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Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me (1).

Sometimes sermons need repetition. Now there’s a radical thought!

Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:12-15: So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

An Argentinian pastor, Juan Carlos Ortiz, wrote a book entitled, ‘Disciple’. I seem to remember him saying that in his church they repeat the same sermon until they see the congregation doing it! I’m not saying this approach should be copied by everyone. By no means. But I do get the principle. In the great commission, Jesus said to teach people to do everything He commanded. For that to happen, there will be an inevitable degree of repetition through the years. We may find new and fresh ways to express the same things. But there are some ‘same things’ which will require repetition.

I was thinking also, how good of God to keep speaking to us about important issues where we need to change. He comes to us again and again to call us to do his will. But let us learn from Pharaoh that there can come a day where we have gone too far in our resistance, and our hearts are hardened beyond any possibility of responding positively.

If we hear His voice ‘Today’ let’s not be deliberately stubborn (See Hebrews 3,4). We could fail to enter in to all God has for us.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”

19 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.”

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.

There is a long way to go in this story before Pharaoh will finally let the people go. There are many more plagues to come; there is much more suffering to be endured.

I caught up with an old friend the other day, a fellow-church leader. He is by no means a gloomy, pessimistic personality. But we were having a frank conversation about the seriousness of the situation facing us, with the gradual drifting away from God in our nation, and the apparent movement away from robust discipleship in many parts of the church. There is much to be concerned about. I commented that we had come through the pandemic without any obvious large-scale turning towards God, and we wondered, ‘What will it take?’ ‘What will it have to take to being us back?’

This is not a time for Christians to be sleep-walking. We need to firmly take hold of the staff of prayer, and use the authority God has given us to intercede…while we still have time.

PRAYER: Lord, rouse your church from her dozy slumbers. Pour upon us the Spirit of prayer. Open our eyes to see the seriousness of the times, and may we each rise up to make a difference.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”

10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

I once heard about a lady who became a Christian because of her involvement with spiritism. She recognised that she was coming into contact with a very real power on the dark side of things, and decided there must be also a very real power on the light side.

What we need to always remember is that God’s power is greater. Although the gifts of the Spirit are regularly counterfeited by occult practitioners, ‘Aaron’s staff’ will always swallow up the staffs of the ‘Egyptian magicians’, if you see what I mean.

“But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over these people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world”  (1 John 4:4: ‘New Living Translation’).

However, as important as signs and wonders, miracles, spiritual gifts are, they are no guarantee that everyone who experiences them will bow to God (13).

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2 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. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

6 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

God dealt with Moses’ further protestations about his lack of ability as a speaker (1,2).

But the thing that leaps out of the page at me today is the reference to the ages of Moses and Aaron: 80 and 83 respectively. Your best years may be ahead of you. Age need not be a hindrance to serving God. In the words of a book title (a book by Derek Prime), it is possible to have ‘a good old age.’ Your life is not over because you’re on the pension.

“Old age is just as important and meaningful a part of God’s perfect will as is youth. God is every bit as interested in the old as the young.” J.O. Sanders.

Tom Hale also makes this point:

‘It took that long for God to prepare them for the work He had given them to do.

Are any of us tired of our training, impatient to “get on with the job”? Let us remember Moses. It is dangerous to go into the Lord’s work with poor preparation – especially poor spiritual preparation (1 Timothy 3:16). The Lord will let us know when we are ready.’ ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.217.

It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.” 27 They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt—this same Moses and Aaron. (26,27).

The genealogy focuses attention on the family of Levi, to which Moses and Aaron belonged.

To my mind, one of the things it does is to locate them in the realm of time and space. They were real, Jewish, flesh and blood human-beings. They were not super-heroes who had come into contact with kryptonite. They were not ‘Marvel’ comic characters – fantastic works of fiction. They were ordinary people, and it was “this Aaron and Moses”, frail and fallible as they were, whoGod used so significantly. Surely, then, we can have hope and take heart? It was “this…Moses” who was such a mighty instrument of God – the same Moses who was prone to make excuses, and look for ways out of his assignment (30).

Also, consider this point made by Tom Hale:

‘Because Moses and Aaron were the ones chosen by God to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, it was important to document their family record, or genealogy. Only the first three sons of Jacob are mentioned; Moses and Aaron were descended from the third son, Levi.

Notice once more that Moses did not have the credentials of a firstborn son. Furthermore, he was descended from Kohath, the second son of Levi (verses 16, 18, 20). The only credentials Moses had were those God gave him; some were natural endowments and others came from Moses’ life experiences. Then God added the spiritual empowerment that would enable Moses to do God’s work. He will do the same for each of us.’ ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.217.

As someone said, ‘God does not call the qualified, but He qualifies the called.

Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

God regularly hands out ‘impossible’ assignments.

He gives people jobs they cannot do – apart from His power.

He gives us tasks to complete that will keep us on our knees for the rest of our days.

To the disciples who were concerned about the crowd who had gathered to hear Jesus teach, and  were wondering about where they would get food, Jesus said, ‘You give them something to eat!’

