh’s daughter and adopted by her into the royal family. You know I lived and was educated in the palace and on track to become at least one of the high ranking princes in Egypt, but then everything changed the day I came to the aid of one of our men being beaten by his slavemaster. I killed that slavemaster in defense of that helpless man. I don’t even know the name of the man I defended. But it cost me everything. Pharaoh striped me of my position in the royal family and exiled me, as you know. For the past many years I’ve been living with a family in Midian, learning to care for sheep, and learning about God. Then suddenly, just the other day, I had an encounter with a burning bush that was not being consumed as it burned. As I approached it, a voice called me by my name and told me I was having an encounter with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that God had a very clear and powerful message for me to bring to you. I’ve explained it to Aaron, and he will now explain it to you…”
And so evidently Aaron retold all that Moses had told him about that hillside adventure with the burning bush and the voice of God. But that wasn’t all. Aaron then took Moses’ staff and did exactly what God had told Moses to do as miraculous signs to prove God was the author of all this. Moses’ staff became a snake, and I presume either Aaron or Moses picked it up by the tail, as Moses had done on the hillside. Why do I say that? Because here’s what the Exodus record tells us: “Aaron also performed the miraculous signs before the people, and they believed.” I imagine Moses didn’t simply sit there quietly. I have to believe he jumped up and added his personal comments, probably with great emotion, as he explained his experience with the snake. Perhaps Moses then explained about his leprous hand experience and put his hand inside his cloak and sure enough… leprosy, just like it had happened on the hillside.
Evidently Aaron continued, explaining God’s concern for them and God’s promise to bring His miraculous power against Pharaoh so that eventually Pharaoh would actually allow them to leave Egypt and their slavery! The Exodus record reports it this way: “And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.” (Ex. 4:31)
Now how long did this meeting take? An hour or two or three? And when did it happen, late in the evening after a long day of slavery work? We don’t know. But what we do know is they believed what Aaron and Moses told them, and by the end of this historic meeting, things had begun to change among the Hebrew slaves in Egypt... at least among those elders and leaders who had heard and seen amazing things. Can you imagine the conversations when these leaders got home to their families that night?
Was it already the next morning Moses and Aaron took the next step in this great plan, as God had instructed them? What step… go seek an audience with the Pharaoh!! I doubt Moses slept that night, as he tried to imagine walking back into that palace which had been so familiar to him many years ago. Only this time the Pharaoh would not be the man he had known as the father of his Egyptian mother. This time the Pharaoh would be that Pharaoh’s son, the man with whom Moses had grown up in that palace. I imagine Moses had worked this initial meeting with Pharaoh a hundred times in his mind since God had told him to return to Egypt to meet the Pharaoh. I wonder how much Moses prayed that night?
As Moses and Aaron approached the palace none of us can imagine the emotions, the memories, the feelings inside Moses as he looked around at the sites, the people. Perhaps he even recognized some of the guards as they came to the first entrance. What explanation could they give of who they were and why they sought an audience with the Pharaoh? Somehow they were permitted past those first guards, then past the second, and finally to the doorway of the court of the Pharaoh. Moses’ heart was in his throat, Aaron was probably beyond overwhelmed by the beauty and pageantry he saw. Finally, they were permitted in, and they stood before the Pharaoh. The Exodus record says: “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 desert.” (Ex. 5:1)
All eyes fixed on the Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world. What Moses and Aaron have just said is beyond preposterous, beyond foolish. Only an idiot would say such a thing to this great Pharaoh. With a swipe of his hand Pharaoh could have them beheaded right where they stand. Perhaps he’d show a little mercy and simply have them beaten and thrown in the dungeon. His royal officials, his guards, all held their breath. What will Pharaoh do? The record says he spoke only a few strong words: “Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the LORD, that I should obey Him and let Israel go? I do not know this LORD and I will not let Israel go.” The guards and the royal officials all nodded their heads in agreement, I’m sure. The great Pharaoh is a god himself, and there is no power greater than he on earth. The Egyptian gods are man fabricated with no real power except to pacify a simple people who sometimes need something to believe in.
The guards step forward to usher Moses and Aaron out of Pharaoh’s presence, but Aaron speaks up: “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, or He may strike us with plagues or the sword.” Moses had not heard any such threat from the voice at the burning bush. I can see Moses looking at Aaron out of the corner of his eye wondering where that idea came from, but before Moses could speak, Pharaoh spoke again, this time in a harsh voice: “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work! Look, the people of the land are now numerous and you are stopping them from working.” (Ex. 5:4,5) And with a swipe of his hand, Pharaoh turned his back on them and this conversation came to an abrupt end, and Moses and Aaron were escorted out of the most powerful room in the world. Once outside the palace I wonder what they said to each other? I’m sure they were grateful to be alive and unharmed… but now what? Moses remembered God had said He would harden Pharaoh’s heart, and they had seen Pharaoh’s hard heart, but what should they do now? God had not given them instructions about what to do or say if Pharaoh said “NO and get out”!
Has that ever happened to you my friends? What do you do when you don’t know what to do, when you feel your road just came to an end. What do you do when the path you were on was your best effort to follow God’s leading in your life? Exodus doesn’t tell us what they did, but I presume they went somewhere to talk with God, hoping God would give them instructions for their next step. May I invite us to do the same this Friday as a new month begins? Seek God today, asking Him to make clear to you the path He wants you to walk this month. There will be surprises, there always is… that’s why it’s so important to be sure you are walking with lock step with Jesus. That’s why I call this “Walking with Jesus”! And here’s a song to help us find the right path my friends… I hope October is a great month for you!!
Today’s Scripture is Exodus 4:29-5:5.
Choose below to read or listen.
Exodus 4:29-31
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Exodus 5:1-5.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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