Today we’re in Exodus chapter 5, and this is where things take a turn that nobody expected.
Let me read the passage. This is Exodus 5:1-23, and I’m going to read selected verses:
Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!”
The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle.”
Skipping down to verse 15:
Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.”
The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks.” They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh, and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”
This is a hard chapter. Moses and Aaron finally obey God. They go to Pharaoh and speak exactly what the Lord told them to say. “Thus says the Lord, let my people go.” This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. But instead of freedom, things get worse.
Pharaoh’s response is cold and proud. “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” He doesn’t know God, and he doesn’t want to. His heart is hard from the start. He refuses the request and immediately increases the people’s workload. No more straw for the bricks. Same quota, but now with heavier burdens.
You can feel the cruelty in this scene. The people are exhausted and angry. They cry out for relief, but Pharaoh mocks them. And when they find Moses and Aaron afterward, they blame them. “You have made us stink in Pharaoh’s sight.” In other words, “You have made everything worse.”
Moses is crushed. He goes to God and pours out his heart. “Why, Lord? Why did You send me? You told me to come, I obeyed, and it only brought suffering.” That question is deeply human. We’ve all felt it in one way or another. We obey, we trust, we take a step of faith, and life seems to fall apart.
But this moment is important. God is teaching Moses, and us, something essential about faith. Obedience doesn’t always bring instant results. Sometimes it brings hardship first. God’s plan is still unfolding, but His timing is not ours.
Pharaoh’s hardness will not have the last word. God will show His power in a way no one can deny. But first, He allows His people to feel the weight of their need. Before redemption comes, they must see that there is no other savior but God Himself.
It’s the same lesson we learn in the gospel. Before we understand grace, we have to see our slavery to sin. Before resurrection comes, there must be a cross. God’s deliverance often begins in the dark.
So if you’re in a place where obedience feels costly and faith feels heavy, remember this: God has not failed you. His plan is not finished. The story is still unfolding, and His promise still stands.
Let’s pray.
Prayer
Father, thank You that You are faithful even when life feels confusing or painful. Forgive us for the times we doubt You when things get harder instead of easier. Teach us to trust that You are still working when we cannot see the outcome. Give us patience to wait for Your deliverance and courage to keep obeying You in the hard places. Thank You that through Christ we see that suffering is never the end, but the doorway to redemption. In His name we pray, Amen.