But…

‘The borderline of human helplessness is the borderline of divine miracle.’ George Mueller.

‘Where things impossible by faith shall be made possible,

Let’s give the glory to Him now.’

“I have found that there are 3 stages in every great work of God: 1. it is impossible, 2. it is difficult, 3. it is done.” J. Hudson Taylor.

PRAYER: Lord, when you ask us to move mountains, and we know full well we cannot, help us to remember that you intend to move them through us.

Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”

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?”

Well, maybe the fact God had told him to go, and that He would set the people free is the obvious answer to this question! But Moses was reverting to type.

‘In times of despair, it’s best to ignore our feelings and simply do what God tells us to do, leaving the consequences with Him.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: Old Testament Commentary, p.154

I love reading about the great leaders in the Bible because they are not super-heroes. They are all so very human. So I can identify with them, and I’m sure you can too.They are frail and obviously flawed human-beings. Cracked pots. But the living water of divine life seeps through the cracks. God puts His “treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

‘He turns our weaknesses into His opportunities so that the glory goes to Him.’ Graham Kendrick.

Moses was a great leader, but it was because of God’s power and not his own. God was going to do significant things through him.

But at this time he had his excuses.

How about you? What are your excuses for not doing what, deep in your heart, you know God is telling you to do?

PRAYER: Lord, I need to repent of my reticence and unwillingness to do what I know you’re telling me to do. I am truly sorry. Please forgive me. You know how weak and incapable I feel. Please give me the courage and strength to obey. Help me to take the next step you show me, and thank you for the privilege of working together with you.

Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.

Someone was telling me about another person they had conversed with. They made the observation about that individual, that they just seemed ‘defeated’.

We saw yesterday that the preacher must speak God’s Word whether or not it is received.

But the preacher needs to understand that members of the congregation may be carrying things which make it hard for them to accept and respond to the message – even though the living word  offers them freedom. Maybe they feel they’ve heard it all before. Or they think it might work for others, but it doesn’t work for them. They are ground down by life, and so is their expectation.

You may know the saying attributed to Socrates (the philosopher, not the footballer!):

‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.’

The preacher needs to remember that the people in the pews are not machines or automata. They have their struggles. Many of them have dragged their weary, discouraged, fearful, hurting, maybe even doubtful, selves into church. But they are there all the same. Some are unwell, perhaps in pain. There are the sick in mind as well as body. Socrates was right, they all have some kind of struggle. Or if they are not going through one currently, they have been through one (or several) in the past, or they’re going to go through one (or more) in the future. Life can be hard.

We all bring our weather-beaten souls into the sanctuary. (Let the congregation ever remember that this also applies to their leaders. They are not machines either! Pray for them).

Notice that the people’s lack of response did not alter God’s plan to set them free (10,11). Again, we marvel at, and are grateful for the grace and mercy of God.

‘…they were too discouraged and disillusioned to believe. Often we deprive ourselves of God’s comfort and encouragement by turning away from Him rather than listening to His word.

On the other hand, people who are terribly crushed down have great difficulty with believing, hoping, persevering; this was certainly true for the Israelites. So God didn’t wait for them to believe his words; instead, He began to act on their behalf. He knew their weakness and their suffering. And in mercy He came to their rescue.

God sometimes waits until we reach the end of our strength, and then He acts; that way we will know it was God who delivered us, and not we ourselves. “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” ‘ Tom Hale: ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, pp. 216, 217.

“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”

A young preacher asked an older, more seasoned preacher, ‘What should I speak about?’ The older man’s reply: ‘About God, and about 20 minutes!!’

Well, not everyone would agree with his thoughts about duration (and it does, in fact, take under a minute to read verses 6-8). But Moses certainly spoke about God.

More importantly, he spoke from God.

God was speaking through him.

At the end of our first term in Bible College, I was sent to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for two weeks of ministry experience. I went with a good friend and fellow-student, Billy Williamson, a Scots lad from Greenock. We were warmly welcomed into the church, and into the home of the ‘Elim’ pastor and his wife: Dennis and Ronaldine Phillips. Dennis passed on this piece of counsel about preaching, and I’ve never forgotten it: ‘Just give them what you’ve got.’ He was saying, ‘Don’t worry if it’s short; don’t get hung-up about the length. Just receive from the Lord, and then deliver it. Give them what you’ve got.’

Such as I have give I unto you!

Well, Moses had a word from the Lord.

But note that although the preacher needs to give what he or she has got, the congregation aren’t guaranteed to receive it: to believe and obey it. They won’t necessarily like it. As we will see tomorrow, this ‘church’ didn’t enjoy Moses’ sermon. No-one was likely to listen again online. They pushed the dinner plate full of good food away.

But here’s the important thing: Moses spoke what God gave him to say. He was faithful; and I suppose we could say the talk ‘went viral’, because it has been heard by innumerable people through the centuries, and we are still listening, and benefitting today.

Whether people believe His Word or not, God is powerful and God is able.

PRAYER: Lord, we pray for all who are called to preach your Word. May they hear from you, and loyally and courageously pass on whatever you give to them