It Got Worse

Genesis 5:1-23

“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.” (Exodus 5:1)

After sharing his position and getting the support of the Israelite leaders, Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh requesting permission to go into the wilderness to worship their God.

“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.” (Exodus 5:2)

In Abraham’s day the Pharaoh had known the Lord. Six hundred fifty years later, the Pharaoh in Moses’ day did not know the Lord. In fact the religion of Egypt had changed to the point the Pharaoh himself was worshipped as a God. The entire religion and government centered on him. In his arrogance he no longer considered any God beyond himself.

“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.” (Exodus 5:3)

Israel had not worshipped God freely for most of the time they had been in Egypt. They were only requesting permission to worship their God and thus turn away his wrath for their unfaithfulness.

“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. And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. 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. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.” (Exodus 5:4-9)

By granting their request, Pharaoh believed he would be acknowledging that some God had more authority than he did. Determined to teach them a lesson, he decided to increase the burden on them. Totalitarian regimes throughout history have become more repressive and cruel at any suggestion that they should grant a little freedom.

“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. Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.

So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.” (Exodus 5:10-13)

Pharaoh’s command gives us a very strong evidence both of the historical accuracy of the book and of the dates involved. In the first part of the Middle Kingdom public works were built out of quarried stone. Later, high quality brick was used and remains of these structures are still common today. After about 1660 BC, the quality of materials used in brick making deteriorated dramatically, replacing straw with trash for reinforcement. Few ruins from that period exist today. Unfortunately, most historians have Accepted Ussher’s chronology and ignored this record.

“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? Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? 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.” (Exodus 5:14-16)

Stunned by the increased demands and stiffened penalties for failure, the Hebrew leaders appealed to Pharaoh for relief, insisting they would not be able to maintain the production and quality under the new rules.

“But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.” (Exodus 5:17-18)

Unfortunately most policy makers have been chosen from people who have little or no contact with the people doing the actual job. As a result, they begin to place unreasonable demands on the people they depend on, and cannot understand that it is impossible to meet the demands without sacrificing something else. Pharaoh had never had to make bricks and had no real understanding of what was required. Egypt had been in an economic decline for many years, and here was an austerity measure he could take without cutting public programs. Placing the burden on the Hebrews would not cause much unrest among the Egyptians.

“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. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: 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.” (Exodus 5:19-21)

If dropped into hot water, a frog immediately jumps out, but if placed in cold water and the temperature is raised gradually, he may sit there until he is cooked. For four hundred years the persecution of the Israelites had been steadily increasing, finally reaching the point where their children were being murdered and they had not time for themselves at all. Though they were troubled and griped about their situation, they had accepted it.

When Moses came and presented the possibility of escape, they were excited about the possibility. When they began to take steps to change the situation, and experienced resistance they began to blame Moses, rather than the Egyptians.

Over the years I have seen numerous people in abusive situations seek the Lord because it was almost unbearable, yet when changes they were making in their own lives caused conflict with the abusers, they blamed it on what I was teaching them and walked away. Invariably, the abuse became even worse, because the abuser was more convinced they would continue to put up with it. We often overlook this tendency in our efforts to help people. No one enjoys the pain, but many as fitness trainers tell us “no pain, no gain.” Unfortunately pain does not necessarily indicate progress. It may indicate that more harm has been done. Moses was upset by the people’s reaction.

“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? 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.” (Exodus 5:22-23)