Past Challenges Future

‘WHY?’ QUESTIONS No.4

Ex 6:12 But Moses said to the LORD, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?”

It’s so easy to let the past dominate the present and the future. When the past has involved pain, we remember. We remember what it was that caused the pain and we resolve not to let it happen again. We don’t like pain and so when we see it coming we want to jump aside to avoid it. It may have been literal pain, or it may have been the pain of rejection, or of embarrassment or simply of failure. Whatever it was, it hurt us, and we don’t want to go through it again! Life is as simple as that, but unfortunately the Christian life isn’t!

So here we have Moses. He has just been given harsh words by the Israelites who are being pressurised even more by Pharaoh following Moses’ words to him. Moses doesn’t like rejection. He’s a frail individual in so many ways – just like us. He can just about remember forty years ago in Egypt, totally blowing it by killing an Egyptian and having to flee the land. He can look back at forty pointless years where, instead of being a Prince in Egypt he had been a lonely shepherd in the wilderness. Failure is something he knows all about. In fact if God wanted to choose the world’s biggest failure to make a point to the rest of us, He couldn’t have done better in choosing Moses. He knows all about failure and he’s got a low self-esteem. He’s sensitive to failure and he’s sensitive to rejection. He didn’t like either.

He had actually been obedient and gone and faced Pharaoh the first time, and that had been an amazing achievement, but it had gone wrong. That’s why he complained as we saw yesterday. So the Lord encourages him: “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.” (Ex 6:1). Right! But he doesn’t stop there: “God also said to Moses, “I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan , where they lived as aliens. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.” (Ex 6:2-5). He gives Moses a lot of background information, some of which he might have known before. But it establishes the background for belief. We’ve got a lot of that.

The Lord then gives him more to say to his own people, and he goes and tells them, only to find, “but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.” (Ex 6:9). They are under so much pressure it doesn’t allow for faith. But the Lord is not put off: “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.” (Ex 6:10,11). I suspect Moses might feel like saying, “Excuse me Lord, have you not been listening to a word I’ve been saying and seeing what’s been happening to me?” Instead he says the words of our verse today.

On every front Moses is faced with failure. Pharaoh didn’t want to know and his own people didn’t want to know – but God still does! Do you see this, how because of Moses’ past, and very recent past, failures make it very difficult for him to have faith and believe God? We have to go down to chapter 7 to see the Lord’s answer: “Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.” (Ex 7:1,2). Well the instructions are fairly simple. Just speak. That’s all. But then more bad news: “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you.” (Ex 7:3,4). Oh no!

So there we are, enjoying the Sunday morning worship and the preacher starts talking about us being witnesses for Jesus, and you sit there thinking, “Yes, I’ve been there, done it and been rejected by my friends.” Yes, so? Is that your fault? No! You just responded to the Spirit’s prompting and spoke to them and at first they listened, but as they became convicted they got angry and rejected you. It’s all right; they’ve some way to go with God yet, just like Pharaoh. Just hang in there and love them whenever you have the opportunity. Leave it up to God to deal with their hearts. That’s not your business, it’s His.

Or maybe one morning you’re reading your Bible and you start thinking about a family member from whom you’ve been estranged for a number of years, and you get this uneasy thought that you need to go to them and seek reconciliation. Then you find yourself thinking, “No, that’s crazy! The last time I did that they completely rejected me again.” Yes, so? If God’s nudging, trust that He’s there on their case. This may be the moment of reconciliation – or not! It may need another couple of attempts, but don’t worry, they’ve some way to go with God yet, just like Pharaoh. All you’re called to do is turn up when the Lord nudges and leave the rest to Him. And if it doesn’t all work out perfectly this time, don’t worry, they’ve some way to go with God yet, just like Pharaoh!