Culture Study
Exodus 5:6 - It Gets Worse
* When you follow God, you’ll realize situations often get worse before they get better.
* Why?
* Because going
* EX: Throwing a baseball / Throwing a punch
* Going backward is how God trains you to be the person who can handle where He’s taking you.
* Going backward gives you the power to move forward.
* Strength comes through strain.
* Moses’ life shows us this:
* The Israelites were slaves in Egypt.
* God told Moses to go Pharaoh and ask to release the people.
* He reluctantly obeyed, but it seemed to backfire.
* Pharaoh got mad at the request and made their work even harder.
* Vs 6-9 - “That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
* Why would God allow this to happen?
* God had to prepare the Israelites for the hard times ahead in the wilderness.
* He had to set them up for success with the Egyptian’s gold.
* He knew the plagues would end with the death of the firstborn, which would usher in the Passover and prepare the way for Jesus.
* Think about a wave on the beach:
* The water level gets much lower the moment before a wave hits.
* It goes the opposite way it’s intended to go.
* If you stopped at that moment, it would discourage you.
* But letting nature run its course reveals an incredible increase ahead.
* When God moves you backward, take courage - it’s just to prep you for where He’s going to take you.
* KEY - Don’t think “
Exodus 11:2 - Foot The Bill
* God doesn’t order something He won’t
* His way for footing the bill often comes from our
* The stuff in our lives that look bleak turn out to be the biggest blessings.
* This is what happened with the Israelites as they were slaves in Egypt.
* For 400+ years they were under slave labor.
* They worked really hard for little pay.
* God took notice, and brought ten nasty plagues on Egypt.
* The last plague was the nail in the coffin (literally).
* But before that happened, God told them something.
* 9 plagues later:
* Vs 11:1-2 - “Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. 2 Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”
* Vs 12:35-36 - “The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.”
* NOTICE - For 400+ years the Israelites worked for little pay and the Egyptians worked for much pay, but little did they know the Egyptians were working for them!
* All they had to do was be faithful to their task and trust God for His payback.
* The Israelites ended up in the Promised Land a rich people!
* This fulfilled the promise in Genesis 15:14 - “But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.”
* God uses the tough situations of your life to get you where He wants you to go.