“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.’ 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.’ [The foremen of the people] met Moses and Aaron… 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.’ ” (v1-2,6-8a,20-23)
Well this is grim – Moses and Aaron obey God’s instructions, but Pharaoh’s response is to increase the workload of Israel since they have idle time to make sacrifices to God. Based on the reactions of the foremen and Moses, this isn’t what they hoped would happen.
Before God sent Moses to Egypt, He was quite clear: ” ‘But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.’ ” (Ex 3:19-20) Should Moses be exasperated that Israel has not yet been released prior to God performing “wonders with His mighty hand”? Maybe not, though I think I too am guilty of these short-term memory problems. Moses seems to have already forgotten God’s prophetic words, just as I too quickly forget God’s words.
This is not an issue unique to Moses and I, even the disciples forgot Jesus’ own words about the resurrection: “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” (Jn 2:19,22) Poor memories seem to run in the family – at least in those who descended from Adam and Eve.
This is one of the reasons why there needs to be so much repetition in the Bible – God repeats many themes dozens, if not hundreds of times, so we can remember through repetition. How do we learn anything – from language to a musical instrument? Through repetition (practice). How do we remember God’s teachings? Through being reminded of them over and over. A famous passage says “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psa 119:9-11) When we learn God’s commandments (words) by storing them in our heart (memorization), then we can obey God more consistently, and as a result our faith is strengthened. Moses, like all of us at one point, lacked experience with God and barely knew Him, which is why he had so little faith in the beginning of his journey.
Father God, we come before You as a forgetful people – we are weak and You are strong. This is why we ask for Your help Father, please teach us Your ways, over and over again if necessary, that we may live in accordance with Your truth. Grant us purity of heart, so we may honor You. May we learn to trust in You with all of our hearts, and lean not on our own understanding. We acknowledge You in all of our ways, so that You may direct our paths. (Psa 86:11, Pro 3:5-6 par)
~ Conqueror in Training